Fat Days

KillerByteUK

Does anybody else have 'fat' days? What I mean by this is, regardless of your current weight, do you have days where you feel particularly 'fat' and sometimes unmotivated despite the fact that you may have lost weight?

I've lost 10lb so far since starting on this site on November 1st which is by no means a poor achievement. Yet today, I've woken up feeling heavy and fat today. My stomach feels bigger and when I look in the mirror I'm not seeing things as positively as I was yesterday. I have even been on the scales and checked and I haven't gained any weight. It's nothing to do with what I ate yesterday - I was 600 calories under my recommended amount including the exercise I did.

The problem with days like this for me is that I start to lose motivation and think about eating comfort foods again - which I know is bad for me - but my brain thinks it'll do its job and comfort me.

I guess I just find it very frustrating - at least I now have somewhere to vent about it.

Lyadeia

I feel this way from time to time, and I think that everyone else probably does as well. It's just part of being human. :flowerforyou:

Do you ever allow yourself any kinds of cheats? The reason I ask is because your subconscious is thinking on those foods that you used to eat but deny yourself now. That might have something to do with how you are feeling. I personally allow myself one cheat meal each week, that way my body doesn't "think" that it will never get certain foods again. Today, for example, I went to China Buffet as my cheal meal and ate a bunch of no-no foods. :bigsmile: But, I have been losing weight lately, 1.5 pounds per week average, so eating 1 meal out of my 35 I have in a week doesn't seem to affect me negatively at all.

I have also read that these cheat meals, when used sparingly like once a week or so, are actually good for your metabolism because it prevents it from going into starvation mode. Also, a lot of people even report that they lose MORE weight if they weigh themselves the day after a cheat meal. Sounds weird, but I have personally experienced that too.

Perhaps we have our "fat days" because we are putting all this hard work into our diet and exercise that we simply expect more than what we are getting...so we feel "fat" when we were are really not fat because our body says "I should have lost 15 by now instead of 10." Which is also where a cheat meal comes in handy cause then you can weigh yourself and say, "Hey, I just ate like a cow yesterday, but since I worked out hard for 6 days eating good stuff, I still lost 10 pounds. Go me!" :flowerforyou:

KillerByteUK

Yeah, I have the occasional treat which I work for. For example, on Monday I ordered takeaway after reaching a 10lb loss on my weigh-in. It was one of my vices - pizza and I ate way more than I usually do now I use this site. In the end, I realised that although I thought I wanted takeaway pizza, once I'd had it I don't think I'll need it for a while again yet. I also made sure I logged all of those calories so I know how bad it would be to have that very often. I also put the extra effort in on yesterday's exercise to make up for it.

I think my peaks and troughs in how I feel also revolve around external factors such as work. My job can be quite stressful - I'm a software developer so there's often the pressure of deadlines and meeting client expectations. Recently, I've had the workload of two people yet I am the only person working on these projects. I guess as I start to feel down about work, it spreads to other areas such as how I feel about myself.

I'm not going to give up though. The changes I'm making mean far too much to me. I just need to stay strong I guess.

katieannd

Us women tend to get 'fat weeks'...usually happens about once a month

danmullen

Keep going mate, you're doing great so far. I started on 31st August and just hit the 40lb mark yesterday - really pleased! When I look in the mirror I don't see ANY difference to when I started, but I've had to buy new jeans and shirts as the old ones don't fit any more, plus lots of people have commented on how much difference they can see. As the changes will be gradual you might not notice them, but believe me other people will!

Also, although I've cut right down on what I used to eat and drink, I still allow myself the odd glass of wine or takeaway... I think it's really important not to deprive yourself of anything. When I've tried to lose weight in the past and completely cut out alcohol, takeaways, etc. I've ended up giving up and putting all the weight back on. By allowing yourself the odd "treat", you'll find it easier to stick to.

One thing I would recommend is for you to try to get nearer to your calorie goal... 600 under is quite a lot. You're risking your body going into starvation mode where it'll start storing fat rather than burning it.

Anyway, good luck - you've made a great start

Sugar_Apple

Thats how I feel right now.....:frown:

sarahbeth84

I have lost 74 pounds and I for sure have those days now still. even after losing 74 pounds its kinda weird to think I was that big and then look in the mirror and still feel fat now. I am a girl though and we do think that way . For sure keep on going though, its worth it, even when we think its not. good Job for the 10 so far!

ErinMarie25

Oh for sure I have those days!!

cutmd

I hate fat days. I go from feeling good about my body to feeling like doing something drastic overnight. Usually related to TOM but sometimes you're just bloated (sodium, etc). :grumble: