Why I am self-sabotoging?

italianissima

I keep asking myself this...and I can't figure out the reason. Anyone have any thoughts?

Reinventing_Me

What is it you're doing?

italianissima

Oops, I should have been clearer! I have been eating things I shouldn't be eating! Mostly in the way of chocolate. I guess I am just tired with the foods I have been eating. But, I am SO close to my goal. Why do this to myself? It doesn't make any sense!!

jms1985

I do the same thing. Instead of dwelling on it... just push forward and keep at your weightloss goal! You can do it!

tomjinca

I'm no psychologist, but maybe, since you're so close to your goal, you are "rewarding" yourself with chocolate. Try convincing yourself "chocolate is poison to my healthy, weight loss goals".

FWIW

Tom

Tan43

I do this to. I lose weight and then "relax" up on the food and eat what I would not normally. It only happens when I get on the scale and see a loss so I now only weigh myself once a month. We are all only human so keep going and stay positive.

ajbeans

Could be any number of factors.

1. Maybe you're not eating enough. As you get closer to your goal, you shouldn't still be shooting for huge, rapid losses.
2. Maybe you're not getting enough sleep. You'll crave carbs if you're tired.
3. Maybe you're not getting enough protein. For some reason I and many other people crave carbs when we really need protein.
4. Maybe you're not drinking enough water.

Or at the end of the day, maybe you just like chocolate. So have a little bit. Make sure it fits into your goals, and let yourself have it. Because once you get to your goal weight ,you have to decide whether you're going to give up chocolate and other "bad" foods for the rest of your life, or learn to eat it them moderation so you don't gain the weight back. Your goal weight is not a finish line that you can just forget about once you've crossed it. You need to figure out how to eat for the rest of your life so you don't regain the pounds you've worked so hard to lose. So if cutting out all your favorites is not part of your life-long plan (and personally, I don't believe it should be), figure out how to eat those things in moderation to stay within your goals.

KeepOnMoving

Food can be a very emotional thing. I know I have been a boredom eater, a stress eater, guilt eater.... It is kind of a scape goat in how we handle our feelings. It's when we are our strongest, is when we need to out-smart ourselves on how we handle situations that get us in this self-sabotaging mood.

Just remember, swim suit season is just around the corner..... Time is a wasting. Or is it waist-ing?

RealMattHopkins

I just went through my first semester of final exams in law school followed by a rather stressful Christmas vacation... AND I ATE. There was not a treat, sweet or savoury or salty, I would turn down. I weighed in today and am up a whopping 9lbs. I know most of this is water because I am still gross from the holidays but still. Gaining anywhere near that kind of weight over a period of 4 weeks is disgraceful and I rationalized it by being stressed, needing energy to study, the "oh it's Christmas" defense, and many other tactics. I realize now how warped that was. So yes... I need to really take myself on when I allow myself an out. This is a lifestyle, not a quick process. I have to lose about 66lbs and it will take a great deal of work.

Reinventing_Me

Well first off, try not to beat yourself up. It's okay to have chocolate - but not all day, everyday. Just make sure its beneficial. For example, dark chocolates contain good-for-you antioxidants. Or treat yourself to A piece of REALLY GOOD, HIGH QUALITY chocolate, not the kind you find in a grocery store - but what you find at a chocolatier. The chocolate is more expensive, but you get more bang for your buck. That way, you may not be as likely to 1) buy it all the time; 2) eat it all at once. The chocolate will be something to look forward to once or twice a month. Once you get some really good chocolate, you won't be able to go back to Hershey's, Whitman's or Russell Stover. Now if you're a big-baller, shot-caller and you can shell out over $5 for a good piece of chocolate whenever you want then my advice won't work. :laugh:

By the way, how is eating the chocolate self-sabotoge? Are you eating a bunch of it at once or throughout the day? Or is it a piece here and there? How does it fit into your daily food budget? Are you constantly going over because of it?

goodhealth2012

It's hard to say why you are sabotaging, but it could be due to the following:
You don't believe inside that you really deserve success
You sabotage so that you won't fail unintentionally and then feel bad about yourself
You are worried that things in your life will change when you lose weight- you mightbe scared that your friends or partner might leave you etc.
Not saying that these apply to you but these are very common psychological reasons that overweight people sabotage themselves when trying to lose weight.
If it's really bad, perhaps think about seeing someone to talk to about it?

Feel free to add me if you want to talk more!

zombiefruit

When I thought of a strict diet as something I would be following for the rest of my life, I would rebel against it. Now I think of my healthier diet as a lifestyle change... And as such, I make room for treats. I'm a lot happier following a stricter diet right now, because on the 23rd I'm turning 30 - so on the 21st my husband is taking me to a restaurant with some of our friends and I won't be counting calories at all that night - OR feeling guilty about it! By accounting for those times and considering them a normal part of life my diet is less restrictive. It's also less effective in the short term - my loss will be a lot slower now than it was when I joined WW a few years ago and lost 40 lbs in a matter of a few months. But it will be the start of a lifelong change to my lifestyle that is genuinely sustainable, and so it will be better for me in the long run.