Starting over...again.

ticker1999

I hit a low point on 12/29 when I went to a personal trainer for evaluation, and figured out I was in worse shape than I thought. That night, I asked my then fiance (now husband) to help keep me motivated so that I could do something about it. Our wedding was 3 months away, and while I know miracles weren't going to happen, I knew I could at least get into a positive habit.

So between tracking my food and hitting the gym 3-4 days a week, I dropped 15 pounds in that time. Not record shattering, but a good start. Totally motivated, I signed up for a series of 5k races, knowing I would most likely walk them, not run, but that was ok.

But then there was the wedding, and the honeymoon, and adjusting to life after the honeymoon, and then the decision to put our house on the market, and everything that comes along with that...food tracking has completely stopped, and going to the gym has become hit or miss, mostly miss. Packing my lunch every day, cooking at home, having healthy snacks on hand has pretty much stopped.

I did the first of the three 5ks I signed up for two weeks ago, and about died. Everything hurt, I was exhausted, and it was everything I could do to get across that line. I did it in 1:02, two minutes slower than my goal, so that wasn't a big deal. But my girlfriends that I was doing it with crossed the line about 15 minutes prior to me, and that made me feel terrible about myself.

I shake my head at the fact that all winter, even when it was -12 out and wanted to stay in my cocoon, I got up every morning and got myself into the gym and religiously logged calories, activity, and water consumption. Now that it's nice? I can't get out of bed.

So here I am, starting over...again. Our house hits the market this weekend, so we will be over the hump, so Monday it's game on. Back to tracking calories. Back to the gym. Back to wearing the fitbit.

I'm just...frustrated.

agreenid

I totally hear you on the frustration. It's especially difficult to get back into the swing when you feel like you've backslid so far. But you are here and you are wanting to try again and getting "back on the horse" counts for a whole lot! You can absolutely do this. You know you can do this in more difficult conditions (-12 out) so you can definitely do it now. We're here to help you along and know you're not alone. You CAN do this!

MDanca

Major life changes can wreak havoc on the diet, unfortunately, and it always seems to fall to the bottom of the priority list. But you've recognized that, which is the biggest hurdle! Sounds like you are very committed this time, as I hope we all are, so we are in this together! Feel free to add...

Leigh_b

Life often has a way of throwing us off of our good intentions and well laid plans... the important part is to stand up, dust yourself off and get back to work. The more you do that, the easier it gets... and the less it will happen. I promise - I've been there!

PS. Greetings from a fellow Detroiter... I'm in Wixom

coreyreichle

Got you one the whole life curveballs. You'll do it, and come out better, and learn something about life on the other side

johnbatzer

Life is a lot like Pedro Cerrano from Major League - afraid of curveballs.

Even when life is so crazy, though, that I can't keep on top of everything about "being healthy" (meaning I need to limit my workouts, or eat out more often than I cook, etc.), I STILL log every bite of food -- it's the one thing that I can do that keeps me accountable.

ticker1999

Thanks everyone. It's just frustrating, ya know? Like why can't I do this for good...

Leigh_b wrote: »

Life often has a way of throwing us off of our good intentions and well laid plans... the important part is to stand up, dust yourself off and get back to work. The more you do that, the easier it gets... and the less it will happen. I promise - I've been there!

PS. Greetings from a fellow Detroiter... I'm in Wixom

Hi! I'm in Farmington Hills...and my name is Leigh too...

bennettinfinity

Consistency is the key to developing better habits, not perfection - don't beat yourself up, just get back at it.

Set some short-term goals and work towards them - as you check them off, add some more... before you know it, you'll be well down the road towards the you you're striving for.

And be proud of your 5k, you got to the start line and you finished it; your finish time (as well as your friends') is irrelevant - you did it... now use that result for motivation and set a goal to see what you can do to do better on the next one.

You can do it... good luck!

fostersu

I hear ya, I'm "back at it...again" too. the important thing is that we are back, not what happened in the mean time

jadey_lady

Hi fellow MIer!

Sometimes it's so hard to stay on the wagon. I am also trying to get back in the swing of things. Just know that doing it at all is the hard part....making the habit comes with time!

alexavril

I though this was my post when I just now stumbled across it!! I wrote a blog post yesterday, titled the same, but thought I had kept it private! I did - we just happened to have identical titles... pretty funny. And not funny, because man, it sucks to start over! I totally get where you are coming from. Here's the thing. I wasn't motivated at all, even though I knew I wanted to get back on track. I just couldn't find that spark. So, what I did was look at success stories posted here at MyFitnessPal, and then I read/researched a little bit about the different techniques successful people had used to help lose weight: Tracking food and exercise, of course, but also things like intermittent fasting, daily meditation & yoga, mindfulness exercises - all things I haven't tried yet (well, besides some yoga at the gym at random intervals, never daily).

I realized that I don't have to keep going back to the same failed patterns, I can try something new! That made me feel energized for some reason - I guess because it seems like I will be more successful with a new approach. If the past attempts failed, it makes me feel like the methods failed - so why would they work a second (or third, or fourth) time around? I also wrote down my goal weight loss by ten lb increments on my Google calendar (so every five weeks, I have a 10lb weight-loss goal at the top of my day - a safe 2lbs a week) - which was really inspiring. It allowed me to see that, with a little determination, I could possibly reach my goal weight by January 1st, which is really exciting! I have 70lbs to lose, so seeing the finish line makes this feel a little easier somehow. And more fun!

I'm using my FitBit linked to MyFitnessPal - and put some batteries in my food scale/took the measuring cups out - so I can know for sure how much I am eating. Also, a yoga for weight-loss book I was reading (it was really old and dated, I found it at a used book store - but some parts made a lot of sense) mentioned that people who are overweight usually feel internally divided. They think part of them makes "bad" decisions, while another "better self" makes good decisions. That's not true - and the path to healthy weight loss is feeling like a whole unit, not internally divided and at war with yourself - and realizing that your decisions one way or another are always your self thinking it is asking for what it needs. You just have to center yourself (through meditation and mindfulness - and refocus on your goals, telling yourself that you are taking the best care of your body that you can at the time. I am trying this out, so no reports yet on whether or not this will work for me, but it sounds a lot better than beating myself up for every decision I make that is not perfectly in line with my goal. And easier to jump back in intead of spiraling down into defeat.

Best of luck!

jenn11411

First off, congratulations on your wedding! I hope you enjoyed your honeymoon!! Selling your house is a big deal, so I understand your stress around that. I hope it sells quickly!

I totally understand....From Jan 2 to the end of March I was soooo on track and lost 20 pounds. For April and May....not so much....tracking, but nearly always "over" on calories. Exercise-wise, I haven't been to the gym in a week! So in three months I lost 20 pounds and the last two months I lost 1 pound. At the beginning of May I had a "goal" of losing 10 pounds by tomorrow.....ahem...

Anyway, I get your frustration. I am in the same boat in a sense. Starting over for the 100th time, but the important thing is to get on with it. The poster above who had the comments about not going back to failed patterns had great ideas! Similarly, I was considering not "tracking" any foods and mainly focusing on 1. eating more protein and 2. eating slowly and 3. eating whole, natural foods 90% of the time. Just to get out of the mindset of "oh I can only eat 1200 calories...oh I ate 1300 so I might as well just eat this whole bag of doritos and start over tomorrow...." just a thought. I don't know if it would work, or if I would lose more weight, but I like to think I would at least feel better mentally!

Feel free to friend me and we can support each other.

editorgrrl

ticker1999 wrote: »

I did the first of the three 5ks I signed up for two weeks ago, and about died. Everything hurt, I was exhausted, and it was everything I could do to get across that line. I did it in 1:02, two minutes slower than my goal, so that wasn't a big deal. But my girlfriends that I was doing it with crossed the line about 15 minutes prior to me, and that made me feel terrible about myself.

So here I am, starting over...again. Our house hits the market this weekend, so we will be over the hump, so Monday it's game on. Back to tracking calories. Back to the gym. Back to wearing the fitbit.

Never, ever compare yourself to anyone else. Just try to do a little better today than you did yesterday.

I've never run in my life—and you're running three 5Ks. Yay, you! It may sound cheesy, but try to treat yourself at least as kindly as you would treat me. No negative self talk!

Find some friends in the Fitbit Users group http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users and start doing Fitbit challenges. They're great motivation—and fun.

mom216

Greetings from VA! I too re-started my fitness journey today. I have 20lbs to lose. UGH!! I went to the gym only to have my arthritic knee remind me that I'm getting old. I love this: Never, ever compare yourself to anyone else. Just try to do a little better today than you did yesterday! Love yourself exactly as you are perfect imperfection. Right here right now this moment is your life. Stay strong!

ticker1999

I totally wish that I knew how to set notifications for these boards so that I get them to my email so I'm not replying 5 days later... (Anyone know how?)

So here I am at day 1...again.

Food intake hasn't been too bad today. Due to some unforeseen issues yesterday (i.e. my basement flooding) I didn't get to plan out as much as I wanted to for this week. I will take a stab at it later, and see where we go from there. Our house will go on the market later this week, so I imagine it's going to be kinda hit and miss for a bit with the craziness.

I did 35 minutes on the treadmill this morning, 199 calories burned. (Really? You couldn't round up?) My knees are a little crabby, but that will ease up over time. Just gotta get moving again.

My company has an employee wellness program, and they have fitness and nutrition coaches that are available to us for no charge. I've got the food thing down pretty well (when I do it...), but I've been talking to the fitness one for a bit. Hopefully this will get me moving in the right direction again.

SheBelieved22

I have done the same thing.. This is my third major time now and it HAS to be the final! (I have done really well and lost a significant amount of weight twice before and each time gained back more than I lost)

But as long as you get back on the wagon, make small attainable goals, and surround yourself with support- you my friend are GOING to make it!!!!!

This is my firt time taking advantage of the social side of MFP and have added friends that hold me accountable and inspire me daily!!! I am on day 56 (?) and am down 31 lbs!

You GOT THIS!

kathywinkelman730

I am the same slippery slope. I was doing good for a few weeks and felt great. I had family over for a week and the train wreck began. I am starting over and had a small side track with bagels this morning. I did only eat half instead of the whole thing. I told myself no bagels but talked myself right into eating it.

ticker1999

Carbs are my downfall. Also: cheese.

Combine cheese and carbs? Game over.

But hey...half a bagel is still better than a whole!

maddikat15

I just started AGAIN, also am trying My Fitness Pal to log my food and exercise. I need encouragement too to stay on track. As my husband tells me I have to "want" to do it and do it for myself no one else. Let's encourage each other to keep going -- even it is up one day, down the next. Good luck to you.

hellakellasee

Add me, looking for new friends/support. I've been using MFP off and on for a little over a year. Trying to lose another 40 lbs through gym work outs and healthy eating.

woznube7

I love reading these... because it helps me to remember that I am not the only one. You are at it again, so you didn't give up. Life happens!

I completely understand the 5k end, as well. You DID it and FINISHED it.. that is all that counts! That is awesome! Little changes here & there, add up to the big change in the end.

You have a lot of hurdles right now, but keep pushing through them. You're doing this and doing it well. This is all part of the journey.

And I should know.. i've started over quite a few times! Lost 25lbs since october and have gained 7lbs back. Hard to not compare myself to others or beat myself up... but i'm getting there. And starting fresh, again!

Thank you for sharing.. from a fellow MI'er... (west mi).

p.s. Carbs are my best friend... actually we're more like frenemies!