Day 1 & the Negative Self-Talk Begins
 

So, I haven't been here in a long time and I tend to lurk but I always find the support invaluable so I thought this would be the best place to go.

I started WW today and I've stuck to the plan and will still have 7 points left. But I just want to start eating and not stop. We have a gift basket in the office from a client and I want to raid it. I want to go get fast food. ****, I'll settle for 3 or 4 more Lean Cuisines! I just can't feel restricted. I feel like I have to break out.

And I'd planned to go to the gym but I don't want to go but I feel like I'd hate myself more if I didn't go. All I really want to do is go home and watch TV and be in bed by 9 pm. I feel like I'm failing before I even get started. But I feel like if I don't do the gym today I won't start it at all and none of this will work because it never works for me without exercise. Is it ok to spend this week working on the food stuff and then add exercise next week? What if I come up with more excuses next week? I feel like a loser. I feel like I'm never going to beat this and I'll be fat forever.

Any words of advice or encouragement would be appreciated.

The first few days any time you change your eating habits for the better are the worst, so hang in there. It gets better, I swear.

One notion you'll see around here a lot (because it's so true!) is the idea that you don't need motivation, you need commitment. And commitment means doing what you set out to do even when it's the absolute last thing you want to do. So if you told yourself you're going to the gym, go to the gym. Walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes, then head home and crawl into your jammies and bed. You'll feel so good that you went versus the guilt you'll feel over saying you were going to do something, then not doing it.

My advice is to make your goals doable for you. Don't burn yourself out by expecting yourself to be perfect. When people come here and say they are going to only eat X number of piddly calories, work out for an hour a day 7 days a week, yada yada, I can smell the coming burnout from my couch! Be reasonable about what you can commit to doing, then don't give up on yourself. And if you slip up, and you will because we all do, get right back on track.

You can do it!! And good for you for coming here. You are NOT a loser, you CAN beat this, and you DON'T have to be fat forever if you don't want to! Deep breath, baby steps...

I'm not on weight watchers but I wanted to say ditto on the first few days being the worst! Stick with it and it will get better.

I say...if you can, go to the gym. I am having my own struggles with that today. And I'm right there with you on wanting to be in bed by 9 pm! Or 8! But I also know that I will feel so much better and more productive if I go...and if I go, I'm much less likely to binge or slip up.

Good luck. I'm sure you'll be fine. Day one will be over before you know it girl!

Getting started is hard. The way I looked at it is losing weight is like a job. You often times don't want to go, there are other things you'd rather be doing. But you do it because it's what you HAVE to do to get by. These days, I still have to make myself do things I don't want to on occassion (like go to the Y tonight), but it's not as hard to make myself as it used to be. And my favorite thing about making myself go to the gym: I never regret it! Just keep pushing through and this will get a lot easier for you.

The gym is under renovations, there would have been a wait for a machine and the thought of the treadmill was too much. So, I ended up going to the mall to walk. It was great! I looked in all the windows of the thin-women stores and was inspired to keep moving so I could wear the clothes.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Yeah the cardio center at my gym is closed for renovations right now, I was crushed when I was ready to go run and saw that sign!

What's awesome is that you didn't go home and sit on your bum. You found another way to get exercise and to enjoy it at that. Good for you!

The first few days are the HARDEST. Right now I am coming off a month of terrible terrible Christmas eating. It's so much harder now that I have let myself have the junk to get back on track. Once you stop eating those foods you won't crave them as much. And, for me, seeing physical changes and getting compliments are what keep me going.

I always feel like it's getting better after the 3rd day.
I'm really likely to screw up after the first or second day of being on plan.
I find myself looking at that cake or the cheese and there's this voice inside my head saying: ok, this is day 1 (or 2). Eat this now, then start again on Day 1 tomorrow. No big difference".
But on day 3,4,5.... it does make a difference. I would lose 3 days at least if I overate at night.
So I can talk myself out of it by telling myself that I am on Day 3 already, I want to be on Day 4 tomorrow, not Day 1 again.

I haven't exercised since Monday. Tuesday was supposed to be an off day then Wednesday and today I had some medical drama (that turned out well, thank God). But I feel guilty and a little defeated because I haven't exercised. Tomorrow is supposed to be an off day too but I'm going to have to do something...even if I just take a short walk. I have to find a way to motivate myself.

@ Lizaly - I totally get the logic. I'm on Day 4 today and I'm having a hard time but I know I can't allow myself to lose 3 days of good work just because I'm having a hard day. This time next week it won't feel so hard. And you're right. Tomorrow I want to be on Day 5, not day 1.

I will say today is day four for me and the first two was hard. I kept going because I can't give up. I was having horrible headaches and knew if I just ate a good heavy meal I would be ok. I pressed through the headache to do my floor exercises and it felt good to get through it. Now I'm not having headaches and the food I am eating is actually filling me up. And I promise you the first two days I was STARVING. I have to get this weight off so I can live a long time. I want to go on a cruise with my husband and look like a woman and not a chubby chick.

Wooooohoooooo!!! Kudos to you for still finding a way to exercise!! I overdid it on the elliptical a few nights ago and my right calf has been in a lot of pain, even to walk, so I decided to take it easy. A part of me is like, hm, well I can't really do a lot of exercise so I'll just sit around, eat whatever I want, etc etc. It took a LOT of push to get to the gym and do the weight machines. It turns out I could use every machine except one, which works calf muscles. I got such a good work out in and I didn't want to eat at all when I came home. Furthermore, when I stepped on the scale this morning, it *finally* moved again. YES! I love running, but other exercise sucks IMHO lol, so I know what it's like to not want to go to the gym at all.

Keep it up!!!! It gets easier!! And you've got some pretty nice rewards set up for yourself - mind if I come along??? :-D