Getting back to MFP after a loooooong break

alvin_grung
alvin_grung Posts: 25 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
sure shows you how slick your brain is at rationalizing. I've had a great week getting back to logging and am sort of shocked at how different my eating patterns and amounts are when I'm forced to be aware and acknowledge what I am doing. Literally hundreds and thousands of extra calories were getting by my warning system, which was in great shape after I had been dutifully recording it all for months.

Of particular importance is the focus on exercise balance - if my daily goal is threatened I'm out the door for 20 min to an hour of walking and it's all good again, instead of blithely thinking, "Oh well, not so bad, I'll get a walk in tomorrow - no, wait - I'm busy; I can probably get one in Wednesday ..." The numbers have to work or the result is not going to be there - that's a given.

After a year away, you wouldn't believe the sloppy thinking that something in me was deliberately encouraging in order to allow what seems to me to be nothing more than indulgence - pleasure-seeking, pure and simple.

The ridiculous thing is, after just one day I began to feel better and after three I had a feeling of being "my old self". After such a long slide, I'm glad I am no more than three pounds above my starting weight and blood work is still good. At 63, my time horizon for becoming a healthy organism is looking slighter all the time.

I also have to admit that the food going in is of much higher quality and, by percentage, far less processed. You just can't eat that stuff and make your goals.

So, I hope I can keep it up this time. I know it works. I'm wondering who else has had this experience and had success (with MFP) after a big lapse?

Replies

  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,868 Member
    I had the same experience. Gained back 20# and came back after a year. After 7 months I'm now almost at GW (3# to go). Am 61 and even let my exercising slip when I was "done" with MFP. This time around I won't stop logging. I don't trust myself!
  • Mavrick_RN
    Mavrick_RN Posts: 439 Member
    edited January 2016
    I don't get the "before" and "after" pictures. Looks like photo manipulation to me.

    I do get what you mean by brain rationalizing. It's really just habit. You're either in the "healthy take care of myself" habit or "I don't give a hoot and I'll do better later" habit.

    I have taken quite bit of time off from MFP but I'm back at it again. When I hold myself accountable and faithfully/honestly log in I do really well. The little "streak" counter is a big motivator for me.

    Keep coming back and best wishes to you.

  • alvin_grung
    alvin_grung Posts: 25 Member
    Ha! The photo was indeed manipulated to suggest an ideal outcome. I got fairly close to that, which was really just a first stage goal anyway. Sadly, that was as good as it got.

    Habits are huge, but what I meant was the cunning little things you can tell yourself to excuse the indulgence or the lack of exercise. For me, only logging puts the lie to that.

    I'll weigh in in a couple of days to see if I have at least got below my starting weight.

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