Thread: Trying to stay motivated

Hi Everyone,

I'm Emma, I'm 39 and am currently trying to address my weight problem. I started calorie counting in August and have managed to lose 3 stone and 4 pounds by sticking religiously to 1200 calories a day. The past week I have started to waver and I know the warning signs from past attempts at trying to lose weight and know I'm losing my willpower to continue. I am determined that this time I won't fail. Which is why I've joined this site to try and gain some support. I'm going to try the JUDDD way of eating to see if that is a more sustainable way of going ahead as I hope it will help that I won't feel so deprived all the time and that I won't feel I'm on a diet all the time. I don't have a lot of support as my family and friends are all average size and never had to diet. I've always been the large one, but I'm bubbly and happy on the outside so everyone thinks I am on the inside as well...and I'm not. My weight, or more my size, really gets me down. I want to feel happy in my skin and at my present weight I'm not. I'm fed up of putting a face on and pretending I'm ok with being so big. I turn 40 next year and I want to get myself into shape. I want to be happier and healthier and make the most of life. I do have a wonderfully, supportive boyfriend who tells me he loves me whatever size I am but I know our relationship would also benefit if I lost weight as I find socialising difficult as I am so conscious of my size. The last 2 days I have done nothing but eat, till the point that my stomach is in agony from being so full. I have been an emotional eater and a few stressful issues this last week and my dip in willpower have led to a binge. So on Monday I plan on having my first down day and will try and stick to alternate days of 500 calories on a down and 2000 calories on an up day. I'm not bothered if my weight loss slows down as long as it is a sustainable way of reducing my weight. Any tips or advice would be most welcome.

Hello and welcome! Wow you have done so well so far, that is brilliant! If you can put up with 1200 calls a day for that long juddd will be a doddle.
if you haven't read the diaries yet, they are a great place to start for inspiration and advice. Some folks have been doing this for many months and see slow but steady weight loss....just the way it should be!... but also loads of nsvs in terms of size, health, etc. juddd is one diet where you know it is for your overall long term health in so many different ways, not just to look good (although that's nice too!)
one of many great things about juddd is that lots of people say you don't get that feeling of 'oh well I've blown today, may as well just stuff myself..and tomorrow..and tomorrow' that we are all familiar with on other diets. With juddd it seems a lot easier to write that one off and get back to it.
One bit of advice from me, that I know a few others on here have echoed...in the book it says use shakes for the first couple of weeks, to make sure you stick to the calories. I found them useless, I was constantly hungry and the list of ingredients in them is worrying - all that sugar when you really don't want it! If you are used to calorie control anyway you are probably great at making a few cals go a long way, and that does seem to be the way to go with juddd.
Very good luck for your first dd tomorrow. The first few are the hardest, they get so much easier! And judd fits in so well with your life, so even if you are aiming for strict alternates, remember you can always swap days around to suit yourself.
Cant wait to see how you get on! (Sorry about the essay-length answer!)

Welcome to juddd it is the best diet ever :-)

I agree that the first few dd are the hardest. I think at some point you will consider whether it is worth it but they get so much better and easier.

I never did the shakes as I knew that was a sure fire way to make me fail . At the beginning I planned days out to see how much food I could possibly get for 500 calories and split it into 3 meals evenly. Now I drink a lot of tea and can often go until the evening without eating. You will find the way that works for you .

You have done amazingly well on calorie counting well done

Teresa

I can echo the other comments, well done on your current weight loss, judd is the best diet I have ever been on.
Get as much info from others and get all your support from this forum!
Good luck!

Hi & welcome! You'll be fine with JUDDD, you have come to the right place. I've been on it since Aug & lost 19lbs, nowhere near what you have lost in the same time, however I'm not diet jaded as you obviously are!!!
You have done brilliantly, but 1200 cals a day for your starting weight was VERY strict and it was pretty inevitable that you would find it unsustainable. I know this from my own past yo yo life..I also know that for the first time in my life I have found a life style that gives me no reason or excuses to sabatage my previous success and to 'binge my way back to where I was!!
The rules you already know are so flipping simple its impossible to go wrong..500 cals or Less on the DD and around 2000 on the UD -I personally now find 1600-1800 suit me- but up to 2000 is fine and i can have my chocolate, pastry or cakes guilt free..and I do..meat pie for tea and just had some chocolate.
It will take me a year or more to reach my target, but no rush because this time I don't have to do it quickly whilst I have my willpower. You give it a try, but please give it at least a month before deciding whether its working for you, because after being on a low calorie intake you might show a small gain at first until you settle into it.
Good Luck

Hi
Many thanks for all your kind words and advice. I've had a read of the forum, and diaries in particular, and am actually looking forward to giving JUDDD a go. I'm looking at it as a change to the way I eat rather than a "diet". I'm going to give it at least a couple of months try to see if it works for me. I am diet jaded. Counting calories every day and never having enough to really treat myself was make the thought of getting through the festive season a nightmare. I'm happy with what I've lost to date and while I really want to reach my goal I'm not putting a time limit on it. This way of eating also seems to have numerous health benefits too which is such a bonus. I've managed today to reign things in and have eaten sensibly and not binged. I have weighed myself every Sunday morning for the past three months but didn't this morning. I didn't want to know what I'd put on with my out of control eating the past few day!!. I'll weigh myself in the morning. I plan to have down days on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and up days on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Sunday is going to be a bit of an in between day of about 800 calories as I plan on having a Sunday dinner like I've had even when I've calorie counted the last few months. My weigh in day is going to be a Saturday morning every week. I don't know whether to weigh myself daily or not? I know the scales can fluctuate but I think it would be interesting to see...or would it just depress me? I think unintentionally I've been doing some kind of fast type thing while calorie counting. I never eat breakfast, I just can't face food in the morning. I can however eat till the cows come home at night so had stopped eating by 7pm to avoid this temptation, so I haven't eaten between 7pm and 1pm the following day for the past 3 months. On my down days I'm going to try and stretch this till about 6pm and just have one meal of up to 500 calories then. I always drink plenty of water and diet drinks and tea. I think this week I'm going to count my calories on my up days to keep track of them as I have binged and want to get it under control...I'm sure my up days could run away from me if I let them!! It's great being able to see how others are doing and knowing that other people are in the same boat and not feeling like the odd one out.

Sounds like you're starting with a plan, which will really help. Very good luck for your first dd tomorrow. Let us know how you are getting on!

I think I'm going to start a diary to keep all my info in the one place. Weighed myself this morning and am a bit gutted at the damage I have managed to do in the last few days with binge eating. Going to put it behind me though and start fresh.

Originally Posted by frona

I think I'm going to start a diary to keep all my info in the one place. Weighed myself this morning and am a bit gutted at the damage I have managed to do in the last few days with binge eating. Going to put it behind me though and start fresh.

Please don't worry about what is sure to appear to be a major weight increase from your few days of eating, a lot of it will NOT be fat but retained water & glycogen, your body will have gone into 'panic storage mode' incase you decide to stop eating again. This is one of the benefits of JUDDD, because you only 'stop' eating for one day and you 'feed' it the next it soon learns to burn fat on the DD and not over store on the UD's. As for weighing daily, that really is up to you and how you 'handle' the fluctuations.
I personally count all my calories DD & UD's. I've done it for so many years its like my 'security' blanket. Some times now on UD's I have to actually encourage myself to eat a bit more...unheard of for me LOL.
Good Luck with the DD...you'll find a lot of us are doing it today!!!

Originally Posted by Derbynanny

I never did the shakes as I knew that was a sure fire way to make me fail . At the beginning I planned days out to see how much food I could possibly get for 500 calories and split it into 3 meals evenly. Now I drink a lot of tea and can often go until the evening without eating. You will find the way that works for you .

This was me exactly! I used to feel the need for 3 small meals on my DD, but after a week or 2 I'm now able to go until around 7.30/8pm until I eat. I find drinking tea/coffee helps!
Good luck!!

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Thank you!