Help Losing Control!

patriciades

I have gained 2 pounds this week!!! I am so disappointed with myself. I keep doing this to myself. I HATE being fat!! I have no one to blame but myself. I have lost this weight several times before, then something happens to trigger my eating. Sometimes I know what it is and sometimes I don't. This time I know what started it, a personal happening and a job that was forced upon me that keeps me so stressed I am miserable. Can't quit, can't afford to, so I eat. I need help hanging on.

bjberry

When I was a thousand miles away from my family, my Aunt and my Grandmother were both dying back home, and I was so miserable,
I went to a stress-reduction class.

First, they taught us relaxation techniques: Lay down and, starting with your feet, wiggle your toes and then tell them to relax. Verify that they are relaxed. Go to the ankles, and then on up the rest of your body, and follow the same instructions. I always realized it was my face and neck that were the tightest. When I finished, I was very relaxed, not hungry, and ready for bed.

Second, they pointed out that endorphins (those feel good chemicals in the brain) could be activated by food--as in most of our cases--or by exercise. I added exercise to my daily schedule--calisthnics, walking, trying to play tennis (LOL), and dancing.

Third, they emphasized that laughter is the best way to reduce stress. That has been proven by multiple studies. So, you can watch you favorite funny movie or TV show, laugh with your friends, watch kids playing, or read funny articles via the internet--they have sites specifically set up (joke per day, etc.).

Please, go live, laugh, and maybe even find something positive in your job--a new friend, a new interest, ... .

Hugs, :drinker: (water)

patriciades

Thanks so much for your encouragement. I need more me time. I will make sure I get it along with more exercise.

catchtanya

Thanks to both of you! First for this post, and 2nd for the excellent reply it rcv'd. Very helpful information. I am going to try the relaxtion technique before I go to bed tonight.

Arynamber

I know EXACTLY how you feel. I have lost and gained the same 5-10 pounds at LEAST ten times. Right now I am STRESSED... from work, kids, extra things that needs to be done at home.. and it all falling on JUST ME.. NO SUPPORT OR HELP. Hence an eating binge the last few day..and now Im afraid to get on the scale! And Ive only been averaging gym one time per week! I cant get into a routine.. finding it hard being SO STRESSED to stay motivated.. GRRRR

MysticMaiden22

I have gained 2 pounds this week!!! I am so disappointed with myself. I keep doing this to myself. I HATE being fat!! I have no one to blame but myself. I have lost this weight several times before, then something happens to trigger my eating. Sometimes I know what it is and sometimes I don't. This time I know what started it, a personal happening and a job that was forced upon me that keeps me so stressed I am miserable. Can't quit, can't afford to, so I eat. I need help hanging on.

I know a lot about how this feels. I have a high stress job and used to come home at the end of the day with a bag of fast food and chowed down before I passed out. At work I would carry a bag of chocolate in my work bag and eat that at my console. Food was the only thing I could rely on when everything else was out of control. I also had a death in the family before I started the job so on top of stress and emotional eating, I started smoking and never exercised. I gained 30 pounds in result.

On my endeavors in weight loss I found myself having great successes...and miserable failures. I would always stress out and give up if I had a 2 pound gain in a week. I would hate myself and cry about it. I would stress out and cry to my friends or boyfriend. It was miserable.

What I didn't realize is that sometimes our bodies can have fluctuations within a day. Even two pounds is a small fluctuation. After looking up the science of weight loss, it's actually really hard to gain 2 pounds of solid fat. I mean, if one pound is worth 3500 calories, then it takes 7,000 excess calories beyond maintenance to gain that much weight. That is seriously a LOT of food! Even I don't think I can do that in a week without getting insanely sick.

I started weighing myself only once a month so that I don't look at the weekly fluctuations and get discouraged.

The best thing for you to do is to just do your best to start again the very next day. If you have one bad day, do your best to put it behind you and start fresh. Eventually you'll get into a good routine.