Failure stories for a change!

lolcatftw

My biggest failure story: Getting sucked into MFP all day and not accomplishing anything. Crap...that happened again today

One more vote for this

firesoforion

Personally I think this is a pretty good thread idea, because at this point there's sort of an idea that the same stuff works for everybody, and I have come away disenchanted more than a couple times when I've asked for help figuring out why I couldn't lose weight doing what seemed to be 90% of things right. First I wasn't eating enough, then I was eating too much, or people would pick out the very small amount of unhealthy food I was eating and point to that as a reason, but then I hear in other threads how you don't have to be perfect all the time, just good. Well, here I am, and all the motivation in the world from success stories hasn't helped me. Personally I'd think that a few more "this is me, I can't lose the weight, I'm still trying but wtf?" stories would at least form a sense of camaraderie, and potentially help point out common problems. So yeah, I like this thread!

ETA my failure story: I came back from a master's program abroad which involved a dissertation, which led to underexercising and unhealthy/stress eating. I come back home and decide to lose the weight. I tried a couple times before finding MFP, and lost about 8 pounds (of the 40ish i'd gained over the course of the last two years, especially 4 of those months). I came to MFP, started in November, lost five pounds, gained it back over Thanksgiving/Christmas season, started back on MFP on January 1st. I ran a mile every day, I ate, well too low of calories, but mostly healthy. and lost the 5 pounds again in the first two weeks of January. Then I stopped. So, I increased my calories, gradually, until I was eating 1400 a day (I'm 5'4" and 160). I burned out on the running in February, but I restarted a few weeks later, also incorporating other forms of exercise, including resistance. Then I decided my metabolism might be messed up, so I ate at my tdee (1700) for two weeks to try to repair it. Then I went back down to 1400 (BMR), and really worked out regularly. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Then worse than nothing. Suddenly I have started to gain back, and now I've regained back the 5 pounds. I am at zero lost and at a loss of what to do, so I just keep doing what I'm doing, weigh myself as little as possible, and hope that when I do weigh myself, the scale will have moved down, not up.

paulasue145

hmmmm, I have started MFP 3 different times UNDER 3 DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS, LOL!
I was toooo ashamed to go back to my old accounts because of failing so terribly!
Seems silly , but it's the truth.:ohwell:

ANYONE that's out there that recognizes this face but, not the same name so you were unsure?! I'M SORRY! IT'S ME!

deftanker

Weeeeeeell 2 years ago after my divorce I went from 330 to 245 (on purpose). I met the girl of my dreams and I am now at 305ish... I quit what I started and now I am paying for it again, although this time I am in love and happy. Last year I tried again but slipped 2 discs and never got back on the horse until recently.

Saying this just deepens my resolve for the day. Thank you for posting this topic

Julieash

Here's my story, I gained 50lbs because of medications and a bit over a year ago I got a diet coach and he got me to exercise and I lost 24lbs and was feeling soo good about myself, then when my 'contract' was over with my coach (and couldn't afford to pay for it again) I stopped... was doing good on my own for about a month and now I gained 30lbs so right now I'm at my heaviest.. I just start back working out and eating good May 1st and had lost 7lbs and gained it back.. but I don't want to give up this time

jdploki70

When I got married, some 11 years ago, I weighed about 185 lbs, give or take. I didn't really pay attention to it, as I had been thin for years (I lost about 70 lbs when I was in my 20s and had nothing but time on my hands, being an overweight single guy). So, after going through the roller coaster once, I just sort of forgot about healthy eating. Then I was diagnosed with Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism, and my weight dropped to 160 (which is seriously underweight for me at 6'3"). After getting that under control, I did what anyone would do. I overate. Constantly. I blamed it on life, stress, the wife, the kid, my dog, my job, everything but what the real issue was...myself.

So I went from 185 to almost 275, and wouldn't have even changed that had I not had a rude awakening. I decided to run to the mailbox. All of 100 ft away from my house. By the time I got there I was winded and had to walk back. Now I'm back to a "normal" weight, and working to my ideal weight again.

What people have to understand is that without failure, there is no such thing as success. If we didn't fail, we wouldn't need to lose/gain/maintain our weight.

Curvimami

Here's my story, I gained 50lbs because of medications and a bit over a year ago I got a diet coach and he got me to exercise and I lost 24lbs and was feeling soo good about myself, then when my 'contract' was over with my coach (and couldn't afford to pay for it again) I stopped... was doing good on my own for about a month and now I gained 30lbs so right now I'm at my heaviest.. I just start back working out and eating good May 1st and had lost 7lbs and gained it back.. but I don't want to give up this time

Don't give up Hunny bunny..YOu can do it :-)

shanchamber

Personally I think this is a pretty good thread idea, because at this point there's sort of an idea that the same stuff works for everybody, and I have come away disenchanted more than a couple times when I've asked for help figuring out why I couldn't lose weight doing what seemed to be 90% of things right. First I wasn't eating enough, then I was eating too much, or people would pick out the very small amount of unhealthy food I was eating and point to that as a reason, but then I hear in other threads how you don't have to be perfect all the time, just good. Well, here I am, and all the motivation in the world from success stories hasn't helped me. Personally I'd think that a few more "this is me, I can't lose the weight, I'm still trying but wtf?" stories would at least form a sense of camaraderie, and potentially help point out common problems. So yeah, I like this thread!

I agree with you completely that people (here, and elsewhere) treat nutrition like more of a science than it actually is. Health is also such a subjective thing: it's possible for people at higher weights to be and feel happier than people who are closer to the "correct" weight for their height.

My failure story is this. I used to weigh in the mid-300s. Like most teenagers, I ate like a teenager, but a family history of obesity meant that every soda or slice of pizza went straight to my hips. I lost 75 lbs. on my own--largely through the kind of starvation diet that I wouldn't recommend to anyone, after I tried just about everything else out there with very limited results--and kept it off through a healthier diet and lots of exercise. But I could not lose additional weight without going down to starvation again. (Fewer than 1000 calories per day, and at least an hour of intense exercise.) So this past fall, I had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. I've lost another 70 lbs. I feel pretty good, but it's basically like living during a famine all of the time now. I still have to exercise a lot more (and hour of bike riding and another half hour of high intensity aerobics) and eat a lot less (fewer than 1200 calories per day) than my BMR would dictate. Fortunately, the part of my stomach that generates hunger hormones has been cut out, so I can do it without feeling like I'm going to murder someone. But I think a lot of people make a mistake when they say that success is just a matter of counting calories and getting up off the couch. Before my surgery--and to some extent, after it--losing weight has been at least a part-time job. I do it because I don't want to die at the age of 50, like all of my other relatives, but I can see why people struggle. It's a lot of time to put into something that other people achieve effortlessly. I'm a graduate student, and have a much more flexible schedule than other people. And I would never, ever attach moral blame to someone who couldn't do it. I've seen a lot of people who've lost weight on here do exactly that ("Like, OMG, all you have to do is exercise! Get up off your butt!") and it's disgusting and tone deaf.

EvilPink

Well, as you can see from my profile/ticker; I joined MFP in August of '11 and have only lost 19 lbs and that all came in the last month. So, yep, some failure there. I kept saying oh, I'll do it. I'll get around to it. But day after day I kept eating crap and sitting around. Last month, a few things changed that finally made me realize, this isn't a joke any more. My family history of serious diseases is strong. I have PCOS which only exacerbates the situation. I finally decided that I don't want to be the victim of a heart attack at 40 or diabetic at 35, which was exactly where I was heading and had already started showing signs/symptoms. Blood tests showed high but not high enough to official diagnose but, I was clearly on the fast track to a script for syringes and insulin.

But, like others have mentioned; what's the point in knowing that? I guess maybe to show that I'm human? I'm not a super-girl who said this is what I want, went after it, and immediately accomplished the goal? But, we're all that way. I don't think a single person on MFP hasn't had some ups and downs, binges and cheats, or felt defeated at times.

I think the biggest thing to realize that weight loss is like any other addiction; whether it be drinking, smoking, gambling, or what ever - the first step is not only recognizing it's a problem but being ready to do something about it and until you are - you WILL fail. So, that's why you don't see a lot of MFP failure stories; the people aren't trying to lose weight so they have no reason to visit this site. Back in August, I wasn't ready. Plain and simple. I joined; logged a day or two, quit, and didn't come back. I still had the mind set that I could continue to eat whatever I wanted, sit around, and not have to pay any consequences for it. And every news article or story I read about how obesity is becoming the new "norm" only encouraged me instead of discouraging me. I thought, cool - I'm finally one of the "normal" crowd. But, normal or not, this is not a life I want for myself or my family and there's only one way to fix it. And now I'm finally ready to do it so I'm back to MFP and pretty darn happy about the 19 lbs dropped this month!

recriger

My failure, luckily, wasn't with the body weight. It was a failure to advance. I did decide that while being lazy I was going to continue eating as my new habit (MFP) dictated. A little over a month ago my wife had a medical procedure that comes with some emotional difficulty. So for the following week I skipped the gym and took our daughter to the park and tried to keep her out of her mothers hair. That wasn't a problem, and was actually rather fun. The problem came from day care. Baby girl had been in a house with one other kid for day care for the previous year, so there weren't too many germs running around.

Well The week prior to the wifes procedure we switched her over to a local day care that more resembles a learning center. Wonderful facility except for the fact that kids get sick, and a lot of kids together are going to share a lot of germs. I got sick, the wife got sick, I got sick again..bla...bla...bla.

Yes it is an excuse, I could have pushed through on several occasions and worked out, but I chose not to for various reasons, and then i would catch another cold. I was also distracted by gearing up for the shooting season (competition, not hunting). New state, new club, new gear...took a few days to get all organized so I could jump into the match calendar.

My equipment is now fitted, my calendar is decided, I am no longer sick (minus some alergies I didn't know about before moving here), the wife is ready to get back to the gym herself and I am wanting; needing to get going again. It is shocking how tired one can feel after being out of the gym for what seams like such a short ammount of time.

Luckily I didn't gain anything back during my break but dang, I still have 54 pounds to go!!

kansasbelle

My biggest failure story: Getting sucked into MFP all day and not accomplishing anything. Crap...that happened again today

So true...it makes it hard to be productive...except for weight loss.


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tishajo

This is my second account for MFP. :grumble: In the last couple of weeks, I gained back the 4-5 lbs that I had lost. So here I am again jumping back on the bandwagon. :blushing:

theartichoke

The other day, I slammed my finger in the door trying to carry my phone, a glass of water and coffee with fat free creamer in it. Stupid diet. Fail!

jennjay523

Ime too... I love this site!!!

StartingOver12

My failure story: 8-9 years ago I lost 80 pounds and I kept it off until 4 years ago. I had an emotional rollercoaster of a weekend and binged and I kept telling myself I would get back on track the next day....and 3 years of tomorrows came and went and all the weight came back on. It can happen to any of us, no one is perfect.

dbrightwell1270

I haven't failed. I've only had set backs and unrealistic expectations.


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2012asv

Health-wise, living a life of ignorance and not knowing better until now. That "was" a big fail.

SteffieMark

The worst failure I have had, since I started this weight loss journey was about 2 weeks ago. I was doing a Gin Miller Kettlebell workout. I was to a part that you circle your body with the kettlebell, switching it from one hand to the other. I was feeling pretty confident, so I sped it up a bit, then a bit more. Then the darn kettlebell went flying across the room, breaking my fingernail off backward (To the quick) and taking it with it. FAIL


At least I missed the big screen and my nail has grown mostly back now!

ladybug1620

I don't consider myself a failure by any means, but I've been losing and gaining the same few lbs for well over a year. I do great for a while, get off track for a while, rinse and repeat. I'd be a failure if I gave up and never got back on track. But I don't do that, so my story is not a failure story and it never will be if I can help it.

Troll

sounds fun; i have a few: 1. I wanted to get back into my size 3 jeans. Muffin top and jiggly butt are gone now, but my thighs packed on so much muscle the 3s still dont fit! Glad i like my 5 to 7s. FAIL 2.was doing walking lunges with an overhead barbell outside. Clipped a tree branch and landed on my *kitten*. FAIL. 3. Attempted to do a rope climb, knocked myself out when i landed. FAIL. 4. Swore i wouldnt eat junk until my bday next week. Have already had cake. Will likely have ice cream later. FAIL. 5. Been telling myself all month im going to start running at night. "too hot/too tired/hungry/mosquitoes are hungry/lonely/dont want to get sweaty again/ate too late/already worked out" have been excuses so far. I have yet to run.FAIL.