Fell off the wagon. Need help getting back on.

mhoward685

I started May 15th. My exercise has been very consistent M-F 30 minutes of strength training, core daily and alternating upper/lower, followed by 30 minutes level 12 with 1 minute intervals every 5 minutes on an elliptical. Food is my problem. I have breakfast and morning snack worked out. Those are easy, early in the day before stress sets in. Lunch has a 50/50 chance of being healthy. Afternoon snack is comfort food followed by comfort food dinner. I stopped tracking my food. I know I need to start again. I don't want to ruin 4 months of hard work. How do you get past this? I will force myself to the gym in the morning even though it feels futile.

redhousecat

Well, I fell off too, recently. The wagon keeps coming around, but I keep missing it.
So, I just keep reminding myself that cooler weather is around the corner and I will be outside much more. I told the wagon to come back around later next week when return from vacation and I am COMMITTED to jumping back on.

I'm not sure if there is anything anyone could have said to me, but I do know the support of my MFP friends has not faltered and that in itself has been motivating.

lilawolf

Here is how to do it right and never yoyo diet or fall off the wagon (for long) again. I have lost 7lbs in 45 days of pure fat (I'm watching BF%) and no muscle. This is the only way to avoid lowering your metabolism.

Sleep at least 8 hours.

Keep your carbs lowish, as much protein as you can (very hard to overdo), and have a medium amount of fat. This will keep you full and satisfied. Your brain is made of fat. Many vitamins are fat soluble and cannot be absorbed without it. DIETARY FAT DOES NOT EQUAL BODY FAT. It is your friend.

Work out, even if it is just a 20 minute walk, every day. Do strength training which will keep you toned, build/maintain muscle which keeps your metabolism up, and make your skin look tighter once you have lost the weight. This will also allow you more calories. Change things up so it isn't boring. I do 30 day shred videos, walk, take bike rides, lift weights, cardio at the gym, etc.

Keep your NET calories to AT LEAST 1200 calories. Eat back your exercise calories (though be careful not to overestimate them). There is a reason that MFP adds them on to your goal cals. I aim for 1500, and I am losing just over a pound a week without ever feeling hungry. If you don't eat enough calories and enough protein, your muscle will get broken down for fuel. You WILL lose weight faster, but look and feel worse, and slow your metabolism which usually leads to yoyo dieting.

Eat the things you want just with smaller serving sizes, and only 1-2 a day that you fit into your day. Cutting all of the things you want will just lead to feeling deprived and ultimately failing. I ate pizza two days in a row (for dinner then breakfast). Breakfast was a mistake because I didn't have the protein to balance the carbs. Pizza dinner was awesome!

NO GUILT. If you don't do so well one day, try to determine why, and move on. If it is stress eating, try meditation/yoga/cuddle with SO or pet etc. If it is lack of food options, work on planning lunches and bringing healthy snacks. If you were starving, look at your macros and calories from the last two days and adjust

Drink water! This will curb your hunger. If possible, drink a glass of water before you put ANYTHING in your mouth.

Want a second helping or a snack? Wait 20 minutes. Drink a glass of water. Take a walk. Chew on gum. Brush your teeth. Meditate. Whatever works for you. Still hungry? Eat.

Do NOT go hungry. You will only binge at the next meal or the next day. Usually on something unhealthy.

Soup is low calorie, fast, cheap, and very filling. The other day, I had a protein shake for breakfast, a can of soup with an extra chicken breast for lunch, and took a walk. Now I can have the pizza I want for dinner. I added the chicken breast to make sure that I wasn't starving when I got to the pizza otherwise I would eat too much of it. This also gave me enough protein.

Listen to your body! For example, if your knee is acting up do low impact or upper body workouts such as swimming or punches. Take care of yourself, but don't use it as an excuse.

To get a realistic goal for youself, read this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12?hl=2.0
Some of it will be a repeat of what I said, but still great info.

Feel free to add me if you would like And good luck!

Natihilator

I've recently fallen off track as well. I had a lot to deal with in August and slipped into a bout of depression, and by September I was only working out once a week (if that), not logging, and not paying attention to what I ate. I have gained back at least 2lbs. In the past when I have been at this point, I would hide from the scale, but I am forcing myself to weigh-in every day, because 2lbs gained can quickly turn into 5lbs, then 10, and so on.

I am now getting back on track, but I have decided to focus on my eating habits first, before I get back into a regular exercise routine. I don't want to tell you to stop working out, but just remember that nutrition is 80% of what determines weight loss, so you may want to focus your efforts on your diet for a few weeks.

Also, having awesome MFP friends who yell at you if you don't log in helps, too.

modaqu

I am new to this websire, but this advice has always helped me. I do great early in the day also. I plan my meals for tomorrow tonight, when I realize that I've messed up on my eating. I make my lunch and pack it in the frig, the next morning I just take it to work and I don't have to make any decisions when lunch comes around. I just eat what I brought. On my car ride home from work I think thru what I "want" to eat, which is usually bad, and by the time I get there I usually am motivated again to want to plan my supper out good. It is a ongoing thing that I have to stop and regroup a couple times a day or I fall off the wagon. Hope this helps.

JamesterCK

I always like to pre-plan my day so there are no gray areas. I plan every meal and snack ahead of time. It takes a lot of stress out of my day when I already know what I'm going to eat, and know that what I'm eating fits in to my nutritional goals. To keep yourself on track, just look at what you've accomplished already. You don't want to throw all that progress away; you just need to dig deep and remember all of the reasons you started this journey in the first place. Hopefully that will help get you re-motivated!

acrynne

You can do this!!!

I could have written your post... every morning I woke up with all the best intentions, only to get overwhelmed by my day and eating something terrible right around lunchtime. I know that working on discipline is going to be key to my success. So, every Sunday I sit down and look at the week and plan some healthy meals and then I go to the grocery store. I spend a few hours on Sunday doing my pre-planning. I pre-bag my snacks, I hard boil eggs... whatever I have on my plan for the week. Every day I wake up and pack all of my snacks and my lunch and I head to work. If I have a lunch meeting, I go online and check the menu and decide in advance what I will be eating. (I also have a little cache of Luna bars at work. So, if I get really hungry, I have an option!) And for dinner... I have enlisted my husband into this. He knows the meals are healthy or he can eat on his own.

All it takes is some pre-work, and you can get back on track! Good luck!

draco706

I fell off the wagon hard today. Had pizza , spare ribs bagels, bread-sticks and cookies. Went to a training for work. They said they would provide breakfast, lunch and dinner....and the menu had healthy options..(fruit and yoghourt for breakfast, turkey on whole wheat for lunch and baked chicken with steamed veg for dinner. even provided caterers calorie/nutrition info. After careful planning I did pick the ribs for dinner, but the healthy breakkie and lunch. Breakfast should have been 240cal, snack 30 cal, lunch 410cal, snack 30cal, and dinner 840 cal. at 1550 cal I would be in a good range. But when I arrived all they had for breakfast were bagels, muffins and donuts. Lunch was pizza (fatty greasy pizza) and bread-sticks...NOT one healthy option. I had packed snacks (2 plums and some unsweetened iced tea) and then came the nail in my coffin, the ribs. I am 300+ cal over, 22 over on fat and am also over for carbs. I have an early meeting tomorrow (7am) and I am ready to cry.

mhoward685

Thanks everyone. Getting ready to go to the gym. Keeping on with the exercise because I have been consistent with it. Will keep on with my early morning plans and start planning lunch and dinner. Maybe even post them on the refrigerator.

bean2729

I totally can relate. I feel like I keep going back and forth with this and cannot seem to stick to one thing. I have a tendency to make excuses for myself and constantly say I can start over tomorrow but find that I am "always starting over." I need some motivation, support, and MFP friends to yell at me occasionally to whip me back into shape!!

sloanie1

You aren't alone, if I had a dollar for every time I have fallen down over the 18months I've been on this journey I would be a millionaire....it doesn't matter if you fall down, its how you get back up again that counts! sometimes you have to fail to succeed, when I go through this I try not to beat myself up too much, I literally have to drag myself to the gym too sometimes even though I am a gym junkie, its all in the mind, it is a powerful thing and can be used as a great tool! you can do it, stay positive and take it one day at a time, believe in yourself and the rest will follow...:o)

kmcguire93

we all fall off, just got to get back on ~ good luck

mhoward685

Wow, according to the scale I have gained AGAIN!