How do you signal to yourself that it's time to get back on track?

Kate5283kate
Kate5283kate Posts: 87 Member
in Motivation and Support
So I'm down 45 pounds since November (233->188 at 5'7"). This weekend was my first god awful food weekend. Lots of factors colliding - houseguests, my husband being out of town, work stress, and my daughter's birthday, complete with way more cake than we needed for the party. I literally ate two meals of cake yesterday. Big pieces of cake. My wedding rings are tight this morning, as I'm retaining so much water from the junk.

So, it's done, and I'm getting back on track. Ate a good breakfast, packed lunch, and made dinner for tonight in the crockpot. Plus, the cake is almost gone, and my husband and daughter can be relied on to finish it. Also got a good workout in late last night and will be at the gym at my normal time late tonight.

Obviously, there's no way to get back on track except to do it, but do you do anything to signal to yourself that it's back to real life, and kind of formally end a binge?

Replies

  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    If you view it as "being bad" and "being good," you will switch between the two for the rest of your life. Think instead "I'm eating at surplus/maintenance/deficit" and not about a bad weekend.

    Sometimes I have a lot of events in one weekend that revolve around high calorie food. I try to even it out with extra exercise or making other meals lighter instead of throwing in the towel completely. If you never fully fall off the wagon, it's a lot easier to scrabble back on. Never let yourself fully "binge" (or just stop thinking of it as a binge) and it's a lot easier (for me).
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    I use my clothes as my red flag...if they start getting tight...bells and whistles go off. ( i approve of the good/bad language) I will not run out and buy new clothes, I correct myself
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    Every day is a new opportunity. There is no "on the wagon" or "off the wagon". It's all part of the journey. I'm not going to be perfect every day for the rest of my life, so why should I feel guilty about the days that I'm not perfect?

    I just start the new day fresh and forget about what happened the day before. I don't try to make up for it and no amount of self-flagellation can make time reverse to stop what happened. I do try to plan ahead and pick days that I know are going to be "no counting" days. Like Easter Sunday, there will be no counting and I won't feel guilty about it.
  • KissofJudas
    KissofJudas Posts: 11 Member
    One of the easiest ways to wreck any kind of weight loss/health & fitness routine is by beating yourself up about a bad day/weekend/even week. Like those above have posted, this is all part of the journey. One bad weekend filled with cake and terrible-for-you food (but I bet all of it was tasty!) is totally okay! Just get back into your routine.

    I think in terms of a "formal" finish, it's that finding my way back to routine. Often, my "bad"/surplus times have come because something threw me off my usual routine. For example, this past weekend, I drove up to the DC area (from Richmond, VA) to visit a friend and go see a show. It's about a 3hr drive, once you factor in the traffic. I got up there around lunchtime and was starving. I stopped at a restaurant I could find, and bought a stromboli. "It doesn't have sauce!" I thought. "This will be a much better option!"

    ...The stromboli, for the whole thing, had over 1700 calories in it. And I still needed dinner later that night. I ended up eating half of it, but I know I ate more than I should have that day. I didn't count it, but I could take a wild guess. The next morning was the same, as I got sweet potato pancakes with bacon and cornbread for brunch. (It was way too good sounding to pass up.)

    But now that it's Monday and I'm back home and on my schedule, I've tracked all my food, been to the gym, and am fitting back into where I need to be. Sometimes, just making that conscious effort is all you need to flag that you're done!

    Good luck!

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