So I only have 20 measly pounds to lose. Stuck in a forever binge/diet yo-yo and am just so greedy that I can't shift the weight! Most of you here are losing amazing amounts of weight and I can't even stay healthy for one weekend to get rid of my first lb . Is this going to be my life forever?! How do you get weekend motivation?

No amount of motivation is going to replace planning -- esp with the increased social eating on a weekend.

One of the things I do is work out "my order" for the restaurants we typically visit so then it is just a question of we are at X? Ok, here I get the Y.

A.

Hun I still don't have weekend motivation! What has worked for me is being straight on plan for the entire week and treat myself on the weekend....now I don't go back to the way I was eating before, and I watch the portion size and try and make the healthiest choice (cause we do eat out on the weekends) and I'm a party girl so I have switched my wine and booze for skinny girl sangria and margarita drinks. Plus if I'm feeling like I'm being really bad I hit a gym class if I have time on the weekends. It's all just being aware and changing your lifestlye. My binges now are totally different then they were before. Before I would eat a whole bag of chips, now it's a handful. Or I even substitute the chips for something else that's crunchy like almonds. It will take time but the key is to be kind to you and 2nd guess what your eating instead of mindlessly eating (it almost becomes automatic) And eating out I NEVER EVER finish a restaurant's portion size now. I either leave it or take the rest home for someone else to eat!

I think it's easy to look around here and think that everyone is so successful with their weight loss. However, the truth is that most of us here have lost and regained multiple times. Also, I'd bet that most people give up and don't post. There are lots of scenarios, but really, the main thing is that you shouldn't compare yourself. You are you and you are completely capable of losing weight. I struggle with food addiction and yo-yo dieting, losing and gaining the same 50-70 lbs. many times and other amounts of lbs. a whole bunch of times. It is hard and very disheartening. I really get it.

What I do is take it just one day at a time. Motivation comes and goes, but if I can just commit to one day of being completely on plan, then I can find success in that. For me to stay on plan, I need an arsenal of tricks. I need gum. I need lots of different foods that help me feel full, I need to workout and I need to get a decent amount of sleep. When any of those things aren't happening or I have my monthly cycle, then I know I"m at risk. Nevertheless, I stick with it as much as I can and just focus on my journey and loving myself. I highly recommend you read the posts by Kaplods here. She is very good at explaining the mental aspect of this because really, it's more mental than physical.

You CAN do this! Just take it one day at a time, one step at a time and definitely have a plan that you can stick to.

A lot of people on this site has great success stories! What you don't see though is the struggle and set backs everyone has "behind the scenes" sort of speak. I'll use me for example, this time around I've lost 40lbs, sounds great? What you don't see is that I've lost and regained this before and there are weeks that my eating habits SUCK and my weight goes up instead of down. It's easy to forget that everyone has or is having the same struggles and thoughts as you are when you are not reminded of it constantly! I have been where you are, I would start eating healthy and working out and after a week of little to know progress would throw in the towel and go order 2 large stuffed crusts pizza's!

The first 2 weeks for me was the absolute hardest! As a fast good addict I was dealing with what I call "withdrawal" from all my favorite fast food places. I would crave them! Almost or as bad as I craved cigarettes when I quit smoking, that's how much I wanted them. All the cravings for chips, candy, fast food and junk would put me in a crappy mood and make me wonder "why am I doing this?". To combat this I wrote out a list of things I looked forward to when I had lost the weight, things like my muffin top not being pinched out by my underwear, buying smaller clothes etc. It served as a constant reminder of why I was getting healthy.

The weekends are hard but I attempt to view them as any other day instead of singling them out as "special" days. Of course this doesn't always work for me either, its all about learning to get back on plan after you have screwed up! Take this Sunday for example, I went over to my moms, ate a healthy dinner and should have stopped there. Did I? Nope! I went on to eat 2 cookies that I later read were 370 calories each, 2 pieces of sourdough toast with margarine and a huge piece of rice crisps my mum made. Huge fail on my part, I ate almost all of my daily calories right there in one sitting. I let myself feel bad about it for an hour, then moved on and Monday was back on track completely!

Just try to take it one day at a time, when you get up think about what you will have to eat at breakfast, lunch, dinner. You are more likely to make healthy decisions if you put some thought into it at the beginning on your day when you are less stressed then at lunch there is no guess work! Good luck, you can do it!

Like Isis said, you're only seeing our successes, not our setbacks. My ticker says that I've lost 64lb and that's true, but it doesn't tell you that I've lost that much since May of last year. It doesn't tell you that I've had at least a half dozen gains of 7+lb overnight because I binged on chips or I ate a bunch of fried salty foods. Or that I lost nothing for two months because I quit smoking and my eating was out of control. Or that I paid for a gym membership that I didn't use for three months because I didn't feel like going. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to do better than you used to. Like stop drinking your calories (drink water) and park further away when you go to the store. Little things like that add up.

Losing weight is hard no matter what you weigh.

I've never been overweight and have been into healthy eating and lifting weights for 20 years, but it took me almost that long to get to the weight at which I really wanted to be. My reasons for struggling may not be exactly the same as the reasons of someone with more to lose, but they are just as valid, and just as frustrating.

It's not easy for anybody. So, rather than beat yourself up about it, which will only make attaining your goals harder, take heart from those who have succeeded and know that it is possible. Take whatever advice comes your way and find out what works for you. Something certainly will.

I would agree that the first couple of weeks are the hardest, as someone else mentioned. But, for me, getting past those two weeks doesn't guarantee success. I almost reached my goal twice before and ended up gaining back up to 129 almost immediately after getting there. So, for me, I've learned that the first two weeks (and especially the first three days) are the hardest, but I can't let down my guard just because I make it past those days and weeks and even to goal. I have to always keep in mind what it is I really want and eat and exercise accordingly. That doesn't mean that I don't splurge now and then, and even fall off the wagon for a week from time to time. But I have learned that, if I don't climb right back up to the top of that mountain, I'll end up on a slippery slope that takes me back to the very beginning once again.

It's taken me over a year to get to where I am so far. It's not a quick fix or easy process! Even though my ticker says I've lost over 40 lbs. that doesn't mean that my motivation didn't come and go and that I didn't gain some and lose some. My weight is actually up right now and I'm back on track to take it off! Lots of us are still struggling to get to our goal weight and I remember what it was like taking those first steps. I would start and stop and make excuses until one day I was fed up. It's just going to take lots of planning and some inner strength. You can do it!

weight loss and weight loss maintenance are practices that one has to work at consistently. it will never end, but will improve. much like practicing a musical instrument or sport it will never be perfect, but that's the fun in it honing skills and improving over time at anything in life is what really makes it worthwhile. reap what we sow. don't give up! be patient, keep working at it one choice at a time and eventually you'll get to where you want to be. ...once you get there keep going. polish your skills, refine them. there is no stopping.

good luck!