Really struggling :(

[natasha83]

Aaargh! I'm really struggling!

Last year I had a baby. Over the next 7 months, I slowly lost 19kg by eating really healthy & exercising. I know how to lose the weight but I cannot seem to muster up the motivation to continue with the exercise so now the weight is starting to creep back on. (I've gained a few kilos recently). As well as no motivation to exercise, I've also been emotional eating for the past couple of months (this seems to be a really hard habit to break!!). Any tips or adivce? I really want to be healthy. I want to lose more weight and get to my goal weight. I don't want to get cancer or diabetes or heart disease or anything awful like that. I've tried a million things to motivate myself but nothing is working! I signed up for an online course that works through issues regarding overeating & emotional eating. I got half way through it, then bailed. :( I'm so mad at myself!!! :mad: I've put 'before' and 'after' photos of me up on the wall to motivate myself to continue to exercise but I can't do it. I don't know why!!??!! I'm wondering if it's just a really bad habit I've gotten into. My FIL has cancer. He's still really young - only in his 60s. I'm trying to use that to motivate me to stop eating CRAP and start exercising again so that my husband and daugther won't lose me to something awful like cancer. But I just CANNOT overcome this. ARGH. :( :( :(

I tried replacing all the sweet crap I've craved for years with raw alternatives (raw desserts - I have a sweet tooth). But I've gone way overboard with the raw desserts I think because I'm gaining weight and eating them all the time. Not good! :( The crap thing is, it's a CYCLE! The more weight I gain, the more I eat because when I see my clothes getting tighter on me, I just feel so down and depressed, I reach for food even though I am NOT hungry. WTF is wrong with me. :eek:

Has anyone else struggled with their weight going up and down, up and down? Have you struggled with emotional eating? How do I exercise and lose weight if I have no energy or motivation to exercise?

Thanks

[Veganforlife]

Natasha? Hi! First thing I would do is get rid of all the SAD/CRAP foods in the house, if possible. If not, replace what you eat with fruits or maybe a couple times a week a Raw dessert.

Next thing I would do is work out with my baby. whether it's lying on my back and putting the baby on my (bent) legs and gently lifting. Or holding the baby and do squats. Go for a carriage stroll with the baby. Incorporate the baby as much as you can. Also, start out slow with working out. Don't go for the Olympic Gold! So you do 15 mintes a day...it's fifteen minutes more than you did yesterday. Play the Wii! This is a fun workout and it doesn't feel like you are working out. Increase your water. It will not only fill you up, but will give you energy. Takes the stairs instead of an elevator (lift). Park far from the entrance to a store and walk the distance. During commercials on TV? Sit on your exercise ball and do some situps.

When you want to grab some crummy food? Grab a Raw book instead. Totally surround yourself with Raw. Live and breathe this stuff!

Just take one day at a time. Don't think of how much you should be doing, instead get up and do SOMETHING.

Another piece of advice? Daily stand in front of a mirror (preferrably full length) and tell yourself how good you look and beautiful and fit you are. Daily! And before you know it? Others will be saying the same think!

You so can do this!

[ani]

i'm with vegan for life on the self-love! "others will be saying the same think!" ( i think you maybe meant thing, but think is perfect!!)
explore yourself. maybe the online course was too structured. do you have creative interests? i find that expressing myself and exploring those dark and tumbly regions is really healing and helps to connect me with my "higher self"?:p that me that has infinite resources, unstoppable strength, shimmering life coursing through me. don't be too hard on yourself (i'm taking my own advice on this one too! ;) )

feel your body. play, dance, walk. i find that spending time in a really natural setting is good. sometimes we just feel bloated and strangely shaped around all these sleek designed and manufactured surroundings (including manufactured airbrushed images of women). look at some good renaissance art.
i'm not big into gyms and such, i know it works for a lot of people, but i've never felt inspired to get into it. i do a lot of dancing and a bit more walking these days, and hula hooping, and yoga, of course. exercise is really good on so many levels. if i'm having trouble motivating myself i usually say: one song, or five minutes. just make myself, sometimes start off dancing even just on the couch. rolling my neck, flailing my arms about all silly like.

the book idea is great too! instead of cheesecake grab a bowl of blueberries and snuggle up with a good raw book (i recently read fit-for-life, which is a bit old now, but i found it really inspiring around a lot of things...)

i have 2 young girls and found after my second the weight didn't really come off like it did after my first. mainly i was walking less and when i did, less briskly. also wasn't going out, dancing, or just walking downtown. i find i have to make sure i keep fit, even slacking for a couple weeks i feel the tone slacken. it feels good and keeps me happy to be active. honestly, hula-hooping has been revolutionary in my life. it's inspired my yoga practice and freedom in dance. i can do it while i watch my kids on the playground at the park, or enjoy watching them run around the yard or play in the snow outside. they also get into it sometimes. it's just good all around, easy and accessible - you don't have to GO anywhere, which i like a lot. i don't have to get ready and go out to a gym or go out for a run or anything like that. :o :D even now, 4 years after the birth of my second, i feel like my body hasn't really "gone back" but it's a slow journey and i feel strong and subtle in my body, which feels more important now. always the winter sees me through with a few extra pounds, that part i think is somewhat natural, at least! ;) :p
mostly though, the motivation thing is key. maybe watch a video on youtube everyday, or read a little affirmation in the morning. do something you love and get really into, whether it's eliptical or hot yoga or skipping or dancing, if you really like doing it, it will be easier!

[Veganforlife]

Hahahaha! Same think. Yup, I did mean thing, but it was after midnight and I was typing from my phone. I wanted to get the message to Natasha.

Hey if anyone does not like to get up and move, it's ME! Honest! But I know I gotta do it, so I do fun routines. I am not gonna eat anything that I don't like, so I surely am not gonna workout to something I don't like.

You will find your nitch.

and that'll be a good think!!!

;)

[Amanda_Cauliface]

I also keep reverting to SAD food, even if I am not hungry, most likely due to emotional attachment to it.

I too am not sure how to stop it...makes me very down! I have put back on all the weight I lost!

[Veganforlife]

Awwwwww! But you know? It is what it is. Would you rather be down and bummed and eat more SAD/CRAP? Or use that energy to read more about the benefits of Raw or workout or prepare a wondrous Raw meal?

Move forward...

It's ok...really...

[natasha83]

aww thanks so much u peeps on here are all so very encouraging :)

what a groovy forum this is! it's truly a rare thing to find a forum where ppl are actually friendly! :p LOL

i decided i just need to get back on the wagon. i have a choice. i am in control of me and my body and my life. so i got up and exercised and it felt good!

i think i just need to get out of my own head a lil bit, ya know? LOL (does anyone else think too much?) i think i think too much about my health and weight and exercise and food and all that jazz.

things can only get better, right ;)

two steps forward, one step back. but as long as i get back on the horse and keep going forward, it's all good

thanks again for the kind words of encouragement - hugely appreciated! :) :) :)

[ani]

hah! i was just writing in my book the other day and circled "stop thinking, start feeling!"
this could just be something i have to paint in bold letters on my wall!
not that all thinking is bad - it's just when i think too much about stuff that should just be flowing, and trying to break things down into "thinkable" concepts when really they are so subtle and sweet they deserve to be left in that real realm of feeling/experiencing instead of making them into something else...;) :p making sense?? :o :rolleyes:
glad to see you are feeling better.
the other thing i wanted to add, that i am trying to intergrate truly into my living, is the one day at a time clichee. :p yeah, yeah, i know it's old news, but truly good. just doing my best and being as present in each moment that i can. and reminding myself, each day IS a new day...

[Veganforlife]

See? I told you it's a good "think"!
And stepping is stepping. Whether it's back or forward! It's moving. And once you DO step back, HOP forward. LEAP forward. RUN forward! Oh I know! Once I get off my duff and workout? I feel soooooooo good. It'll all workout.

[christina]

Natasha, what you need is a buddy! Someone who you can motivate and push you. Working out with your baby is a great idea too! What about setting a date for the future for a nice tropical family vacation where you would have to show some skin! Having a goal or rather a date planned where you know that you need to be in shape, can really help motivate you. That being said I will keep you in my prayers and know that you are not alone.

[natasha83]

thanks so much everyone :) i really appreciate your comments & suggestions

i've been thinking... and i've realised that when it comes to my health im very black & white - no shades of grey (which isn't very realistic) :/

what i've noticed is that i'm really healthy for awhile, then i binge and gorge myself on crappy S.A.D. food (usually chocolate... im a sucker for anything sweet). i don't just eat one cookie or something like that, i eat a whole packet of biscuits to myself or i go and eat ice cream for breakfast (just because its in the house)

i seem to have no self control with food. this is an area of my life that is really causing me *ALOT* of frustration and grief. :(

[SchoolOfRAWk]

Ani, Fit For Life is timeless! And so entertaining! I love Fit For Life II: Living Health. Read that one first, actually, without really knowing anything about them.

Natasha, I am very all or nothing too, it seems. But have been really working on it, having been down that road a million and one times and knowing it's a dead-end.

[SchoolOfRAWk]

And wow, GREAT ADVICE, VeganForLife! :)

[marykays1]

Agreed. VeganForLife, come to my house and keep repeating....LOL

Natasha, if it means anything you are ABSOLUTELY not alone. Losing weight is against our nature. It's literally just not natural.

But neither is getting fat.

Hugs,

Mary Kay

[Veganforlife]

thanks so much everyone :) i really appreciate your comments & suggestions

i've been thinking... and i've realised that when it comes to my health im very black & white - no shades of grey (which isn't very realistic) :/

what i've noticed is that i'm really healthy for awhile, then i binge and gorge myself on crappy S.A.D. food (usually chocolate... im a sucker for anything sweet). i don't just eat one cookie or something like that, i eat a whole packet of biscuits to myself or i go and eat ice cream for breakfast (just because its in the house)

i seem to have no self control with food. this is an area of my life that is really causing me *ALOT* of frustration and grief. :(

Ok. Gotta get rid of it. Or if it's for hubby have HIM lock it up if you have to. Make yourself RAW goodnesses and eat them. But again don't over do it. I have had Raw Ice Kreme for b-fast and love it. Why not? Ppl eat sugary doughnuts and crap...to me Raw Ice Kreme is much healthier. AND eating early in the day? I work it off. Must say though my taste buds are definitely geared toward sugar sweets from fresh fruits lately!

[Veganforlife]

Agreed. VeganForLife, come to my house and keep repeating....LOL

Natasha, if it means anything you are ABSOLUTELY not alone. Losing weight is against our nature. It's literally just not natural.

But neither is getting fat.

Hugs,

Mary Kay

You don't need me - YOU can do this yourself! Seriously...