Loss of motivation beyond my control

cdavis1126

So, I live in PA and last Thursday we got hit with a category 1 hurricane! It was like a frieght train coming down my street. Compared to the destruction some of the neighborhoods had, we were really lucky. Just some general cleanup and a cracked mirror on my car. Some divots on my car as well from the golf ball size hail. We lost power but the neighbors got together to grill up some food. Unfortunately it was ground meat burgers and regular hot dogs!! Then we drove around for 3 hours until we found a hotel room. There was absolutely no way to sleep in 94 degree weather. It was about midnight when we finally got to the hotel, cost us $180 and we were in a different state, NJ!! We were starving so got McDonald's, ugh. Friday morning the hotel's fire alarm goes off at 6:30 am and the fire dept didn't know how to shut it off so we sat outside for an hour in our pj's. We were awake by this time so we decided to just drive home. Had to park a block away because the water dept was doing work and our streets were blocked off. Still no power, no food at this point. Drove around till we found a starbucks so I could power up my computer and at least pay bills and check on work emails. I ate a bagel with butter. We came home and started cleanup of leaves and branches and then the power came on!! I turned on all the air conditioners and we left to find something to eat. I can't even remember what I ate but if was definitely not a "good meal". We took naps and then drove an hour to see friends that were in from England. Didn't get home until 1 am. Of course, I had one beer and junk food at the bar. Up early on Saturday morning, no breakfast, just ran to the grocery store because friends were flying in from Ohio to visit. I had planned on making a healthy meal for our cookout but because of the past few days, had no time so we ended up eating frozen burgers, hot dogs, brats, potato salad, stromboli. Had a couple of beers that day also. Drove our friends back to the hotel at 11 pm so another really late night. Sunday, (remember no workout since Thursday!) and I picked them up to take them to lunch. They wanted to experience a real Philly cheesesteak. After I ate that, dropped them off at the airport, came home to take a nap. Then we went out to dinner and I ordered an open face prime rib sandwich with mashed potatoes. Comfort food. So here we are, Monday morning and I've drank 1/2 bottle of water and a luna bar. I thought maybe writing this all out would help me find the motivation to get off my fat *kitten* and get to the gym. It's been a rough few days and I've GOT to get back on track!!! Thanks for listening! Christine

torimarsh

All I can say is oh my gosh! You had some circumstances way beyond your control. You can not beat yourself up about that.
Just start getting back on track today. It is a new week. And think about the positives......your house is okay no major damage.
I can not even imagine how scary that must have been. Just take one day at a time. Hang in there!!!! :flowerforyou:

greerv72

WOW - I am sincerely sorry to hear what happened. My condolences to all those who were affected, including you. The most important thing is that you are SAFE! Sometimes life happens and there's nothing you can do about it. It sounds like you did the best you could in a situation like that.

If you've lost motivation... take another look at the progress you've made! 77 lbs?! That is no small feat! Today begins a new day, and a new week. Try the best you can to look at your weight loss journey with a new outlook- after all, you probably have a new appreciation for life after what you've been through. You have already accomplished so much, you can't give up now! You have my support 100%. Hang in there!!! You are a strong woman!

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Confucius

❤B☩❤

Christine! Sorry to hear of your troubles : (

It sounds to me as though you did quite a bit of moving (walking, cleanup, etc.), so whatever damage you thought you might have done, I'm willing to bet it wasn't that bad. It also sounds like you made better choices when you WERE in that situation. Your motivation to forge on? 77 POUNDS LOST ALREADY! You have made such a change in your life. Before this weight loss, would you have felt guilty about the barbecue food, or the beer or the junk food? You at a bagel with butter (NOT CREAM CHEESE!!!), you didn't get a gooey frosted fudge brownie or anything like that at Starbucks!! Well, I say, 'GOOD FOR YOU!" Keep up the great work and better choices!!

arewethereyet

First off........as a South Floridian.........ANY calories consumed during a hurricane and null and void!!

SO just FORGET them....................

Now...............today is a new day and you are a different person. Eat well today, do not beat yourself up, and get some rest.

You have lost 77 pound so you know what needs to be done!!

(BTW..........was the cheesesteak from Geno's or Pat's ?? droooooooooooooooool!)

Romba

You have to live life. When you look back on how nice it was to grill with your neighbors, coming together with that teamwork...that is priceless. I am not sure if the people in my neighborhood would care to do that. I think that is pretty awesome.

And your visitors coming in and all the things that happened take their toll but at least you realize you ate bad (which most Americans consider normal...eek!!! Alot of people eat like that all the time! Anyway...) You are getting back on track. Sometimes people diet and exersize...then do not have the willpower like you do to start things back up again after cirumstances take away from it for a week or so.

Get back to it girl and you'll be better for it!!!

absie107

Think about it this way: All of this, all of the crap the world has thrown at you in the last few days - it's already passed. You can get past anything because you're strong. That stuff is stressing and hey, I would have broken down and eaten an entire chocolate cake, I won't lie.

Now consider this: When you are eating food, how much of it can you recognize? Do you see food or do you see macronutrients, sodium, the components that make up food? Do you enjoy eating? Take a luna bar, for instance. Can you tell me exactly where soy protein isolate, inulin, soy lecithin, gum arabic, or vegetable glycerin come from? Hell, I can't, exactly. Most of the stuff comes from corn or soy, but the point is... do you know your food? If you're having a treat, did you make it yourself? Do you know exactly what is going in your mouth?

Unfortunately I am in college and my campus, like others, does have some questionable meals/meats, and I can't know where everything, even the salad, comes from. I've been a vegetarian for a while because I refuse to consume processed meat, not because I dislike the taste of meat or am 100% morally against eating meat in general. I want to actually see an animal be killed for meat, even kill one myself. I want to know Exactly. What. Happens. Slaughterhouses should have glass doors. So should places that make high fructose corn syrup. Prime rib with mashed potatoes? Sure, it's comfort food. You needed comfort, god, we all would! But hey, chances are there weren't too many ingredients involved in potatoes and meat. You'll turn things around, and you're strong, and just exercise a bit every day, and you'll be fine.

I know you're probably really on here to lose weight or something, I am too. But what's more is I think we all need to evaluate our eating, and know the FOOD that goes into our bodies, not protein/fat/carb. I want to stop looking at fresh wild alaskan salmon and freak out about sodium because damn, that stuff is delicious, and I shouldn't know that it has 15g of protein for 120 calories. How sad is that? I don't want to worry about calories and you probably don't either. It's about getting 80% full so food always tastes good. It's about eating delicious meals with people and bringing culture back to food and booting out the shaky science behind it. It's about cuisines. You are strong and wonderful and, like all of us, are on a tough journey in a country where people who engineer food products are trying to make us fat and consume more with bogus claims. You got this. Read the ingredients on things. If it was advertised on TV or has ingredients you wouldn't be able to stock in your pantry... it probably isn't going to help your eating or lifestyle change.

:-) You got this!

summersk

Just remember that even though you weren't able to get to the gym to work out doesn't mean you didn't get some type of exercise in. You said you cleaned up leaves and branches out of the yard, I clean up branches out of my yard before I mow and I consider that pretty good exercise (especially the size of branches that I'm sure you guys were cleaning up after that much wind). I know it's not much, but at least you can think of it as a little something so you don't feel so discouraged. It is a new week now, time to get back on track and work at it again. Don't let a few days of uncontrollable circumstances ruin all the hard work you've already put in. Use your frustration to enhance your motivation! Good Luck!

cobygrey

I applaud you just for logging into MFP today!

C'mon and get back in the race.

emilyfh

Christine, glad you posted a blog here, more detailed. Again, sorry to here about the natural desasters, its hard to cope with, but you did and are now back on track. You did get your exercise in running around picking this and that up in the yard. so now its time to move a head. What a time for Laura to visit, what timing :embarassed: :frown: :huh:

Its Monday, a new day so back to the gym :sad: :devil:

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: Emily