I have motivational quotes on all the screens I own. They help in their own way, but each weight loss day still feels like a mental battle. I'm about three weeks into my journey (one whole week was a downward binge spiral, who knows how I clawed my way out) and there are still days when I feel... well the only way I can describe it is mentally fatigued.
As if I have no more fight left and even though I'm not craving that cookie, I'm going to eat it, because I don't particularly feel like resisting.
It's a weird mood- sometimes leading to binges. I wonder if anyone else has felt anything similar during their journey?
You are only three weeks in, as you say. It can seem all consuming when you first start. Don't let it dominate your life. Even if you need to lose weight for health reasons, focus on one day at a time. If you have a bad day, start again tomorrow.
If you're finding it a struggle, you're probably doing it wrong. Weight loss does not depend on willpower or denial ... which is good, because we all have a pretty limited supply of willpower!
If you eat healthy foods, and adequate portions, your appetite will right itself and your body will shed fat that it doesn't need. If that isn't happening, then more than likely you are not eating healthy meals or adequate portions ... and the fact that you still have cookies in the house suggests that you're fence-sitting. If you want to do this, then cookies need to go, along with all the other supposedly-healthy trash that the modern food/diet industry foists upon us. Then you need to stock your fridge/cupboards with proper food, and learn how to enjoy it without guilt.
What are you eating in terms of meals and snacks? Certain foods will greatly exacerbate "cravings", especially if you're eating too little for your morning and evening meals. When you get it right, you'll feel so much better, psychologically and physically.
if this is getting too much, perhaps put something else on the screens... something beautiful or that you love and makes you happy?
Personally I have taken a long time to put on the weight that I was in 2017 and I certainly didn’t/ don’t expect to suddenly lose it sustainably in a couple of months.
This is a lifestyle change, with a long term goal, every week things can come up, like stressful moments, birthdays, holidays and events like Christmas and Easter, but every distraction requires some determination.
Are you eating enough? I notice that if I eat too few calories one day, cant help overcompensating the next. Perhaps tracking what you eat along with your moods might help you figure this out?
What a sensible approach you have Sarah. It is so true that sustainable weight loss does not mean losing the weight over night that it has taken years to gain.
A common mistake for people trying to lose weight is to eat far too little and then they get upset because they feel hungry and give in.
Yes, this happened many times if I felt hungry. It’s not helpful to try and starve to lose weight, instead look at what is on your plate and make small adjustments. I really got inspired by the eat the alphabet challenge last year- eating new vegetables/ herbs/ spices beginning with each letter of the alphabet.
I'm glad that the alphabet challenge inspired you, I like the challenge that encouraged us to eat more vegetable each day and to choose something that we hadn't tried before. Maybe we should look into bringing back another challenge along those lines to encourage people again.
The best suggestion I can give you, that will help us to help you, is to join in with the Daily Diary. You will get some good advice there and plenty of ideas for healthy filling meals that will stop you eating the cookies.
Losing weigh is a mental battle and getting your mind set right is important, but this is also easier to do when you participate in the forum talking to others and supporting others. Don't underestimate how much supporting others will also help you. We are more likely to be positive and helpful to others and in time it rubs off on us.
I think many of us have felt as you do but try to think of every day as a new one, just try not to dwell on any ‘slips’ they have gone start afresh . Do something you like , have change of scene chat with friends etc.
I agree with lucigret this forum is such a help and I wish you all the best on your journey
It has just been pointed out to me that you are a Newbie, I am so sorry, I didn't welcome you properly!
So Welcome to the forum, if you haven't already, please take a read of the Welcome Newbies post in Pinned Posts, this will help you to navigate the forum Whilst in Pinned Posts take a look at all that we have to offer to help you to stay motivated and engaged with us.
As I have already mentioned, the Daily Diary is a great place to get support and joining in one of our daily Weigh Ins would also be a really good idea. You will get to know a group of virtual friends
If you don’t mind me asking what diet plan are you on? If calorie counting and following the NHS plan and guidelines. I hope you’re on the middle or higher end of your calorie allowance. As you don’t want to feel hungry which makes it easier to binge eat.
Also have you recognized your triggers that lead you to binge eat. Stress, boredom was a couple of reasons for me to binge. So I tried to replace my behavior of eating to combat my emotions. Used exercising instead a great stress reliever.
I been watching a lot of YouTube videos about binge eating and tips to help.
I have got to a healthy BMI this time after years of yo yoing and managing to keep it off so far. The difference for me was I calorie counted using the MyFitnessPal app, did a photo sliming diary to mark my progress. AND the biggest one was accepting I will binge eat now and again. That took the power away as each time I promised myself I would t binge again after an episode I always did and it all spiralled after and self loathing etc led to giving up once again. I’m now much kinder to myself and that helps I find my binges weren’t as frequent and lasted shorter.
I wish you the best on your journey.
Changing a lifestyle is hard. But have faith you will succeed thus time round. 💪
Oh many of us relate very well to all that you wrote here! Raven, you express yourself and the dilemma very well indeed. For nearly two months now, I’ve been trying to get the better of binging, trying to lose weight and have aN overall more healthy relationship with food. With the help of this forum, Ive been succeeding but am not out of the woods yet. Still, it is not possible to break bad habits of a lifetime in a matter of weeks. That is an unreasonable expectation.
I have established some ground rules which work most of the time: i make good healthy food from scratch and enjoy eating an adequate amount of it. Even though I hate fats and oils etc, I include fats in each meal as that leaves me more sated. I never have any “treats” in the house; I try (and mostly succeed) to limit the “treats” to one and I try and mostly succeed in having one treat per week. I’m allowing myself this leeway as it makes life more tolerable.
Habit: That accounts for great deal of what we are all going through and you caught that neatly in your statement that you sometimes eat the cookie simply because you feel like it even if you are not actually craving it at that moment.
I have read—and reading about healthy eating, tamping down cravings helps a lot—that bad habits that have taken a lifetime to establish will naturally take ages to combat.
Come on this forum, join in, listen to the many voices of experience and knowledge on here, read what they recommend, help and console others and you will have more success than failure. I promise! Good luck to you!
This site and the idea to start IF have helped greatly with the snacking/binging urge. Do try IF. 16:8 is my routine and it is very feasible though a different schedule could suit your lifestyle better. All my optimism is hard won: I had a major major slip up yesterday (for which I am still remorseful and ashamed) but today, I will recover and get back on the saddle! There is no other way!
I too have lost interest in sticking with diet, choosing instead to inhale another packet of crisps or go wild with chocolate too! I found making a list of my slip ups & reducing calories the following day helps me to get back on track
Oh those pastries. They are my downfall too, especially the French operas. Taboo now tho I do sneak one in once weekly or fortnightly. I hope to break that habit too.
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