reality hit me hard today

elisa123gal

like many of you..i've been thinking about my fitness goals for the new year. After much thought, i decided to go back to a fitness diet plan that has worked for my in my younger years.

So, today i started with my healthy eating and exercise. I am feeling good about it. Then i went to my closet and tried on all the jeans i've had for the past ten years. I thought it would be good to see exactly where I'm at.

As i tied on the jeans of my skinny old self..is when i realized how much weight i've gained. i have seen the number on the scale going up.. but somehow the number on the scale never hit me like not being able to pull an old favorite pair of jeans over my hips.

It really .has me down in the dumps. I'm asking myself What? and why? did i let it get to this point? How and why exactly did this happen???? and mostly ..not the vanity part of the equation..but the unhealthy eating and lifestyle.. why did i treat myself like that? It makes me sad.

maybe this is my lightbulb moment.

cmriverside

I had to just start where I was.

Time and consistency pays off.

I'm pretty adept at denial too...not in my weight anymore, but other things. I just figured out if I don't deal with my plumbing issues, there will be big problems. (House plumbing)

Not looking forward to that - but I've put it off for a long time.

tulips_and_tea

I think a lot of us have had moments like this, or similar. The important thing is you're asking yourself the tough questions. Find out your "why" and make plans to avoid the same mistakes in the future. If it helps, keep those jeans out where you can see them so that you can remind yourself of this feeling when you're making food and portion size choices.

However, if seeing them invokes a negative feeling, then set them aside. Either way, focus on getting your daily / weekly calorie goal set up and make sure you're eating foods you enjoy and satisfy you. Be patient and consistent.

"Light bulb" moments denote brightness and being positive. I understand your feeling sad, but focus on making positive changes and eliminate the negative thoughts.

zdyb23456

It doesn’t really take much for the pounds to slowly creep on. Don’t beat yourself up, be glad you’ve decided to make a change to be healthy.

kommodevaran

Maybe you like to eat. It's easy to eat too much.

brightresolve

You can choose to make it your light bulb moment.

Little day-to-day choices add up to big problems for many of us, that's why I am here. But little day to day changes make for big successes too. Start where you are, as @cmriverside suggested, and make those changes. You have plenty of company!

ekim2016

that's why I weigh myself everyday... for me, I have to have a check because the pounds DO roll up on me super fast and I feel I need to kick them in the butt right away or else ...but just get back on track and keep plowing the road ahead...good luck PS I've never tied on a pair of jeans but I guess there's always a first

elisa123gal

Thank you for your thoughts, yes.. it was a lightbulb moment. i still feel down.. but very motivated too. i'm not one to wallow ..so tomorrow will be a bright day.. and a day on track..a day closer to getting the weight off.

And yes to the poster above who said i must like to eat. i do..and i like to eat just as much when i was thin for most of my life.

For me, It isn't the liking or eating of food. I think some here understand, it is the abusing of food to avoid other issues in life.

corinasue1143

Reverse it. Put an empty box in the bottom of your closet. Put clothes in it as they become too big for you. Be proud of how full the box is getting. Celebrate by buying a new pair of favorite jeans on your way to give the clothes to Goodwill.

elisa123gal

corinasue1143 wrote: »

Reverse it. Put an empty box in the bottom of your closet. Put clothes in it as they become too big for you. Be proud of how full the box is getting. Celebrate by buying a new pair of favorite jeans on your way to give the clothes to Goodwill.

you are awesome...and i will do that.. right now the jeans are in two stacks.. one stack of wearable jeans that can at least be zipped..the over pile stacked from 'did i really ever wear these! to the top..where the jeans i can get on but not buttoned live.

i'll do the drop in the box and swap.

kommodevaran

elisa123gal wrote: »

Thank you for your thoughts, yes.. it was a lightbulb moment. i still feel down.. but very motivated too. i'm not one to wallow ..so tomorrow will be a bright day.. and a day on track..a day closer to getting the weight off.

And yes to the poster above who said i must like to eat. i do..and i like to eat just as much when i was thin for most of my life.

For me, It isn't the liking or eating of food. I think some here understand, it is the abusing of food to avoid other issues in life.

But I do think I understand. I used to think I ate too much because I liked food. The problem was that I was afraid of food, too, I believed I hated food, and I abused food. Getting a better understanding of what I need and want, and what food does and doesn't do, has made it easier to not eat too much (it's still challenging).

goldthistime

elisa123gal wrote: »

Thank you for your thoughts, yes.. it was a lightbulb moment. i still feel down.. but very motivated too. i'm not one to wallow ..so tomorrow will be a bright day.. and a day on track..a day closer to getting the weight off.

And yes to the poster above who said i must like to eat. i do..and i like to eat just as much when i was thin for most of my life.

For me, It isn't the liking or eating of food. I think some here understand, it is the abusing of food to avoid other issues in life.

"Abusing food to avoid other issues in life" was a big factor in my weight gain. I have binging tendencies. I got to goal weight without completely getting rid of those tendencies. I read an old Psychology Today article recently that said we should consider whether we're embracing life or escaping life when we're overindulging (whether it's food or alcohol). I'll still overindulge on occasion as part of embracing life (as I have these past few weeks) but I think I'm finally ready to stop binging/escaping with food. I can't really say why I finally feel ready but I bumped into that "Embracing or escaping?" idea at around the same time so I'm using it as my mantra.

Best of luck in replacing your bad habits with healthy ones OP. Forgive yourself your missteps along the way. Permanent change isn't easy.

88olds

Why doesn’t really matter. You were unaware. Kicking yourself for lack of awareness doesn’t help.

Now that your weight has your attention, the only relevant question is how do you change it? Put your focus on that.