Terrible week

sarahredhaira

My birthday last Saturday. I'd planned to go over, had a good few days beforehand, decided to go out and enjoy without worrying about it. Was really ill during the night ( no idea why, eating food I'm not used to? Stomach bug? No idea) following day I ate whatever I felt that I could - toast etc. Since then I've gone totally off plan, eating and drinking things I normally only eat in moderation, and I've not been logging much. Been feeling a bit lousy with a cold, manic week at work, with a few meals out. Scales up about 4lb today, which is not exactly a surprise. Really need to get back into it today. I was 2 and a half stone down. Can't believe how easy it is to go off track.

hekla90

Take a deep breath. Forget the past week. Start over with your next meal. It's okay to take detour, just don't change tracks.

pootle1972

^^ before it turns into 6 months like me....luckily I only gained 8lb.

SweetNina81

Don't give up and let the detour continue.. It's a really good sign that you have posted about the mishap in a week, rather than letting that continue ( for me it took me about a year to get back again which lead to me gaining a loooooooooooot more than I originally started with in the first place). Just start over and continue.. good luck and really don't forget that you did an awesome job losing the 2 and half stones ..Good luck

sarahredhaira

Thank you. I'm determined to get back on track today. Really shocked how easy it is to let things slide.

Osiris275

It happened to me this past week as well. No real reason. Back on track today, hope you can get back too!

dawniemate

sarahredhaira wrote: »

My birthday last Saturday. I'd planned to go over, had a good few days beforehand, decided to go out and enjoy without worrying about it. Was really ill during the night ( no idea why, eating food I'm not used to? Stomach bug? No idea) following day I ate whatever I felt that I could - toast etc. Since then I've gone totally off plan, eating and drinking things I normally only eat in moderation, and I've not been logging much. Been feeling a bit lousy with a cold, manic week at work, with a few meals out. Scales up about 4lb today, which is not exactly a surprise. Really need to get back into it today. I was 2 and a half stone down. Can't believe how easy it is to go off track.

Happy birthday for last week. ...im in a similar position. Took a year to lose 30 lbs. I got to my 'ideal' weight and wham o blamo I've lost track and put on 8lbs in 5 weeks. .. I need help to restart. ..its soo hard though. .. didn't realise how hard it is til I restarted trying. .. good luck

knp2365

Happy birthday! I am right there with you -- except my poor habits have lasted two weeks! I took a weekend trip out of town with friends and didn't log anything. It has been so difficult to get back on track. The first week I maintained my exercise goals but continued to eat in a bit of a surplus. This past week I tried to stay within my deficit but didn't do much aside from about 15 mins of weight training on two days. I know not everything is going to be perfect on this journey, but I'm just discouraged to see my lack of progress scale-wise.

Fortunately this week I have noticed an immense change in my skin! I keep catching glimpses of myself and I'm amazed at the healthy glow. I have always heard that a good diet is key to a good complexion, but this is the first time I am really seeing the truth for myself.

Anyway, I completely understand where you are coming from, and good news! Your lapse only has to last 1 week and not two, like mine did! Good luck with everything!

shadowfax_c11

Oh yes it is really easy to break habits that are not very old. I let things slide for about 2 months ,over the holidays. Put on some weight. Getting things back in control was tough at first but you can do it. Don't look at it as a bad week. Look at it as an educational week. What did you learn? Use that information to help you to be more successful the next time something like this comes up.

There are always birthdays and holidays and family things etc that have food connections. We have to learn how to deal with them better just like we have to learn to manage our day to day eating.

The nice thing is that you already know how to drop those 4 pounds so no big deal right? This didn't stop you. Maybe it slowed you down a little but that's okay. What matters is that you didn't quit.

Rabidrunner

Don''t worry about it! I just discovered something pretty incredible this morning. As a background, last week (week of Feb 22) I had to take the whole week off from an exercise standpoint thanks to a medical issue. Just easing back in to exercise this week. Last week I simultaneously was a little more lax with what I ate, probably more at what would be maintenance level during the week, and then had a total blowout Sat/Sun/Mon. I don't think I even bothered logging - I knew my cals were way high.

Got back on the bandwagon on Tuesday and then found to my absolute delight that I had lost 1lb by Friday, and then when I jumped on the scale this morning a further 2lb has somehow disappeared! To be clear, that's 3lbs from my previous lowest weight - not just losing the 3lb I undoubtedly gained over the weekend.

I logged the 1lb loss yesterday, I'm going to wait and see a few days to log the additional 2lb as I just can't quite believe it.

Suffice to say, a few days off doesn't hurt as long as it's just a few days

oolou

sarahredhaira wrote: »

Thank you. I'm determined to get back on track today. Really shocked how easy it is to let things slide.

Well done for wanting to do something about it so quickly. I spent 3 weeks in February off plan and eating ALL the food due to some RL circumstances. Messed up, gained a few pounds, was really annoyed with myself (as I continued to finished the packet of crackers). Now I'm back on plan and demolishing those extra pounds gained but I wish I'd turned it around after a week and not three weeks.

sarahredhaira

I'm really glad I posted on here. You've given me the boost I needed to get the momentum back. I hope!

LeahMiles1

hekla90 wrote: »

Take a deep breath. Forget the past week. Start over with your next meal. It's okay to take detour, just don't change tracks.

hekla90 wrote: »

Take a deep breath. Forget the past week. Start over with your next meal. It's okay to take detour, just don't change tracks.

hekla90 wrote: »

Take a deep breath. Forget the past week. Start over with your next meal. It's okay to take detour, just don't change tracks.

hekla90 wrote: »

Take a deep breath. Forget the past week. Start over with your next meal. It's okay to take detour, just don't change tracks.

hekla90 wrote: »

Take a deep breath. Forget the past week. Start over with your next meal. It's okay to take detour, just don't change tracks.

hekla90 wrote: »

Take a deep breath. Forget the past week. Start over with your next meal. It's okay to take detour, just don't change tracks.

sarahredhaira

Well, yesterday was a good day, do hopefully I'm back on it. I've been here since mid-October, I've had a few splurge days, but logged everyday until the past week (apart from New Year's Eve). So, I've tried to take the advice above and learn from this. I've learnt that I can do this when I am obsessive - I log, exercise, weigh twice a day, read these forums all the time. But the moment I stop being obsessive, it all goes wrong. (Apart from the exercise- I still did that except for the morning after I was ill). I've lost weight in the past - with WW- and again, whilst I was being obsessive and thinking about it constantly I was fine, but when I stopped, the 3 stone I'd lost, and more, just came back. Will I really be able to or need to be obsessive forever? Or do things eventually become permanent habits? I've realised now (not just in the past week, but something I hadn't understand at the start) that my maintenance calories at my goal weight are far lower than they would have been at my start weight, so I really will have to count calories forever. We all know slim people who don't do this, people who have always been slim. Presumably they are able to eat at a maintanence level without obsessing. Does that ever become the way for those of us who have had to work hard to get to a healthy weight? I certainly can't imagine myself becoming like that for a long time, after the past week.

jennifer_417

I had to entirely give up the idea of "cheat days" (except for a few on big holidays and my bday) because every time I tried I lid get derailed for a week or more. I'm sure some people can handle it just fine, it just wasn't for me.

nhenryoliver

sarahredhaira wrote: »

Well, yesterday was a good day, do hopefully I'm back on it. I've been here since mid-October, I've had a few splurge days, but logged everyday until the past week (apart from New Year's Eve). So, I've tried to take the advice above and learn from this. I've learnt that I can do this when I am obsessive - I log, exercise, weigh twice a day, read these forums all the time. But the moment I stop being obsessive, it all goes wrong. (Apart from the exercise- I still did that except for the morning after I was ill). I've lost weight in the past - with WW- and again, whilst I was being obsessive and thinking about it constantly I was fine, but when I stopped, the 3 stone I'd lost, and more, just came back. Will I really be able to or need to be obsessive forever? Or do things eventually become permanent habits? I've realised now (not just in the past week, but something I hadn't understand at the start) that my maintenance calories at my goal weight are far lower than they would have been at my start weight, so I really will have to count calories forever. We all know slim people who don't do this, people who have always been slim. Presumably they are able to eat at a maintanence level without obsessing. Does that ever become the way for those of us who have had to work hard to get to a healthy weight? I certainly can't imagine myself becoming like that for a long time, after the past week.

I think that being committed allows you to rewire you brain, changing your relationship with food. I've noticed that even when I tell myself that I'm having a cheat day, I can't eat what I would have 6 months ago. Recently I've worked out that I've being eating more at maintenance, which is useful to know, as I'm not too far from my goal. It will come with time, where you will find what's right for you. Having read some maintenance forums, some people seem to log forever, others intermittently. You'll get there, but well done on the restart!

sarahredhaira

Been a good weekend so far. I know we are going out for a big family lunch in annitslian restaurant that I love, but haven't been to in 5 years, so I ate less yesterday, went to the gym, just had a 9k run and I'll skip breakfast (unheard of for me but it's a really early lunch), so I should fit some delicious Italian food into my daily count. But I guess I may have to accept that I might be logging forever.

Francl27

You can do it! But yeah... very easy and fast to undo some progress.

But to answer your question - I've been this weight for 2 years now. Still a struggle most days not to overeat. I mean, it's better than it was 4 years ago... like last night I wasn't hungry and my favorite cake didn't even tempt me (WTF?), but yeah, still very hard to say no to extra treats most days. I envy people who do it easily but I know I'll never be one of those (I've gained 4 pounds in the last year actually, although measurements are the same).

DonaldBlinks

My birthday was Monday. It only comes around every four years so I figured I should enjoy it. My parents took me out for a fancy meal,my wife threw me a party, my kids baked a cake.... It got a little outofcontrol but I'm trying to get back to it as well. Life happens and it's easy to spiral but we can do it! Good luck to you!

shadowfax_c11

I think that for many of us we will need to be very conscious of our eating for the rest of our lives.

I feel like possibly I will be able to stop logging but keep a close eye on the scale and go back into weight loss mode from time to time when I start to see a gain. But only time will tell.

I think about this a little like any person with an addiction would. Someone who is a recovering alcoholic will always have to be mindful about being in situations where drinking is common. Someone with a gambling problem will have things/situations they need to watch out for. Well I have an eating problem. Since I have used food to self medicate in the past I am sure I will still want to do so in the future. Avoiding as much as possible the things that trigger my need to comfort eat will help but life is full of those situations and they can't all be avoided. A large part of the reason I am just now able to face and work on my eating is that I have gotten those other things under better control.