Lost my way

fdlewenstein

August of 2020 marked one year since I started my journey. I have lost 80 pounds and more than multiple inches. Pre pandemic I walked everyday, pilates 5-6 times a week, and QuickHit 2-3 times a week. I've tried to maintain this routine as much as possible given the restrictions. I am so proud of my accomplishment and I have truly transformed my body, however, I have not meet my goal. I have 10 more pounds to go. For the last 5 weeks I have felt lost. I have not lost any weight (and may have gained a few) and I'm having difficulty managing my appetite. I have done so much in my journey and I can't determine why I am struggling to get back on track. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

AndreaTamira

Wow, you did great. - You have not lost your way, you are just taking a detour! You'll get where you want to be, just a hit slower than you hoped.

That's ok. Everybody says the last 10 pounds of so take forever to come off, anyway.

I don't know what you have been doing, so suggestions are hard. With how much you have lost you probably did all the typically recommended stuff (weighing everything you eat where possible, not forgetting to include condinents and drinks in your calories, checking if exercise REALLY burns as many calories for you as the app says and adjusting the percentage of what you eat back if needed, etc.).

Could it just be Christmas time eating slowing you down?

fdlewenstein

That’s part of it and Thanksgiving. Prior to this slow down I logged and measured everything I put in my mouth. Loosing weight was mostly diet changes in addition to activity level. After Thanksgiving I seem to have a hankering for carbs and sugar (which I was able to control before). I feel like I can’t satisfy my appetite. I try to make good choices, but I give in to cravings easily. I want to get back on track.

AndreaTamira

Oh, the dreaded "I ate a quite bit worse than before and now my body seems to want me to continue with that"-hunger.

I honestly don't know if there is a scientific reason for that one to even exist, but I have experienced it, too. Am right now, actually.

I am able to force myself to not eat all the stuff I want, but it is a lot less fun and easy than before Christmas.

Can you do lots of stuff that keeps you away from the temptations? Like long walks (with appropriate clothes, I guess...) or exercise outside of the house. Or collect all the stuff that tempts you and throw it out or, better, give it away? - I found in those spells where it is hard to control myself it is easier if I have controlled my environment to just not have much of the stuff I am overly craving.

AnneUT

The holidays are hard. Maybe once January comes you'll feel renewed and can leave the holidays behind you. Don't discount what you've already accomplished. 80 lbs is an amazing accomplishment and one most people can't ever get to. You're almost there, the holidays are hard, but you'll get your groove back!

mmyellow

I admire your ability to be honest and forthright, it is challenging for me sometimes to be so open. With that said, I do agree, you have accomplished so much. This time of year, especially this particular year, has a tendency to derail people pretty swiftly in so many ways. Fatigue sets in and our ability to continue forward as before diminishes. Baby steps sometimes helps me, just one small thing each time, vs looking at the larger picture all at once.

Bex953172

AndreaTamira wrote: »

Oh, the dreaded "I ate a quite bit worse than before and now my body seems to want me to continue with that"-hunger.

I honestly don't know if there is a scientific reason for that one to even exist, but I have experienced it, too. Am right now, actually.

I am able to force myself to not eat all the stuff I want, but it is a lot less fun and easy than before Christmas.

Can you do lots of stuff that keeps you away from the temptations? Like long walks (with appropriate clothes, I guess...) or exercise outside of the house. Or collect all the stuff that tempts you and throw it out or, better, give it away? - I found in those spells where it is hard to control myself it is easier if I have controlled my environment to just not have much of the stuff I am overly craving.

I don't have a scientific reason but my personal opinion is that it's because sugar is highly addictive. So when you cut it out, the cravings are hard at first but if you wait it out your body adjusts and then you can deal with it much easier. But when you eat some more sugar than normal (like over Christmas period) then you have to essentially get off the sugar again, but because it's addictive, it's very hard to do, especially when sugar is in so many things!

I agree with controlling the environment though, I would personally not buy crisps and chocolate and biscuits and only buy healthier stuff so when it comes to snack time, the onky choice I have is healthy. But as I have a family that DO want them things, I have to do thing differently, where I just control my choices instead. Any snacks I have I try to make them mindful rather than mindless, knowing the consequences BEFORE I eat it, rather than feeling guilty after.
Or even just checking if a snack fits in my calories first, at least I'd feel better about eating it if it fits!

AnnPT77

fdlewenstein wrote: »

That’s part of it and Thanksgiving. Prior to this slow down I logged and measured everything I put in my mouth. Loosing weight was mostly diet changes in addition to activity level. After Thanksgiving I seem to have a hankering for carbs and sugar (which I was able to control before). I feel like I can’t satisfy my appetite. I try to make good choices, but I give in to cravings easily. I want to get back on track.

It doesn't work for others (but I'm not the only one for whom it does): I made some progress on that front by consciously including multiple fruit servings daily for a while. Over time, that reduced my cravings for less nutrition-dense sweets, like cookies and candy. Much longer term, many of them started tasting too simple and too sweet, not as appealing.

I'd also observe that for me, the onset of cooler weather and shorter days seems to provoke appetite increase, every year. How to deal with that is pretty individual (and I'm not sure whether it's Winter where you are). Some folks (I've read around here) just expect to gain a few pounds over Winter, and to lose them again in Spring/Summer: That's what their maintenance looks like.

As another thing, sometimes sticking with a calorie deficit for a really long time, no maintenance break, can lead to sparked appetite for some reason; or to cortisol-related (stress) water retention that makes the scale stall. Since you're conscious of eating a bit more over the holidays, perhaps the water retention is less likely to be the factor, but it could be in there somewhere.

It's pretty obvious that you know what you need to do, to get back on track. I wish I knew how to flip that switch in my own brain at will, let alone in other people's (but if I did, I'd bottle it and sell it! 😉).

Hoping you can find a path back to your positive habits, and betting you can!

fdlewenstein

Thanks! I do know what to do and I wish I could determine what is preventing me from overcoming this current obstacle. You describe “flipping a switch” and that’s exactly what I need to do!

88olds

Weight loss is a set of things to do. Looks like you’ve quit doing them.

Try this to get unstuck- piece of paper, line down the middle. Column 1- why you want to lose more weight. Column 2- why you don’t. Think it over. Put down everything, even stuff that seems silly or frivolous. Give it a day or two. 2 honest lists.

Look at the lists. What deals or compromises can be made that get both sides something it wants? What accommodations are you willing to make? What things might be deal breakers?

A lot of people think the way to goal weight is to run their own resistance into the ditch. Usually doesn’t work in the long term. But whatever your reasons for resisting may be, they are valid because they are your reasons. They deserve some consideration.

Successful weight loss has 2 parts. A calorie deficit and living with it. There’s a tendency to go all in on the deficit and try to suffer through the living part. But if you want to get to goal weight and stay there not much is going change at GW. Just how it is.

Try to find your way to a downward trend. Forget the calendar. Don’t compare how fast you lost before with what you’re doing now. Your project now is to adjust to the new you. Losing more weight is just a byproduct of your new lifestyle. If you have a livable downward trend, time can be on your side. Good luck.

Ps. To lose 100lbs and keep it gone I’ve had to reinvent my plan about 4-5 times. Keep trying.

sijomial

fdlewenstein wrote: »

Thanks! I do know what to do and I wish I could determine what is preventing me from overcoming this current obstacle. You describe “flipping a switch” and that’s exactly what I need to do!

May or may not apply to you but depression is a big cause of not being able to do what you know you should do. This has been a depressing year for many.

Maybe just focus on changing one thing at a time?
Perhaps weighing yourself regularly or committing to logging your food completely as two suggestions.

Some people thrive on a big change/fresh start, some need to make incremental changes. Have a serious think about which approach to change is best for you and your circumstances. But I would advise making a change of whatever magnitude you can manage needs to be done now before your slip becomes a slide and all your impressive progress is lost.

January 1st could mark the start of your fightback.

LeiLaura

When I lost my way last year after losing 2 stone over 5 months, I think (with the benefit of hindsight) that two things were to blame. The first was that I'd let too many carbs creep into my diet in the form of sugary cereal bars and such. While they didn't take me over my calories, they reignited my sweet/carb cravings, so I fell off the wagon. This time round (only my first week, having gained a stone back over the last year), I'm much more wary of that tripwire. The second reason was, I think, simple diet fatigue. Several months of careful weighing and logging is tiring, not to mention the willpower required and physical exercise to boot. I wish now I had just planned a month-long diet break and enjoyed eating at maintenance. Even if I'd kept that up for half a year, I'd still be at least half a stone lighter than I am now. But my all or nothing mentality didn't allow that, so I kidded myself it was just a Christmas blip and I would start logging again in the New Year. I was exhausted with it all, but wouldn't admit it to myself.

Also, this may be too simplistic, but I find the "hump" at the start of any diet reset takes me three days to get through before my mind and body accept it and the cravings lessen. This time round, I just told myself to try for one day. It was hard, but the next day I wanted to aim for the three because I'd already done one. I nearly packed it in on the evening of day 2 because I had the munchies really badly - the cravings were worse than ever - and I felt so HANGRY, but day 3 was easier, and I've just completed day 4. Only 4 days, but it feels like I've got control again. I don't think I'd have made it even here if I hadn't tricked myself into just trying it for a day. I'm not out of the woods completely, and I know if have even one carby/sugary thing, I'll be a goner, but at this point I don't want to waste those difficult hangry days, or have to do them again in the future, so my stubbornness has kicked in to help my willpower now.

Anyway, I'm rambling, but really just meant to say I get it, and good luck!