When you fall off the wagon, process for getting back on?

Losingthedamnweight

I've fallen off the wagon so many times I'm surprised the wagon lets me back on. As usual, I turned into mr excuse maker and found stupid reasons to justify eating total crap. Now I'm getting back on and I want to give it my best try. What do you all do when you get back on? Do you start just eating your budgeted calories the next day? Do you simply count what you've eaten for a few days to get used to it again? Do you eat at maintenance and ease yourself back down to your budget? What's Your process like?

Cause it's weird as hell to go from eating 4000 calories all the way down to 1700. I hungry! I want my appetite to adjust

Denjo060

i have also fallen off the wagon and am having a hell of a time climbing back on Im interested also on how you all get back on

mjrkearney

Largely depends on how far the wagon's gone without you. I lost 50 pounds from September to April and promptly fell off the second my husband came home from overseas. I looked a hell of a lot better than when he left, but my progress has slowed to a crawl. I was no longer feeding only myself, and I definitely couldn't just take off and go running for a few hours, especially while we were mid-move. I was jogging along behind the wagon, but i definitely wasn't on it anymore.

Once you see that you've slipped and care enough to do something about it, do. You know what you need to do, you know where you need to be. All of the junk food and inactivity withdrawal symptoms are going to come back, and you need to beat them off with a stick.

Basically, it's going to suck, but you need to hop back on.

cdahl383

I've done the same thing over the past few years. Lose weight, gain it back, lose it again, gain it back, etc.

When I get to the point where I look like a flabby mess when I get out of the shower, that's usually when I get back with the program again. If I could somehow have that same motivation after just gaining a few pounds instead of 20-30 lbs it'd sure be a lot better.

I guess the real enemy here is complacency. If you can always have a goal to work towards, that will avoid the trap of becoming complacent with your looks/health, etc. I think keeping things fresh is important too, if you just eat the same foods and do the same stuff all the time, eventually you'll burn out. If you can add in some new foods, try new things, and add in new exercises to your routine now and then, that may also keep things new and fresh and avoid from stalling out.

slim4wedding2410

I forgive myself, remind myself of why I am doing this and look to my goals..

In 2010 I lost 6 stone and felt great, then I met my lovely partner, got immensely comfortable and gained 4 of it back (not impressed). Eventually realised that I was undoing all the hard work I had done before and gave myself a slap before getting back on the wagon.

I now got 3 of the 4 stone back off and have another 3 stone to go ( going to finish what I started this time, and keep it off

Have faith you can do it, treat it like a lifestyle not a diet and accept that in a lifestyle you are not going to eat perfectly every day, there will be days when you want to eat junk, but just make sure it doesn't become a habit x

mwooderson

I've fallen so far off the wagon I can't even see the wheel tracks anymore!!! Every day I wake up and swear to get back to business and be healthy. By 10;00 p.m. at night I'm starving and eating!!!!!! Sorry, no advice, just empathy.

AmyRhubarb

I got back on for the last time well over a year ago. Actually coming up on two years I think. No setbacks since then, possibly for several reasons.

One is just my own determination that there was no more stopping and starting - I was sick of losing some, gaining some, making progress, starting again, you know the drill. I resolved that I wasn't going to let it happen again. I made the decision, and made my plan - stock the kitchen with healthy stuff, log absolutely everything - pre-log whenever possible, this seems to help me stick to the plan, especially at restaurants.

Plan the next day's exercise the night before, or for the whole week. Lay the workout clothes out the night before, even if you don't workout first thing in the morning - put them in a prominent place where you can't miss them during the day, after work, whatever time is best for you.

I also switched from the basic MFP calorie set up and started using the info found in this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13 With the info, instructions and tools there, I calculated my BMR and TDEE, took a 15-20% cut from the TDEE, set my macros at 40/30/30 carbs/fat/protein, and manually set those goals here at MFP. My daily goal was 1800 cals- much easier to stick to than the lower numbers MFP was giving me, even with eating back exercise cals. My goal is the same every day, and I know my limits - eat in between BMR and TDEE, and as long as I don't go over the higher number, I won't gain. I sailed through the holidays, birthdays, vacations, etc, with no weight gain, no set backs, no stress about enjoying cake, drinks, pizza, and foods I love - I just fit them into my goals.

It has been so much easier, more of a lifestyle change because it's not a temporary diet - I'm losing fat, I finally hit goal weight, but I don't even care about that scale number anymore. I'm losing inches, I'm losing fat and seeing muscles that were buried for so long. I feel better, and look better than I have in years - and there's no going back this time.

You can do it. You know you want it bad enough, so take the steps needed to make it happen! :bigsmile:

Hildy_J

Hi there,

Perhaps you're falling off the wagon because your calorie goal is too low, for you personally? Perhaps try adjusting to TDEE-10% or set MFP at 0.5lb a week? You'll be less hungry at least.

Good luck!

Boogage

I was thinking the same thing as Hildy. I'd been netting far too low for a few months and although I was losing lots of weight, my body hasn't ended up the way I'd hoped so its worth checking out how many calories your body needs otherwise you'll be disappointed at the end of your journey. I'm now trying to find my maintenance and I'm up by between 150-550 cals a day on what I was eating and the scale actually said I'd lost 3/4 of a lb this morning.

Charloo1990

I've fallen so far off the wagon I can't even see the wheel tracks anymore!!! Every day I wake up and swear to get back to business and be healthy. By 10;00 p.m. at night I'm starving and eating!!!!!! Sorry, no advice, just empathy.

This is me, i got back off my holiday a week ago and every day since i've sworn to myself i'd get back on track but here i am, 12lbs heavier since 2 weeks ago :sad: I also do really well all day then for me it's about 5/6ish i give in. I must admit though, i do feel more positive today just cause i've literally had ebough of feeling like crap.

To the OP, i just plan on having my 1200cals today, i refuse to stat working out till i'm back on track, just taking it one day at a time.