Question for those who rarely slip up ...

tehboxingkitteh

I lost 23 pounds in my first rwo months of eating better, exercising, and lifting.

I didn't deprive myself of the foods I wanted, and instead ate them in moderation, making sure it fit my macros. I also have snacks and water readily available for when I'm hungry, so I'm not likely to grab fast food or eat a **** ton of junk food.

I log it, even if I go over calories. That way, when I'm tempted to do it again, I have to contemplate whether or not it's worth it, especially if it caused me not to lose weight that week or feel sick to my stomach afterwards. Holding myself accountable and not sweating my mishaps makes it easier for me to stay determined.

CherylP67

that's exactly what I do ... when I'm logging and it really works for me to! The problem is when I decide to not log for a few days because I know that I'll be going way over calories/macros - it literally takes me weeks to get back to logging on again and I eat with no regard for what I'm putting in my mouth. That's the issue really.

If you don't log it because you are going over it doesn't change how many calories you are putting into your body. If you fear being judged, make your diary private. Every journey to health and wellness is unique, and we all have our emotional baggage when it comes to food. You will learn a lot by logging you heavy eating days.

I don't fear being judged at all on here by anyone except myself! What starts off as can't log (don't have smart phone) because I'm away for the weekend manifests into a won't log because I suppose I tell myself that if I don't log then I can do what I like and actually what I like is to stuff my face with whatever I so choose no matter how ****ty it makes me feel. Clearly I have issues. I guess what I need to do is make myself log on everyday when I have access to the computer which is er pretty much every day unless I'm away.

Get a small notebook and keep it in your purse, log everything when you're away, then plug it in when you get back to a computer.

This is all a process, I do the same thing, it's like there is a certain mood for me where 1 piece if candy starts me getting up and going to the kitchen to look for more junk. Other days 1 piece of candy doesn't lead to a gorge fest. That's when I'm glad I tracked it all, I can look back on my days where I gorged to see patterns.

MayaSPapaya

I've never fallen off the wagon by bingeing or stopping for a while. I usually let myself have 1-2 cheat meals a week, which is when I go out to dinner, I get what I want. I still log it, and seeing that many calories for one meal usually discourages me from doing it too frequently. I have my goal weight, but I focus on other things too. My major NSV was to be able to wear a bikini this summer. I accomplished that, and often when I feel like bingeing or something I think "If I do that, I'm going to do it often and then my bikini won't fit anymore."
It is 100% a mental battle. But you can win it.

montlucia

I go through periods of strict eating and then I might slip up a bit but I never ban foods that I like, even if unhealthy. If they're not banned, I actually desire them less. And when I get a bit more strict about macros, I'm not tempted to eat unhealthy food because it's a waste of calories. I ate clean for a while and felt so much more energised so I feel like going back to that soon. I used to binge a bit but it's not something I'm inclined to do anymore.

Meg_Shirley_86

Logging everything. Adding in so much high nutrient, lower calorie density food that the junk sort of gets phased out on its own.

seawolf86

You really have to be committed.... I don't eat perfectly everyday but I stay within my calorie goal every day even on weekends. Before, when I was trying to eat 1200-1300 calories a day I was always slipping up on the weekends and binging on random days. Now I have my daily goal set at 1600 but usually get about 1500 a day and am consistently losing and not tempted to over eat on the weekend. Sometimes on the weekend I eat 1700-1800 a day but I do my big workouts and usually go hiking on those days so I'm burning at least 350 calories. If we do have a weekend away or a trip I plan to eat mindfully and don't over eat just because I'm on vacation, while eating out I usually eat only half my meal even if I'd love to gobble the whole thing. If I go overboard on trips it just encourages me to get on track when I get back so I don't gain from the slip up.

My biggestest advice would be to eat at least 1500 cal a day (if you aren't already) and incorporate more fruits and veggies. I always pack healthy snacks and fruit for trips because you can't/don't get a lot of fruit while eating out usually. Also try to make at least one meal small/light on weekends and trips to keep my overall calories lower.

Hope that helps, feel free to add me if you want to check outmy diary!

leebesstoad

Well I made it to my goal weight without messing up once. No treat days, no treats at all. Just willpower and determination.

But guess what? It isn't linear. Weight loss isn't a smooth line. Sometimes you plateau for a while, sometimes it comes off in bunches. Sometimes it seems like what you are doing doesn't work and it gets a bit frustrating, but you slog ahead anyway, because in the end you know it is worthwhile. Sometimes it doesn't seem like you are doing anything and the weight comes flying off in bunches. It doesn't make any sense buit that is what happens.

What you can't do, what you shouldn't do, is beat yourself up if you do treat yourself, if you do "fall off the wagon" for a day, a week, a month. The only thing beating yourself up about that is going to do is leave yourself tired, sore, black and blue.

I have a news flash for everyone here: We're humans and we screw up occassionally and we make mistakes. I do. You do. We all do. It's not letting them defeat us, it's how we handle them, it's overcoming them and bettering ourselves that makes us better people. So when you screw up (and you will, because we all do), shrug it off, say a big loud WTF, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back in the game. Make sure you acknowledge your succeses and victories. It's okay to say "damn it, I did good". It isn't egotistical to be proud of your acccomplishments, even if it seems small to you. Don't wait until you get to your final goal to be proud of what you have done. The journey is important too. Be proud of even starting it. Because you should be.

liloldDee

I have been on here just over 3 months and have lost 25lbs in that time. I have a lot more to lose, when I look back over the 3 months I do believe I could have lost more if I had been stricter, however I also believe that had I been stricter with myself I wouldn't still be on my weight loss journey. I am usually an all or nothing type of person so normally I am either all about dieting or all about eating. This time I decided to approach weight loss with a different mind set. I acknowledged from the beginning that life would get in the way and while I set my personal goal at losing 2lb every week I accepted that this would not always be possible. In the last 3 months I have had quiet a few family celebrations, involving meals, I had a torn ligament which stopped me exercising and had a chest infection. All these events stalled my weight loss and diverted my attention from my diet. What I am happy with is, that each and every time I picked myself up and continued on. In the past I would have made excuses and given up, and put the weight back on plus some! One thing I will change though is my not logging every day, I tend to skip if I have a bad day or am very busy, I have holidays coming up and after I get back my mission is to log every day.

I think the key is to successful weight loss is to do it in a way you find will fit in best with your life. 18lbs is great well done:-)

tphil58

that's exactly what I do ... when I'm logging and it really works for me to! The problem is when I decide to not log for a few days because I know that I'll be going way over calories/macros - it literally takes me weeks to get back to logging on again and I eat with no regard for what I'm putting in my mouth. That's the issue really.

If you don't log it because you are going over it doesn't change how many calories you are putting into your body. If you fear being judged, make your diary private. Every journey to health and wellness is unique, and we all have our emotional baggage when it comes to food. You will learn a lot by logging you heavy eating days.

I don't fear being judged at all on here by anyone except myself! What starts off as can't log (don't have smart phone) because I'm away for the weekend manifests into a won't log because I suppose I tell myself that if I don't log then I can do what I like and actually what I like is to stuff my face with whatever I so choose no matter how ****ty it makes me feel. Clearly I have issues. I guess what I need to do is make myself log on everyday when I have access to the computer which is er pretty much every day unless I'm away.

I know it is too late for your last vacation but I would suggest that going forward if you are in a situation where logging is not possible for a few days, just jot everything down in a notebook and log it when you return home. That might help keep your mind on eating healthy and even if you are going over what you expect for yourself you will have the record of it to look back on and learn from. We all will fail(fall) at some point in our journeys, the important thing is to get back up, dust off and take the next right step. You being here and asking for help is a step in the right direction. I would just say that I hope you choose to keep moving forward to a healthier you. You are worth being healthy! I have come to learn that food itself is not bad, it is our abuse of food that is the culprit. If there is something my body is really craving I walk more and eat less calories so I can enjoy it either before or after having it. Then I log it and move on. Good Luck!

missff

Well I made it to my goal weight without messing up once. No treat days, no treats at all. Just willpower and determination.

But guess what? It isn't linear. Weight loss isn't a smooth line. Sometimes you plateau for a while, sometimes it comes off in bunches. Sometimes it seems like what you are doing doesn't work and it gets a bit frustrating, but you slog ahead anyway, because in the end you know it is worthwhile. Sometimes it doesn't seem like you are doing anything and the weight comes flying off in bunches. It doesn't make any sense buit that is what happens.

What you can't do, what you shouldn't do, is beat yourself up if you do treat yourself, if you do "fall off the wagon" for a day, a week, a month. The only thing beating yourself up about that is going to do is leave yourself tired, sore, black and blue.

I have a news flash for everyone here: We're humans and we screw up occassionally and we make mistakes. I do. You do. We all do. It's not letting them defeat us, it's how we handle them, it's overcoming them and bettering ourselves that makes us better people. So when you screw up (and you will, because we all do), shrug it off, say a big loud WTF, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back in the game. Make sure you acknowledge your succeses and victories. It's okay to say "damn it, I did good". It isn't egotistical to be proud of your acccomplishments, even if it seems small to you. Don't wait until you get to your final goal to be proud of what you have done. The journey is important too. Be proud of even starting it. Because you should be.

great post - thank you!

changejen2013

Though I'm not one to rarely slip up....the trick to get me motivated again was putting mfp as my homepage so I saw it everyday. I also tell people I'm going to be exercising again - not dieting. This helps people give me the appropriate advice for bettering my body not the "you need to change the lifestyle not the diet" routine.

When all else fails, drink a boat load of water and eventually you will feel like you are getting healthy just by doing that so why not change your diet too?

RoseTears143

Plan ahead and log everything, even when you slip up or binge. It keeps you accountable. Also, when you go on trips or vacation, don't take a vacation from your new healthy lifestyle!!! I still don't understand why people do this. If you make a change in your life such as eating healthy and exercising, why stop doing it just to binge and be lazy on vacation? Don't do it!

Also, you can eat reasonably when on vacations and trips. No one puts food in your mouth except you. A lot of people struggle with eating right around family and such. Once you get to a mindset that you are in control, you will sail right through your journey and not have major set-backs like this. It's hard, but it is simple.

ekz13

want it bad enough.. it will happen, then it becomes habit after a while.. and after that it just becomes a part of your life..

Bekahmardis

Well, part of it for me is not taking days off from logging unless I don't have internet access at all... so even on a trip I'd keep logging, unless I was camping. But I don't know, it's just habit at this point, and if I don't log I feel weird and uncomfortable. Consistency, I guess, is what helps me. In total I've only NOT logged for 3 days since I started in early January.

Exactly this. I have a serious OCD issue and log my foods religiously. I figure that if I'm going to obsess about something, this is probably the thing about which it's okay to obsess.

sweetpea03b

I think the key to this is how many cals are you giving yourself each day? My TDEE minus 20% is 1960 so I give myself 1900 for a little cushion.... I never go over my cals. Before when I was starving myself at 1200 I fell off alot.... and i'm losing MORE now that I upped my cals than I did before.

Calculate your TDEE and up your calories and I guarantee you won't "fall off" again.

paxbfl

I do a free day pretty much every Sunday. It's a mental break as much as anything - a break from logging and stressing over every calorie. On that day, I rest from the gym and eat whatever I've been craving. I don't deny myself anything. Usually I feel so bloated and gross that I can't wait to get back on the program Monday morning.

If for some reason I have a bad week and go over my calorie goals, I don't get to enjoy a free day. Simple as that. But that almost never happens.

Everyone is different but for me this works - this is my relief valve. The rest of the week I am very serious, log EVERYTHING accurately and almost never go over my calorie goals. I work out hard the other 6 days - at least 500 calories burned, some days over 1,000. I lost 40 pounds in 4 months with a free day, so it really hasn't affected my weight-loss at all.

nicoleashley_24

I've been steadily losing weight since December and I know I've had "slip-ups" but they're mostly planned. I look at this as a lifestyle change but I still want my lifestyle to involve ice cream and whiskey, lol, so I plan for those. If I know my hubby and I are going to drink on the weekend, I might cut some calories towards the end of the week. When I do drink, I drink less than I used to and make sure I'm not bingeing on junky snacks while I do it.

I knew I was going on vacation recently and I didn't cut calories beforehand, I just kept in mind that I might not have a loss at the end, I might have even gained, but I wanted to have fun. So I drank my margaritas, ate my Mexican food, and was mindful. I enjoyed myself but I didn't overindulge and in the end, I actually lost a pound. I hiked and walked a lot while I was with my friends/family, too, so it was great for everyone.

LoudmouthLee

There is no such thing as "slipping up".

I am not on a diet.

I eat what I want, when I want it. I log it, and I hold myself accountable for it. If I really, really want 2 slices of pizza, and it fits into my macros for the day, I eat it. That scoop of ice cream? In my tummy.

Will I have 5 slices? A 3 scoop sundae? No. I've learned.

Will I ever not allow myself to have something I want? Pfft.

I lost weight, I'm not dead.

thesupremeforce

I'm a creature of habit. Once I got over the hump of breaking my old habits, it's been easy. I just do it.