I've fallen off the wagon bigtime??

dave_in_ni

This summer has really screwed me guys and I'm not sure how to get the motivation to get back on track.

18 months or so before July I counted every single thing that passed my lips, I lifted weights 5-6 times per week, was careful with my macros etc and I lost 60lbs or so.

I guess I am lucky that over the entire summer I've only gained about 2-3 lbs, probably because I starve myself during the week to make up for the weekend binges. I do OK I guess during the week but at weekends I am going totally over board and I'm not logging anything because of the shame, I used to love working out also and while I still do my hearts, not in it, I have to force myself and I rush it to get it over with.

My entire mindset has shifted and I'm not liking where its going. I start every Monday saying "Right this is it, from today" but as the week goes on the will power goes. I am all or nothing, I can't just have a bit and be satisfied I have to stuff myself, similar with alcohol, I just can't do moderation, I can't factor in treats I have to give them up.

Anyone any advice folks?

GrumpyHeadmistress

Have you tried to analyse why you binge? Is it that you're being too restrictive, boredom, lack of willpower to say "no"? Until you've identified why you fall off the wagon and work out a plan to counteract it, it's going to keep happening.

I certainly don't always want to exercise but habit and greed keep me going. Find something that you enjoy, an audio book that you want to read and make exercise a habit again. You did it once, you've proved you can do it again.

rmgnow

Hahaha. I feel you.
I try to lose more weight thani planned ideally, so I can go crazy and gain those pounds back

Also if you're serious about losing or maintaining weight logging is the only way to do it.
So if you're really serious, go back and log those calories.

dave_in_ni

GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »

Have you tried to analyse why you binge? Is it that you're being too restrictive, boredom, lack of willpower to say "no"? Until you've identified why you fall off the wagon and work out a plan to counteract it, it's going to keep happening.

I certainly don't always want to exercise but habit and greed keep me going. Find something that you enjoy, an audio book that you want to read and make exercise a habit again. You did it once, you've proved you can do it again.

I've got stuck in a cycle I guess, I binge at weekend so I counteract this by eating very little during the week which then makes me binge at the weekends again.

What I have identified is that I can't do moderation. I can't have 1 piece of chocolate or even 1 bar, I have to eat until I sicken myself.

I think whats really demotivated me is I workout from home. We have a spare room and I got a bench and squat rack and plates and barbells and I really loved that little room, its my own little space. The landlord told us he's selling so there is a good chance I'm gonna have to sell everything as we can't find a big enough house to set up another gym room. I know myself I would never go to a public gym, hell in 36 years I've never been in one as I'm too self-conscious. It would mean the end of my working out and that kills me as I actually found a hobby I enjoy.

Arleigh7

Been there and done that! I actually fell off the wagon for 3 years and went from 217 to 283 with almost no working out. After my Doctor yelled at me after my last checkup I got my S__t back together. So all I can share is what worked for me. #1 - I focused on the diet. Low Carb, high protein. For ME it reduced my cravings, helped get rid of allot of aches and pains (caused by Inflamation) and enabled me to have enough energy to get back to the gym. But in the 1st 2 weeks I ate tons of bacon, cheese, nuts whatever I wanted as long as it had very low carbs to get my cravings under control (took me 2 to 4 weeks). Then started cleaning up the diet and getting rid of much (not all) of the saturated fats. #2 - Excercise. I seem to be very insulin/carb sensitive so as the diet takes effect I started to get more energy and had allot less aches. I lift 3x a week and did some type of cardio 3x a week (usually elliptical). About 6 weeks ago I figured I was ready for something more intense so back to indoor rowing with a group of hardcore people. This accelerated the weight loss further but I had to work for several months before I was ready to join that group.

I was 283 on Feb 15. Yesterday weighed in at 223 and according to the Body Composition test (I do them monthly) I had yesterday my Muscle weight went up 1.5 lbs and my water weight went up over 2 lbs (normal when muscle goes up). So I've lost over 60 lbs of fat and my body fat % went from over 40% to now at 27% and of course I feel 20 years younger and I'm lifting or doing HIIT cardio nearly everyday. I'm eating under 1500 calories a day (yes it's low but I'm still getting stronger and I'm not hungry or having cravings. Basically I listen to my body. I'm also 59 years old so it's harder now but for some reason I'm enjoying the process more).

Good luck with getting back on track. I know you can do it!

rmgnow

dave_in_ni wrote: »

GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »

Have you tried to analyse why you binge? Is it that you're being too restrictive, boredom, lack of willpower to say "no"? Until you've identified why you fall off the wagon and work out a plan to counteract it, it's going to keep happening.

I certainly don't always want to exercise but habit and greed keep me going. Find something that you enjoy, an audio book that you want to read and make exercise a habit again. You did it once, you've proved you can do it again.

I've got stuck in a cycle I guess, I binge at weekend so I counteract this by eating very little during the week which then makes me binge at the weekends again.

What I have identified is that I can't do moderation. I can't have 1 piece of chocolate or even 1 bar, I have to eat until I sicken myself.

I think whats really demotivated me is I workout from home. We have a spare room and I got a bench and squat rack and plates and barbells and I really loved that little room, its my own little space. The landlord told us he's selling so there is a good chance I'm gonna have to sell everything as we can't find a big enough house to set up another gym room. I know myself I would never go to a public gym, hell in 36 years I've never been in one as I'm too self-conscious. It would mean the end of my working out and that kills me as I actually found a hobby I enjoy.

The reason why you have more than one piece of chocolate is because you don't log it

GrumpyHeadmistress

dave_in_ni wrote: »

GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »

Have you tried to analyse why you binge? Is it that you're being too restrictive, boredom, lack of willpower to say "no"? Until you've identified why you fall off the wagon and work out a plan to counteract it, it's going to keep happening.

I certainly don't always want to exercise but habit and greed keep me going. Find something that you enjoy, an audio book that you want to read and make exercise a habit again. You did it once, you've proved you can do it again.

I've got stuck in a cycle I guess, I binge at weekend so I counteract this by eating very little during the week which then makes me binge at the weekends again.

What I have identified is that I can't do moderation. I can't have 1 piece of chocolate or even 1 bar, I have to eat until I sicken myself.

I think whats really demotivated me is I workout from home. We have a spare room and I got a bench and squat rack and plates and barbells and I really loved that little room, its my own little space. The landlord told us he's selling so there is a good chance I'm gonna have to sell everything as we can't find a big enough house to set up another gym room. I know myself I would never go to a public gym, hell in 36 years I've never been in one as I'm too self-conscious. It would mean the end of my working out and that kills me as I actually found a hobby I enjoy.

Some good clues for you here:-

1. You can't moderate your intake of some foods so don't have them in the house to tempt you.

2. You binge as a result of over restricting so don't severely cut back your calories in the week - slow and steady weightloss is your goal.

3. Try body weight exercises that don't require a gym. Or even better...

4. Take the brave step and join a gym. Everyone is anxious and nervous before they go but try some classes to get to know people or try an induction so someone can show you around. It's as much your space as it is for all those scary gym bunnies! No one is judging or watching you - they're all doing their own thing. You do you.

You can do this! Have faith in yourself.

dave_in_ni

rmgnow wrote: »

dave_in_ni wrote: »

GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »

Have you tried to analyse why you binge? Is it that you're being too restrictive, boredom, lack of willpower to say "no"? Until you've identified why you fall off the wagon and work out a plan to counteract it, it's going to keep happening.

I certainly don't always want to exercise but habit and greed keep me going. Find something that you enjoy, an audio book that you want to read and make exercise a habit again. You did it once, you've proved you can do it again.

I've got stuck in a cycle I guess, I binge at weekend so I counteract this by eating very little during the week which then makes me binge at the weekends again.

What I have identified is that I can't do moderation. I can't have 1 piece of chocolate or even 1 bar, I have to eat until I sicken myself.

I think whats really demotivated me is I workout from home. We have a spare room and I got a bench and squat rack and plates and barbells and I really loved that little room, its my own little space. The landlord told us he's selling so there is a good chance I'm gonna have to sell everything as we can't find a big enough house to set up another gym room. I know myself I would never go to a public gym, hell in 36 years I've never been in one as I'm too self-conscious. It would mean the end of my working out and that kills me as I actually found a hobby I enjoy.

The reason why you have more that one piece of chocolate is because you don't log it

Good point

MegaMooseEsq

Stop waiting for Monday - Monday is just an imaginary concept we've agreed on to keep society running. Start today. Do something - anything - but do it now and keep doing it. This isn't a wagon, it's your life. If you feel regretful after overeating, focus on that feeling and how nice it would feel not to feel that way. And when you overeat again - which you will! - just dust yourself off, log those twelve candy bars, and keep going. But don't wait for fricking Monday. Do it today.

JeromeBarry1

Most of us have the too-frequent over-calorie day. The way you describe it is that you intend to have an over-calorie day on each of Saturday and Sunday.

A recent Hello Healthy article drew attention to the possibility of getting free access to a gym as an employee perq for part-time coverage of weekend and evening duties.

If you've got so much time on weekends that you can have self-destructive eating binges, try taking on another job, at a gym, and prime your opportunities to get more exercise and avoid weekend binges.

Or, get a different hobby. Eat more properly during the week and have something to do to keep you busy on the weekends.

candjmunoz

What works for me is creating a streak and sticking to it. I have exercised 10 minutes or more for 3 months straight. At first I just wanted to get in the habit and I reasoned that I could probably do 10 minutes every single day. Then I started tracking calories every day, even if I was ashamed of what I ate. From there I started having leftover calories at the end of the day.

On days I don't feel like exercising I realize that I now have to break a 100+ day streak. Starting again at day 1 deters me from making the choice not to exercise.

If I were giving myself advice, I would say pick one tiny thing and do it. Exercise OR logging calories OR meeting a calorie goal. Don't jump in to doing everything at once. Tiny successes, especially when you make them daily occurrences, get you motivated to do one more day or one more thing. If I try to start with too many things to focus on at once, I find it far to easy to give up

swim777

I know there are no "bad" foods, but when I'm struggling, there are some I don't keep in the house. Why make it harder? So candy and chips are not something I have available. Make sure you have snacks around that you can have. Pre logging has really helped me when I'm trying to lose. Also, as someone else mentioned once, look back at your diary and look at the foods you were eating and enjoying when you were successful.

wildhorsewendy

Analyse yourself. Think about why you might have changed your mindset. What factors have influenced you? Is it the season, something new or different in your life, boredom, stress? Do you just need new inspiration? Figure out your own triggers and then learn how to flick your own switches.

hedwardsb

Right now it just feels like you've fallen off the wagon "big time." You said you've only gained back a few pounds. Now is the time to get back to your logging and exercise schedule. By logging your weekend binges, you'll be able to see how close to the weekly goal you can keep it. You can do it now!

spiriteagle99

If you lose your apartment, look for a place with a garage. Turn that into a weight room. Or find a place close to a gym so it's easy to go there - no excuses. On weekends, look for activities that will take you outside and away from the house. Go for a hike, a bike ride, a swim, skating, etc. If being with friends is encouraging lots of alcohol and food, find activities to do that aren't food/drink centered.

I think that the extra restriction during the week is triggering the binging on the weekends, but you are also choosing that response. If you can say no during the week, you can say no on Saturday. You don't have to be 'all or nothing'. Eat more on a daily basis and see if that keeps you from the sense of deprivation that causes you to overeat. If you eat something you wish you hadn't, instead of blowing off the entire weekend, go back to eating on plan at the next meal.

wildhorsewendy

I don't have a room set aside for weightlifting, but I do work out at home. I keep my dumbbells and a bench hidden behind a couch and just pull them out when I need to use them.