Having such a hard time :(

Maridinger
Maridinger Posts: 74 Member
in Motivation and Support
So I have lost a little over 60 pounds. But I cant get past that point, or I guess Im just having trouble. I know I can, I just keep sabotaging myself! I dont have a huge support system and I am just doing this on my own as best as I can. I have 4 kids that need constant attention since they all have medical issues so I am ALWAYS stressed. I am an emotional eater which makes it ten times worse. I am having such a hard time finding my motivation again. Im not unhappy with how look now, but I want to loose another 15-20 pounds to make sure Im healthy for my kids. When you've fallen off the band wagon how do you get back on??? Ive never had this much trouble with a goal in my life. Thanks for reading and offering any advice you can!!

Replies

  • mcm412
    mcm412 Posts: 18
    Wow! The fact that you're raising four kids, all of whom have medical issues, AND have lost 60 pounds is AMAZING. I hope you take a moment to reflect on what a huge accomplishment that is, whether you've met your official goal or not.

    I too have had difficulty in recent months trying to stay the course. I've certainly not found the cure for it because there are still so many days when I struggle with what should be clear choices. In a weird way, one thing that helped me is acknowledging that IT IS A STRUGGLE and that I'm normal for experiencing that. There was a great article in the New York Times about 18 months ago that discussed how difficult it is to maintain weight loss, and it detailed all the different ways your body will try to fight back. It may be weird, but I actually found it empowering. It gave me a little room to forgive myself for "bad days" when I wasn't eating well because there are a lot of biological mechanisms that are legitimately making it difficult. That's not to say that I'm not responsible for my conduct, because obviously I make the choice to eat well or not. But the article also helped me see that this is going to be a long-term battle for me. In those kinds of fights, you will win some skirmishes and lose others, but the important thing is not to give up the fight. I guess that's all a long winded way of saying that I'm just trying to not be so hard on myself, to accept that there will be bad days, and to realize that the victory sometimes is just waking up willing to fight the good fight.

    And as for the emotion eating, when I feel a binge coming on, I try to pause for a second and say to myself (sometimes out loud even) "it's not really about the food." When you're an emotional eater, it's never really about the food but about whatever underlying issue you're feeling. That's pretty intuitive. But for whatever reason, saying that out loud and acknowledging that what I want "isn't really about the food" sometimes makes whatever I'm eating look less appealing.

    Anyway, best of luck! And please do take a minute to recognize the amazing things you have already accomplished!

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