How to get back on board after falling off

gnarlycarly227

Hey everyone!! I need some advice. I feel like I work so hard to lose weight during the week and always blow it on the weekend and end up and square 1 again on Monday. I'm not necessarily looking for advice - I know that I need to be more careful on the weekend.. its not an excuse to indulge (which is what I've been doing) and I should prepare so I'm not surprised with temptation.

I just feel like I'm really slowing down my weight loss process when I lose 2-3 pounds from Monday to Thursday and then gain it all back on the weekend after one binge eating session.

How do you bounce back after setbacks? I feel like I'm trying so hard 90% of the time and then blow it in a moment of weakness which ruins everything. It just makes me upset and makes me lose motivation.

CafeRacer808

Let's put this into perspective: In order to erase a 2lb loss during the week, your binge eating session would have to be 7000 calories over maintenance. I'm pretty sure you're not eating that much in one session. Depending on the foods your bingeing on, the bounce in the scale you're seeing after the weekend is likely water weight.

Weight loss is not linear (day to day weight fluctuations of +/- a couple of lbs is completely normal), and it's about long term trends. I think it'd be helpful for you to compare your weigh ins from one month to the next, rather than comparing your Thursday and Monday weigh ins. Keep your eyes focused on the big picture.

Brans34

I would realize that your eating habits over the weekend may be containing lots of sodium, and it will make you hold onto a lot of water. You may be gaining some of it back from your weekend choices, but not all of it.

descene

For me, it's just all about immediate action. It's realizing instantly, okay you fell off the wagon right there, time to jump right back in. In your situation, you seem to be aware of what the problem is roughly, so now I would be trying to analyze what's the pattern of behavior that's leading to this issue. Am I not eating enough during the day that's causing my binging, or is it a problem in my environment I need to solve?-typical questions I ask myself. CafeRacer has a point that a single session would have to be substantial to make up for the progress you are making during the week, so further investigation is need there as well.

theamazingcassiebunny

I calorie cycle. Tuesday and Thursday I eat 150 calories less so I can have more calories Friday and Saturday. It works for me. I have room to eat out or have an indulgent treat on the weekends.

Michie112g

Same Here !! Feels like I am losing the same 10lbs over and over again !! It's sooo frustrating....

KeepRunningFatboy

gnarlycarly227 wrote: »

I just feel like I'm really slowing down my weight loss process when I lose 2-3 pounds from Monday to Thursday and then gain it all back on the weekend after one binge eating session.

How do you bounce back after setbacks? I feel like I'm trying so hard 90% of the time and then blow it in a moment of weakness which ruins everything. It just makes me upset and makes me lose motivation.

A couple thoughts...

If you are really losing 2-3 pounds in 4 days, you would be restricting heavily, and that will in turn lead to eventual binging. The subconscious considers severe calorie restriction as a threat to your health and survival. I have fought bulimia twice, I've been at the mercy of restricting and binges and purging.

Motivation will come and go like the tide. Few people are 100% motivated 100% of the time. What you really need to do is make a decision, and make a commitment. Maybe a decision to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, a decision to eat healthier, a decision to exercise daily (even if it means more walking at school/work/whatever).

Everything you accomplish begins in the mind. Reprogram your mind to WANT to eat healthy, WANT to exercise, WANT to live a active life. If you have ever read the bible, my favorite verse is Romans 12: "Dont be conformed to the world, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND..." You may have to capture your thoughts, challenge your thoughts, reprogram your thoughts.. until your thoughts become healthier beliefs, which becomes an more positive uplifting and healthy attitude about food and exercise and your body, which in turn will result in changed actions which correspond to your new thoughts.

And how to handle setbacks - I like to repeat the word "RISE," over and over in my head. I think maybe it came from the Batman Bane movie when they chanted rise in the prison. Anyhow, you get up, dust yourself off, and move forward, focusing not on what is behind, but that which is ahead.

try2again

I'm honestly thinking you may just be gaining and *losing* the same couple of lbs of water weight. If that's a current pic of you, you don't appear to have the body weight to support a 2-3 lb/week fat loss unless you're barely eating, and as has been mentioned, your weekend weight gain is primarily water (and possibly extra food in your digestive track). When all is said & done, you might be eeking out a small loss, but you will only know for sure after several weeks. If you only have a small amount to lose, it can be really difficult to achieve a decent deficit, and every bite will count, so yeah, the weekend thing won't work unless you've carefully banked for it.

try2again

Sorry- I know I didn't offer anything on the motivation issue, except I've heard it said that determination & good habits trump motivation any day.

Hello_its_Dan

Look at your calories on a weekly basis instead of daily.
So for me to maintain my weight I'll have to eat 2600kcal a day.
Let's pretend I'm trying to lose a pound a week.

So maintenance is 18,200
If math is perfect in an organic environment, cutting a pound of fat a week is 2100kcal a day.
So cutting is 14,700

Sunday 3000
Monday 1740
Tuesday 1740
Wednesday 1740
Thursday 1740
Friday 1740
Saturday 3000

So you can see that weekends I can eat almost double what I'm reading Mon-Fri.
What really matters is two to four weeks down the road if you're losing fat or not.

So for some, keeping the same calorieses everyday with a big meal every few weeks. Or cycling high weekends with low weekdays.

bluecrush84

You said you want advice....then you say you are not looking for advice...I don't understand what info you need?

Do you want info on how to stop bingeing or on how to offset eating too much.

Stop binging on weekends:

stop restricting your diet throughout the week, eat whatever you want as long as it meets your calorie goals
Eat 80% healthy 20% indulge, but stay within your calorie budget, do this throughout the week
Allow your self one cheat meal...not day per week. Choose the day. Eat your other meals as usual.

Offset eating too much on the weekends: that kinda difficult because you can't really out run your fork. 90% of weight is your diet and your body needs consistency. But this might help:

Workout extra hard on the days you indulge
Drink green or oolong tea with all your meals
Drink a lot of water
Load up on vegetables in each meal, 2-3 serving, little to no dressing. Eat all your veggies before anything on your plate.

goldthistime

How close to goal are you? Perhaps you're being too aggressive during the week.

I often have a similar problem, despite a small deficit (looking to lose no more than .5lb /week) but I'm near goal, so going a few weeks without losing weight isn't that terrible. Eventually I have a weekend where my eating stays the same as during the week and my weight drops.

leadslinger17

The weekends are hard. At work while the kids are at school, there isn't food around. I sit at a desk so I can have a big glass of water to drink at all times. If things aren't too busy I can work out or go for a run on my lunch break. At home, there are lots of temptations with food. Plus activities like going out with friends.