In Need of Major Encouragement...

AmberJo1984

.... and probably a slap or two across the face. :blushing:

I was doing so well. 20 pounds lost. Inches lost. But, most importantly.... confidence gained. And I was feeling so well (both physically and mentally -- for the most part). Then Saturday showed up. Friends came to visit. I was so excited. I love hanging out with these friends and their daughters. It was a great day. We had a lot of fun. But... we ate at a Chinese buffet. I don't really like Chinese food, so I got some of the only things I would like. Fried chicken. Fried Rice. A HUGE salad with too much dressing. Orange Jello (and a lot of it). and Ice Cream. I have been down ever since. Plus, every day since, there has been something going on that have involved a lot of food... and I haven't had the chance to regain control.

I'm not sure if it's all the carbs that have brought me low.... or if it's the weight that has gone up. I'm not really sure. I just know that I've been driving everyone around me crazy (including myself), and something has got to change.

Another problem has been exercise. I was exercising every day... and loving every minute of it. My knee was starting to hurt.... but, I kept working through it. Then, last Thursday, it got so bad, that I've been told to stay off of it for a while. I know I could do upper body exercises... but, I've been discouraged, and haven't gotten back to doing anything. That has also added to the discouraged feeling.

I keep thinking of all of the other times that I've failed... and I'm afraid this is going to be another failure. I know I really need to snap out of it... but, my mind and my willpower keep fighting... and so far, my mind is losing.

Ok... now... bring on the harsh (but truthful) speeches... and help push me back on track. I know all of you in MFP world have the right answers.

mdcjmom

You and I can do this. Sounds like we both need a push. You grab your weights and I'll grab mine (somehow). And we can do it together. I know I am down to but your post makes me realize that others are struggling too. We can help each other!

jessiwithaneye

I get where you're coming from. Once my momentum is interrupted, it feels like I have to climb a mountain made out of thumbtacks and rubbing alcohol to get it back. That said, it can be done. I actually woke up this morning in the worst mood, convinced that I am the only person in the world who has ever had to struggle to lose weight (melodramatic, I know, but that's how I felt). I cried and whined for a bit (literally, cried for a while, then whined, then cried some more), then finally got over myself, did my 30 Day Shred video, and went for a jog. I feel better now. The scale's a bit stuck, but I know it will un-stick with time. In any event, if you want to add me, I'm all for support systems (but I'm goofy as ****, fair warning).
--Jess

tekwriter

You have lost your focus on the goals you set. Don't forget this is a journey with no rights or wrongs only learning. You are seeing now what happens when you lose control of your eating and exercise habits. You don't like it. Now is the time to get control of them again and keep moving forward.

kjheimerl

Those days are in the past. If you keep focusing on them you will continue to make yourself feel poorly. Concentrate on those days that you were able to exercise and eat well and move on from there. The more you tell yourself you "can't" have a certain food you will reach for it! You can do this......you have made great progress. Take a day and start again tomorrow. Don't get into a rut. We all mess up with food or drink at times.......keep the faith! You can do this!

kspotts73

real life includes going to buffets and enjoying friends. You can't look at it as a setback. It's one meal...that you deserved! I find a cheat day...where you let loose and enjoy - guilt free is the only way to make this a lifestyle change. So, thank God you got to spend time with your friends...enjoy the memories and start over today. You are doing GREAT!!!

dward2011

Are you able to bike or swim? Those are good workouts that are very easy on the knee (check with your doc). Otherwise, don't let this get you down. Your body needs time to adjust to the changes you are installing. It is great that you had the presence of mind to stop and seek medical help before the injury became worse. There are tons of exercises that you could do without putting strain on the knee. Google exercises for sitting in a chair or at a desk. Search for things that you can modify or use a resistance band with while sitting or lying down. I broke my foot in April and was able to find tons of workouts to do at home without moving my foot (I had a hard cast) or using it (I had to use crutches the entire time).

Make a list of possibilities and run through them with your doc/nurse/PT to ensure no further damage or strain. Good luck! Only you can change you.

AmberJo1984

Thank you, everyone. I appreciate all of the encouragement and wise words.

ChrisRiches

The truth is....you have lost 18 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So you had a little slide. It's done now. Over. Don't beat yourself up over it, you can't change it now. What can you do now? Celebrate your accomplishment so far, and get back at it. Do an upper body workout - even if it's only 10 minutes, that is 10 more minutes than you were planning to do. ANYTHING is better than NOTHING. Start small again if you have to, but start. Now. Come on, you can do it - you've already shown that you can do it. So do it. And don't be so hard on yourself. I have faith in you. We all do, cuz we've all been there, and could be there again.

LoosingMyLast15

.... and probably a slap or two across the face. :blushing:

I was doing so well. 20 pounds lost. Inches lost. But, most importantly.... confidence gained. And I was feeling so well (both physically and mentally -- for the most part). Then Saturday showed up. Friends came to visit. I was so excited. I love hanging out with these friends and their daughters. It was a great day. We had a lot of fun. But... we ate at a Chinese buffet. I don't really like Chinese food, so I got some of the only things I would like. Fried chicken. Fried Rice. A HUGE salad with too much dressing. Orange Jello (and a lot of it). and Ice Cream. I have been down ever since. Plus, every day since, there has been something going on that have involved a lot of food... and I haven't had the chance to regain control.

I'm not sure if it's all the carbs that have brought me low.... or if it's the weight that has gone up. I'm not really sure. I just know that I've been driving everyone around me crazy (including myself), and something has got to change.

Another problem has been exercise. I was exercising every day... and loving every minute of it. My knee was starting to hurt.... but, I kept working through it. Then, last Thursday, it got so bad, that I've been told to stay off of it for a while. I know I could do upper body exercises... but, I've been discouraged, and haven't gotten back to doing anything. That has also added to the discouraged feeling.

I keep thinking of all of the other times that I've failed... and I'm afraid this is going to be another failure. I know I really need to snap out of it... but, my mind and my willpower keep fighting... and so far, my mind is losing.

Ok... now... bring on the harsh (but truthful) speeches... and help push me back on track. I know all of you in MFP world have the right answers.

you can approach this two ways: one continue on your downward spiral/your pity party and eventually gain all your weight back and well be done with it.

OR

KNOCK IT OFF! put on your grown woman panties and get back on the bandwagon! we've all had our bad moments/bad days/bad weeks. you've got to shake it off. forget about eating at the chinese restaurant that was saturday. today's tuesday! move on. as for exercising. give your knee a break and do other things elliptical is great - very little impact on your knee. ab workouts, upper body strength training.

you've lost 20lbs! pat yourself on the back! focus on how you felt last week not this week. you know you can do it. it's in you! if it wasn't you would not have lost 20lb already!!!! NOW GET OFF YOUR KEESTER AND GET MOVING!

madworld1

Sounds to me like you tend to let one or two "bad" days derail you. I have the same tendency. In the past, I have had an "all or nothing" attitude. If I eat horribly one day, then I tend to think that the whole week is blown. My mind is my worst enemy. Realize that you didn't do so great one day, but it doesn't mean that you are a bad person. Don't punish yourself. Remember how good you feel when you exercise and eat healthier.

AmberJo1984

I'm not usually so hard on myself for having just something here and there that is "not as great". But, the last few days has been so much carbs. I'm borderline diabetic... so I think part of the problem is that the carbs probably have me on a sugar high. Which usually makes me cranky and depressed, instead of happy.

I'm not trying to cut out carbs... but, I definitely need to limit them more. And, not have them every meal (and for the entire meal).

AmberJo1984

NOW GET OFF YOUR KEESTER AND GET MOVING!

Great advice. LOVE it. I'll do that.

MinnieInMaine

you can approach this two ways: one continue on your downward spiral/your pity party and eventually gain all your weight back and well be done with it.

OR

KNOCK IT OFF! put on your grown woman panties and get back on the bandwagon! we've all had our bad moments/bad days/bad weeks. you've got to shake it off. forget about eating at the chinese restaurant that was saturday. today's tuesday! move on. as for exercising. give your knee a break and do other things elliptical is great - very little impact on your knee. ab workouts, upper body strength training.

you've lost 20lbs! pat yourself on the back! focus on how you felt last week not this week. you know you can do it. it's in you! if it wasn't you would not have lost 20lb already!!!! NOW GET OFF YOUR KEESTER AND GET MOVING!

Yup, this! There is absolutely nothing you can do about the past few days of bad eating and not enough exercise so STOP wasting your time and energy on things in the past! Instead, continue what you've started. You've admitted you're having a problem and asked for advice. Next step is to dig in and make a plan. Start googling upper body exercises and call your doc to see if swimming, elliptical or bike would be ok. Either way, you don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight, you just have to eat within your calorie limits. Start planning your meals for the next week, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and don't deviate from that plan.

As someone else said, we all have bad days, weeks, months. The most important thing you can do is put that behind you and move forward!

AmberJo1984

No more excuses....

penrbrown

I have BEEN there. In the last two years I've back slid more then I've gone forward (which is why I stayed the same weight for so long).

What kicked me back into gear was gaining a few pounds (and them not coming off right away). Ugh. That scared me into reality.

It's okay to backslide a little but do NOT let it become habit! You have to pull up your boot straps and move forward.

Don't worry about tripping. Don't worry about what happened before. Don't let that drag you down.

Shake it off and keep moving FORWARD.

You can do this. You absolutely can do it! You've lost 20lbs already! You know the magic formula, you just have to get your momentum back and you can't get momentum if you don't move.

So get moving!!!

underwater77

Make the conscious decision to move forward from this moment on! No excuses. Accept your setback and move on! It happens to everyone. Only the weak let it defeat them. YOU CAN DO IT.

californiagirl2012

.... and probably a slap or two across the face. :blushing:

I was doing so well. 20 pounds lost. Inches lost. But, most importantly.... confidence gained. And I was feeling so well (both physically and mentally -- for the most part). Then Saturday showed up. Friends came to visit. I was so excited. I love hanging out with these friends and their daughters. It was a great day. We had a lot of fun. But... we ate at a Chinese buffet. I don't really like Chinese food, so I got some of the only things I would like. Fried chicken. Fried Rice. A HUGE salad with too much dressing. Orange Jello (and a lot of it). and Ice Cream. I have been down ever since. Plus, every day since, there has been something going on that have involved a lot of food... and I haven't had the chance to regain control.

I'm not sure if it's all the carbs that have brought me low.... or if it's the weight that has gone up. I'm not really sure. I just know that I've been driving everyone around me crazy (including myself), and something has got to change.

Another problem has been exercise. I was exercising every day... and loving every minute of it. My knee was starting to hurt.... but, I kept working through it. Then, last Thursday, it got so bad, that I've been told to stay off of it for a while. I know I could do upper body exercises... but, I've been discouraged, and haven't gotten back to doing anything. That has also added to the discouraged feeling.

I keep thinking of all of the other times that I've failed... and I'm afraid this is going to be another failure. I know I really need to snap out of it... but, my mind and my willpower keep fighting... and so far, my mind is losing.

Ok... now... bring on the harsh (but truthful) speeches... and help push me back on track. I know all of you in MFP world have the right answers.

Just keep your eye on the prize. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to have more good days than bad days over time to succeed at this.

DenyseMarieL

I think what is great about this site, is that everyone has some weight/fitness issues and that we are not alone. In real life, I can't get the 'you go girl' I am craving when it comes to a success, nor a 'pick yourself back up and you can do this' when it comes to a setback. I needed like-minded people to interact with.
One setback won't ruin it all, not in a short time frame. You can fix it, get back on track! Doing what you can for exercise is better than nothing at all!
Add me as a friend if you need extra support.

MinnieInMaine

p.s. I'd also recommend putting some thought into how you could have better handled that trip to the Chinese Buffet. It's a tough place to make healthy choices so in that case, portion control is more the plan you need to go with. Ok, so you love fried chicken and fried rice. Have a little of each. And you already know you put too much dressing on that salad so next time keep that in check - either no dressing or put the dressing in a little bowl on the side and be careful of how much you pour on.

Pgonzal2972

.... and probably a slap or two across the face. :blushing:

I was doing so well. 20 pounds lost. Inches lost. But, most importantly.... confidence gained. And I was feeling so well (both physically and mentally -- for the most part). Then Saturday showed up. Friends came to visit. I was so excited. I love hanging out with these friends and their daughters. It was a great day. We had a lot of fun. But... we ate at a Chinese buffet. I don't really like Chinese food, so I got some of the only things I would like. Fried chicken. Fried Rice. A HUGE salad with too much dressing. Orange Jello (and a lot of it). and Ice Cream. I have been down ever since. Plus, every day since, there has been something going on that have involved a lot of food... and I haven't had the chance to regain control.

I'm not sure if it's all the carbs that have brought me low.... or if it's the weight that has gone up. I'm not really sure. I just know that I've been driving everyone around me crazy (including myself), and something has got to change.

Another problem has been exercise. I was exercising every day... and loving every minute of it. My knee was starting to hurt.... but, I kept working through it. Then, last Thursday, it got so bad, that I've been told to stay off of it for a while. I know I could do upper body exercises... but, I've been discouraged, and haven't gotten back to doing anything. That has also added to the discouraged feeling.

I keep thinking of all of the other times that I've failed... and I'm afraid this is going to be another failure. I know I really need to snap out of it... but, my mind and my willpower keep fighting... and so far, my mind is losing.

Ok... now... bring on the harsh (but truthful) speeches... and help push me back on track. I know all of you in MFP world have the right answers.

you can approach this two ways: one continue on your downward spiral/your pity party and eventually gain all your weight back and well be done with it.

OR

KNOCK IT OFF! put on your grown woman panties and get back on the bandwagon! we've all had our bad moments/bad days/bad weeks. you've got to shake it off. forget about eating at the chinese restaurant that was saturday. today's tuesday! move on. as for exercising. give your knee a break and do other things elliptical is great - very little impact on your knee. ab workouts, upper body strength training.

you've lost 20lbs! pat yourself on the back! focus on how you felt last week not this week. you know you can do it. it's in you! if it wasn't you would not have lost 20lb already!!!! NOW GET OFF YOUR KEESTER AND GET MOVING!

Great post...I could have said it better myself!!! :drinker: