The 7 week itch

kdewey7

I am a solid dieter, until the 7th week. I see good movement on the scale, my clothes fit better, and people in my life start to notice my weight loss. Then I loose steam, I binge eat at night, and I don't log it. Anyone else have trouble keeping their motivation high as they are dieting? Any advice?

myheartsabattleground

Stop dieting, start living.

queenliz99

Keep your eyes on the prize

LilynEdensmom

Work a night snack into your calories of something you usually bindge on and allow yourself to indulge iin a smaller amount, so it doesn't seem so forbidden.

lorrpb

Deleted

wrenak

In the past I'd get sick of it pretty fast. This time I'm managing pretty well. I've been at it for 29 weeks and the only issue I'm having is I'm slightly hungrier now than I was before. I'm putting that down to it being dark by 5pm and below the freezing temp most days. I *think* my body wants to get back its insulation (I'm colder a little easier now) but it's not overwhelming and I'm working indulgences into my day. I think the difference now is that I don't look at it as a diet. It's not a limited-time deal I'm working on. I'm changing my whole way of living and it will continue beyond the caloric-deficit loss phase. If I want something I have it. Most of the time I make it work with my deficit, and when I can't, well... so I go over a little that day. I'm still at a deficit when I go over, just not as large a deficit. Changing your mindset may help.

thunder1982

I lost the plot a bit too around week 7. Hung in there and moved on from a few too many indulgences. I am now in week 9. A slip up doesn't have to be the end of it, just a minor setback. Being able to pick up and move on has made all the difference. Normally I would give up revert to old habits and then eventually undo all my hard work. And then when I got sick of the weight I'd have ALL that weight to lose again rather then just a little bit more to get back to where I was.

brb2008

Consider taking a week off to maintain. You keep logging, keep all your good habits just loosen the reigns a bit. That or switch up whatever you find most boring! Maybe you're bored eating the same foods. Or the same exercise routine.

I also end up having a treat built into my day most of the time. I have struggled with BED for years, and my newest attempts to control this behavior are:
1. Pre-log and stick to it. I can change amts but cant switch a salad to mac and cheese. This is for flexibility, I dont want to feel locked in but I need the boundaries.
2. I pre-log a snack for after dinner first thing in the morning. This is so Im not browsing the cupboards with munchies at the last minute.
3. Never skip two meals in a day. Total binge fest if I do. I can skip breakfast and feel fine with Lunch and Dinner, but if I skip both most likely all evening plans are out the window and i'm likely to binge.
4. For weekends I have to start the day active and have a plan even if its just to stay home relaxing. If I take the time to lay out an outline of the day im less likely to find myself eating from boredom.


Not that I expect your issue is as severe as BED but finding out why you binge is key!

tara_means_star

Maybe every 7th week you eat at maintenance...Then start back dieting the week after?

HippySkoppy

Seeing that you are so close to goal with 9 lbs maybe set your deficit to lose .5 lbs a week if it's not already there.

Maybe you are losing focus due to making too many changes at once too.

At least you that 7 weeks is a difficult time for you so you can perhaps implement coping strategies to get past this hurdle.....the eating at maintenance is awesome.

If motivation has gone for you by week 7 then try looking at it from a different perspective of employing patience and persistence.....one day at time and soon you will find yourself past the dreaded week into week.

Other than that just take one day at a time, eat the foods you enjoy and don't be overly resrtictive are the only other suggestions I can think of.

I wish you the best.

Liftng4Lis

Maybe every 7th week take a diet break, then get back to it.

kdewey7

You guys are amazing. Thanks for the advice. I'm feeling very upbeat after reading your responses.

PinkPixiexox

myheartsabattleground wrote: »

Stop dieting, start living.

This.

msf74

kdewey7 wrote: »

Any advice?

Yes, stop considering the reward to be the result or as someone else so eloquently put it: start living.

It seems quite obvious. If your motivation for eating better, exercising more, living a more healthy lifestyle is solely based on the end result of losing X amount of weight what can happen when you achieve that result or get close to it? Your motivation goes right out the window. You've achieved what you wanted so why continue doing things you found stressful or inconvenient or unpleasant?

Now if you learn to love eating better purely for the sake of eating better, or exercising purely for the love of exercising or living a healthy lifestyle purely for the fact it makes you feel good what happens? Motivation sticks around and as a nice byproduct you also get to look fabulous throughout your life...

brownels

Oh I can relate!! I start to feel better and then I start to slide. I try to keep motivated by small weight goals (eg, 5 lbs a month) and through reading these boards. I usually do that at night, in bed, on the phone. Even 10 minutes helps. Good luck!

spatulamom

I'm honestly going through something similar - been at this for about five months, lost 35 lbs, and I am having the hardest time staying on track (and I still have about 65-70 to lose). I'm not going off track every day or even by too much every day, but I'm paying for it with the scale not moving right now. I also do think some of it's the weather - I can't take my son out after work (me walking, him on his scooter) because it's dark by the time we get home. I've kind of been eating the same things over and over again for the last five months, and I can tell I'm getting tired of them.

I don't look at this as a diet - I'm trying to find things that work for me on a long-term basis, so I think that's the only reason I haven't completely gone off the rails this time and given up (like I have done other times). Sure, it's frustrating that the scale isn't moving, but I know it's my own doing. So I'm going to try different foods - it's fall, so there are plenty of seasonal items that I've been waiting for - it's a good time to start implementing some of them .

threadmad

spatulamom wrote: »

I don't look at this as a diet - I'm trying to find things that work for me on a long-term basis, so I think that's the only reason I haven't completely gone off the rails this time and given up (like I have done other times).

This is the way I had to look at it. I was so tired of "diet" and "portion control" and all the other terms associated with weight loss. I had to look at it as a lifestyle change. My first couple of weeks on MFP, I did nothing but log everything I ate. Then I started to cut back on the things that were throwing my macros out of whack, and I increased my protein. Yeah, I know "cutting back" is the same as "portion control," and I'm not sure I can explain the difference in mindset. There's no diet police following me around saying "eat this, don't eat that, you ate WHAT???"

I'm changing my life in small steps and I feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally with each change I make. Since Aug 25, I've lost over 20 lbs, with 35 to go. This isn't a temporary diet to be followed by "what do I do now?" when I'm done. This is for the rest of my life, and I'm totally enjoying it and having fun.

l8knut

I have logged for almost 190 days and have lost 37 lbs so far. I feel the itch too. I feel great, dropped cloth sizes and a lot of people have noticed. Although I am not loosing nearly as fast, I have switched to the "living" mode. MFP has really made me more aware than anything about how and what I eat causing me to make smarter choices. I usually try to stick close to my calories during the week and loosen up a bit on the weekend. Works good for me.