I can't stick to plan...I don't know what gives...

I really have not been able to put myself in gear to lose weight for more than a week, then I just stop. I even joined WW to have the accountability...but its not working.

The crazy thing is there are so many things that have happened in my life that I have not had complete control over, and I have manage to work with what I can control to make the best outcome.

But weight loss is 100% in my control. I have absolute control over what goes in my mouth. In theroy this should be the easiest thing to do! Just don't eat crap, don't over eat, stay with in my calories/ points whatever...I have complete control to have an fast weight loss...(I know there are platueas but basically I can eat/workout to keep my deficite high enough so I basically seeing the high end of weightloss weekly like 2 lbs...) If I stopped messing up I could get this weight off in less than a year...


I am miserable at this weight and yet I am not exercising my control to stop over eating! I feel so weak, how hard is it for me to just not freaking eat the stuff/ amounts that are keeping me at this weight?!?!?!

The worst part is I've lost weight before after my 2 other babies. But I cant seem to get on board this time...

for me it's such a mental battle to NOT overeat, to stay within calories etc....if I can just get over my obsession with food, weight loss would be so much easier for me...I found that taking 5htp and/or inositol helped with stopping the obsessive food thoughts but I struggle to remember to take those

The "Mojo" so to speak, comes and goes.

Some days, weeks, months are harder or easier than others. Just depends.

For 2 years, I'd done awesome at maintaining, the last 2 months have just kicked my a**.

I'm still ok, and the mojo finally is coming back. I just wish I knew where it went!

I'm not kidding you, I was hanging on by the skin of my teeth, and we all know teeth don't have skin! Every single choice was a trial. And not all of them were good.

Thankfully, I know this time of years s**ks for me, so I dug in and hung on and told myself over and over, this to shall pass.

The last thing in the world I wanted to do today was go workout, but I did! And boy am I glad. Finally the "mojo" is swinging back the other way, like I knew it would, if I just hung in there.

Motivation/commitment do wax and wane. Be patient, hang in there!

Just coming off of having a baby, throws some extra hormones, care, change in home, routine etc., into the mix. Be patient! Hang in there! This to shall pass!

For the record, you are one of my hero's for your dedication and commitment and perserverance to a healthy lifestyle!

I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. When you're ready, you'll get it done.

GlamourGirl, that baby of yours is still so little! Going from 2 to 3 children is a *huge* adjustment. My third is about to turn 5, and I keep thinking how much easier it is these days -- but it took a long time to get to this point.

Please don't put too much pressure on yourself right now.

Everything Janelle said. Print it out and memorize.

I am exactly where you are except I don't have the added complications and blessings of a baby. But I know what you mean about just not being able to get it done. I have been maintaining for MONTHS, which is better than gaining but, but man! I keep trying to get back on it and I just fall off again. What I'm trying now is instead of gaining and losing the same two pounds over and over again, I'm trying to truly a maintain when I'm not losing instead of going up and down. Then the trend should still be down if slowly. I dunno. Keep trying. Perseverance is more important than motivation.

I know I know. I ask myself that all the time. How can I have the perseverance to get a masters degree but I can't say no to a slice of pie? How can I work hard to start my own business but I'm too lazy to measure out my food? It's a daily struggle and I still can't figure it out. I just work on building habits, because habits kind of live off their own momentum. Then I can let go of my feelings towards those habits. I don't think about whether or not I like brushing my teeth, I just do it. The key for me is to release the emotions that are tied with my decisions and make them habitual. But it's hard and there's a lot of bad habits that I still need to replace.

This is a very interesting TED talk by Dan Ariely (who's not only a genius but extremely funny as well) about Self Control. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPQhj6ktYSo

LOL. I've wondered the same thing. I know we often talk about emotional eating, but I suspect our "food-seeking" behaviours are programmed deep into our genes and we gorge simply because nature wants it to be so. In a milieu of hyperabundance, this spells weight gain.

F.

I had the same thought almost exactly. I got a Masters I am better than this. I can surely figure this out and do this. That is a big reason I have succeeded since May. It is good fuel. There will always be bumps but always good to know we CAN do this.

Exactly! I do imagine hormones have a lot to do with what you're going through. I somehow managed to convince myself that I could override the changing body chemistry throughout my pregnancy entirely at will, yet I've been in battle with extreme hunger on top of gaining over 5 pounds in just this past week alone. I'm feeling a lot of pressure over not wanting to gain past my doctor's recommendation (I'm sure I'm going to cut it close) and I just want to cry every time I reach for that extra helping or indulge in what I normally wouldn't. I get so frustrated! I miss pushing myself physically, I miss my old routines, and I actually miss my old, more strict eating habits. More than anything, I miss feeling in control but I imagine I'll be continuing to go through all this for months after the baby arrives.

I know you're anxious to get the weight back off (as am I!) but perhaps your body and hormones still need some time to adjust to the new baby and all the big life changes. Don't be too hard on yourself; you certainly want it badly enough so you'll get there when it's time.

In my opinion the comparison to getting a masters degree is a poor one. Getting a masters degree and losing weight are two different things, each with their own challenges but not comparable IMO.

With a masters degree, you have a immediate time line, with set goals and stiff penalties (financial and otherwise) for not getting done what needs to get done.

Fat loss has nothing like this. There are no immediate penalites for not following your plan and in fact there is an immediate reward for going off plan.

A better anology is starting and running a business. Unlike being an employee, there are no immediate consequences to not following a plan. You're the boss, you make the rules. Daily discipline leads to success but that success is not immediate it is off in the future.

In my experience, I have never understood the stereotype of "lazy fat people" because if I had to make any generalizations, I would assume the opposite, based on what I have seen. Most execs at my workplace, and other accomplished people have done anything and everything - and they are extremely overweight and unhappy about it. Personally, I too went through some difficult situations and I don't know how I would have gotten through them if I didn't use food to numb my emotions as I trudged on.

You may find this article interesting -
The Mental Strain of Making Do With Less
"Many diets also require constant calculations to determine calorie counts. All this clogs up the brain. Psychologists measure the impact of this clogging on various tasks: logical and spatial reasoning, self-control, problem solving, and absorption and retention of new information. Together these tasks measure “bandwidth,” the resource that underlies all higher-order mental activity. Inevitably, dieters do worse than nondieters on all these tasks; they have less bandwidth."
"While all diets require self-control, Atkins requires less thinking. This might explain its popularity, and even its effectiveness: a recent study shows that people persist longer with diets that require less thought."

I just choose what works for me that requires little thought - when presented with a lot of choices - career wise, personal life, and weight, tend to flounder unless I can somehow just pick and go through with it! Now my weight loss habits tend to be second nature - even my regain (25 lb) phase felt like my new "abnormal" even though I have had a lifetime of unhealthy habits and my new (healthy and manageable for me) life feels way way more "me."

That's why I'd like someone to invent the Diet Shocker 3000 (TM)! A machine that gives you a wicked bad shock every time you go off your eating plan. It is welded into place around the neck. Now with Swarovski crystals!

This is an especially enlightening and thought-provoking thread - thanks for all the insight.

And on a lighter note, Mrs. Snark's Diet Shocker 2000 (TM) is hilarious and pixellate - your avatar made me LOL.