Why? Why can’t i get back/stay on track?

mel35645

Started my weight loss journey almost 10 years ago before i turned 50. Got to goal weight was happy there and maintained it for several years. Fell off track a couple of years ago gained back 30 of the 40 pounds I lost and i just can’t get myself back on track.
Today was day 2 of tracking again and I ate so much sugar it’s embarrassing. Not sure how to get myself back under control. I turn 60 in a few months and i have every reason to want to be healthy just can’t get my mind focused.

JenniferM1234

I'm around a decade younger than you, but I "feel" this comment (as my teenager would say). I've been yo-yo dieting the same 20-odd pounds since I was in high school -- it's not a great way to live and I wish I just, you know, ate food rather than having a relationship with it, if that makes sense.

Yesterday was a sucky day for me. My diary is open if you want to see how much I was able to pack away yesterday -- embarrassing is right! But I am here on MFP to see if the accountability helps put an end to this lifelong approach to nutrition. How about you? Are you here for support too?

mel35645

Jennifer M thank you! I am definitely here for support ! I am an emotional eater and when i get started i can’t stop myself. I seriously have a sugar addiction and i hate that I can’t overcome it. I’m a strong woman in every other aspect of my life

LyndaBSS

I'm 61 and an emotional overeater. That said, since I've committed to my new lifestyle 4 months ago, I have only had one day where my emotions could have easily caused me to binge. I didn't do it. I stood strong. It took real willpower but I did it.

You can do it, too. You have to want it bad enough. You have to dig really deep and find your accountability and motivation.

I also have anxiety, depression and ptsd. Within two weeks of eating a pescatarian diet, my symptoms had lessened.

Maybe switch up your food? Did you feel deprived at all?

matthewprymek

I'm nowhere near your age but I definitely understand going back and forth like crazy. I've found the most critical thing is becoming more conscious of our thought patterns and their association with our motivational drives, emotions, and attention.

So much goes into the word we call 'habit'. Whenever we eat food to address an emotional state, or eat in response to some triggering thought or stimulus (i.e, driving by McDonald's on the way home), we're training ourselves to repeat that pattern of behavior, the same as you would train a dog. Learning to disassociate from my train of thought and its associated emotions (or learning to suddenly interrupt that chain of thought) allows me to put my attention elsewhere. When my attention is no longer directed at food, I feel no desire or temptations towards it (well, until it intrudes on my attention again - but then its back to step one )

Good luck getting focused with this.

Edit: You say you're a strong women and I believe you. But I honestly don't think this is a matter of 'strength' or 'willpower'. Desires are a part of us - the harder we fight, the harder they fight back. The more attention we give them, the less we can let go. The more we relax... so do they.

mel35645

Thank you Matthewprymek you certainly seem wiser than your years!

mel35645

LyndaBSS wrote: »

I'm 61 and an emotional overeater. That said, since I've committed to my new lifestyle 4 months ago, I have only had one day where my emotions could have easily caused me to binge. I didn't do it. I stood strong. It took real willpower but I did it.

You can do it, too. You have to want it bad enough. You have to dig really deep and find your accountability and motivation.

I also have anxiety, depression and ptsd. Within two weeks of eating a pescatarian diet, my symptoms had lessened.

Maybe switch up your food? Did you feel deprived at all?

Thank you Lyndabss! I don’t necessarily feel deprived I anxious and just keep shoving food (usually candy or some type of sugar) into my mouth and once i start I can’t seem to stop! When i was on track i had no problem staying away from sugar just don’t know how i got to that place or how to get back to it

LyndaBSS

Can you keep those binge foods out of the house? .

When I started mfp, I was addicted to gumdrops. I tossed them on day one. It became a case of out of sight, out of mind. In a very short time, I no longer wanted them. I haven't had a single one since.

CharlieBriscoe

I'm 28 and I'm the same. I had my daughter and have been yoyoing with weight since 2010. I got to a great weight earlier this year of 9st 10 (i'm only 5 ft 1) and I literally piled it ALL (I'm now 11st 2) back on in like 3 months?! I'm getting better but I suffer with anxiety and I notice that AS SOON as I start to feel anxious I reach for something to snack on or eat. If I feel stressed, overwhelmed etc it triggers the eating, but I know that now, so I can look at these situations where I over eat objectively... It is definitely mind over matter for me but also not depriving myself entirely because I know that's when I'll eat too much! Cut out things little and often, slow progress is still progress!! Don't beat yourself up.

mel35645

CharlieBriscoe wrote: »

I'm 28 and I'm the same. I had my daughter and have been yoyoing with weight since 2010. I got to a great weight earlier this year of 9st 10 (i'm only 5 ft 1) and I literally piled it ALL (I'm now 11st 2) back on in like 3 months?! I'm getting better but I suffer with anxiety and I notice that AS SOON as I start to feel anxious I reach for something to snack on or eat. If I feel stressed, overwhelmed etc it triggers the eating, but I know that now, so I can look at these situations where I over eat objectively... It is definitely mind over matter for me but also not depriving myself entirely because I know that's when I'll eat too much! Cut out things little and often, slow progress is still progress!! Don't beat yourself up.

Thanks charliebriscoe. It definitely is mind over matter and i can’t find a happy medium YET! But I’m going to keep trying.

CorvusCorax77

Your story is just like mine- except I'm 40.

I lost 50 lbs doing CICO, and maintained a good weight for six years and then it slowly crept back up. Not to the same high, but too high. I literally struggled for three years trying to get motivated to get back down again- I'd say I need to lose 20 lbs.

Anyways, I finally figured out why. I am addicted to sugar. I tried Keto just because it's all the rage at work- i'm not a believer in gimmicks but i saw coworkers lose weight on it so i figured i would try. My belief is that Keto works because you are cutting calories. I'm netting less than 1200 on most days. But the REAL benefit of eating low carb is that it tackles that addiction to sugars and carbs. I feel free of food cravings. It's so goddamned liberating!!!!

I don't know if this is your situation, but it is mine. I am a food addict.

Now i eat less than 50 net carbs a day.

I don't intend to do this for the rest of my life, but until i lose 20 lbs I am sticking to it. I have done 2 weeks and lost 6 lbs.

mel35645

That’s awesome keep up the great work!!
i did keto for 3 weeks lost 6 lbs and gave up! I’m definitely addicted to sugar and just can’t get my mind right. I’m disappointed and disgusted with myself

BecomingMyBetterSelf

I mean this is the most helpful, least condescending way, you may need professional help. Sometimes, its not just "overeating just because" sometimes it's a symptom of another issue. It may not be but if this is a constant battle it could potentially be something more. Either way it's worth having the conversation with your doctor. Best of luck, were in this together.

PumpkinAndPecans

I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) which mine is not severe. I still eat sweets but in moderation. I scared myself when I started researching how the body processes the sugar. It is crazy what the body has to do to get rid of the bad sugar. Pancreas, insulin, liver. Diabetes runs in my family. I just want no parts of it.

As for getting started again. I did this before at the age of 43. Lost 50. Gain 20. I signed up again TWO YEARS AGO but I think I finally have my head wrapped around it this time (46 years old now). I would log a few days or a few weeks and then disappear for months. I now have to make sure that if I miss a day of logging, it doesn't turn into week.

I will prelog my food for the next day. This gets me excited about the new day to come. Of course foods get changed, menus get switched but I continue to log.

I love numbers! Get a exercise calorie tracker. Get a food scale. Have fun making the numbers work in your favor.

Don't give up!

Ellevated

The first step is awareness. Now you're tracking exactly the what you're putting in your body, you're aware and therefore have the power to change.

You can do this! I used to be a serial emotional eater. I learnt to stop feeding the emotional hunger with physical food and started to nourish my emotional needs instead.

brenn24179

i lost 40 lbs and kept it off for four years, got a flu and then ate everything in sight and gained 25 back. I was so depressed about it. I could not do keto but I do like low carb. I ate 100 gr of carbs and did my logging with calories and lost it. You can do it, it feels so good to get that weight off!

poisonesse

I'm 68, and I started this journey back in 2012, when I needed to have a heart stent put in for a clogged artery. Never had a heart attack, my heart is still strong, but it was definitely enough to put me into a frenzy. So I started logging foods, lost 58 pounds and hit my goal two years ago. Relaxed a bit, gained back 20 and realized that, for me, logging is a way of life. No logging means weight gained. And I will NOT go back to being obese, nope, ain't goin' there. So I found MFP (my old site, Calorie Count had closed down) and started back in to logging everything I ate and all exercise. I hit goal again in April, went on maintenance for the summer, and now I'm back into loss mode, decided that while I'm within the normal weight range for my height, I don't have much wiggle room. This is a life style change, not a diet... I refuse to give up the foods that I love (CHOCOLATE) so I have to hold myself accountable. And logging does it for me. You just have to get your heart (and head) around it, realize that today's lifestyles are not all that good for our health (just look at the obesity rates throughout the world!) and decide if you're going to do what needs to be done to stay healthy, or let yourself slip back into not liking your own body. It's work! It isn't easy! But you CAN do this again, you did it once, so you know it's possible. I wish you the best on your journey, just stay strong and remember that this is life. You're going to slip up here and there, but as they say, just get back on that horse and RIDE! If you'd like to add me for support, feel free to do so. That goes for anyone here, K?