What I learned this week that will help after I reach my goa

Hammock

I feel happy that I maintained this week. I didn't lose, but I didn't gain, either. Normally, I am not thrilled when I don't lose, but this week is different. Why? Read on!

I weighed at my usual time on Saturday morning last week. Then on Satruday night I went out to a restaurant with my partner and had a half a 9" pizza, a half a caesar salad, 2 beers (one normal, one reduced calories), and a half a very rich piece of carrot cake! (Before I started on this program I would have had a whole pizza, a whole caesar salad and a whole piece of carrot cake, so this was a big change! I was just a little over my daily calorie allotment.)

The next night was the Super Bowl and, well, my diet was deliberately put aside that night! Wow, were my BBQ ribs great! And that yummy potato salad, and the rice crispie desert in the shape of a football was sinfully good, not to mention the sparking wine! OK, you get the picture.

So on Monday norming (and this was all pre-planned!) I said to myself, "OK let's weigh and see what I've gained." I had gained 3 pounds. I calmly said to myself (and this is where I differed from how I usually behave): "OK let's get right back on track and see, if you return to your calories and exercise (and eating some of the exercise calories), how long it will take to get back to the weight you were last Saturday!!"

I waited a couple of days and then weighed again! Amazing! I had lost 2 of the pounds already! I kept my exercise going, watched what I ate like a hawk, and guess what? This morning on my Saturday weighin I had lost the remaining pound and was back again where I was last Saturday. To me, this is a success story. In the past I would have allowed these two indulgences to derail my eating program and would hav efelt like a failure.

I have taken stock of this...I now know what I have to do, once I have reached my goal weight, in order to keep the weight off. I will never again be able to NOT think about the consequences of eating like I did this week, and if I want to indulge, as I did those 2 nights, then I have to really plan for that both before and for many days after! So I am learning! And that makes me happy!

I wrote this up because this might be a help to some of you who consciously decide to thow your diet out the window some night, just for a night. That week you may not lose, but that gain can be worked with creatively, and you don't have to be down on yourself.

"Back on track" is the phrase I kept saying to myself on that Monday morning after the Super Bowl, and it worked!

Have a great week!

suejake11

Thanks for sharing this. I think we all need to hear stories like this to give us tools to maintain our strategy for the long haul. I have been worrying for a week about the Valentine's day lunch we are having at work on Monday. I am going to take on your attitude! We can't avoid "bad food" situations forever!

NikkisNewStart

Thank you for this! I just met my goal weight this morning and I'm scared to death of maintenance. Six months on this site and I'm still learning so I appreciate your post!

timidt

Great post. great news just goes to show that with the right mindsett and a little pre planning we can still enjoy the "naughty things in life" and do not have to run screaming from the "evil / bad food / drink" situations forever

I did a similar thing last weekend it was the big birthday weekend for my sisters 30th and niece's 21st so there was big family meal out followed by a big night (lager/alcopops etc) out on the town then pizza on sunday,
(unfortunatley completley blown my daily allowance on both days by 1500+ cals) although i did do a lot of walking and dancing and didnt log it......
I had made the choice before this that the diet was off for them two days. hoping to maintain this week
i didnt check the scales until wednesday ( my official weigh day ) and had gained 2lb this would have normally thrown me completly off track but i kept it going and couldnt resist checking the scales this morning 1 week on from the "weekend off" and i have lost the official 2lb gained + a further 2lb with 4 days left until official weigh day i know i am back on track and it feels great :happy:

Mirabilis

My thought:

Diet and exercising journalling is something I will do for the rest of my life. It's too easy to slip into bad habits otherwise.

I don't think that's hard or a drag. It's a commitment.

Kudos to you for understanding!

melodys_attic

Great post! It never occurred to me to weigh in extra times after an indulgence. I try not to weigh too often for fear of obsessing, but maybe it does make sense after deciding to have a "fun" meal or two?
This week I learned a lot about CHOICES.
We had a big controversy at our gym this week. There is a fit club that has been meeting there and the members had each made a poster to inspire herself in her health journey. A lot were just random motivation "to find the real inner me" and things like that. But a couple were things like "to be sexy" or "thin feels better than fat tastes." These last too caused quite a hoopla! Some people complained about objectifying women and some thought the "thin feels better than fat tastes" would trigger anorexics etc. Trying to explain that these weren't really intended as messages to the general public kind of got nowhere.
In the long run the posters were taken down, but it sure got me thinking and reflecting!
We will all be "triggered" by something at times. As I move around my workplace many many desks sport bowls of chocolates. These are huge temptations. Sometimes I succumb. But, unlike someone I work with, I do not ask that the temptations be taken out of my path. I want to learn to control my impulses. When I do take a chocolate I tell myself I am making a choice, then walk down to my computer and log in the chocolate.
At home I have tried to lose weight before and, following the advice of a Weight Watchers leader, demanded that the temptations be removed --- cookies, chips, whatever. This round, here on myfitnesspal, I have let the temptations sit. I have either CHOSEN to avoid them, or CHOSEN to try a sample, following the CHOICE by writing it down. And guess what? I have lots of plateaus but I am also staying with this longer and better than ever before.
So yeah... what I learned is that 1) everything is a choice; and 2) it is important to keep thinking and reflecting about what is going on in the real world. Ignorance = wieght gain!

bhb301

Thanks for this