Your derailment ?

minimyzeme

So you're here. You've been here for some time. You want to lose the weight and you know what to do. Where do you go off the rails, and how do you get back on?

minimyzeme

I noticed just yesterday that stress and anxiety are still triggers for me. Yesterday afternoon, it seemed like several little scheduling things, coupled with tight deadlines and topped with billowing "smoke" from the home oven (complete with triggering the smoke alarms) immediately triggered me to start stuffing my face. Two things stood out to me:

1. I slathered up a peanut butter and jam "rollup" made with a Tumaro's Multi-grain tortilla and snarfed it down before I had given it a second thought.

2. Once I gave it that second thought (after the fact) and tracked it, any urge to keep eating was gone.

I knew I was having turkey breast for dinner later on and I had the points for my roll-up, but what surprised me (even after four years of this) was how quickly I reached for and ate the food with almost no thought whatsoever.

I think the tracking is what gets me back to mindfulness relatively quickly. Yesterday's episode was a quick detour, not a total or long-lasting derailment. A couple years ago, my WW ML suggested tracking it all, no matter how high the number or how negative the points. It was good advice for me and I think it really helps to get my head back in the game.

88olds

I’m more “Slip Sliden’ Away” than “Wreck Of Old Number 9.”

But the way back is tracking. Always tracking.

Jerdtrmndone

Sounds like me. I have more control of my stress eating but just the other day I did the same thing after I got a high repair bill for my car. I thought why I'm I doing this it's not going to change anything.

myallforjcbill

Well, the last few years it was emotional eating due to chronic pain & resulting depression, but I went through some brief counseling to deal with the emotional part of the journey, the sun came out and I am back losing. Yesterday though was very stressful, first day of a really noisy bathroom remodel, and I had to use some of the same relaxation techniques to resist the urge to eat.

Al_Howard

88olds wrote: »

I’m more “Slip Sliden’ Away” than “Wreck Of Old Number 9.”

But the way back is tracking. Always tracking.

Yup! That's me too.

Philtex

minimyzeme wrote: »

Where do you go off the rails, and how do you get back on?

Going off the rails is easy - free or unlimited food, of which there is a lot where I work. Getting back on is a different story. Right now I am not doing a very good job at that. I think it will take a trigger event or situation, like hitting some milestone number on the scale or, more likely for me, like having to buy bigger clothes if I don't change things. I'm right on the edge of that.

gadgetgirlIL

I still haven't come up with an effective strategy for dealing with unexpected crises such as a computer in my lab that failed a couple hours before class. Free food was available in the breakroom that day so I tried to eat away my stress. And there was nothing mindful about that eating, either.

RedSassyPants

STRESS. Anxiety. Boredom. ALL triggers that start me eating...and eating...and eating. I crave the wrong foods and just don't care anymore and eat them, hating myself the next day.

Every day I start strong. I do well at work. I even eat the dinner I meal prepped. But then... the days stress etc bubbles over brings out all the craziness..... and the crazy lady must be fed junk. LOL

Jimb376mfp

I’m still surprised that food is my first thought when I think I’m going to feel better if I Binge! I don’t do it BUT I do think about it.

Yesterday I thought about a large chocolate malt from DQ!

Then Know that won’t help.

minimyzeme

Jimb376mfp wrote: »

...Yesterday I thought about a large chocolate malt from DQ!

Then Know that won’t help.

Lusting in our hearts--does no damage though, right Jim?

countcurt

minimyzeme wrote: »

So you're here. You've been here for some time. You want to lose the weight and you know what to do. Where do you go off the rails, and how do you get back on?

You just do. You consider your reasons for wanting to be on the rails then get up and go.

I will also spend some time pondering what happened that led to the derailment. If I can figure it out. And how to pick up on impending danger signals so as to try and prevent that particular set of cause and effect from recurring.


Cold hard analysis of facts can be very helpful. AFTER getting back on the rails.

myallforjcbill

As @countcurt said you just do. One of the biggest barriers is getting past this idea that it is hard to start again, hard to refocus. We can make it too big a deal. But really all you need to do is decide to start trying. Try to measure, try to track, try to plan a few meals. The journey can't continue till the car is at least pointing in the right direction and moving a bit.

minimyzeme

I agree that we just do it (to quote a phrase). And why not? My experience is as others': it's just as easy to pick up the pieces and keep going in the desired direction as it was to fall out of place in the first place. Why make it harder than it has to be? An excuse, I guess. But one that really doesn't hold water for me.