 
 
 
How do you do it?? Help me!Wednesday, August 12, 2009Again and again and again I seem to give up. I've been on sparks for over two months and I've accomplished nothing. I cannot stay on track to save my life. I splurge every weekend and cannot stay focused or accountable. I tried to say I'll post measurements every week or two weeks and I've done it once. I never want to go to the gym and force my self to go for walks with my outdoors group just to get some exercise. I still need to do a motivation chart but I'm not motivated to do it. It's so much easier just to say f*@k it. I don't want to weigh this much, I really don't. I look in the mirror and am so disappointed. But what disappoints me more is I still don't stick to the plan even though I hate how I look. So my question is how do others do it??? How you you keep on track and not fall off? How do you not splurge when you go out with friends? Do just avoid bars or what? What makes you go an exercise? I know some people will say just sheer willpower but no offense I need a little more than that because right now my willpower is nonexistent. Even when I do exercise I want to give up after like ten minutes. I'm so frustrated! And I'm the worst at making excuses. Oh I'm moving and burning calories moving boxes so it's ok to go to Burger King. So then all my hard word doesn't even show because I ate back all the calories. Lately I've been so tired I don't want to cook, and haven't tired a new spark recipe in forever. Please I need some advice. I feel like I need someone around 24-7 to keep me on track. I have some spark buddies on here but we never seem to stay in consistent contact, partially due to me. But I don't want to bug them and then if I don't hear from them I assume they are busy too. Is there anyone out there who will e-mail me everyday to report in? I promise if you e-mail me personally (not on Sparkmail) I will answer. I have an iphone so I can answer whenever and where ever. I really need some help here :( 
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TAKEONME48137
8/12/2009 4:39PM
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I've been fairly heavy since my early teenage years, and only when I got to college did I really want to lose weight. However, I would start something, i.e. going to the gym and sorta eating better, and then I would start making excuses that I was too tired and such to go to the gym so what started as skipping single days turned into multiple days and so on....a few months ago, something in me clicked and I finally decided to put my mind towards this goal and joined SP. A few times I've "fallen off," but over time I've grown to learn quite a bit and I find that reading the spark articles (one from a different section each day up to 3) helps A LOT. As for staying on track, I think i've somewhat turned my eating into a game: see how well I can fit my calories, fat, etc. into the ranges it gives me. By doing this, I am challenging myself in a sorta playful way to come up with creative ways to meet my calories and at the same time don't go over. "How do you not splurge when you go out with friends?" To tell you the truth, I have a really hard time not splurging when I go out with friends. The best thing you can do is to try to limit the amount of times you go out to eat per week. If you've reached your max limit (I set myself to 3 times per week) and you still want to go hang with your friends, try eating something beforehand or make a conscious decision to eat well while you're out. "Do just avoid bars or what?" Nope. I personally don't drink that often and when I do, not gonna lie, I drink to excess (i.e. get drunk). Limit yourself to maybe one, maybe two nights a week at a bar/club/whatever. "What makes you go an exercise?" My favorite meal of the day is dinner. As silly as it sounds and because I work out after work, I somehow manage to convince myself that dinner will be my reward if I go exercise. Some days (like today), I feel totally wiped out from the day that I'm taking the day off. However, that means that I have to go Friday which is usually one of my days off. It's the small agreements and pseudo rewards that keeps me going. The key to the food stuff is moderation. I think I would go nuts if I didn't indulge in a cheeseburger every once in a while or have a night to unwind with some alcoholic beverages, but you really cannot go overboard. I know what you mean about being so tired that you don't want to cook. Maybe you can try to buy foods that are easy to make, heat up, etc. On those nights I'm like that, I either make myself a sandwich, heat up some soup, or heat up a black bean burger (healthier and quite tasty!). Frozen vegetables are also really easy to cook in the microwave and only take like 4 minutes. There are also allll sorts of foods out there that are easy to heat up or just require putting into the microwave, so if you'd like some suggestions, I can provide those to you. I know it also sounds really cliche, but willpower is basically the way that people are able to stick with this. Without something deep inside or something else (I know some people who are trying to lose weight/get healthy for their kids) triggering that motivation, no one can do anything. Someone might e-mail you everyday to check in with you, but you can easily ignore them, regardless of your intentions. Find the thing that will motivate you because unfortunately, sometimes people can't be enough. Report Inappropriate Comment |
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MUSLIMAH05
8/12/2009 3:07PM
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Hey thanks for the comment on my blog. I have a few words for you regarding your blog. I kind of feel the same way, like I need someone ontop of me to keep me going. I'll start out strong for like 2 weeks and then fall off. But honestly it's about being real with yourself. I've read in many books about accountability and prioritizing. The truth of the matter is that when we shirk of health/weightloss plans, it's just that, it's not that important to us at the moment. Not that it's not important at all, but that going to Burger King and enjoying a Whopper or whatever is more important at the moment. When you decide to make it the priority, that's when you'll start to see the changes. Do things you like for exercise, take a dance class for instance. I weigh in on Thursdays, if you want to report to me via text messages, I will do that with you. When I splurge and fall off track, I probably stay there for a few days, but then I decide it's more important to lose the weight now, instead of waiting till I'm 300 lbs, like one of the posters commented. I have my super sexy picture of myself (from the good old days) on my treadmill to motivate me - what I'm running toward. And I imagine what I don't want to look like and up the speed and pretend I'm running away from it. Sounds silly, but it works! Report Inappropriate Comment |
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ILEFTSP
8/12/2009 1:36PM
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I was a high school cheerleader, too! And when I was your age, I weighed about at the same place you are, and I thought I was SO fat and out of shape. What I wouldn't pay to be back there now! If I could go back and do things over--'cause I'm over 300 pounds now--I would've made more of a commitment of exercise and surrounding myself of like-minded individuals. Don't make my mistake of getting to an extreme state of obesity...it's never too early to change your life-style for the better! 
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KKS_87
8/12/2009 1:24PM
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Nope...definitely not alone! Actually, this is the story of my life haha The major thing that motivates me is that after I start to see results I want to keep it up. Results for me happen in as little as a day or two - my stomach doesn't hurt and my energy level increases. The first few days to a week are the hardest - you have to force yourself to keep going. I find with exercising that if I just force myself to put on workout clothes and head out for a walk, I hate it at first but after 20 or 30 minutes I'm loving it and want to keep going. Don't put pressure on yourself to run 5 miles or something like that right away - start slow and work up to it! As for food...don't put pressure on yourself in that area either! If you are short on time, don't feel like you have to try a new recipe or cook a complicated meal. Some of my favorite easy foods are yogurt, tuna w/lite miracle whip or mustard, oatmeal, lean cuisine-type frozen dinners (sparingly - high in sodium!), pre-cooked frozen chicken you can heat up and throw on a salad, or eat with a side of veggies, baked or microwaved sweet potatos (so good you don't even really need butter or anything!). Also, Wok stir-fry pans are fun because you can throw in half a bag of frozen veggies, chicken or tofu and some spices and voila, awesome meal! Try to plan ahead for going out with friends. Make a plan of attack if you know where you are going to eat, and stick to it. I read on another person's Spark blog a while back that every time you do something, you strengthen your "resistance muscle", and it gets easier to say no to that bowl of chips or dessert after dinner. Most importantly - don't beat yourself up if you slip! Just vow to do better the next day and then do it! Hope this helps! :) Report Inappropriate Comment |
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DANIELWIFEY
8/12/2009 1:18PM
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Something that has always worked for me is it involve my friends in my workouts/healthy habits. Instead of meeting for coffee, I'll suggest a water walk (there are lots of trails and parks near where I live). For a while, a particular friend and I did it every week. We even did it together in different cities via cellphone. It was a really fantastic motivator. In terms of bars/going out, I usually get in less trouble because I get roped into driving. I am a really crummy driver naturally, so I won't even have a single drink and drive. So normally when I go out, I drink water, or maybe a diet coke. And everyone loves me because I drive. Personally, I'm not one for classes, or the gym. I tend to hard workouts at home, because otherwise I feel awkward. You just have to find what works best for you. Report Inappropriate Comment |
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JULIANAM
8/12/2009 1:04PM
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You are not alone! Even though I am currently eating well I am always nervous that I will get a craving and completely let myself go. I have found that going to group classes encourages me to exercise because I have to be there at a specific time and I won't leave in the middle. As far as eating I usually get sick of feeling gross and bloated and when I start to eat healthy I can feel the changes even if I don't lose weight. I am always on my computer so feel free to email me daily!! My email is FairyDust988@aol.com, it would help to have a partner in this!! Good luck! Lemme know if you need motivation :)
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JENNYBOGGAN
8/12/2009 12:15PM
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I feel your pain! Honestly, you are the only one who can make the change. Come to terms with yourself and realize that cutting back on some of the things you need to do to reach your goal is not forever. You have to start somewhere and once you gain that control then you can ease back into doing things like going out. However, the difference is you'll be more knowledgeable and if you've made some progress then you won't want to screw it up! Buy some cute jeans or a dress that you want to fit into and work at it. An exercise tip...mix it up! Put on some good tunes! Join a class..they have so many different classes now. Find one that's right for you. You just have to do it. Get out of your slump and think about how much better you'll feel when you start losing weight!  Good luck!
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HEALTHNUT4EVER
8/12/2009 11:56AM
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I definitely had to give up the happy hours and going out all the time. I've really given up on restaurants in general. It doesn't matter if I order the healthiest thing on the menu, it still has way more calories that what I could make at home. I still go out every once in a while, but once I cut way back weightloss and eating healthy (including all my nutrients and staying in my ranges) got a lot easier. You could try having get togethers at home where you can control the food and drink and make sure every thing is low calorie.
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KAGOULET
8/12/2009 11:45AM
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Have you tried making some small changes first and working on them until they become second nature? Some examples: 1. Park at the end of the parking lot to walk further 2. Take the steps - I do this at work and actually started out just walking up one flight and then taking the elevator, progressed to walking up two flights, walking across the building and repeating until I got to my floor. I can now walk up all 8 flights, but am out of breathe so usually do the 2 and over plan. 3. Set one time aside during the day to journal your food intake - I like the nutrition tracker on Sparks for this. After I did this for a couple of weeks, I would add things: 1. 10 minutes each morning with my Wii Mii doing yoga and the light aerobics. I am now up to 45 minutes during the week and an hour on the weekends running and walking. 2. Try making exercise fun. Go with friends to the mall and walk all the halls before and after doing some shopping. 3. Changing my eating habits. I began with breakfast, I made up three menus that I rotate. I added the menus to the nutrition tracker food groups so it is only the click of a button to enter them. I pack my lunch every day. Did the same with them - several choices that I added to the nutrition tracker. I keep a nutrition bar in my desk in case I can't wait for lunch or dinner. I added a salad to dinner but cut way back on the dressing. I hate diet dressing and would rather have less dressing than eat what I don't like. I also made substitutions in my diet for some foods. I buy 45 cal a slice bread or Arnold Sandwich rounds for my sandwiches. The Sandwich rounds work great for egg breakfast sandwiches, hamburgers, sloppy joes, etc. Since I like the taste of these products, I don't feel deprived. I buy leaner varieties of meat and eat more chicken. I don't like fish so I don't eat it. When eating at fast food places. My weight loss has been steady but slow but I am telling myself that this is not a diet, it is a change in my lifestyle. I need to find what works for me without feeling deprived. If I don't reach my goal by doing this, than my goal wasn't reasonable for me. You need to find the things that will work with your schedules and build off of them as they become routine. Good luck to you. I am only halfway to my goal but if I can do it, anyone can. Report Inappropriate Comment |
Well I went off road/mountain biking yesterday for the first time. For those of you from Tallahassee I went off Meridian at Forest Meadows. Holy crap it was hard! I mean I'm not in the best shape but I'm not in the worst. I used to go smooth trail biking (like St Marks Trail) with my ex and do 6-10 miles. But going on a off road, hilly trail on a mountain bike was completely different. I met with another person from an outdoor group I'm in and he was much more experience and I felt bad because I'm trailing behind him huffing and puffing. There were different loops and you could tell when we met an intersection he wanted to head down and around the lake but I already was out of breath and tired so I said I'd go back and he could keep going. But he was really nice and insisted on coming back with me. I knew it didn't take us too long but we ended up being out there maybe 15 minutes. 15 minutes!! That's it and I was about to die. However, despite being draining and aching I loved it! Being out in a new area with up and downs and riding over roots was a lot of fun (well until I felt like my legs were going to fall off right at the end). I feel like if I keep doing the little loops or small increments I will really get into the whole mountain biking thing. Also it works both upper and low body. I'm especially feeling the upper body today. I would highly recommend anyone trying this but be warned that for beginners it is super hard the first time. But if you like nature, new experiences, and a bit of challenge then you'll probably like this. I'm going to try and go at least once a week from now on so if any of my Tally girls want to join let me know and for those out of area, google bike trails in your area and try it out!
K
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GLADGAD
7/30/2009 10:04AM
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My BF got me into mountain biking about 10 years ago. So often men bring women out on the trail and expect them to keep up. The woman ends up PO'd and hates it. So it sounds like you have a good friend that introduced you properly to the sport. My BF spent some time teaching me balance drills before we even got out on the trail. Although I had a bad crash early on, I got back on the bike a couple of months later (after a bit of healing) and have enjoyed it since. I agree it's a super all-body workout. I love the whoop-de-whoops, rooty sections, and actually got pretty good in areas with very tight turns. Enjoy your new-found sport. It is truly a blast! Report Inappropriate Comment |
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BDANTIC
7/30/2009 9:57AM
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I have a good friend who does the mountain bike racing, so after much persuasion, I tried mountain biking for the first time in March of this year. I had been working out since January and was feeling pretty good about my progress. I have to agree - hardest thing I have ever done! But, the feeling of accomplishment at the end was amazing. I have not been on many trails since that time b/c they are hard to find in my area, but I have added biking to my fitness routine and am loving every minute of it.
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Step 1: Relearn the basics 
Step 2: Start regularly exercising 
Step 3: Reminding myself to cook 
