Falling off the Wagon.

LeonaB17

So we all fall off the wagon from time to time right? Or most of us do. My problem over the past year is I fall off so often I have road rash! I lose a couple pounds, then fall off the wagon, gain them back - over and over. I think I allow it to happen because in my mind I think I deserve a break and it will be ok, and you always hear its ok to take a break every now and then as long as you get back on track. Or I tell myself - just one more splurge and then I promise I'll do better. But that one more splurge leads to one more and one more. Like a drug addict - I just want one more hit! Sometimes I am able to combat the desire but usually once I get it into my mind I'm going to do "bad" its pretty much a done deal.
Does anyone have any tactics or methods of making yourself get through those temptations?? I have a few of my own but they don't always work so I'm interested to see what other people do.

scagneti

How severely are you limiting your calories? Are you eating your exercise calories back or are you sticking within the 1200ish range?

I eat what I want, just less of it and make sure that there's room in my calories for the day by working out extra hard if I want something extra. Sure starving yourself might give you faster results, but it also leads to binges and unhealthy views on calories and food.

Basically you need to figure out why you WANT to lose and that has to be enough to get you through.

Congrats on the loss so far! 70lbs is amazing!

lal73

How severely are you limiting your calories? Are you eating your exercise calories back or are you sticking within the 1200ish range?

I eat what I want, just less of it and make sure that there's room in my calories for the day by working out extra hard if I want something extra. Sure starving yourself might give you faster results, but it also leads to binges and unhealthy views on calories and food.

Basically you need to figure out why you WANT to lose and that has to be enough to get you through.

Congrats on the loss so far! 70lbs is amazing!

I agree...i eat what i want too, just not as much of it, and just not at every single meal.....So, i can still have Pizza and Ice Cream and potato chips as long as i know it stays within my 1200....Limiting yourself too much is what makes it hard to stay on the program and easier to fall off the wagon....I dont feel food deprived in the least bit! (alcohol deprived)

young1726

I LOOOOVE FOOD! So it is very hard for me to limit calories, even if I'm eating relatively heathly...I could just eat and eat and eat. I do it...because I see the scale moving. My saving grace is my "breaks". I weigh once a week, Saturday mornings. If I have lost weight I give myself that break. By break, I don't necessarily mean that I eat a whole pizza in one sitting (sometimes I do way overeat on my break days, but for the most part I try to stay within reason). By break, I do mean no calorie counting, no weighing foods, no measuring, etc. If I want a bowl of ice cream, I eat it. If I want a candy bar, I eat it. If I want a piece of pizza (or two), I eat it. But again, I try to stay within reason. BUT....if I don't lose weight that week, I stick to it. I continue counting calories through the weekend. I think this helps me do good, because I try very hard to do well so that I can have my break from counting!

It's been said already, you have to find what works for you. What motivates you? Why do you YOU want to lose weight? Use whatever it is!

You can do it!!! You have lost a huge amount of weight already. Pin up pictures of yourself before you lost that weight to remind yourself how far you have come already and how proud of yourself you should be for how much you have accomplished already!

CynthiaCollin

I don't deprive myself of what I love.... I calorie count....I stick to my calories and I exercise.... If I want something for example...chocolate....hmmmm.....I eat a 100 calorie Cadbury mint thin....If I want chips....I have 250calories (21 chips) so on and so forth....I make sure it fits into my calories....if I don't have enough calories...I exercise more so I can enjoy various occasions or more food daily....I don't feel derpived....and I think that is key..... it is also about making better choices....Watch the show Cook Yourself Thin...they make meals that you normally make in a healthier and lower calorie way....and it looks delicious....it gives you great ideas on every day food....

sunshine79

Firstly, well done on your success so far. 70lbs is a huge achievement.

Now, I do know what you mean about the binges and starting 'tomorrow' and the whole cycle of poor food choices. One thing I did to help myself was to remove all junk food from my house. The only things I have in my home are foods that I need to cook from scratch. That pretty much put a stop to all my compulsive eating issues.

Alternatively how about planning a free meal once or twice a week where you eat what you want (within reason). This worked better than entire cheat days for me as it is easy to consume double your daily calorie intake throughout an entire day but limiting it to just one meal made it much less likely to over eat too much.

Hope those suggestions help

KWSR16

So far every time that I get a craving for something (that is especially NOT within my calorie limit) I will see if there is something else just as yummy that has the same taste/texture but with less calories. Like if I really want some chips...I will eat some popcorn. Or if I reeeeally want a chocolate bar, I grab one of the Special K Cookie bars instead. But then again...there are always those times when I just down right dont care how many calories it has and I wanna eat it anyways...

Like during the superbowl, there was pop and chips and dip and all kinds of stuff. Now, I didnt go all out and ruin my diet (mainly because I didnt eat a lot before the game that day) but I let myself have what I wanted. However, I had to promise myself that I would NOT do the same thing two days in a row. It was hard to get it back on track the next day but all I kept thinking about was how hard I had worked to get where I was so far, and how easy it would be to ruin everything.

Thats mainly what I think about when I know I'm about to eat something bad for me. "How badly do you want to fit into those size 17 jeans again...HUH!" And then I back away from the fudge...lol Its not an easy journey to get to the ideal weight...but then again, I cant imagine its all that easy staying there either. Everyone has temptations. Knowing when to give in a little and when to stop before all your hard work goes down the toilet is the difference between falling off the wagon again and keeping towards your goal. I think you are doing pretty good though so far! 70 pounds!! YAY YOU!!! :drinker:

LeonaB17

Thanks everybody that's some good advice. I have to remember why I am doing this and stay focused! I just posted a pic on my profile of my near highest weight just in case anyone is curious. I dont know how to post it on here or if you can even do that. I don't have any pics of me at my highest highest - b/c I avoided the camera then.

young1726

I just posted a pic on my profile of my near highest weight just in case anyone is curious. I dont know how to post it on here or if you can even do that. I don't have any pics of me at my highest highest - b/c I avoided the camera then.

WOW! You have done great! Keep at it and you will continue to do great!

LeonaB17

Thanks so much.