HELP getting back on track

keepitoff99

Okay - so having an extremely hard time with weight loss this past month and need some major kick in the butt!!

Please, any POSITIVE advice as I just can't seem to rack my head around getting back on track.
I was doing so well for about 4 months and got down to a perfect weight for myself and then I just started back up in the wrong direction.

I need some motivation and some advice from you guys that will help get my mind back on track. My downfall is doing well all day, excercising in the morning as per usual but when I get home from work, my husband has a terrific dinner for me and I just keep eating after that. I don't undereat during the day, just overeat at night and it's usually sweets.

So, anyone that can share their experience of turning it back around, would be very appreciated. Off to work out but will check in later.

morningmom

Bump...I'm in the same boat. So, unfortunately, I can't give you any advice!!
Hopefully you'll get some good responses!

sbw3387

try something new, like a different excerise or exercising a different time of day? I hit a slump, and found that mixing it all back up helped get everything going again

cindy859

You need to take a step back and think about why you to came to MFP in the first place and then renew the promise to yourself to eat healthier. The first week will be tough, maybe you could ask your husband to cook dinner with you in mind and keep it healthier and more on the low calorie side. If the sweets are your down fall stop buying them for awhile--you can't eat what is not in the house.
You have come this far you don't want to ruin all your hard work! Believe in yourself! You can do this! Don't obsess about the damage that has been done take it one day at a time and know that you are so worth it! Good luck and keep us posted.

fh1951

you've lost weight physically, now you may need to work on your self image - you need to become your new you in your subconscious mind. spend a few minutes when you wake up, before each meal, and before you go to bed each day to visualize yourself as you want to look; the more intensely you can experience it in your imagination the better. do this mental exercise with the same dedication you bring to your physical workouts. you can eventually cut back on the number of times a day, but try never to miss a night before you go to bed. good luck.

kettlebellsANDcusswords

I see you've hit the four month slump. I've been hitting that on average about every four months since I started my weight loss journey. My husband is 145 lbs and doesn't have to work at it! I started at over 300 lbs. I'm at 209 as of today. It took 4 years, but it came off one lb. at a time. You CAN do this, you CAN maintain it. I started looking at what these foods do for my body. I started thinking of food as fuel. Before putting anything in my mouth I ask myself, "What benefits will I receive by eating this?" If the answer is nothing...then I put it down. Good luck to you. Go for a workout and get your focus back. You've worked too hard to gain the weight back!

broadsword7

Not sure it will help you, but here are some ideas that have worked for me. Some are tactical, some are strategic.

- Don't eat past a certain hour in the evening. Eating is sort of a preparatory act. Yes, it replenishes, but it also gives our bodies energy to do stuff. We need some energy to sleep well for several hours, but not as much as we need to start the day.
- Eat a bigger breakfast and lunch, and while dinner fixed by your partner can be wonderful, it doesn't have to be large.
- Avoid refined sugar, no matter when, no matter what. If you must eat something sweet, make it natural, and try to balance it with a little protein. A perfect snack for me is a small portion of raisins, and a few almonds.
- Drink lots of water. All day. And night. Yeah, if you drink it before bed you might have to wake up to use the bathroom, but better than eating anything non-nutritional and counter productive to your goal of good health.
- If you like a big dinner and just can't get away from it, make it a huge salad. And by that I mean lots of leafy green and NOT a lot of unhealthy dressings.
- Adopt the view that this is a life-long adventure. Not just something to do in the short term, but really, a way of living, permanently.
- Abstain from all meaningless food. Everything we eat should be a higher quality choice, not something to fill a void. Our bodies deserve the best we can give them.
- Look upon this whole journey as a life-or-death experience, and make choices to give yourself the best chance to succeed.
- Give Michael Pollan's short and easy book, "Food Rules" a read. It has been extremely helpful to me.
- Never give up, never give in, never quit. Make it, or something like it, your mantra. If you gotta go down, go down fighting.

Good luck, and I hope this stuff helps in some small way!

keepitoff99

thanks for your positive comments-still not doing the greatest but trying.

scarletleavy

Oh man this is so me, I could have easily written most of this. I actually sent you a friend request a few minutes ago.

I had gotten to within a few pounds of my goal and let stress get in the way. I stopped working out so hard and became more lax with my eating. I'm still working on getting fully back on track, but I'm doing much better.

Some things that have helped me:

1. Realize what your triggers are. For me I'm an emotional/stress eater. I'm a major perfectionist and total type A personality and I've realized that anytime I feel like I'm losing any sort of control in my life, I try to take back some control in food, either by eating very little amounts or a lot of food. Now that I've realized and vocalized this, I'm definitely on the way to overcoming it.
2. Tell yourself how horrible it is going to be afterward. After I overeat I feel horrible, my stomach feels bloated and I can't sleep. I try to remind myself when I feel the urge to overeat coming on that I'm going to feel horrible later. Helps a little bit sometimes.
3. After you've completed your diary and eaten all that you want, brush your teeth. It actually helps a little bit.
4. Let yourself have something a little sweet, but isn't too big on calories. For me I like frozen fruit with a small bit of yogurt and some cinnamon mixed in. It's a little treat, but the calories range from 100-150 for a pretty big portion (use more fruit than yogurt) and I feel pretty full afterward.
5. If you overeat at night, stay away from the food at night. Try not to be around it or be as far away in the house from it as possible.
6. Don't eat alone. This one was a huge one for me. I realized I had a problem when I was sneaking and hiding food in my room, eating it all alone so no one would see me. Eating around other people, in particular people who know and are supportive of my goals, keeps me accountable. My boyfriend and I are super active and into fitness and really work to keep each other accountable. He will totally call me out on my overeating when it happens around him and while it can hurt my feelings a bit, I know it's coming from a good place and I appreciate it so much. He's kind of like my voice of reason sometimes.

Yeah I think that's most of the things I'm trying to do right now, but I think the most important is to take it one step at a time and not beat yourself up over it when you do slip up. We're all human and we're gonna make mistakes, but each day is a new day. I had a bad day yesterday and felt horrible about it, but I'm just trying harder today.

Good luck!

beckyinma

So I took a quick look at your diary, nothing on it yet besides breakfast today (which is great btw). I would say change up your meal titles.. If you have a section for 'over and not happy' that's going to get you down every single day. I think it's counterproductive to have that as a title.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, snacks, post-workout, beverages/vitamins etc are good, but I would avoid the negativity in your diary.

This is hard, but here, with all this support, it's meant to be a fun learning experience as well.

Every single time you are about to put something in your mouth that will set you over for the day, think to yourself, "Is it really worth it, really?"

You can definitely get back on track, and you're in the right place.