The hardest part for you is?

amyderrah

I'm just curious.  What do you find is the hardest part of the diet & exercise for you, and how do you overcome it/encourage yourself?

For me, it's been all the dinner parties and social events on the weekends.  I'm 28 but all my friends (here in Japan, as English teachers) are 23 - 25 and still into partying hard.  All the fun stuff takes place at restaurants, pot-lucks (where they all bring deserts!!), and dance clubs.  I've had to say no to so many events and friends and it got really frustrating.  I let myself choose 1 thing a month to go to, gave myself that day off as a "break" from the diet and decided not to care about food at that party.  It worked for the most part.  This one time I decided to go to a pot-luck.  I thought that would be fairly safe.  I brought a whole bunch of fruit (and I'm glad I did).  Everyone else brought desert and snack food from the store!  EVERYONE ELSE!  Hahaha.  There was chocolate cake, cookies, M&Ms... That was pure torture!  I can set up a safe environment for myself at home no problem but going out with friends?  It's a trap every time.

So what about  you?  Looking back, what's that one thing that really gets to you sometimes that you have to literally sit yourself down and give yourself a pep-talk and work out a strategy around it? 

sarcastic98

For me, it's worrying if my fiance will still find me attractive if I become smaller. He loves my body, as large as it is, but I don't want to spend my wedding day worrying about my arm fat or end up crying in a dressing room while trying on dresses. 

I have to give myself little pep talks and he has done his fair share of reassuring that if I'm happy, he's happy. It doesn;t always stick, but it helps. 

anna.oskar

Similar situation for me.

The one things that always sabotaged my good intentions was the lack of a supportive person going through it with me.  Past roommates, friends, boyfriends, family.. They'd all encourage me and after a week or so start sabotaging me by bringing me treats, inviting me to pubs, and just generally ignoring what i was trying to do.  It ended up being easier to give up.

My H is such a huge support to me right now.  He gave up all the junky food too even though I know he doesn't care about losing weight.  He's been careful about not suggesting restaurants that have limited and fatty menus.  The weight loss has never happened as smoothly as it is for me right now.  it's like all the pieces are falling into place since there is someone to catch me and to encourage me to continue on.  Because I really want to succeed.

Allycat11

My sweet tooth...hands down.  I've tried cheat days and small indulgences daily, nitherhas been super successful.  It's not even really a sweet tooth as much as a chocolate tooth.  Also, 1 small piece of amazing quality doesn't work most of the time either.  I can give up all kinds of things that are bad for me but chocolate is one that I struggle to even cut back on.  So I would say that is the biggest thing sabotaging me right now. 

sherrbearr22

My biggest problem is eating out.  It seems like every social event FI and I are invited to is at a restaurant.  I LOVE food so it's really hard for me to order a salad every time we go out.  I have been doing pretty good lately by not eating everything on my plate.  BUT I also have another weekness - eating late at night.  I typically stay under my calorie goal during the day and then sabotage myself at night.  I am my own biggest obstacle in losing weight right now

NikkiF731

ditto sherrbear. I do really well for a spurt then I do something stupid like wake up in the middle of the night and snack or accept the well-intentioned treats (or sabotage...call it what you will) that someone inevitably ends up bringing me.  Then i try on something I want to wear...it's tight.....breakdown occurs...I do better for a while...lather, rinse, repeat. blah! I think it's really just a matter of deciding you're going to stick to it and just being consistant no matter how inconvenient it is or how tempting the sabotages are. *makes not to self to practice what I post better

lmalear01

The summer weekends are really tough.  I can actually drop more weight in the winter because we don't eat out...heck we don't even leave the house except to go to the gym and work.  We live on the lake and in the summer...every weekend is a get together of some time.  Lots of alcohol and tons of food...every single weekend.  Atleast this summer my FI is on board with the whole losing weight and exercising thing!

CassandraPotter

Just eat Onigiri and you'll be fine . The hardest thing for me is also social events. Especially because usually the social events we go to there isn't a lot of healthy choices. Luckily, those only happen on the weekend. Also sometimes eating late is hard for me. I like to eat dinner around 5:30, but my FI eats at 10:30, so sometimes I will eat a second dinner with him, and then my acid reflux gets going late at night. I'm pretty small as it is, and my stomach is extremely sensitive, so when I do eat poorly, I can feel it right away (unfortunately, it is sort of a blessing in disguise because before sticking something "bad" in my mouth I will think about if I will be able to sleep at night b/c my acid reflux). For a while soda was my weak point, but once you go past the 2 week period of not drinking it, it tastes bad (for most people). When I was in Japan I lost weight because I was walking everywhere, and it was friggin hot as hell. 

amyderrah

Yeah, I thought I would lose weight too!  I ride my bike to work, but I had to actually go on a diet (Gained 10 lbs when I came here).  They fry everything, it was shocking to see!  People don't bring onigiri and sushi to pot-lucks, haha, they bring fried chicken and Mister Donuts!  They love fat in their meat too, while I'm a fan of good marbling in a steak, a 50-50 ratio of fat to meat is a little much for me.  Anyway, needless to say my food options are a little limited.   

BeccaMichelleS

We quit smoking right after Christmas, so that was really hard.  There are so many times when you would want a cigarette and end up eating instead, and nicotine is an upper, so it does give you a little metabolism kick...  I think, though, that the hardest part is finding something that you can stick with doing every day or at least on a regular basis.  I did really well with myfitness pal, but it got annoying to type everything in a million times a day.   I am getting married in 10 days, and our reception is in July...I am not overly worried about the pics, but don't want huge arms or a bulbous bottom, either.  We are both more concerned with having a healthy lifestyle.  FI is a big eater, and wants to make the changes in that department...I am a teacher and need more exercise.  Even being up on my feet walking around my classroom and school a lot hasn't been enough since I have hit 30+. 
Our solution has been to compromise...on the weekends we go biking or canoeing  together, and very rarely we will play tennis together during the week.  We both started doing some at home excercies that take lass than 15 minutes a day...and I am trying to cook healthier options more evenings (even though we don't eat processed and pre-prepared foods, we have managed to pack on the pounds!  Our house is loaded with the healthy stuff!)
Today is a big move for me...I am starting yoga classes again.  I have also made sure that there are classes that will fit my schedule when school starts again -- so when I am at work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will be pilates and yoga days. 
Good luck to all of us!  It is a battle, but well worth it!