Really bad streak; how to change?

couldn't sleep and messed up hardcore. Can I give myself the day off from tracking?

The thought of writing tracking it all down stresses me out and makes me feel worse about myself, so....

What happenned is I couldn't sleep got up at like 4/5am and ate big(!) protein vegetable meal I think because I had eaten too much sugar(fruit, cannation no sugar added cocoa) last and my body was craving protein to balance things out. A hug salad, two steamed artichokes, broccoli, tilapia, braggs berry dressing, too much dark chocolate, some milk with diet hot cocoa.

I can't remember ever being this full so early in the morning if ever for a loooong time! I could't sleep at all despite efforts before after eating so I went did an errand, will go for a walk if I don't crash(body probably need that most) before an early afternoon commitment.

Can I give myself the day off from tracking? I know I've gained weight but not how much. How long should I weight to weigh?
I am already beating myself up insanely; I hate my sleep problems as they are totally undermining everything with no solution in sight!(I tried drugs but its not for me) so yikes

Any and all advice greatly appreciated. I am sooooooooooo hard on myself about everything a long term pattern I'd love to finanlly be able to break
And loose weight again too!!

Replies

  • cootason
    cootason Posts: 59 Member
    I do not see why not, it sounds like you have other things going on in your life that are hindering you from achieving your goals, you may want to try reducing any form of pre workout or caffeine intake, and if you drink green tea at all try taking it earlier in the day as i found i had the same problem after drinking coffee and tea too late at night was up till 3 -4 am wasnt fun on a night i planned on going in to the gym early the only way i could deal with it was falling asleep eventually and then going in and training and showing for the later class, some people are night people some people are day people changing to mornings has been a tough challenge. as I cant seem to maintain the earlier times. due to shared housing. and family commitments.
  • CherylP67
    CherylP67 Posts: 772 Member
    It's your journey, do what works for you.

    Tracking or not tracking isn't going to change what you ate.

    I track my pig out days so I have them for reference.

    Change is slow, you aren't going to change your life, body, and mind in a few days or weeks. There is nothing you can do about what you ate yesterday, the only thing you can control is what you eat today.

    Don't go starving yourself today to make up for yesterday, it will lead to another food bender.

    Ease up on yourself, you'll feel better!
  • I really wanted to start by sharing my embarrassment with you guys, and I'm grateful, very much so, that I could.
    Am I the only person this insane? How common do you think it is to dip into an unexpected bodilly funk like this?

    Do you think its physical (sleeep deprivation)? Do you think I need to stress about my choices? Have you heard crazier? What kind of stuff do sleep deprived people tend to do? I honestly feel like eating yogurt and berries now a bunch, 3 and a half hours later.

    Many many many many thanks. Gratitude= yes.
  • JessiBelleW
    JessiBelleW Posts: 836 Member
    I feel like when I am tired my body wants carbs as an energy source.
  • just wanted to share that my first thought after reading your post was that none of that food was particularly unhealthy--even the dark chocolate has some health benefits from what i've heard... my other thought was that you said something about being really strict with yourself or something to that effect, and while i think its good to push yourself, constant restriction will lead me to want to rebel and do something way less healthy than if i just gave myself the occasional "treat." anyway if it isn't productive for you to journal this slip i say don't do it, however, you might find out it wasn't as bad as you thought if you do journal it... anyway, no one is perfect so don't dwell on it... sleeping poorly and eating too much sugar sometimes lead to me eating worse, so my feeling is that these things may have been a factor, but sometimes it can be hard to say it was precisely this or that and sounds like this is a rarity for you so i wouldn't over analyse it and would just focus on getting back to doing what has been working for you...
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    How to change? Well, to borrow a phrase from Nike, JUST DO IT.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Personally I would track but this is your journey.
    Your first priority is to find out why you are having sleep issues and then what you need to do to fix it. You may need to see your doctor and have a sleep study done. I know if I don't sleep well I tend to Pac Man through the kitchen eating everything in sight.
  • cadaverousbones
    cadaverousbones Posts: 421 Member
    If it will make you feel better, don't track it. You might be surprised though that most of what you ate was healthy so it probably isn't too much. Also someone told me that MFP sets an automatic 500 calorie deficit for you... so as long as you aren't going over your calorie limit by more than 500 you still at a deficit to lose weight.
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
    MFP is a tool. It's only as effective as you make it.

    If you need a break or its messing with you mentally- then by all means take a break but don't use that as an excuse. It's for you-- all that logging. No one else, regardless of whether your diary is open or closed. Logging helps keep your calories down and helps keep the food you put in your mouth a choice.

    I track everything, even the not so pretty days. And there are some. Weightloss is a journey and as such you have to keep an eye on the BIG picture. Ups and downs are normal as are fluctuations in your bodies need for more or less calories. I actually aim to go over by 1-100 calories daily because I know the "under the calorie" status is unhealthy for me mentally. I want my focus to be on Food as Fuel and not about developing an unhealthy relationship with food. I have a window of about 250 calories that I aim to stay within and then make choices that fit.

    Change requires a series of small changes until they become habit. I largely focus on increasing veggies and reducing my sugar. Those two things set a framework for my daily choices. I don't focus on guilt when I fail but on how I can strive towards my two goals tomorrow.

    Stress and lack of sleep elevate your cortisol levels which in turn increase sleeping issues and can increase your urge to eat. Its a vicious cycle. I've had sleeping issues that lasted months and months and the best advice I can give you is don't feel stressed when you can't sleep. Just lay there and relax and get rest even though you cannot sleep. Getting stressed and watching the clock just aggrevate things. I have a fan that I can set at 30 minute intervals. I use that to track time without a clock. I turn it on for 30 minutes and if i cannot sleep I do another 30 minutes. More often than not I fall asleep within minutes of the first time it shuts off, my mind is waiting to the subtle sound of it turning off.
  • Thank you! I do have reactive hypoglycemia which also in addition to life and lack of sleep biologically contributes to anxiety when blood sugar goes off kilter.
    I don't have an accessible meter right now but maybe I'm getting more and more sensitive to spikes as I attempt to reduce my plain greek yogurt and berries(though the sweet tooth is not satiated at all) so every time I indulge a little bit it sends me through a brain for anxiety whirl....

    I have been eating enough but not tracking properly!!! I've gained weight and am feeling rather bad @ my body. That I'm not doing it right. But I don't know how to do better.

    Today my meals were that breakfast fish With a mountain of veggies the dark chocoloate
    too much plain greek yogurt and blueberries
    A mukti green kombucha drink
    A spinach cucumber salad big

    a little Dark chocolate and I don't know what else yet.....

    I notice the dairy seems to help with sleep at night(L-tryphtophan but not available as a supplement locally) but....

    How could I get better at portions without buying stuff? What do you suggest I change?

    Wow are you guys increadibly helpful!! No words sufficient for a thank you

    The other thing I should mention is that I can't remember the last time I could actually sleep if I was hungry or became enough to feel it, but I can't fall asleep after eating big meals cause of acid reflux. SO I NEVER SEEM TO GET THE RIGHT BALANCE. SORRY FOR THE CAPS my computer is freezing

    I meant blood sugar meter.
    Many thanks again!
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