Falling off the Wagon
corkdorkva
Posts: 24 Member
So, moderation is key, but I have discovered I am a weekend binger and though that might work for some, it does not for me. It might be the amount of yo-yo dieting over the years, but I can’t seem to nake the use of deficit work. It was the last dinner party in my house before we move to Florida this weekend and I baked everyone’s fave foods and had a fully stocked bar. I did not moderate, did not exercise and ended up gaining the four pounds I lost over the last two weeks back. Not feeling bad for myself, just getting back on the wagon with new realizations about how my body functions. Sorry for the long post, but I was thinking sharing this might help others that have slips on this journey.
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To gain 4 pounds you would need to have eaten at least 14000 calories over maintenance. That is not easily accomplished. Most likely your uptick is a very slight fat weight gain and the rest of it is water retention and food waste still in your system.
It is not helpful to have a wagon to be getting on and off of. A slip is no big deal if you spend the overwhelming majority of your time in a calorie deficit. It is good to have realizations as long as they are not based on false information from the bathroom scale. Take a moment and read this:
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
I got my new low weight on Friday and ate pizza on Saturday that fit in my calories for that day. I ended in a deficit. My scale rebounded 2 pounds. None of it was fat. It is just water retention from eating higher carb and higher sodium. It happens all the time and it never means a thing in the scheme of things.
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I'm not an expert, but I'm sure most of that is water weight. I know I retain water very easily. I think it's like 3,500 calories equal a pound of fat, so that would mean you consumed 14,000 calories over the weekend, and I highly doubt that. Maybe drink some tea and see if you can get some of the water out of your body.
One of the big things Novus stresses that has really stuck with me is that even though the main goal is weight loss, you're not on a diet. You're trying to permanently change your life so that you eventually lose weight. You have to make reasonable changes that you can live with forever. Life will happen, you will have dinner parties and all out binges, just like you will have times where you eat really well and exercise exactly like you're supposed to. Trying to end the mentality of this being something to start or stop, to fall off of, etc., really helps. Trying to lose weight shouldn't mean you have to be miserable all the time and that you can't indulge every once in a while. Just make sure the good days outweigh the bad and you will get where you want to be.
It's really good that you see where your problem areas are so you can find ways to manage them. I'm the same with weekends, they are the hardest part of the week to make good choices. I am not perfect by any means, but I'm way better than I used to be so I'm happy. Maybe together we can try to find some ideas to help curb the weekend excess. I hate feeling like I undid all my good work for the week by eating too much on the weekend. I won't change enjoying good food with friends and my husband, so I just try to make smarter choices that I will still enjoy and not feel deprived.2 -
As others have said the 4lbs is more than likely just water weight from the increased carbs, alcohol and sodium, daily weighing, even if just for a month can help you understand how your body reacts to different things, so you have less of a freak out over water weight swings.
Throughout my previous weight loss my scale weight was up/down by as much as 5lbs per day, but my trendweight was approximately 1lb per week loss over 6 months.
I am very social on weekends, I am on the committee of my local rowing club, I run a rugby social club and I often have weekend outings with friends, I made it work for me my planning in advance, if I have one of these weekends going on, I might eat a little less or exercise a little more during the week and I eat brunch rather than a separate breakfast/lunch on days I am likely to be eating out or getting drinks.
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I just scanned through the forum and felt like this was the most relevant spot to share the following:
If you haven't read my intro, you'd likely not know that I "fell off the wagon" about as hard as one possibly can. I was heavier for just about all of my life, but after going out on my own let my weight reach new heights until I finally pumped the brakes in 2009. I pushed myself and lost 110 lbs. By the end of that, I was exercising a lot and let my eating habits slip because I was burning calories hand over fist.
Then I was hospitalized for a week due to intense pain from Pancreatitis and wound up having my gall bladder removed. I was miserable and let that pain (and the memory of it) sour me on exercise, so I stopped. Eating habits didn't improve so I gained my weight back and more over a period of 9 years or so. Tried, unsuccessfully, to lose weight several times over the years but nothing stuck.
Until this year. I got to a point where my weight was making me miserable. I couldn't sleep well, had heartburn all the time, didn't want to go out and do things with my family, and was just generally unhappy. 7.5 months in now and things are much different. I'm trying my best to learn from past mistakes and not repeat them. I'm not even halfway to my goal yet, but I'm feeling much happier and healthier than I did last year.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this -- if you fall off your plan for a day, or a weekend, or even a week or more... don't let that "failure" make you stop trying. Just get back up and try again.
I wish I had taken my own advice 9 years ago
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Thanks for this post.. it couldn't come at a better time.. I've been struggling with some personal issues that have caused me to back slide on my good eating habits. I've been feeling shame and down on myself for it. I just need to brush myself off and get back on that horse and try to focus on myself. 😊 5
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kosseychick wrote: »Thanks for this post.. it couldn't come at a better time.. I've been struggling with some personal issues that have caused me to back slide on my good eating habits. I've been feeling shame and down on myself for it. I just need to brush myself off and get back on that horse and try to focus on myself. 😊
Hate that you are going through a troubling time. I hope it works out really quickly. Try not to waste time with shame and regret. Also, if you were perfect all the time I would have to kick you out of the group. 1 -
kosseychick wrote: »Thanks for this post.. it couldn't come at a better time.. I've been struggling with some personal issues that have caused me to back slide on my good eating habits. I've been feeling shame and down on myself for it. I just need to brush myself off and get back on that horse and try to focus on myself. 😊
I'm glad that you found this helpful! I still have trouble talking about my experiences, but I try to do so as part of my recovery / change of lifestyle. Hearing something like this makes doing so feel worthwhile, so thank you for that.
Hopefully you get a reprieve from whatever is getting you down soon. Feel free to vent in here as much as you're comfortable, and try to get back to your plan. You'll feel better doing so, I bet.1 -
@merph518 thanks:) I sure hope so!
@NovusDies LOL.. I'll be here forever then... i"m far from perfect😊1 -
kosseychick wrote: »@merph518 thanks:) I sure hope so!
@NovusDies LOL.. I'll be here forever then... i"m far from perfect😊
Good. When you get to goal you will be around coaching people who are just starting out. I really want you to believe that too. You will succeed even though it will be messy and imperfect at times getting it done.3 -
@merph518 Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It is so encouraging and inspiring. I’m constantly telling my kids that change is always possible as long as your alive. I guess we change after we die too but that’s gross and you get the point. ; )
I’ve lost and gained the same 80 lbs for the last 10 years. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve beat myself up over giving up during a difficult time or after gaining just a couple pounds back. BUT I’m absolutely done with shame or regret about this. It doesn’t help at all. The best thing I can do with those “failures” is to learn what went wrong and do something different this time. I say this a lot but this group may be the biggest difference for me this time. I so appreciate how kind, encouraging and open everyone is. And you all have so much wisdom!3 -
I knew the last week and half would be challenging and it was. I'm up 3 pounds (some is likely water weight). But I'm back in my regular routine and ready to move on. I'm sure with enough time, I'll learn to do a better job sticking more closely to my plan when things are busy and Im traveling, but it was a huge step in the right direction for me to get on the scale and face my eating choices. In the past, I just avoided the scale and kept on overeating for months or even years until the damage was much larger than 3 pounds. One of the sayings I really like right now is "If you're tired of starting over, stop giving up." No more giving up for me!2
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real_change wrote: »I knew the last week and half would be challenging and it was. I'm up 3 pounds (some is likely water weight). But I'm back in my regular routine and ready to move on. I'm sure with enough time, I'll learn to do a better job sticking more closely to my plan when things are busy and Im traveling, but it was a huge step in the right direction for me to get on the scale and face my eating choices. In the past, I just avoided the scale and kept on overeating for months or even years until the damage was much larger than 3 pounds. One of the sayings I really like right now is "If you're tired of starting over, stop giving up." No more giving up for me!
Go you!
I hope you enjoyed what you were eating and drinking. Also, it is probably mostly water weight. I have found that even though many of us (maybe even all of us) have thought that gaining weight was really easy it turns out it is more complicated. While we lose weight at about 3500 calories per pound we don't necessarily gain by exactly that number.
Not to long ago I purposefully engaged in an overfeed which resulted in eating 7k calories above maintenance over 5 days. That is enough calories to gain 2 pounds of fat. I gained half a pound.
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