28 answers

Will Power??

Ok, so this might seem like a silly question but here goes. I have always been about 5-10 pounds over weight. I have an ok body not firm but ok. I have always been a size 10 which might sound great but I have always wanted to be about 10 pounds lighter and now with the kids I still have about 7 pounds of baby weight on top of the 10 pounds. So my question- I know I only have a few pounds to go but I have zero will power to eat the right things. I know what it takes to take the weight off and feel better but I just don't do it. Everyday I am mad at myself and promise tomorrow I will be better. I want to be a healthy person but I don't eat like it. I just like to eat junk food. Do any of you have anything that motivated you to be healthy and stop eating junk??

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What can I do next?

Featured Answers

Hi S.,

I understand everything you are going ing through. I myself have some of the same struggles. What really helped me was I stopped buying that stuff. If it wasn't around I didn't eat it. Also changing my ways of eating was hard but I also get a cheat meal once a week too. Kind of a reward for being good. I hope this helps.

M.

I hear you! I also love eating what I want and it is hard to have the will power to not do it. Here what's I have done to stop myself from induling. We do not buy sweets-like at all. Then I am not tempted to eat them. There have been times where I have been craving something but there is nothing sweet to eat so I like eat a couple raisins. The problem for me is usually when we are out at friends' houses or other activities where there is sweets-maybe you related to that. It is really hard not to eat the sweets but I have given myself one day a week to indulge which is Friday (this seemed like a good day to me because this is often a day when we are out and there are sweets available). It helps to have that one day to just "eat whatever" and if I am tempted a few days before I just tell myself that Friday is coming. Anyway, good luck. Hope this helps!

I was kind of the same way. The thing that helped me most oddly, was watching the Biggest Loser. I just kept thinking if they can do it, then I definitely have no excuse. Once you get started, even though it's hard to start, it'll get better. You'll eat better because you just struggled to get to the gym/exercise for 30 minutes, and probably wouldn't want to undo what you just worked so hard to do. Start off easy, just go for a light jog/walk for 30 minutes. Try doing it at least twice a week, so you start building a pattern of exercise.... Good luck!

More Answers

I know this will sound stupid b/c you said you don't have the willpower. But, commit to just two weeks. Eat healthy and exercise and don't weight yourself for the two weeks. After that (if you have honestly commited to it for the two weeks) weight yourself and I guarentee the progress you see on the scale in those two weeks will be motivation enough. I did that once and lost the last 10 lbs I had been trying to loose for 5 years since my wedding. I was so excited that in those two weeks I lost 3lbs that I kept going. Now that I just had my daughter I need to do it again :-).

So, I have the same problem, but I have overcome it! I have lost 12 lbs in 5 weeks, and have 25 more to go.
To help me stay motivated, I ordered all womens fitness magazines, this will help you get fun ideas for workouts and help keep you geared to working out, plus they always have easy reciepes to make.
I also joined on Glamour.com for Glamours Better Body contest. This is free and has a daily calorie intake and fitness journal. This helped me because I am better keeping up and I also challenge myself to do even better the next week.
A third thing you could do is after working out go to the grocery store, you will feel healthy and not want to turn back to junk. If you need to indulge just let yourself have three bites then throw it out!
I hope this helps you out!

IF you have Comcast cable, one thing that has worked for me is the Exercise On Demand programs found on On Demand. I am doing the Jillian Michaels exercises and it seems to be helping. It only takes 20 minutes per day and seems to be firming things up. I don't eat well either so I am focusing more on exercise. However, I do try to eat healthier snacks. I keep a jar of raw almonds mixed with chocolate chips and dried fruit handy for a healthy go to snack. We've also started eating the "Skinny Cow" ice cream desserts instead of our normal ice cream when we need to indulge.

Good luck and don't be hard on yourself!

Hi S.,
It takes 21 days to make or break or a habit. I basically tell myself how important it is to me to lose the weight. I take it day-by-day.

I lost 3 lbs. in one week & I was ELATED!!! Then the next week I lost another 3 lbs.!!! By month's end I had lost 10 lbs. That was without exercise & a few "cheat days". Try to eat very well for a few days. Then have a day where you have anything you want, just in LIMITED quantities. I also used the "lose it" app. on my I-phone to keep my calories in check. But you can use an online option like www.gofigure8.com I use the on the go chews as my treat, they are like candy but are a metabolism & energy booster & help control cravings. (www.naturallylovely.myarbonne.com >weightloss & nutrtion> Figure 8 > on the go chews, YUMMY pink lemonade is out for the summer.

I would eat lunch at Taco Bell & I would eat 2 hard tacos. So you can eat fast food/junk food just be careful that you eat within your calorie guidelines. Also eating carbs is ok, just don't go overboard. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! ;0)

I hear you! I also love eating what I want and it is hard to have the will power to not do it. Here what's I have done to stop myself from induling. We do not buy sweets-like at all. Then I am not tempted to eat them. There have been times where I have been craving something but there is nothing sweet to eat so I like eat a couple raisins. The problem for me is usually when we are out at friends' houses or other activities where there is sweets-maybe you related to that. It is really hard not to eat the sweets but I have given myself one day a week to indulge which is Friday (this seemed like a good day to me because this is often a day when we are out and there are sweets available). It helps to have that one day to just "eat whatever" and if I am tempted a few days before I just tell myself that Friday is coming. Anyway, good luck. Hope this helps!

I have had a hard time lately with this too. I have gotten in shape this year and excercise almost every day but over the muscle tone I still have about 10 lbs of fat that I need to lose. I CRAVE baked goods and once I start I just cant stop.

I have done weight watchers multiple times (after having each baby) and it consistantly works. I would definitely recommend it. What I have noticed is that eating sugar leads to me craving more sugar. If I avoid 1 cookie then I will not eat a whole box of cookies! I start craving healthy foods, the more healthy foods I eat. I also tend to crave healthier foods if I am excercising regularly.

Another thing that might help is just focusing on portion control. If you want Doritos, fine, but measure out the correct portion into a bowl (based on the serving size listed on the package) and then PUT THE BAG AWAY! this usually helps me to avoid the mindless snacking.

Good luck!

We did a bit of a family experiement....to purge our bodies of unhealthy foods..we went through all our cupboards and threw out anything with High Fructose Corn Syrup, refined sugar, artificial colors, and dairy products including eggs. Then we committed to just 6 weeks eating healthy foods. We decided that for the 6 weeks we would eat a completly vegan diet with the majority of our calories from raw fruits and veggies. I did some research, put together a meal plan for the 6 weeks and bought only those foods on my list that I made according to the meal plan I'd made at home. We got rid of the meals that we didn't like on the plan and found new ones that fit into our goals (just browse around your local bookstore for vegan or vegetarian cookbooks, even if your goal is not to eliminate meats, by reducing the amount of meat you do eat significantly reduces the amount of fat you consume). The 6 weeks wasn't difficult at all because you can eat as many fruits and veggies as you want during the day..we made homemade dressings and dips from veggies and healthy oils and simply evaluated how we felt at the end of the 6 weeks. That alone was proof enough for us. While we decided to not continue with the 70% raw as we had done we do eat a primarily vegitarian/dairy free diet and have for nearly 2 years. Good luck! Motivation really is the key to success but give yourself a short timeframe (like our 6 weeks) It really does make it a lot easier.

I'm just writing to say you should be proud of your successes, and acknowledge them. Often I think we get caught in a negative spiral which then stops us from progressing. I recommend checking out the Beck Diet Solution.
and I do have to say--I can't wait until I have only 10 pounds left to lose. Be gentle with yourself. I'm not saying that your goal weights are wrong or unrealisting, just that as you go through the process, acknowledge every good choice that you make, love yourself through the process instead of berating yourself and it just might be what you need for that final motivation...not because you get mad at yourself, but because you feel love and inspiration for yourself.

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