Can’t get out of vacation mode

qwertybird

It’s been a month since vacay and I finally went back to the gym last night. After careful avoidance of added sugar for 8 months, I have not been able to turn off the sweet tooth with Halloween and fall baked treats. I was doing well with allowing some sweets so I don’t feel deprived. I lost 40 pounds since January, but more importantly, I got to a point of feeling healthier and stronger than I have in over 20 years. I don’t want to give up on myself! I am especially concerned with the holidays and typical winter blues coming! Has anyone else gone through this?

Cheesy567

I have been losing weight for a couple years now, 85 pounds lost from a high of 330 in 2019, but I started in 2015 with some regains in there between 2015-2019.

I’ve learned that it works best for me to take a maintenance break in October, and sometimes into Nov and even into January. Historically, this is when I gain weight rapidly if I’m not paying attention. It’s been when all my diets fail. It’s a stressful month for me anyways, and the Nov-Dec timeframe is too. I live in central Minnesota, and the drop in daylight hours affects a lot of things, including my schedule, my sleep needs, my drive to prepare meals, etc. Sometimes I’m ready to switch back to full deficit earlier than other years.

What I found to be most successful is changing habits, and choosing what habits will carry me forward life-long. That includes tough times. Halloween and fall happens every year. You get to choose which fall baked treats you make every year and which and how many of those you eat. You get to choose which holiday traditions you participate in, for how many days and weeks, and how many are going to include which and how much food. You can look at Oct as one whole month of Halloween, or you can look at October 31 as Halloween. You can look at Nov-Dec as one long Holiday period, or you can look at it as two holidays, or two 3-day holiday blocks. Or maybe you give yourself a deficit level calories for 5 days a week, then the remainder of maintenance-level calories as a buffer on the other 2 days a week knowing that you have holiday parties and activities and treats the whole last quarter of the year.

Make the conscious choice, so that you don’t feel guilt or shame. And most of all, so that you are aware and conscious of your weight and your progress. Most of all, it just has to work out for you, for your lifestyle.

And don’t forget, maintenance isn’t a bad thing. It’s the goal in the long run. There’s nothing wrong with practicing it along the way. Weighing 40 pounds less come January 2022 compared to JAN 2021 is a phenomenal win, right?

qwertybird

Thank you. This is a positive and rational approach that works with me and not against me. I appreciate it! I have been doing this all on my own. I am grateful for this community support.