Please help me!! I have been watching what I eat since Jan 1 2014. I am starting to become less strict about what I eat and I don't like it, but I can't help myself. I need encouragement because somedays feel as big as I did 30ish pounds ago. Any advice from people who got over those rough days would be MOST appreciated.

I've heard a lot of advice on these threads. I'll list.

1) Figure out why you want to eat. Is it because you're emotional, stressed, angry? If you can find the source, you can work on the emotion. If needed, seek counseling (did WONDERS for me, I'm a stress eater).

2) If you can find out why you are eating, redirect it. Stress? Instead of going to the fridge, go for a walk or run! Sad? Call a friend or write in a journal. Happy? Go dancing or play games. We make habits to turn to food, we need to reverse that to something else! Personally, I clean when I'm angry, and walk when I'm stressed. I haven't turned to food since redirecting these emotion to other things. (And my kitchen sparkles, and my dog loves it).

3) If it's boredom, get water or tea if you need to prepare something.

4) You lost 34 pounds! That's awesome and a long way to go! Keep that, even if you don't lose another pound now, don't let that hard work go to waste!

5) If you think it's just not fast enough, well think of this, no matter what you do, the time will pass by. It's your decision if from a year from now you're the same weight, a lower weight, or gained. A year will come no matter what, make it count!

6) Write down the reasons you are doing this! Hang that up by your mirror or on your bedroom door.

7) Think about how you feel now, more energized? Healthier? Sleep better? Don't let that go!

8) This is controversial, but I bought an outfit I loved a few sizes down as motivation. I really want to wear it! And I don't want the money I put into it to go to waste! Consider doing the same.

9) Switch it up. Join a gym, join a meetup that is active, try new low calorie/carb whatever WOE you are doing, recipe's and get excited about new flavors that are part of your diet!

10) Join a club, something else to focus on. Bonus, make it active like a volleyball club, tennis club, hiking club. It will give you something else to focus on and just try to make this your way of life, no different than brushing your teeth before bed!

11) Look at before and after pics, those always get me pumped!

12) Get an event that you are looking forward to. Halloween is coming up, is there a costume you would love to wear? Or, maybe New Years, you could wear one of those party dresses! Picture yourself in your gown or outfit and use that to spur you on.

13) Visit the doctors. Talk about your current weight and what it means, ask what will benefit you if you lose weight. This is a "scare" tactic that works for some, but not all. It did wonders for my friend who lost it all fast after she realized she may not always be there for her kids and definitely wanted to run and play with them. She's never been happier.

Bump! SO other people can chip in!

These are all great suggestions that the above poster has made. You can't give up now. Why would you? Because if you REALLY want this, then quitting is not an option. You have to be your own salesman. YOU are the product. You have to define what the product is, what it can do, and why it must be supplied.

Make a list of all the ways you, your family, your friends, etc. will benefit from a healthy and happy you. Keep that list and read it constantly. REMIND yourself why it is that you WANT this. Why it is that you desire this.

Make a plan. Think of it as a marketing strategy. What will be your plan of attack? How do you plan on making your product like gold? Set goals and crush them, leaving you to make bigger and harder goals.

Rummage through this forum. See what others have done. Other people, just like you, have struggled and persevered. You can do this, too.

Just tell yourself, "I can do this." Seriously, say it right now. Repeat it. Over and over again until it digs into your skin, your heart, your soul. Once you believe it, then you will be able to get the job done.

Don't be the victim. Be the warrior. The hero. You can do this!

You've already gotten great advice, so I'll be the tough-love person:

Suck it up, buttercup!

When the going gets tough the tough get going! And you're TOUGH, you're a B@d@ss, you're a ROCK, you're a freakin SUPER STAR!

Quitting is simply not an option!

We all have weak moments, but yours is now officially OVER and behind you and you are BACK, babeeeeee, in a BIG WAY! You're ready for MORE.

More, more, more! BRING IT ON!

Take your best shot, world, because FruitLoverForLyfe is a FAT KILLAH!

YOU GOT THIS!

How's that?

I agree that there is some GREAT advice above. The only thing I have to add is this: What does "giving up" look like to you?

Does it mean reversing habits that are making you healthier and happier? Why would you want to do that?

Are you feeling like you are restricting your food choices to the point that "it's not worth it"? There's no right or wrong way to lose weight - only ways that work for you and ways that don't. To me, this is a sign that what you are doing isn't working. It's not an end, just a signal that you need to try it a different way.

Are you feeling like giving up food as a comfort/stress reliever/boredom reliever/anxiety reliever is making you uncomfortable? As the first responder said, you might want to explore that. Figuring out those things requires some mental work but that is the good stuff - overcoming that is a life skill that will change your life forever. Learning to take care of yourself for real - why would you give up on that?

Sometimes when I am feeling the way you describe, I take a time out. I stop trying to "lose weight" and go back to self reflection, trying to figure out why I am rebelling against it. Just a little nudge - try exploring the Intuitive Eating concept.

At the very least - don't let "giving up" mean giving up on becoming physically and mentally healthy. You deserve those things. Focus on living a healthy lifestyle and let weight loss be a side effect of that.

One final takeaway - think of the things that have improved in your life since beginning this journey. Give some thought to gratitude for where you are now - not just weight loss but everything in your life. Love and appreciate yourself for what you have accomplished. Then, decide what you want to do.

Don't you DARE give up!! You have lost 34 lbs. since January, so you ARE doing something right! Rough days are rough days, just do not let them turn into weeks. Like others have said, what is the result of giving up? You started this journey to make a change and that change will never happen if you give up. There are many great things that were listed to get motivated again, so take some time, look them over, and start incorporating them. You CAN do this!!

Do you really love fruit? If you do than maybe you should try the 80/10/10 diet.

I only know one person who follows it but he is very thin.

Personally I love meat so screw the fruit diet but if you love fruit this might be the way for you.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I fell off the wagon for a while so to speak. But I am not done here! Every post here was BEYOND helpful to me. I even teared up a few times reading them. Thank you so so so much for all your words of encouragement and tough love. It kept me going for sure. Very grateful for each and every one of you <3

34 pounds is awesome! You've already proven that you can do this, so please don't give up. You are so much stronger than food! Everyone slips up sometimes, and that's okay. Just pick yourself up and remember why you did this. Maybe you need a reminder of what you're ultimate goal is. Buy a pair of jeans in a size you'd like to wear, save pictures of people who are at your goal weight, look for motivational sayings to keep you going.

If you haven't measured or taken before pics, do it! It's so good to have physical proof of how your body is changing. We often don't see it in the mirror every day, but pictures are a great reminder. I've started taking a picture of my face every week because that's where I really see noticeable weight loss. I keep the pictures on my phone for those times when I feel weak.

Good luck!

Maybe instead of giving up you should take a break or try a different plan.

“If you get a flat tire, you don’t get out of the car and slash all three other tires. You fix the flat and you keep going." - Jillian Michaels.

Keep fighting. Big kudos to your progress and achievement so far.

Refocus again. Recommit yourself for a month. Just for 1 month you will not lose focus on weight loss. Make a fitness goal for this month. Every week you are closer and closer to your goal. Monitor your progress in a daily log. Daily log is a great way to be accountable. My goal this month is to do at least 1 mile every day. 1 mile is not much but I always want to do more than 1 once I get that mile. But I can't skip any days.
The bottom line it's hard to focus on a lifetime commitment. Lifetime is too long. Bo cummited for 1 month. Really committed. After 1 month see if you would like to be committed the next month. Once you are in you can't get out out of commitment. Remember it's just for 1 month. And you promised yourself you will not give up for this 1 month

Great advice here! Let me just add a thought.

Don't give yourself the option of giving up, or relaxing your standards of being on plan. One of my favorite sayings is.... Motivation only gets you as far as the start. Dedication is what takes you to your goal!

I don't have any suggestions, but I have perspective. I was on track four months ago, I had lost 30 pounds and was 5 pounds from the lowest weight I had been all throughout my teens. But I started allowing myself some bacon here, some cheese there, and suddenly I was eating ice cream and drinking wine and it got to the point where I thought that I had already slipped so much, what difference would one week make? Four months later, I have gained all the weight back and I look at my pictures from that time and think "what if I had just stayed on track?" I would be in such a better place by now, probably past my goal weight and gaining muscle. Now I have to start all over again, just wishing that I had been kinder to myself and not given up my months of hard work so easily. Take it from me, it will not be worth it, the chocolate, the fizzy drinks, they're all not worth it, you will realize it eventually and come back onto this forum and wish you had never let all your hard work go.

You CAN do this, you CAN push through, throw all of your crappy food out, look at some fitspiration pictures, and get back on track. I believe in you, you are stronger thank people think!