Fallen off track after 6 months 😔

Options
I have been on my diet since June last year. I was 203 pounds and I now weigh 140 pounds and my aim is to be between 130 or 135 pounds. I’m so close to my goal but I messed up at the last hurdle. I’m a Uni student and I went home for a few days over Christmas. I thought it would be okay if I treated myself and we had multiple takeouts. I then went back to University and I said to myself that it was time to get back on track. But I never did. I started ordering takeout almost everyday. It would be the exact same meal. Plain Beef burger and fries around 1000 calories and I would then have to order up to a minimum price fee so I would just add 4 pita breads. This take out meal probably totalled around 1500-1800 calories. Luckily I didn’t binge and if I did eat a takeout that would be the only thing I would eat during the day. After around 4 weeks of avoiding the scale I weighed myself and I went from 140 pounds to 144 pounds. I haven’t eaten takeout for the past week now and I have somehow gone back to 141 pounds so I am assuming that I didn’t gain actual weight but instead gained as a result of the water weight from all the carbs. As the entirety of January was apart of my vacation away from uni I saw this as my opportunity to reach my goal before I go back to classes and now I just feel regretful. I could have been at my goal right now if I wasn’t such an idiot. For 6 months I had such a strong drive and nothing would get in my way but now I feel like I’ve lost that drive. How do I get back on track. This week I’ve avoided takeout but the cravings are horrible. Once you have one it’s just hard to stop. Maybe this is just a learning curve.

Replies

  • kq1981
    kq1981 Posts: 1,098 Member
    Options
    Omg! You lost 63lbs! Thats amazing! Youve done this before, you got it. Keep to your calories deficit and be consistent with logging! You havent fallen off any wagon if all you put on was a pound! The hardest to loose is the last bit of weight but dont give up just keep going. Good luck :)
  • z4oslo
    z4oslo Posts: 229 Member
    Options
    smolmaus wrote: »
    When you were "on" your diet did you not allow yourself to have any takeouts or treats at all? It sounds like you've just put them on a pedestal as a forbidden thing. 1000kcal for a burger and chips for a man your age is probably fine? It's only the "oh I shouldn't be having this" mentality that makes it attractive. Eat the burger my friend.

    You haven't gained anything really, you just took a break. Also fine. Probably good for you. You can also spin this into something positive, now you know that making takeouts something special and naughty isn't a good mindset for you. Incorporate them sensibly into your regular diet.
    z4oslo wrote: »
    So you lost on average 10 pounds per month?
    Thats waaaaaaay to aggressive, and thats what you are paying for now with hormones out of whack.
    It will be a bumpy ride, going ahead.

    While I agree that your weight loss rate does seem unnecessarily aggressive the hormone thing is not worth worrying about imo. This is a mental issue. Focus on reasonable, sustainable Rest Of My Life eating habits and get away from this all or nothing, off the wagon/ on the wagon stuff. Can be easier said than done but it'll do you more good in the long run.

    Science is NOT a "mental" thing.
  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
    Options
    z4oslo wrote: »
    Science is NOT a "mental" thing.

    I didn't say that hormonal changes didn't occur with weight loss and especially rapid weight loss. I said they're not worth worrying about.
  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
    Options
    PAV8888 wrote: »

    Depends on what you mean by worrying about it.

    Staying up all night saying "oh kitten", probably not useful.

    Realizing that there exists an issue to be addressed that is not just mental? Probably more useful.

    OP mentions all the carbs and no mention of sodium re takeout. So low carb? Is that sustainable?

    OP is at 140, goal in 130s, height? Someone said male? Is that right at bottom of BMI? Is that the correct goal?

    Is op at 140 in healthy weight? 10lb a month target will just never work at this point and you bet that food ideation will increase if the op tries to force it.

    Light person trying to get lighter especially after a massive loss is looking at months of finagling a tiny deficit to slowly coast down.

    Keep pushing it hard and you will keep having issues and failures.

    If the op started at obese levels, weight management is not a set and forget exercise but something that they will have to turn into a sustainable way of life over the next few years.

    Sorry, but yes, the op better be prepared to fight to maintain the loss over the next one to two years... because it is quite likely that it will take that long before things settle down.

    Personally I found that aiming for a 250Cal real deficit for a couple of years (and not caring if I truly hit it, thus achieving ~100, which incidentally will get the op to goal in a year) gave me enough time for things to settle down. YMMV.

    It's not worth worrying about (in my opinion) because whatever "damage" has been done is already done. My advice was to focus on reasonable, sustainable eating habits to get away from the "good food/ bad food" mentality that has him feeling defeated and upset because he ate a burger or seven and didn't even gain any real weight. How is focusing on how they might have made things harder for themselves in the future helpful?

    I addressed the main point of the post, which was the guilt and regret. Your advice might be correct but I personally don't think it would be helpful for this person at this point in time.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Options
    smolmaus wrote: »
    PAV8888 wrote: »

    Depends on what you mean by worrying about it.

    Staying up all night saying "oh kitten", probably not useful.

    Realizing that there exists an issue to be addressed that is not just mental? Probably more useful.

    OP mentions all the carbs and no mention of sodium re takeout. So low carb? Is that sustainable?

    OP is at 140, goal in 130s, height? Someone said male? Is that right at bottom of BMI? Is that the correct goal?

    Is op at 140 in healthy weight? 10lb a month target will just never work at this point and you bet that food ideation will increase if the op tries to force it.

    Light person trying to get lighter especially after a massive loss is looking at months of finagling a tiny deficit to slowly coast down.

    Keep pushing it hard and you will keep having issues and failures.

    If the op started at obese levels, weight management is not a set and forget exercise but something that they will have to turn into a sustainable way of life over the next few years.

    Sorry, but yes, the op better be prepared to fight to maintain the loss over the next one to two years... because it is quite likely that it will take that long before things settle down.

    Personally I found that aiming for a 250Cal real deficit for a couple of years (and not caring if I truly hit it, thus achieving ~100, which incidentally will get the op to goal in a year) gave me enough time for things to settle down. YMMV.

    It's not worth worrying about (in my opinion) because whatever "damage" has been done is already done. My advice was to focus on reasonable, sustainable eating habits to get away from the "good food/ bad food" mentality that has him feeling defeated and upset because he ate a burger or seven and didn't even gain any real weight. How is focusing on how they might have made things harder for themselves in the future helpful?

    I addressed the main point of the post, which was the guilt and regret. Your advice might be correct but I personally don't think it would be helpful for this person at this point in time.

    Unfortunately many people focus on speed and think they will just deal with whatever problems after the weight is gone. Most of them fail to lose weight because it is not sustainable. I should know. Some can go fast enough, like the OP, to keep the prize as the incentive to push through the misery or they become disordered. I would not rule out the latter for the OP just yet.

    A little worry can be a very healthy thing. The OP already knows he is capable of pushing hard so he may be very well inclined to finish and then worry about the consequences when he hits his goal. This is a terrible idea and could prolong his recovery for a very long time. He will hopefully be worried enough to avoid this.

  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
    Options

    Unfortunately many people focus on speed and think they will just deal with whatever problems after the weight is gone. Most of them fail to lose weight because it is not sustainable. I should know. Some can go fast enough, like the OP, to keep the prize as the incentive to push through the misery or they become disordered. I would not rule out the latter for the OP just yet.

    A little worry can be a very healthy thing. The OP already knows he is capable of pushing hard so he may be very well inclined to finish and then worry about the consequences when he hits his goal. This is a terrible idea and could prolong his recovery for a very long time. He will hopefully be worried enough to avoid this.

    Absolutely, I agree with you. I just think the mental issues (disordered eating, yo-yo dieting, possible life-long weird relationships with food) are more important than any potential hormonal damage. Which we don't even know is significant. I didn't say don't worry about anything.

    We are advising the same thing just with different focuses. A sustainable, whole-life approach.