It seems like I am always talking about losing weight and thinking about losing weight, but my good intentions at 8:00 a.m. turn into another "lost day" by 8:00 p.m. Last night was topped off by my son's Kit Kat Bar -- a leftover from his Valentine's day goodies. Yesterday I intended to go shopping for some better foods -- veggies, fruits, fish, whole grain breads. And I intended to go to the gym and sign up with a personal trainer. Instead I sat on the couch, organizing paperwork, folding laundry, and listening to my son whine about a missed play date. Ate all day, including saltines, buttered toast, peanuts, and the candy bar.

I can't seem to boot myself into getting started. That's why I'm here. Any advice?

Slip ups in your plan are like bad ex-boyfriends. Forget about them and move on.

I'm feeling the same way. I guess there's nothing to do but give yourself a . *sigh* I had planned on doing 15 minutes of ab and leg work this morning, but life got in the way. I know, lame excuse.

Great saying Melissa, definately keeping that one !!

Also something that helped me getting started was taking one step at a time, even the smallest changes will make a difference, for me the all or nothing always got in my way, as I would be too overwhelmed by the amount of things or amount of weight to lose...

For example, you could start today buying the proper food, and tomorrow you sign up with the personal trainer, but even if that is not possible go for a 30 min walk, or just work out at the gym... and think about how much happier you will feel as the weight starts to come off !!

Sounds like maybe you don't really want to do what you have to do. Otherwise, you wouldn't have stayed sitting on that couch, I think. But it's OK to be where you're at with it--someday you will have had enough and will do something. It could be today--in fact, it HAS to be today. There really isn't any tomorrow, that's just a fantasy.

Life is full of Kit-Kat bars. It's not that you can never eat one again--that isn't what weight loss is about. Instead, it's about choices. You did not "have" to eat the Kit-Kat bar, you chose to. Unless someone is holding you down and forcing food into your mouth, it is your choice. You can always make different choices!

Maybe it would be good for you to have a daily plan in mind. I don't necessarily mean every single meal and snack plotted out--it could be a general idea of what you can eat for breakfast, what you can have as a snack, and so on. Some folks like to cook things in advance and have them ready--others like the menu planning. In my case I rely on Lean Cuisine a lot because I'm not into cooking, and I need an easy way to get a good selection of foods and know exactly what I'm getting (but I do supplement them with fresh vegetables).

There are many ways to do this, but starting with good resolve at 8 a.m. without anything to back it up seems not to be working for you. Figure out what will work!

Good luck!!

Jay

Clearly you like snacking (as do I!) so try snacking all day on healthier options that will HONESTLY start tasting as good or better than a kit kat bar. Try berries with FF yogurt, or FF yogurt w/ some nuts, or a packet of whole grain oatmeal (Kashi perhaps), or some lo-cal bread at 45 cal per slice. If you counted your calories, EVEN ON DAYS WHEN YOU'RE TOTALLY SLIPPING UP, you will honestly feel motivated to avoid certain foods and replace them with lower cal options. Give yourself a reality check on how many calories you're consuming..this will truly help you next time temptation rears its ugly head.

Don't panic woman! It happens to the best of us.. lol. I had an all out CARB mega feast Saturday, I mean I ate like it was going out of style, ruthlessly, unapoligetically.. and you know what? Sunday I was back on track doing damage control. Monday.. same thing. .Today.. you guess it, still on track.. You're going to have weak moments honey, we all do, but you don't throw in the towel and give up. You accept the bad day for what it was and move on. One day, one binge is not going to undo your weight loss efforts if you keep at it. Forget the kit-kats... today is a whole new day.

Getting started is really hard.

Pick one thing you are going to do tomorrow to change your life. Then do it FIRST before you do anything else. NO laundry, NO paperwork, NOTHING until you do that one thing

Sounds to me like your "plan" is not really a plan - it's so generalized that you've already overwhelmed yourself, therefore, your subconscious convinced you it was just "too much" to try.

I have found that incorporating small but simple steps is the easiest & most effective way. Every 3 or 4 days, incorporate something different. Like today, use 2% milk instead of whole milk. In a few days, choose an apple instead of a Kit-Kat bar. In another few days, exercise for 10 minutes without stopping (doesn't matter what you do... walking, biking, jumping jacks... just do it for 10 minutes straight.) Then in another few days, try going the whole day without bread.

These are not carved in stone "suggestions" - just trying to give you an idea about things you CAN try. The trick is to replace BAD HABITS (candy bar!) with GOOD HABITS (apple) - slow but steady wins the race.

Good luck - & KEEP COMING HERE. This is the place for ideas, support, & fun.

I have the same problem as you. And I've been having a hard time getting back on track. I've tried doing the small steps thing, but that really doesn't work for me. I personally like Mami's idea of snacking all day on healthy things, rather than having 3 squares. It's something I've never tried and will try it myself. If a Kit Kat Bar is something you REALLY want, and the craving doesn't go away, have half and put it away. Sometimes just putting it away doesn't work for me, so I have to PHYSICALLY throw the food in the garbage so I won't eat more (make sure you rub it in to some crap in there too...I can't tell you how many times I dusted off a piece of chocolate or dorito after taking it back out of the garbage!).

It all depends what works best for you. Try new things and new ideas you've never tried before. There's SOMETHING out there that WILL work for you. You just have to have the courage to actually try these things. I wish you lots of luck!!

Hi!
Tell me about it! I have had several peanut M&M'S! Caught myself doing it and opted for a Yoplait Chocolate Mousse. It has been 1 wk since I have started to think about changing. I have been to the gym 5 times and am more aware of what I am eating. I do need to take it slow because the drastic stuff does not work for me. I will not weigh myself or measure for a few more weeks(I have been a slave to the scale before). I am however looking for a good forum to get into. I just logged in a few days ago in the intro forum and am not sure where to call home yet. I would love to meet a great group of people to share with! Any suggestions?? Thanks,
Lisa

lottalisa, this is a good place for support--also there are many support groups listed separately. Just drop in and look around! And post when something interests you.

Welcome!

Jay

I surf almost all the forums. They all have great people who have things to share, be it what slipped them up, what's helped them, new work out dvd's to try, recipes. Surf, post until you find the place you feel most comfy in. I also surfed, the Diet Central alot, just to check out the different main stream plans, and I pretty much took a little from each diet and turned it into my way of life. Find what you think works for you, give yourself forgiveness if you slip up, move on and keep trying. Failing to lose weight, only happens when we completely quit trying. And one kit kat bar does not ruin the entire day. It didn't change the fact you ate healthy all day until that point! It doesn't change all the fresh, whole nutrient rich food you fed yourself before that. Just keep trying and you'll find what works for you.

I am also so frustrated with myself!! I guess we just need to pick ourselves us and try to make it work. I do have the mentalilty of all or nothing which really hurts me because it's either eat everything I want or stick to healthy foods. If you want a buddy for support I am here!!

I've been struggling with a sweet tooth lately, since I'm not eating any type of sugar and only eating two fruit servings a day. I bought some sugar-free hard candies a while ago, though, and when my sweet tooth really attacks, I'll suck on one of them. That really helps. I just have to exercise some self control and limit myself to one or two. :-)