Motivation to get back after falling off the wagon for two days?

EleniSylvia

Hey guys,

So since I started this maybe a month and a half ago I'd lost 7kg, everything was going great. Then, after a few stressful incidences and certain foods being around the house, I binged yesterday and the day before. Weighed myself this morning and found I have gained 3.5kg (from the two day binge - crazy how easy it is to gain weight!). I don't want to screw up again - I want to get back on track, because I just feel so *kitten* and guilty. Any advice for finding that motivation again? What do you guys do when this happens?

xx

PAV8888

First of all realize the difference between an increase in weigh caused by temporary water weight and food in transit vs a weight increase caused by an increase in fat stores.

And then realize that baby feline poo poo happens and that nobody's going to be perfect a hundred percent of the time nor should they be and that your long-term consistent activities are what will determine your weight level.

So stop guilting and start doing your normal eating plan.

And yes your eating plan probably needs to, in the near future, start being more accommodating towards eating "certain" foods in some sort of moderation.

But.as mentioned, as of the next time you open up your mouth to eat or drink you resume your previous eating plan!

I think there's even a big brand commercial about just doing that

Btw, keeping to a long-term sustainable deficit level also helps with adherence. 2 pounds a weak and 1200 is not suitable for everybody <-- just throwing that out there "in case"

malibu927

Log it, move on, and determine the reason it happened. You said stress, but with your rate of loss are you eating enough? Trying to avoid certain foods?

Orphia

You would have to eat 51,450 kilojoules above your maintenance kilojoule limit to gain 3.5 kg in fat in that time.

Didn't happen.

You gained poo, and your body held onto more water than usual from the increased salt and carbohydrates. Nothing to worry about!!

When losing weight, it's good to have occasional days where you eat more. When you get to maintaining your goal weight, you have to be over your limit some days if you're over your limit other days. This was just good practice.

Think long-term. Is your way of losing weight letting you eat the things you love in moderation? The sooner you learn that, the better your prospects for keeping at a healthy weight for life.

deedunbar1

I had a binge at dinner tonight after 63 days of keto.I got sick and needed some comfort food! So pizza and a yogurt bar.Not only did I go over in calories but the carbs were thru the roof! I too hope to get back on the right path.I think we all have to once in a while!

FitGamerSmoak

Yup kind of just be like, it happened and now we get back on the house. Two days didn’t mess up your progress but if you don’t catch it now, it will mess it up so just keep moving and forget about it.

kq1981

Don’t feel guilty and don’t feel like you’ve failed! We are all human and *kitten* happens in our lives. I didn’t log accurately for 3 months BUT because I did log regardless and am still on my streak (466 days) and was aware of calories and portions, I still stayed between 1-2kg within my last lowest weight recorded. weight fluctuates so don’t be hard on yrself when you step on the scales. Be active here, get back to logging, be 100% honest even if those big red words appear saying you went over your calories. Re-*kitten* and move forward! You’ve got this

Seffell

1. What wagon?

2. 1kg fat = 7700cal. This is how much you need to eat above maintanance to gain 1kg. So 3.5kg = 27000cal. That must've been some binge! That is 60 whole chocolates or 16 jars of 300gr Nutella! And this is on top of the other normal meals.

3. Weight loss takes many months and for most of us - years. Do you expect to stay on a deficit e v e r y single day for a year? Noone does that. Noone.

4. Your weight includes tissues and water. Humams are made mostly of water and its amount in the body varies constantly ro serve the different functions. So does your weight. Losing weight from one day to the next does not mean losing fat necesserily. Gaining weight from one day to the next does not mean gaining fat necesserily. In most cases it is the water that varies and thus your day to day weight on the scale is irrelevant. Download a weight trending app.

5. Chill. It won't work only if you decide not to do it. But why would you?

hipari

Chill. Two days does not a falling off wagon make. This is a learning curve, and I think the biggest thing to learn is really how to accept a negative and bounce back.

Momepro

Log EVERYTHING.
Don't JUST weigh (with a scale is best) everything you eat, also write why you are eating it (i.e, lunchtime, hungry, kind of bored, out with friends, watching tv) and how you are feeling right before, right after and an hour after (hungry, comfortable, normal, full, very full bloated, drowsy, OMG I am so damn sick of this crap I want to throw the whole plate out a window, etc).
This gives you a baseline pattern for your normal habits and routine. From there, it's just a matter of experimenting. Are you very full after dinner? Cut back on a few things. Does lunch leave you bloated and gassy after an hour, try less or no mayo, and see if there's something you don't mind dropping each meal (fries, or cheese, or maybe only 2 tacos instead of 3).Are you starving an hour after dinner?Maybe more fats during.
It's amazing how quickly these small and easily sustainable changes will add up to big calorie cuts. Only cut one or two things at a time, until they become habit instead if trying to do everything at once. That way they become individual habits instead of one big "diet".
Break things down into individual behaviors and habits. Instead of looking at this as an all at once, or all or nothing proposition, find ways to break things down into smaller and more sustainable habits. That makes it much easier to pinpoint where something is not working, and fix it, rather than staring at the whole jumbled mess of NOT WORKING. Plus, when you do backslide, you are less likely to drop everything, just one or two habits, that can then be fixed again. Otherwise, trying to everything at once, means that you are likely to leave out something important (like weighing food), and pay excessive attention to things that aren't. (Like fiber drinks and vinegar)
Don't demonize foods that don't actually make you feel bad. Obviously if you have food sensitivities avoid those things, but don't cut out all your favorite goodies because they are not "healthy". Think of your calories as a type of currency. You should purchase the nutrient rich stuff first, budget for regular treats, and don't waste any calories on stuff you hate, even if it is theoretically good for you.

kommodevaran

You lost a lot of weight fast, which means you've had an aggressive calorie deficit, not necessarily that things were going great. Certain foods, as well as stress, will always be around. Temptation is something you'll always have to deal with.

You don't gain 3.5 kg of fat in two days. Weight fluctuations are immaterial.

Don't look for motivation. Have a great plan and see it through.
Don't feel guilty for eating.
There is no wagon.

MelanieCN77

There's no wagon, only accountability to yourself. Motivation can't come from these boards - each day you're in it by and for yourself, which is actually very freeing if you can get your head around it!

kshama2001

EleniSylvia wrote: »

Hey guys,

So since I started this maybe a month and a half ago I'd lost 7kg, everything was going great. Then, after a few stressful incidences and certain foods being around the house, I binged yesterday and the day before. Weighed myself this morning and found I have gained 3.5kg (from the two day binge - crazy how easy it is to gain weight!). I don't want to screw up again - I want to get back on track, because I just feel so *kitten* and guilty. Any advice for finding that motivation again? What do you guys do when this happens?

xx

Ok, so you lost 15 pounds in 6 weeks and then binged. Unless you have over a hundred pound to lose, 2.5 pounds per week is too big a deficit, which can certainly trigger binges.

How much weight do you need to lose to hit your goal weight?

serindipte

Everyone's already covered the potential reasons for the binge. As far as motivation to get back on track? Which would you rather.. get back on track or continue spiraling down (or rather, up as far as weight)? Two days isn't going to hurt anything. If you let that turn into two weeks, months, or years, then you'll be back up to where you started or more. I have had two way over days in less than a month.. I just log them and keep on going. It isn't hurting anything at all. At worst, it slows my weight loss down for a week or so. If I stopped because of one or two bad days? I'd never accomplish anything.. job, parenting, life in general.

1houndgal

Most of the weight you loss when you fell off the wagon is from fluid retention. Did you eat a lot of processed foods and fast food?

Drinking a sensible/same amount water to flush out excess sodium works for me. I also eat more potassium rich foods when I retain too much water.

Just get back on board with logging your food intake plan and your exercise regimen if you have one. Don't quit on yourself! Learn from the binge and then move on. Hugs.

etfan

Lots of great advice here that will help many of us— thanks to all!