How to get back on track?????

Whenever I lose motivation from going on a vacation, having a medical procedure done, going through times that are just very busy & event filled in general...I find that spending some time reading through threads on here helps get my mind back on track. Picking up a new exercise routine or DVD seems to help, too. Sometimes I just need something different to try out.

Hey all!

I have been a member of fitness pal for almost 2 years and have found this site extremely helpful but a few months back i lost track and put on some weight...(body fat).

Anyway for those of you who lost their way and managed to get back on the fitness regime, i want to hear from you, what did you do to get your butt back into good habits?

Looking foward to your responses.

I've been through several ups and downs, sometimes it works just for a while, anyway you need to start slowly. There's no need to start restricting all at once, you could try cutting out certain fat foods, or filling your fridge with healthy stuff and eat without exceeding. After a few weeks you can get back to calories counting if you want to. Try to reward yourself at the end of each healthy week, possibly with something different from food. I've bought myself some stuff on Ebay after the 2 difficult weeks of being back on a diet and now I have no problem in dieting anymore

I started and then got really off track in June after an injury. I came back and started checking out challenges.

I found one that got me moving:

The famous MYA challenge

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1111548-october-2013-move-your-a-challenge

One that has a lot of inspiring threads
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/15552-infinite-ambitious-possibilities

and I created my own group in September - it was a great success and now I am doing the 2nd month.
It breaks every day into just about "the process"
Keeping It Green While Eating

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/16790-keeping-it-green-while-eating-challenge-oct-2013

Hey all!

I have been a member of fitness pal for almost 2 years and have found this site extremely helpful but a few months back i lost track and put on some weight...(body fat).

Anyway for those of you who lost their way and managed to get back on the fitness regime, i want to hear from you, what did you do to get your butt back into good habits?

Looking foward to your responses.

I did.

Ten years ago I took off around 60-70 lbs, most of what I'd been packing my entire diet life. I did it with the strong support of trainers, who taught me about sensible eating, tracking calories an exercise, and working out three times a week (running and weight lifting). However, I gained about thirty pounds back over a five year period. I've always exercised, but I found myself eating more sugary foods over time and, of course, not keeping track of what I ate.

I found MFP in about May or June of this year because I was looking for an app to log in food and exercise instead of handwriting it all in a notebook. At this time, I was feeling so horrible with aches that I had to something. Since my doctor could not find a medical reason as to why I was feeling horrible, I figured it had something do do with extra weight.

What I have found is that the tools here are so similar to what I learned from my trainer that it was easy for me to get back on track. The one thing the trainer did not teach me was how to eat to maintain my weight. I have about 11 pounds to my goal and I am looking forward to learning how to maintain my weight once I've reached my goal.

The reason I want to maintain is because of how great I feel now as opposed to how I felt with that extra 30 pounds I gained back.

I still eat what I used to eat, just a whole lot less of it. The only thing I've cut out is all the sugary foods I used to eat because too much sugar makes me feel horrible. Once in a while I have a treat as long as it fits in my calories for the day.

Well, I'm more where you're at than anything else ... last year from September - end of February I dutifully counted calories and exercised like a machine and lost about 15-20 pounds. And then I MD-ed a musical theatre show and stress-ate probably 10 pounds back. Last week, I found myself back in a leotard in ballet class and realized I was the fattest person in the room. So I've basically just picked up where I left off. I need one day a week of cheating, since I only eat 1100-1400 calories a day even when exercising, but for me, it helps to have a goal weight and time. I want to be 10 pounds lighter by Christmas. So when I'm tempted to cheat on a non-cheat day, I remind myself I have a limited time to get to a specific weight. It also helps to be back in a daily routine. When I was not in school during the summer, any structure went out the window. Having limited access to shopping/food, keeping the day full, and only stocking the shelves with fruits and veggies is helping me stay relatively strict. Good luck!

I was getting sloppy the last two months after a first, great seven months on MFP. Not really bad, I had gained a couple of pounds and was maintaining, or going up and down by two pounds. Trying to get back on track for good.

Then someone started the October Accountability Challenge and I signed up. I don't really know why this worked, maybe it's just that I figured, hey for 31 days I can do this, or being with others pushing to get back on track, or just because I like a challenge, but it really worked. You might see if you can join the group for the rest of the month, or start your own group!

For the month, we have to go record everything we eat every day, eat within our calorie allotment and spend 20 minutes every day on SOME kind of exercise, any kind. Then we have to check in with the group regularly saying we've done all these things. It is of course on the honor system, but what would be the point of joining if I wanted to cheat?

Hey old habits die hard but we can get back on track if you really want to.

I know that if I go a lengthy period of time without exercising, it gets harder to start over again. I can tell you, the hardest part is getting out of the door but once you're there, you'd be surprised how easy it will be to get back into the good habits again.

Start slow, even if it means just walking a half mile today. it'll get the blood pumping and your motivation will return. Lie to yourself if needed meaning, make it your goal to workout/run/walk for only 10 minutes. The idea is by the time that 10 minutes is up, you'll have more motivation to continue on. I've done that many times and it works.
Slowly wean yourself from the bad eating habits. More veggies, less sugar.

Good luck to you.

The MOST important thing:


Second most important thing:


If you accept that setbacks are part of the journey and not a failure then you will be more successful. I think of it that even if I fall, even for weeks, I am STILL on my journey and no matter what it will never go away. If you are trying to be perfect or have an all or nothing attitude, your not doing it right.