Fallen off wagon... need a fresh start

I can't believe i have fallen off again... after 15 or so years of dieting I really thought I had it sorted... now i find the cheat days becoming more frequent, and I just can't get the motivation together. I've just joined a gym and am really excited about going. But it's the eating... help!!!
This always happens to me. I am motivated, then I loose the weight, keep it off for a few months, then it slowly comes back. I just want a normal life where I am a constant weight. I feel like I'll be tracking forever. I can't face the embarrassment of everyone watching me put weight on AGAIN.

Sorry to be a downer. I feel so out of control :(

Replies

  • DebNFlo
    DebNFlo Posts: 1
    Hang in there - we all have bad days/months. I am restarting again after an injury sidelined me AGAIN. We can do this!!! :)
  • boberrymom
    boberrymom Posts: 361 Member
    Don't "diet" just make healthier choices. If losing weight is what you want then count your calories if you are maintaining count your calories anyways so you know what you are putting in your mouth.
    So you fell off.....pick yourself up, and go at it again, you can do it, you've done it before. Take it day by day and you will get there.
    Don't get down on yourself because you fell off "the wagon", just jump back on, you got this ;)

    :)

    Jess
  • emmalou25mk
    emmalou25mk Posts: 25 Member
    Me too.... I have had such a bad month with my diet and exercise recently.... I go to weight watchers (just to be weighed... I don't enjoy the points system, I prefer to calorie count) and have been going through a loss/gain cycle for weeks :(.

    I usually exercise but have lost all motivation for that aswell....

    I've still got 70lbs to lose and can't keep starting over :(
  • lambchoplewis
    lambchoplewis Posts: 797
    I have had a bad two weeks!! I had a glass of wine which led to a bottle which led to a binge. I have done this almost every night for the last two weeks. I started today- NO DRINKING. I do great on food and motivation with no drinking but... here I go with about a 5 lbs weight gain in two weeks. I know this will turn into a downward spiral if I don't nip this NOW
  • 12skipafew99100
    12skipafew99100 Posts: 1,669 Member
    We only truely fail when we stop trying.
  • LauraThirty
    LauraThirty Posts: 74
    Don't "diet" just make healthier choices. If losing weight is what you want then count your calories if you are maintaining count your calories anyways so you know what you are putting in your mouth.
    So you fell off.....pick yourself up, and go at it again, you can do it, you've done it before. Take it day by day and you will get there.
    Don't get down on yourself because you fell off "the wagon", just jump back on, you got this ;)

    :)

    Jess

    Thanks all, I really appreciate the support. I know I'm being a baby. The thing is, although I have done it before, I have failed before and I think every time I go in to it again I take each of those failures with me. I just feel like such a weak stupid idiot. I reckon every time I lose weight people around me are laughing behind my back thinking "how long will it stay off this time"
  • LauraThirty
    LauraThirty Posts: 74
    I have had a bad two weeks!! I had a glass of wine which led to a bottle which led to a binge. I have done this almost every night for the last two weeks. I started today- NO DRINKING. I do great on food and motivation with no drinking but... here I go with about a 5 lbs weight gain in two weeks. I know this will turn into a downward spiral if I don't nip this NOW

    That is exactly where I am..... Okay. Can we do it together??
  • bhur
    bhur Posts: 6 Member
    I actually had to get a personal trainer this time around. That way I'm accountable to someone other than myself. Keep going! It's hard to restart, and I'm right in that boat too!
  • LauraThirty
    LauraThirty Posts: 74
    We only truely fail when we stop trying.

    Thank you. Yes.
  • pupcamper
    pupcamper Posts: 410 Member
    Don't be too hard on yourself that could be counterproductive - focus on the positive - you can do it!!:drinker:
  • boberrymom
    boberrymom Posts: 361 Member
    Don't "diet" just make healthier choices. If losing weight is what you want then count your calories if you are maintaining count your calories anyways so you know what you are putting in your mouth.
    So you fell off.....pick yourself up, and go at it again, you can do it, you've done it before. Take it day by day and you will get there.
    Don't get down on yourself because you fell off "the wagon", just jump back on, you got this ;)

    :)

    Jess

    Thanks all, I really appreciate the support. I know I'm being a baby. The thing is, although I have done it before, I have failed before and I think every time I go in to it again I take each of those failures with me. I just feel like such a weak stupid idiot. I reckon every time I lose weight people around me are laughing behind my back thinking "how long will it stay off this time"

    Don't ever call yourself a stupid idiot.....you made the first step by wanting to get healthier.
    Make small goals for yourself. What goals did you have before that you have continued? There must be something that you have accomplished. Look at those things and focus on those. Focus on the feeling you get after a workout. Keep a journal of how you are feeling, sometimes it just takes that venting to help us feel better.

    You can do this! I would take today to make a list of the things that will contribute to your weight loss that you need to change and picking only one or two of them to work on this week. Make sure they are posted for you to see so that you can mark them off at the end of the week. Then you can see even more of the accomplishments you have made.

    Jess
  • LauraThirty
    LauraThirty Posts: 74
    Okay - thanks all! So, here's the plan. I'm going to stop tracking for the remainder of this week. Until Sunday. I'm just so aggy over the whole thing I'm going to give myself a break. Not to say i will over-eat on purpose and I will make good choices but I need some time off of the guilt.

    My new gym opens on Sunday and they are doing nutrition and fitness plans to kick off so I'll take advantage of that and start a fresh.

    Now to get over my nerves about going to the gym!!!!
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
    First, this is a healthy lifestyle...NOT a diet. When you set your mind to healthy, there won't be any more "falling off the wagon". Sure you'll eat all the foods you love - just not that often and in moderation.

    You can do this...starting today and for the rest of your life!!!
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
    when this happens to me I register for a race of some sorts so that I am locked in :) I'm too cheap to back out after I pay the money :)

    Hang in there and know you're not alone
  • LauraThirty
    LauraThirty Posts: 74
    Don't "diet" just make healthier choices. If losing weight is what you want then count your calories if you are maintaining count your calories anyways so you know what you are putting in your mouth.
    So you fell off.....pick yourself up, and go at it again, you can do it, you've done it before. Take it day by day and you will get there.
    Don't get down on yourself because you fell off "the wagon", just jump back on, you got this ;)

    :)

    Jess

    Thanks all, I really appreciate the support. I know I'm being a baby. The thing is, although I have done it before, I have failed before and I think every time I go in to it again I take each of those failures with me. I just feel like such a weak stupid idiot. I reckon every time I lose weight people around me are laughing behind my back thinking "how long will it stay off this time"

    Don't ever call yourself a stupid idiot.....you made the first step by wanting to get healthier.
    Make small goals for yourself. What goals did you have before that you have continued? There must be something that you have accomplished. Look at those things and focus on those. Focus on the feeling you get after a workout. Keep a journal of how you are feeling, sometimes it just takes that venting to help us feel better.

    You can do this! I would take today to make a list of the things that will contribute to your weight loss that you need to change and picking only one or two of them to work on this week. Make sure they are posted for you to see so that you can mark them off at the end of the week. Then you can see even more of the accomplishments you have made.

    Jess

    Thanks Jess. That's a good idea, and something I haven't done before. I will start my list....
  • KellyL23
    KellyL23 Posts: 81 Member
    Dont think in terms of "failure" or "success", just find what does and doesnt work for you, and keep tweaking and moving forward. I have been on this site for years and am finally figuring out what I need to do to become my healthiest self. I found that constant grazing/snacking isnt good for me, so I now eat large meals full of meats and vegetables and healthy fats, and the inches are falling off now. Small tweaks here and there, not an all or nothing mentality will get you to where you need to be eventually. As corny as it is, its a marathon, not a sprint.
  • TheRunningGuppy
    TheRunningGuppy Posts: 651 Member
    It's a lifestyle change, not a diet. And look ahead, not back, the past will just drag you down. Make a goal that has nothing to do with the scale (run a mile without stopping, do 10 proper form pushups, log all food eaten today, don't drink any soda today, etc.). Small goals make it easier to move forward. When you're successful with small goals, then it's easier to set bigger and bigger ones.
    I started out just walking, and could do a mile and a half and be ok. But I was panting like a dog. As of today I've lost 37 lbs and in couple days I'm going to be participating in my first 5K race. I have set many small goals for myself. And several huge goals. I still have a long way to go to reach the big ones, but the smaller ones are in my grasp. You can do this!
  • Ce87girl
    Ce87girl Posts: 24 Member
    Thinking in terms of success and failure can do more harm than good. If you are falling off the wagon, then there may have been something in your routine or lifestyle that really wasn't working. I tried weight watchers and it worked for the longest time but eventually I "failed" because it wasn't something I could keep up as a lifestyle change.

    You can do it!
  • Willowana
    Willowana Posts: 493 Member
    What wagon? There is no wagon. Your life has many twists and turns, and NO ONE (I don't care who you are) navigates life perfectly. And what is perfect anyway?

    Life is just that....a state of living. Sometimes we slow down and sometimes we speed up. And occasionally, we just plain crash and burn. So what?

    Are you important, OP? You must be, if you are back here trying again so soon. You must think your life is worth living....and worth living well. Get off that roller coaster wagon ride, and learn to just live with all your choices....good and bad. Figure out what part of "dieting" bothers you and change it. Sick of the same foods? Find new ones. Sick of the same workout routine? Change it. Sick of not being able to eat everything you want within reach? Reserve one *occasional* day and have a blast....and be prepared to kick your butt in high gear afterward.

    In other words.....live a little and reign yourself in when you need to. Pretty much what you are doing now :drinker:
  • LauraThirty
    LauraThirty Posts: 74
    Overwhelmed by the support - thanks so much
  • amdarosa619
    amdarosa619 Posts: 98 Member
    Don't be too hard on yourself that could be counterproductive - focus on the positive - you can do it!!:drinker:

    THIS. I do this to myself ALL.THE.TIME. because I have chunks of time where I'm dedicated to exercise and eating right, I beat myself up when I dont see the results I want, then get discouraged and say screw it! But, like this poster said, putting yourself down and giving up is not the greater alternative to just sticking with it. You have nothing to lose excepts some lbs!

    Feel free to add me, I know these dips and funks all too well (Having one of those days today actually). One thing I try to repeat to myself when I feel this way is there is no other option but to keep going. Binge eating (or drinking in my case) and no exercising will just put you back where you started and rid yourself of all the progress you've alreaday made. Keep yourself busy to keep from overeating and take one day at a time.

    We're all here to support you. :)