I can't seem to stay motivated to eat right. I have good intentions, but I think I'm my own worst enemy on this front. The scale hasn't budged lately and I know its me doing it to myself. I lose a couple pounds and "reward" myself a bit too much for it (in the manner of food). I don't work and will sometimes eat out of boredom even though I do have hobbies and stay busy most of the time (including volunteer work). Any advice people. I haven't been active on here much lately but I really need to get my (big) butt in gear and get back in shape. Heck right now I would be happy with losing just 5 lbs anything in the right direction, even 2. I work out regularly, it helps with some medical stuff I have so its not really optional and have actually kicked it up a gear lately and started running along with my work outs, running is suppose to be one of the best forms of cardio. So help, advice, something.

I'm not looking for an eating plan, I'm horrible at following that kinda stuff and always blow it. I know I just need to eat healthier, less fat, more fruits and veggies, chill out on junk food and sugar. Any advice people?? Thanks.

Ugh, I WISH I had advice for you. The first few months for me were soooo easy. I was so determined to lose the weight I was completely OP ALL the time with NO cheating ever! Then, slowly instead of eventually it becoming habit to eat that way, I started allowing myself little treats once I got down close to goal. That was the end of the healthy eating. Once I let one little thing sneak in, I was back to binging. Now I'm on a horrible rollercoaster of binging for a day or two and then starving for a day or two to make up for it. Sigh. I've basically been maintaining this weight for about 3 months now I think, or close to it.

My hope is that the more I continue with my workouts the more committed I will become to providing my body the fuel it needs to maintain the level of exercise that I'm doing. I know what I should be doing, but I'm just flailing around with ya right now.

I'm lapsing back into binge, starve, binge, starve. I suspect it's post holiday let down - back to the same old grind, responsibilities, and stress. For example I ate really well yesterday and then sat down with a box of those little halloween chocolate bars in front of the TV. I think I ate about 20 of them. I'm also feeling sorry for myself because of a back injury I sustained in NYC which is making work difficult.

And my DH made all sorts of promises to start a healthier lifestyle which was supposed to start after he quite his job with the last date being Nov. 6. Now that has all changed and I fear he will again be at his job or thinking about it every waking moment. He ate nothing but junk while I was gone. he is clinically obese now. I am no longer attracted to him physically in any way.

I know the only thing I can change is myself but I can't seem to find the motivation. And all the stress of Christmas is coming with all of the extra eating involved in that holiday.

I just want to curl up in a little ball and cry. At least I won't be snacking while doing that.

Dagmar

Yeah that is so me. But for a while there I wasn't even putting inthe cardio work. It's a miracle that I've maintained as I have. I don't know what to tell you though other than what I say ad nauseum....throw away the scale. Hide it.

In the beginning that's what saved me (I think) from rewarding myself too much.

Good luck.

Well Bassetbabe, this might not be for you, but here's what helped me.... I joined here last spring, and lost 7 pounds through "eating healthy" and exercising. I basically did the Bob Greene thing, 3 healthy meals and a snack, but didn't actually do any math around it. After those 7 pounds, I plateaued big time. But is was summer, so I kind of let it ride, and at least I maintained. When Sept. came around, I realized I needed to shake things up if I wanted to lose any more, so I did what I had been resisting.... I started logging calories in vs. calories out. I use a computerized thing - not FitDay, but one like it. Well, using that, I took of 5 pounds in 5 weeks, so I guess that's what I needed. I had been letting too many calories "sneak" into my mouth, and kind of pretending they didn't exist. Couldn't fool the scale, though. So my suggestion is to try honestly tracking for a few weeks - if you can create a 500 cal/day deficit, that should take off a pound a week.

Ok, well, thanks for the responses. I think I just need to do this slowly. The one thing I know I can easily cut down on and that will make a difference is more water and no/less soda. I didn't buy any soda tonight at the store which means I have to WALK to the gas station if I want one (and I don't keep much cash around the house and refuse to charge that little on a card). So that's where I'm starting. Thanks guys, nice to know that there are people out there who can relate.

Don't have food around the house that will be a problem for you. If it isn't in the house, it's a lot harder to eat it. For the most part, I just don't buy foods that I know I can't manage to eat in moderation or that are really high in calories. For example, I don't buy nuts or trail mix because if I have a little break down and eat the whole bag, it will be a calorie disaster. Most of the stuff around the house that I might end up eating too much is isn't so high in calorie that it is that kind of disaster.

Even if you don't track calories, keep a food journal. What has really helped me in the past has been being accountable to someone else for what I eat. If I know I have to tell someone what I ate during the day, I'm far less likely to eat stuff I shouldn't. It could be anyone: a supportive friend, a family member, your SO. In my case, sometimes I've used my trainer this way and sometimes I've just used this forum to do it. For a while I was having trouble with chocolate covered espresso beans (yes, having these in the house breaks my first rule--my SO insists on having them) and decided I needed to stop eating them altogether. So every week I posted here whether or not I had eaten any. Once I started posting about them, I stopped eating them. There were many times that I thought about having a couple and the thought of having to post that I had given in was enough to stop me. There is a daily menu log in the support forum, perhaps you could try posting what you eat there.

I would love to do the food diary but have a HORRIBLE memory (and I'm not exaggerating there). I've gone 24 hours with only a small glass of soda at dinner last night. No sweets so far and had a low fat fruit yogurt for desert last night. Not half bad. Hubby even stopped at McDonald's today and I didn't order anything except for a burger for the dog and didn't sneak one bite of it.

I also agree about keeping track... I do WW and it's a must!
But I'm with you on the eating all the time.. I'm a SAHM and sometimes I just CRAVE something and have to eat it...all! Especially sweets. I try not to buy them... and when I do (for the kids) I end up eating too many and then getting really mad at myself.