Fell Off the Wagon...Need Support!

princessmikayla5

So I was so sure I was going to make it through the Christmas season at LEAST maintaining my current weight. Instead, I completely lost all control with the sweets. I've gained back about three pounds. I'm having trouble getting back in the swing of things! Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and also motivational friends are always needed! I've noticed I do fine throughout the day (eating at work, breakfast, etc.), but I snack like crazy at night (and not on healthy foods). I get too embarrassed to fill out my food diary so I just don't. I need to get back into my disciplined routine! Thanks for any help.

smitty328

Hop back on Girl!!!!

jackann825

Stay strong. It's a minor setback but look at it this way - you came back and know what happened and know what you got to do. Log you meals, even if it is way over. This way you can see it and know you don't want to go back there again. Time for positive thoughts. :happy:

karmasBFF

The only advice I can offer you is that I gained 7 lbs since about August. It is hard for me too. You are not alone. Take it day by day and stay strong. Your body has become accustomed to eating those sweets, so its going to take time for you body to come back from it.

Just dont give up!!!

littlelol

3pounds isnt that bad uno. dont be o hard on yourself. i also struggling with wanting to snack t nite so i try to drink more and eat fruit :flowerforyou:

Hermstar1

I am right there with you too! Gained about 1 1/2 lb back over the holiday. Evenings are my bad time too! I'm going to try to eat more veggies to help fill me up and allow myself a snack at night in that 100 calorie range. I'm going to buy some prepacked snacks to get me started. Start up your computer when you get home and log on so you know its up and when you put something in your mouth, you log it in...sounds easy, but I know, it's hard. I forget all the mindless eating that I do unless I do that. You can do it!

Dlibo1013

I hear ya, I have slipped in my eating too and need to get back on track.

MillerLB83

I've found that if I have snack food in the house, I WILL eat it...so I just don't keep it around. Also it helps to replace the snack with something else. For example, if you're tempted, walk away from it and have a glass of water or do a set of crunches. Scientifically speaking, cravings are very short-lived (a matter of minutes) so all we have to do is wait them out. Good luck! You can do it!

Indimenticabile1

I've done, quite literally, the exact same thing. I'll just let you in on my mantra: Your success is based on a cumulative effect, not your day-to-day results. Take a deep breath, and just keep in mind that sliding back is not the same as failure. Everyone deserves a break sometimes Just keep in mind that breaks can't last forever, and it's time to get your butt back in gear!

I set a date to help me motivate myself: my return to school on the 10th means I have to resume my diary routine (no matter how many pieces of chocolate I eat!)

Kminor67

If night time snacking is your problem, then budget for it. I like to try to have healthy snacks... such as Edy's fruit bars, Fat Free Sherbet, Reduced Fat Sting Cheese, or Baked tortilla strips with Salsa. Good luck!

andythorn1969

Hi,

3lb isn't a huge amount and if you start getting yourself really stressed by it you may start eating choccies to cheer yourself up. This will put you off your goal again and you eat even more choccies, as you can see this is a cycle that can build up if you let it (it happens every year to my wife).

My advice is to just shrug your shoulders, tell yourself that Christmas is finally over, throw out all the junk food in the house (or feed it to the boyfriend or dog) and get your head back into a positive place.

3lb isn't the end of the world, it's only 3lb and you know you can loose it in a few weeks.

Good luck!

Andy

Disciplined74

I TOTALLY could have been the one to write that post. Mainly anyway. I was sick over the holidays and that was probably the only thing that created a weight loss for last month for me (but when I posted that loss it was motivating and it was a good way to start the New Year).

But I am so with you on the doing well at logging Breakfast and lunch and then the rest of the day just doesn't get done. I know it is a key to success but I just can't seem to get it done.

Someone earlier posted a recommendation to log their exercise before they do it so they are more likely to do it since they've committed by logging it in their journal.

I committed to do the same thing with food for tomorrow. And I would like to think that I will continue but for now I am committting to one day. Tonight I am going to log everything before I eat it and then tomorrow I just have to eat it.

I did this once before when I started MFP and it worked really well. I think I stopped becuase at some point I wanted something different than what was on my list, so tomorrow I am goign to eat as scheduled but after that I think I will schedule about 1500 of the calories and leave the other 300 as unscheduled so I can have some flexibility.

Another suggestion I have for you is to write your food down on paper in the afternoon and then enter as you get the time. I think it will have the eye opening experience of wow I didn't konw that had that much calories. Plus if you see how much you are going over or under everyday then it gives you baseline of whether you are on the right track. I don't think all snacking is bad. It's all in quanity and not quality.

Also, I make up 100 calorie packs with things like dry cereal (which I love to snack on), chips, and cookies. This way when I'm wanting a snack I can just grab a bag and 100 calories isn't undoing plus by the time I eat that 100 calorie baggy of snack, my craving for that food is gone.

Those are my suggestions, but please know I need to do a better job at practicing what I preach.

I wish you the best. We can do this.

Eva

carl1738

It sounds like you already know what you're doing wrong, and what you need to do to fix things. So smarten up, stop eating crap for late night snacks, log your food, and get off your *kitten* and exercise! Stop whining about it and do it! If you can't stay away from the junk food late at night, then don't buy it in the first place!

ErinMarie25

Remember the holidays come once a year. You can lose those 3 pounds and lose a lot more until next time. Also, studies show people gain on average 10 POUNDS during the holidays. You only gained 3! Just forget about it and keep going!

plainjoe81

The same motivation that got you here in the first place. (Plus made MFP my home page lol)

Loribell23

You aren't alone! I've been struggling since the holidays too and late night snacking is my BIGGEST weakness. It's so easy to just sit down after my kids go to bed and break out the pretzels, skittles, chocolate kisses and top if off with whatever else I can find that is sweet or salty.

Since I totally realize this, I decided that was going to be one of my resolutions. To put and END to the late night snacking. It's so bad for you and it makes you wake up full- I find that when I do it, I skip breakfast. how absurd is that?! Anyway, would you like to join me on my no more late night eating challenge?! :happy:

QueenVee

My problem is that I get the munchies at night also. I have the book "YOU on a Diet" by Dr. Oz and Dr. Rosenbaum (or whatever his name is) and they say to try to drink water first to see if that is what your body is actually craving. Another piece of advice that came from a nurse practitioner friend is to suck on a lemon or eat a pickle. The lemon has been working for me.

Three pounds is not that bad, especially since that's all you gained over the holidays. The key is to not get discouraged and keep going. When you fall down in a track meet, the coach says to get back up and keep running. There's no need in giving up and walking the rest of the way if you can run and get a better time. By the same token, you'll feel better if you keep going rather than stop and beat yourself up because you fell off. Just get back up and get back on.

bsoxluvr

You are not alone! I fell off too and gained (according to the scale) 10 pounds! I said last Sunday was D-day and started fresh on Monday. Since then I have lost 5 of those 10 pounds and I'm sure I will lose a few more. Don't be too hard on yourself and just pick up where you left off. I'm sure the damage you think you have done is not nearly as bad.

gettincozie

Hello,
I am fairly new at this so I am just giving you my opinion!!! I think you should just document what you are eating so that you will be accountable!!! Remove your diary from public view until you back on track. I have only been doing this for about a week but today I had a 470 calorie with 32 grams of fat! I didn't want to start till after the holidays because I love to eat!! Hope this helps!!!

mariasheehan

oh my gosh, I'm exactly the same, I did great last week but this week..UGH. I'm just not that into it. I don't know what's wrong with me, I've been going great for 5 months now I've stalled a little. But that's ok, it's a lifestyle and in life, there is chocolate and ice-cream and goodies. 3lbs is nothing, really, it's nothing. You can absolutely get back into it, I made myself track and log all of the sweets and goodies I ate, just to keep the routine going. It really helps me to look at my old pictures of before I lost weight, or remember how uncomfortable my clothes felt, how high my BP was or my BMI. I also find looking at the success stories motivating or reading posts on the forum, it helps me get 'back into it'. I'm great during the day too, and night time is difficult, so I try and walk during the day to gain some exercise cals so I can have low fat ice-cream.

You've done so well so far and it's soooo worth it, isn't it? keep on going, try just push through this week and take each day at a time. I'm just trying to get through this week too, logging the hershey kisses, because pretending they didn't happen is just cheating myself. And I want to be nice to myself.

Please be nice to yourself too :-)

tamerajmoore

Hi, I wanted to be one of the first to respond to you and let you know that you are not alone! I lost close to 40lbs and was 21 lbs away from my goal and then fell off the wagon completely!! I beat myself up and in one week I gained 8lbs..talk about eating away my problems....by the time that I weighed myself again I had gain 13lbs altogether! I cried and then I realized that I cant change the past, I can only learn from it!! I had to really think about how serious I was about getting healthy and then saying to myself...I am tired of eating away my problems...I am tired of letting food and my emotions control me and letting things continually make me a victim...I said all of this to share my story so that you wont feel embarrassed because I did it to. All you have to do is really think about where you want to go and take one step towards the right direction..one step will lead to another then another...I was tired of living in the pit and eating my self to death...A trainer told me that if I was waiting for the right person...to push me....I will be waiting for a long time..and if I was waiting for some big boost of motivation...that I all I needed to do was envision the weight I want to be and the things I want to do and that is the real motivation...and If I was waiting for the right time...It is now....and that i am only one decision away from reaching my goal....the truth is when we decide to not let the pit of eating swallow us whole we will be well on our way to reaching our goals...You can do it....you can't change your past mistakes...learn from it and recognize how you feel when youre eating out of control...and recognize how you feel when you make the right choices for yourself....This is our life, our body and its our time to put this bad habit behind so that next year we can pay if forward....Make the most of today and know that the greatest power you have is your decision....take a moment..you know what your goal is...see your self reaching it...after all that is what our imagination is for...to see what is not yet visible in the material world...(faith in yourself will get you there)....hats off to you and know that right now you have my support....I DARE to Push you to become the size and the whole person you want to be!!!

I Never saw a Wild thing Feel Sorry for ItSELF...a bird will fall frozen dead from a bough having never felt sorry for itself...D.H. Lawrence on self pity!!!

mariasheehan

You aren't alone! I've been struggling since the holidays too and late night snacking is my BIGGEST weakness. It's so easy to just sit down after my kids go to bed and break out the pretzels, skittles, chocolate kisses and top if off with whatever else I can find that is sweet or salty.

Since I totally realize this, I decided that was going to be one of my resolutions. To put and END to the late night snacking. It's so bad for you and it makes you wake up full- I find that when I do it, I skip breakfast. how absurd is that?! Anyway, would you like to join me on my no more late night eating challenge?! :happy:

I seriously need to join that challenge. Ohhh I looooooove skittles and chex mix and hershey kisses (candycane flavor) after the baby goes to bed. nom nom nom

Loribell23

I seriously need to join that challenge. Ohhh I looooooove skittles and chex mix and hershey kisses (candycane flavor) after the baby goes to bed. nom nom nom

You can join me! I'm so guilty of this and I'm totally aware that it's one of my biggest issues. There is no reason for me to eat past 7pm so I am trying to eat dinner and be totally done with food for the day. Close the book. Complete the journal. Shut down the kitchen!

mariasheehan

I seriously need to join that challenge. Ohhh I looooooove skittles and chex mix and hershey kisses (candycane flavor) after the baby goes to bed. nom nom nom

You can join me! I'm so guilty of this and I'm totally aware that it's one of my biggest issues. There is no reason for me to eat past 7pm so I am trying to eat dinner and be totally done with food for the day. Close the book. Complete the journal. Shut down the kitchen!

Challenge accepted :-0) Lets do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

princessmikayla5

Thanks everyone for the support. I'm glad I'm not alone, and I'm definitely going to renew my commitment to becoming healthier! I know I can do this!