Struggling

redrdghood40

I don't know what's wrong, but I am truly struggling and having trouble being motivated. Work is stressful and evenings are the worst. I noticed yesterday that I did fairly well until about 8pm... then all I wanted to do was eat. I had lost 70 lbs, but with the stress at work and the anniversary of my mother's death, I have gained 10 lbs... It's a constant struggle. Any fresh ideas would be appreciated. thank you. Gwen

DaoneandonlyMe

I have gained 10 lbs as well. I had lost 40 in total. I'm rebooting. Doing a detox for 5 days and just get serious with the workouts and food choices..pushing excuses aside . Good Luck ..! You can do it !

Success64

I feel like eating in the evening too. I have decided to go to bed earlier so that I am not tempted by the kitchen. I also clean my teeth which makes me less inclined to eat something.

lavieboheme1229

Last night I wanted dessert. SO I did Jillian Michaels 30DS instead.

You lost the 70 pounds. You know how to lose weight. You know what you have to do. I've tried to accept that people like us will never not have to think about what we are putting into our bodies. I went 2 days without thinking about it, as a test. I logged it at the end of the weekend, and I was up to about 2300 calories every day. It just isn't in the cards for people like us. We will ALWAYS have to work at it.

LCastile

I derail my weight loss goals in the evening too. I've noticed that I'm able to fight temptation if I get busy doing something positive instead of watching television - get a set of light weights or a kettlebell; it's hard to eat when your hands are filled. I wish you success in your journey; this is all about a transition to health.

redrdghood40

I have heard others talk about brushing their teeth as well... Also, whitening strips.... I bought some a while back, but haven't remembered to use them.

jennibee70

Last week I went way over my calorie goal several times. My dance class was cancelled, I couldn't get booked into my spin class, and I skipped my aikido class because I had a guest coming and I wanted to tidy. And every time, not only did I not exercise, I over-ate. I always feel less hungry after exercising, but when I'm bored, I think I'm hungry even if I'm really not. If 8:00 is the time you start to want to snack, maybe you could plan some activity to keep you busy then? I also sometimes promise myself a treat, but not until later in the evening. I tend to find if I have gone over my calories by early evening, I'll just blow it and eat everything I want! But if I know I can have a glass of wine or an ice cream at 9:00, then I won't pig out at 7, and there is less time left before bed-time for me to wreck my good work in! I hope you get your motivation back soon, try to remember all the good work you did before and how great it felt, 70 lbs is a great achievement.

redrdghood40

thanks everyone for the ideas and support.

floridagirl7264

Try chewing a piece of gum and doing something with your hands. I like to crochet, knit and play games on the computer. It takes my mind off of being hungry.

azztkk

I think that you just need to "tweak" your mind a little.

Any issues that you have from work are all the more reason and motivation to take care of yourself MORE to combat the stress.

Unfortunately, your mom has been gone during your weight loss period so the anniversary of her death shouldn't be a reason to not care for yourself. Think of how happy she'd be for you to see you making yourself stronger on a many levels.

I believe that most of us have the power within us .... we just need to learn how to "tweak" ourselves when we need to. That's why the support and motivation we receive from others on this website works so well. It helps us to alter our frame of mind when it is in a bad place.

You're already a success ... keep succeeding. Sometimes the pace is slow and sometimes it is faster, just keep going forward.

secretlobster

I really like azztkk's advice. It makes a lot of sense.

Maybe instead of trying to constantly motivate yourself, create an exercise schedule for yourself and a weekly eating plan so you can follow it with sort of a "paint by number" attitude. That helps me sometimes when I don't really have enough energy to make constant choices. Having to choose what to eat for every meal gives you too much of an opportunity to impulsively make "bad" choices.

tpow1196

As I just updated on my status, this was my first PMS to get through with my lifestyle change. I fought of urges with an extra yoga at the gym, finding heathy alternatives to munch on ( I have a wicked sweet tooth) and really thinking about how good I feel already only being 20lbs down.

I read alot of books and chewed gum also! lol.

Pretty much anything to destress and not fall back on my crutch of eating for comfort.

Good luck hon!

chooriyah

I drink a nice cup of decaf tea, like rooibos tea or something. Somehow it makes me a little bit more full and keeps me occupied while I'm watching TV. Saying that, my hubby keeps eating Cheetos in front of me and it's next to impossible not to have a handful as well.

Sorry to hear about your mum. Let yourself grieve, but don't let that sadness be an excuse to fall back to old eating habits. Congratulations on your achievements so far, and I truly hope you can keep it up.

srhargraves

Well, here is what I do. I eat 1500 calories a day. I save most of my calories for the evening when I know I am gona wana snack. I eat about 400 calories for breakfast, about 200 calories for lunch, then I have the rest for dinner. 900 calories for dinner is a lot of food so by the time you start getting the urge to snack, it is usually time to go to bed. But, if I do get the urge, normally I have a couple of hundred calories left over and I get my favorite thing in the world and eat it. Which is usually a banana popsickle. Or I might have a couple of wedges of laughing cow cheese with about 4 crackers...or maybe some fat free popcorn. Just anything that won't put me over my caloric limit. It works for me and in 2009 I lost 107 lbs. Then Thanksgiving day came, I got off my diet and never got back on it so I gained every pound of it back. So I have determined that this has to be a lifestyle for me. When those pounds start coming back, it is easy to wait till tomorrow to do something about it. Because tomorrow never comes. When tomorrow gets here, it is today. So I take one day at a time, and never look to far ahead. The key is do it today.

jonchew

I don't know what's wrong, but I am truly struggling and having trouble being motivated. Work is stressful and evenings are the worst. I noticed yesterday that I did fairly well until about 8pm... then all I wanted to do was eat. I had lost 70 lbs, but with the stress at work and the anniversary of my mother's death, I have gained 10 lbs... It's a constant struggle. Any fresh ideas would be appreciated. thank you. Gwen

I'm a late-night snacker also, like yourself. You know your weakness, you're 90% of the way to your solution! I've noticed that if it's getting late & I have the urge, I have a drink of something with zero calories, then go to bed. Again, I love late nights, but I love my weight-loss progress more.

Not a perfect solution (once again, I love my late nights, & I need to get-up to pee in the middle of the night, which is a drag!), but it helps. Best of luck to you!