Feeling lost and sad

Hang in there!! My journey has been long and slow but the only way to fail is if you really quit. That said, i know many successful "losers" including myself who have taken anywhere from a weekend to a month "off". Just a break of not obsessing over it all and focusing on "lifestyle" changes...eating healthy with moderate daily activity.

When your sister comes just focus on healthy choices and smaller portion sizes. Take walks together so you can walk and talk and catch up at the same time. You will both feel better. Suggest a nice walk after dinner as naturally as if you were asking her if she wants dessert! :laugh:

Many feel sad at times. Many feel like failures at times. Few are the dynamos that can just keep plugging away forever without taking some time.

Use this time to reflect on where you have been, where you are now, and where you want to be. Take a breather, then set your next goal.

Look at what you have done! You can do it again.

((((hugs))))
D

Definately DON"T beat yourself up about it. This is why we all join this site. We ALL experience ups and downs it's the nature of the best called weight loss. And we all hit a "hard" time. I would just talk to your sister in advance about how important this is to you, and to be patient if you need extra time to look for the healthier items on the menu or ask the wait staff questions, or if you rather cook at home. She would understand I bet. And dont focus on the days you didnt work out, but the ones where you did! which is 5 more days then someone else may have, especially since most do on average 3 days per week. You did 5!! Just take some deep breaths, focus on your progress to date, and keep on trucking, and it is OK to take a day or 2 off to recoup your thoughts and mind and regain some motivation! Your FABULOUS for being on this site, working on a goal, and talking about it! Free therapy!! Hang in there!!

I agree we all need time off from obsessing about weightloss. I took about a month off and though I didn't lose anything I didn't gain anything either. I tried to make good choices but sometimes I didn't. Don't worry if you want it you will get back on track. The most important thing is that you find the motivation to get back on track (which the treadmill was a good start).

We all get into ruts.

Do what you can. If that program you mentioned says to work out 6x a week and that is too much, then aim for 4 or 5 times a week. You will still lose weight. If an hour a day 4-5 times a week isn't working either, then try something else. There are other workout videos, Jillian Michaels to name one which is only 30 minutes for the 30 day shred and kicks your butt! Go for a 30 minute walk instead, or swimming.

When your sister is over and you go out to eat, only eat half of your meal and box up the rest. Order healthier food. Get her involved in working out too.

This too shall pass. )

Plateaus are HELL. BUT a very good opportunity to get to know your body. Your body gets used to the way you are eating and what you are doing as far as exercise. SHOCK IT. Could be FUN. Eat 2x the carbs for 2 days and don't exercise. Then on the third day do a work out you've never done before. Circuits are awesome. Walk, weights, crunches, walk, weights, crunches. Then try to go back to your norm. If that doesn't work try a different routine for a week. If you look at it as a challenge and not discouragement. It can be fun. Like a jigsaw puzzle.

Like everyone said: hang in there the best you can. IF you can't do the full hour of Slim in 6, then do 30 minutes. Add 5 more minutes each day, until you gain more strength and endurance and before you know it, you will be doing a full hour. If you can add weights to the workout, do it. Weights add more resistance and will help you burn more calories.

Is better to do something than to do nothing at all. So, do 30 minutes of Slim in 6 and then go from there. Just keep moving!!

Hang in there!! My journey has been long and slow but the only way to fail is if you really quit. That said, i know many successful "losers" including myself who have taken anywhere from a weekend to a month "off". Just a break of not obsessing over it all and focusing on "lifestyle" changes...eating healthy with moderate daily activity.

When your sister comes just focus on healthy choices and smaller portion sizes. Take walks together so you can walk and talk and catch up at the same time. You will both feel better. Suggest a nice walk after dinner as naturally as if you were asking her if she wants dessert! :laugh:

Many feel sad at times. Many feel like failures at times. Few are the dynamos that can just keep plugging away forever without taking some time.

Use this time to reflect on where you have been, where you are now, and where you want to be. Take a breather, then set your next goal.

Look at what you have done! You can do it again.

((((hugs))))
D

great advice~ sometimes you just have to take a break and start over. the important thing is not giving up. With work and my parents visitng and all kinds of other stress I was off MFP for a few months only to come back 6lbs lighter. Ha! I never would have imagined that. I just watched what I ate (without obsessing over every single calorie) and was active as much as I could, just walking around at the mall, around the house, wherever just tried to walk instead of drive, take the stairs instead of the elevator, all the little things really do add up.

So hang in there!

Try integrating ONE new habit into your lifestyle. Here's a few ideas:

Increase your fiber intake - try to get 25-30 grams of fiber each day. For bread products - Sara Lee's Delightful line of breads are great and lower in calories. For pasta, Healthy Harvest is high in fiber and lowest in sugar. Beans have fiber and protein. Fiber One also has a line of products - not just cereal, but also yogurt - so go to their web site (fiberone.com) for recipes and ways to integrate fiber into your diet. They give you the calorie count / nutrition facts of each recipe which is nice!

Vegetables, vegetables, vegetables... leafy greens are best such as spinach and kale, but fillers such as lettuce, cucumber and celery are great ways to have a low calorie tummy filler when you're hungry. Try one new vegetable every week - find a recipe that sounds good and have some fun! Fresh Beets (not canned) are on my menu for next week, and this week I put Jicama in my salad instead of cukes. I liked it better than cukes and they have a generous amount of vitamin C, 6 grams of fiber and only 2 grams of sugar in a 1 cup serving. I'm going to make a jicama salad next, where it's mostly jicama. I think it would be fantastic with an asian/peanut type of dressing with a few green onions and maybe a few mandarin orange slices. BTW - you peel off the skin if you are interested in trying it.

One or maybe even two days a weeek, do some strength training instead of just cardio. If you belong to a gym, take advantage of a circuit training class or pilates class which will help you with this. I know this is scary - I started out 111 pounds overweight so going into these classes can feel intimidating but I burn about 400 calories in a 60 minute class. That's a whole meal worth of calories!

MFP "Calories Burned" is not accurate! I've seen it be almost double the actual calories burned. I know this because I have a HR monitor. I highly recommned that you invest in one that that not only monitors your heart rate, but also tells you how many calories you burned. I bought a Polar brand monitor which has a chest strap. I love it! It motivates me to push myself a little harder or a little faster. It cost me over $100 with the calorie feature, but I think that I'm worth it. (And I'm a cheap person who buys most of my clothes at resale shops.) MFP lets you overwrite the calories it picks for you after you've typed in your exercise duration, so a HR monitor will give you a more accurate calorie count so you'll be more successful with your weight loss than if you depend on the calories that MFP enters for you. If you cannot afford one, I suggest that you always cut the MFP assigned calories burned in half, just to be safe.

Treat yourself with kindness - get a massage, go to the chiropractor, make a dentist appointment, meditate, take a yoga class, download a yoga or meditation app, make your annual doctor appointment, plan a vacation somewhere fun which doesn't include food as the focus (skip the cruise...), take a day off work just to have a "me" day - but plan something with someone, like a nature hike, connect with someone else who might be trying to lose weight as well, search for a workout buddy so you have someone who counts on you to show up.

Change your mind about hunger... Enjoy the feeling of an empty stomach. As long as it's not growling, it can feel good if you allow your mind to change. Allow your mind to really focus on that feeling. Pay attention to how easy it is to breathe. Feel how your belly feels when your stomach is empty. Do your pants feel better? When you go to bed with an empty stomach, feel motivated and not deprived, because your body is burning fat and you will wake up a lighter person tomorrow than you are today.

That's just a few ideas. Don't feel overwhelmed. Just choose ONE new thing, and stick to it. Maybe you'll add something else in a few weeks.

Please don't let this get to you. We all get discouraged. It's time to regroup! Find a quiet time and sit down and look back at what you have accomplished. Review what you lost and how. Make a plan, make a goal and make it reasonable. You haven't alot left to lose. Your goal should only be 5 pounds a month. Take measurements and create a workout plan that works for you. Even though you have slowed in the dropping of weight, this is most likely temporary and if you are persistant your next drop will be a big one. Remember watching the biggest loser, when someone seems stalled at one weigh in, the next they do a big drop. They do this by staying focussed and continuing thier ruitine. At your new lower weight, just maintaining for a week is an accomplishment. Your body wants to maintain homeostasis, it doesn't like dropping weight, so it is fighting you, so you need to keep at it. Don't starve, eat healthy, regular, and exercise.
You know all of this, your just having your moment and it's our turn to inspire and motivate you, as you have been doing for us. Cheer up, we know you will persist, you are determined and strong and you will get this done. You are a great example to your sister and family. Keep it up.