Having a bad week, but I'm learning

yweight2020

Not feeling well after getting over a bad cold now I'm upset over a friendship coming to an end. The friendship end is for the best, but when you've known people for so long you still miss them.


I started emotional eating without accounting for measurement and it's not helping my emotions nor my taste buds. Lesson learned stick to the plan, Ive lost 23 lbs since Jan 1, 2018 and I have at least 50 lbs more to reach a non obese or overweight range.

Question is how do any of you deal with life up and downs and not resort to food. I feel like I've learned something from this, but what about next time I give into the ice cream or donuts? I already account for treats within my calorie but I just totally fell off my eating plan if just for a short while, I dont ever want to fall so far I regain all the weight instead of continuing to lose weight.

Any thoughts I appreciate all input, have a good night.

SteamPug

You’ll probably fall off again. It’s not worth worrying about that time whilst you’re actually doing well. Just be kind to yourself now and accept that it could happen again, but that’s fine, you’ll just pick yourself up and carry on. Realistically one or two moments/days of weakness aren’t gonna mean much when the rest of the time you’re sticking to your plan. It may set you back a little but there’s no rush to lose the weight, what matters more is how you pick yourself back up from it. As long as you’re committed in the long run don’t beat yourself up for being human.

kommodevaran

We all eat in response to emotions, to some extent; I can't say I'm a true "emotional eater", but I do suffer from "bored mouth syndrome". What I do, is plan satisfying meals, meals I like so much that I'm willing to wait for them and not willing to spoil my appetite; I also work on "honoring" my appetite, my hunger and my satiety, by not deliberately wait too long to eat, or eat too much, or graze, or eat food I don't like. Then I tell myself that "I'm a person who eats meals", "I no longer eat all the time", "I can eat again in just a few hours", and when it's really challenging, "we can do this, it's only anxiety, this too shall pass". I don't really distract myself to avoid eating, instead I practice gratitude and better sleep routines.

I have a planned treat each Saturday. I don't deny myself, so sometimes I eat even if it's not on the plan. What's new this time around, is that I allow myself to enjoy it, and don't feel bad for "giving in".

I also don't hoard too-easy-to-eat foods, instead I have a selection of a little more challenging and more nutritious food, that I can combine into delicious meals.

I struggled with my weight for over 20 years (I hit "obesity" in 2013), lost 50 pounds with MFP, and have kept them off for 3 years now.

rheddmobile

I'm sorry you're having such a bad week! It's been a rough one for me too, lots of things adding up.

Exercise helps - it may seem like just one more thing to add to the stressy pile of stress, but the endorphins make you feel more peaceful, plus it gives you something to keep your mind off stuff. It's also nice to have non food options for pampering yourself. I like to sit outside and bird watch, or walk in the woods, or maybe get my fingernails painted a new color. These past few days I had a bum knee and couldn't do much, so I just gave in to my inner child and played an old arcade game I used to play when I was 12. No calories!

Hope you feel better soon. You may have slowed your journey down, but one week won't stop you reaching your goal.

rheddmobile

Oh - one more thing - it can be a good idea to eat at maintenance calories while sick. Your body is healing and doesn't need the additional stress of a calorie deficit. That may be part of why you lost control of your eating.

Lillymoo01

When I am having a really hard time of things instead of hitting the fridge I put on my sneakers and hit the pavement. The exercise and being outdoors normally helps improve my mood. I don't feel like comfort food when I return but if you did then I'd be kind to yourself. Eat back those calories burned and maybe even at maintenance for the day. The worst that will happen then is having your goal reached one day later. Just make sure you don't feel guilty or down on yourself if you do this as that can lead to a downward spiral of emotional eating and guilt.

busyPK

During rough times I try and stay busy. Not meaning out and about, but taking on projects at home. Cleaning out a closet, organizing clothes, etc.. I once cleaned out my kid's clothes closets and painted them all a fresh white. Exercise also helps, mostly cardio for me. Running helps me think through things. Hugs!

tinkerbellang83

Try and find non-food ways to comfort yourself and don't chastise yourself too hard when you do give into emotional eating it's not a failure, log it, move on and try to find a better way the next time.

For example, sometimes I try all of my usual things to get myself out of a mental rut:

• getting out for a walk
• distracting myself with something else like cleaning or crafting
• talking to a friend

and at the end of it I still might end up with a bar of chocolate or a tub of ice cream, but now I'm more aware of the calories, etc I am more mindful of the impact repeatedly doing this will have. Doing it once in a while isn't the end of the world, especially now I've learned to pick smaller chocolate bars or low calorie ice cream like Halo Top. It basically just means that day my deficit isn't as big as it might have been, but I will still lose weight.

lightenup2016

I fall into this pattern as well, so I know where you're coming from. If I had any advice to give, I would agree with the above about trying to distract yourself--keep your hands busy, do the dishes, do a craft project, clean the closet, do laundry. Or exercise, even if it's just a walk around the block.

Sometimes, I'll make myself a warm drink, which feeds the emotional need just a little bit, but without the calorie load. I love coffee, but if I feel like I've had too much already, I'll make a nice cup of hot tea.

COGypsy

I know how easy it can be to find yourself on this kind of slippery slope. I lost my stepfather of 25 years last summer after a prolonged illness. The month or so afterward was really rough. There was a good bit of comfort eating, but also a lot of back and forth to my mom's house, lack of meal prep since my weekends were at my mother's, people bringing food to the house and on and on....

After a week or so, I decided to give myself a month at maintenance and not worry about losing. I just didn't have the bandwidth to deal with all the logistics, deal with my feelings AND prep, weigh and track every bite. I figured a month would give me enough time to let life settle back down and let me at least get started on dealing with the grief but that the time limit would keep me from going to far off the rails. Overall, during that time, I tried to focus on watching portion sizes and trying to make better choices in what I was eating. I'm pretty conscious of the calorie count in my go-to foods, so it wasn't too hard to ballpark maintenance. I did keep weighing myself though to keep tabs on things. I also kept up with workouts for the most part, which was incredibly helpful as well.

It's important to work towards a healthy lifestyle, but a big part of that is knowing when we need to just step back and nurture ourselves through the rough patches.

yweight2020

Thank you all for sharing, caring and most of all the support I will utilize all distractions and projects to meep myself busy always chores and something to do here. Thanks for the hugg and here's a hugg for you all especially CoGypsy for sharing a heart breaking time, but at the same time your ways of getting through the trials of food, weight, loss and maitaining many huggs.