Weightloss Struggle Help and Insight

The only woman I know who successfully lost a lot of weight and kept it off never used the word "lose". That's a negative word and think about it, whenever we lose something we try to find it again! Instead, she talked about "gaining a healthy life". She took up ballroom dancing to be more active. This motivated her to continue to get stronger and healthier so she could dance more. She gained a liking for healthful, nutritious, food. She did this for a year. The transformation was amazing. But she needed to change her thought, words, and THEN her actions.

I met this woman in my Life Coaching class. The techniques I talk about are the ones coaches use with their clients. You can find life coaches that specialize in wellness, just google.

In your post, all your reasons for losing weight are negative. How about sitting down and writing as many positive reasons for gaining a healthy life as you can think of. Pin the list up where you see it every day. Pick one each morning and any time you fall into a negative, weight related thought, switch it out for the positive thought of the day. Changing our thoughts, words, and actions takes commitment and work, but it is the only way to make true behavioral change.

I hear ya...my family is the same exact way. Coupled with my mother forever drilling into my head as a child that "Good moms are not skinny", and "potato chips added to anything creates a well rounded meal" and it's not hard to figure out why I'm just a tad bit screwed up. I just bought a weight loss hypnosis tape this weekend and am anxious to try it out. I know it's all in my head. I sabatoge myself because I tell myself I'm not worthy of looking good. Can't tell you yet if it's going to work, but hey, it's worth a try! I'll try to PM you in a few weeks to let you know how it's going.

My daughter formed a Biggest Loser for her neighborhood recently on facebook. Everyone chipped in $20. We have 53 people participating. 1st place gets 65% of the pot, 2nd place 20% and 3rd place 15%. I don't expect to be the winner, but I can tell you that with all the daily mutual encouragement, it helps keep me going. We started Sept 14th and will go to Dec 14th. I know I will be the winner when I lose the weight. I gain fast (6-10 lbs in a day) and lose slowly 2lbs/week. EVERY diet has an eat sensibly plan, drink plenty of water, exercise at minimum an average of 20 min/day, and accountablility.
1) Find a support group so you are not going it alone and you receive plenty of encouragement and sponsers you can turn to when you are tempted to cheat--a lot like Acolholics Anonymus.
2) Find a sensible diet with enough calories and variety- hopefully one that offers recipes to aid you in cooking the right foods and storing legal snacks.
3) Start each meal/snack with an 8 oz glass of water---sometimes you are just thirsty and this will quell the urge to eat. this will also act as a filler to help you feel full and eat the right portions.
4) Allow yourself a small taste/portion of a cheat food per day.
5) Record your intake for the first week,
6) Record your progress once/week---Remember inches is more important than weightloss the first few weeks---the second week is the hardest when you add muscle so weight doesn't seem to go away and may even increase
7) Have a buddy close by to walk, exercise, diet with
8) Where possible, have family activities that requires exercise of some sort (my daughter has 5 kids 6 and under----she takes them swimming and walks up and down the pool with the youngest ones) She gained like 75 lbs with this last one and she has 50 lbs left to go. Once you hit your mid-thirties, it's really tough to lose, but YOU CAN DO IT!

I was an obese child. I ate sooo much food and did not excercise. I lost the weight as a teenager. I have ALWAYS had to watch my food intake and excercise like crazy to stay trim. I'm up a few pounds right now--ugh !

I was a weight loss counselor in my 20s, too. I wanted to help others.

First, I would get a medical exam and have your thyroid checked, too.

If your tests come back normal, I would set a realistic goal of losing 2 lbs a week. You don't want to end up losing muscle !!!!

I was heavy after my second pregnancy. I forced myself to leave my kids in the gym's daycare and I did 45 minutes on the treadmill 3 times a week. Excercise is so important.

In the beginning, I hated it.
Do not focus on being disgusted while you make changes. It sends out negative energy !

Another thing I used to do: I made a music tape w/ my 5 favorite, upbeat dance tunes. I would dance when my kids were in the room. We all had fun !

Do not buy junk food. Keep a plate of raw veggies in the frig for snacking and dessert ! It's not fun to eat raw veggies...but, it is very NUTRITIOUS.

I allow my self to eat alot on Saturdays !

Another thing I do: I make enough dinner for 1 serving...When i was a kid, I would eat 2 pork chops, 2 helpings of potatoes and veggies loaded w/ butter!

On Saturdays, hire a sitter and go for a 1 hour walk w/ your husband instead of going out to dinner.

You can do it !

Well, I don't have any ideas/tips you haven't already heard, I have a similar problem.

I just wish we didn't have to be always defining our own self worth by a jean size. Sigh. Like we're not legitimate people unless we're thin.

*Defeated sigh* I don't know how to fix it either. But I suspect improving our self esteem will improve our weight loss motivation, not the other way around.

Right there with you.

:(
http://www.upworthy.com/bully-calls-news-anchor-fat-news-...

I don't know if you are religious......but the book ' made to crave' is what is helping me on that journey now. Doing a lot better and this book is one that really helped me....and I haven't even finished it yet.

I have recently started trying to lose weight. It's been 1.5 months and I have tried various things. First I tried controlling what I eat .... i did my best I think , but it wasn't enough. I would be careful with what I eat all week and would not be able to control over the weekends. I would feel bad about it and in turn eat more. I then started exercising. Initially it was only walking , but that made a big difference to my mood in general. I felt happy and my day went better. But I was looking for rapid weight loss(too impatient) and it was not happening. So I started doing Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred. It's 3 levels in all. I completed level 1 and saw that I was getting toned. I haven't lost a LOT on the scale but I definitely feel and look thinner. My clothes feel lose already! I only had 10 pounds to lose , but it's not been very easy for M..
What helped M. was joining Myfitnesspal. It lets M. track whatever I eat and the calories I spend by exercising , so I get to eat more if I exercise. Well, I have again fallen off the wagon past 3 days. I have not exercised at all. But I have promised myself to start again tomorrow.
So my advise would be count calories everyday. Eat less than the number of calories you spend everyday. Avoid sugar and white carbs as much as possible. If you start feeling depressed and start eating a lot, remind yourself either you can eat and remain the same(or get fatter) or you can get back on track and reach your goal slowly but steadily.
I had given myself 1 month to lose some weight atleast. When I didn't see any difference(I didn't have a weighing scale at that time) , I wanted to give up. But then I thought - time is going to pass by and I am going to be fat for the next 6 months. Instead of that let M. take it slow, and hope to get thin in the next six months. I was very strict with what I ate, which did not work out for M.. Now I am much more relaxed, I eat everything but in small portions. I log in my calorie intake daily and make sure I have not crossed the 1200 limit that I have per day(plus excercise calories if any)
Don't feel bad and give up. If you do that , you will remain fat forever. But try to get back on track within a day or two. Also, add some form of excercise to your routine. Even walking is fine. It actually helps with your mood as well and you day will go better as you feel more energised. All the best with your weight loss.

I am eating brownies covered in melted Rolos and chocolate chips as I write this! So take this with a huge grain of salt LOL!

Is your family supportive of your weight loss goals? By family, I mean your husband and your kids. I am willing to guess that you have a lot of convenience foods (chips, crackers, frozen pizzas, mac & cheese, etc) in your pantry, and it is always easier to reach for one of those options when you're hungry instead of preparing a healthy meal. If your husband and your kids want the house stocked with relatively unhealthy food, it will make it much harder for you to make healthy food choices.

Can you get your husband and kids on board to agree that as a family you should all eat healthy? Maybe every Saturday or Sunday, you hit the grocery store and make three or four (or five!) make-ahead meals so that you can have them for dinner during the week. This will end up being an all day activity, but it could be fun family time. (Rachel Ray has a show called "A Week in a Day" where she cooks five meals that you can eat throughout the week. The recipes are fairly easy and affordable.)

My husband lost 75 pounds in the last year. He made me agree not to have his favorite junk foods in the house, and we cut way back on eating out. I wasn't overweight to begin with, but our new diet helped me lose a few pounds and just feel healthier too. And we are spending so much less money now that we don't eat out or buy so many snacks and junk food. So it's win-win for my whole family.

The key to our eating and spending success has been to plan our dinners at least a week in advance. From there, I can make the weekly grocery budget and know which stores to shop for the best deals. I try to plan out my lunches too, so I don't end up swinging by McDonald's or eating chips and salsa for lunch because I'm too hungry to wait for a home-cooked meal.

Good luck to you! The more support you can get (from family, friends, or even an online group), the more motivated you will be to stick with it :-)

I know exactly how you feel. Exactly.
I have gained and lost a lot of weight these past 15 years and I am once again back at the gym and watching what I eat.
I rarely agree with 8kidsdad, but I agree with everything he said!
I will tell you that about 2 years ago I lost 104lbs. I felt AMAZING! I was still fat, in fact obese, but I could do so much more. My sex drive was back, I was keeping up with the kids, I could wear much better clothes. It was great.
Then I got pregnant.
Gained it all back. I didn't want to leave the house, I didn't want to do anything, and the worse I felt the more I ate! WTH?!?! I understand the circle that you are talking about...feel bad, eat more, feel bad with what I ate, eat more!
But, I remember how great I felt. I remember how good my body felt. I remember how much better of a mom and spouse I was.
That is my goal. To get back to feeling good, feeling proud.
As you start to work out you will hurt...believe me, right now I feel like I got run over by a truck. BUT, as the weeks go on I know I will feel better.
I have a cheat day. Sunday. That's the day I can get fast food, get ice cream, whatever! I didn't get this size cuz I don't like food!
That's my suggestion. Drink more water, move your body more, have cheat days, and daydream about how great you are going to feel as the pounds start coming off. That's what I do!
L.

I feel the same, weight loss and gain is a constant struggle for me. I don't think it will ever go away. This past winter I lost 35 pounds and kept it off all summer. Then this past month or so I gained about 10 pounds back. It is so hard to get back on track once you fall off the wagon. Food and dieting is all you think about and every time you eat something you shouldn't it's time to start the diet AGAIN the next day. I wish I had some great tips for you but I don't, I think it is just one meal at a time. Eat healthy and exercise. Try to remember how good you feel when your weight is down and you can wear any of the clothes in your closet. Good luck!

you might need some help from a professional diet doctor. some one who will test your blood levels and fix what ever is off. un.ess your eating cookies and chowing down on doughnuts then thats on you. if you are eating mostly healthy and your still not loosing you could have further issues than just plain old will power.

Accountability is the key. You need someone to hold you accountable or you just won't do it. It's human nature.
I am doing a 12 week weightloss program that I love. It is web based but you can have a coach too.
If you want some more info let me know and I will email it to you.
:)