I had a bad weekend....

I have been limiting calories and working my *kitten* off in workouts for months and stepped on the scale on Sat - I had gained 1 pound - I then did my measurements and had stayed the same! Spent the majority of Saturday in tears and then sun & mon I fell off the wagon - eating and drinking everything in sight - all bad choices - and now I feel even worse about myself and so so guilty........how do I stop this??

Replies

  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
    edited April 2015
    First thing, ditch the scale. Weight loss is not linear. It isn't a math equation, where what you put in and take out gives you a set answer every single time. Results make take weeks or months. You need to take a step back and stop hyper focusing.

    Your diary is locked, so I can't give you specific feedback there, but general advice is to reduce carbs and up fats to kill cravings. Also, make sure you are getting enough water. For every two pounds of weight, you need to drink an ounce of water. For me, I weigh 240 pounds, so that is 120 ounces of water a day. Minimum.

    Find a way to break that treat/reward/comfort food system. It isn't easy, but it can be done.

    Also, make sure you are eating ENOUGH. If you are working your bum off at your workouts AND limiting your calories, simply put, you may not be eating enough. If you aren't eating enough, your body will remain in a constant state of stress and it will fight like heck to hold onto every pound it can as a type of safety measure.

    Other than that, be kind to yourself. We are all human. You didn't put all of your weight in a week, so expecting spectacular results in a week is unrealistic. Your body may take a few weeks to catch up to you...particularly if you aren't doing any of the above...

    Hugs,
    Knit

    P.S. We all have bad days, weekends, weeks, months, years, decades, so I promise you that you are NOT alone.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    Easter and Shark Week converged on me this year, resulting in a 5lb increase on the scale this morning. Yep. 5 pounds up. Puts me higher than where I was a few weeks ago, when I was stuck at 256.2 for ages. That drop from 256 to 252 was as mysterious as it was sudden, and in a day or two I made it disappear.

    But, I know it's water weight. I know it's because I went overboard at Easter (chocolate peanut butter candies and Reese's eggs are my kryptonite!) and ate more carbs (and sugar!) in a day than I've eaten in a month for the past year or so, and I know it's pretty much all water weight. It will take at least a week to get rid of, most likely. I'm okay, though, because that's one of the consequences of having done that. I knew that going in, and I did it anyway.

    Yesterday was better, though still not great. It didn't help that the above convergences contributed to a spat with my husband, which sent me into meltdown mode and I felt like crap all evening. I still did better than Sunday, but not quite as good as I could have (medium flavored latte in the morning and a chocolate concoction in the evening that had more sugar in it than I'd usually do, plus rice in my bowl from Chipotle). Today's a new day, though, and I'm back to my routine, because it's what makes me feel the best.

    I'm not a failure for pigging out on candy at Easter, and neither are you for not having lost weight. If anyone's failed, it's society as a whole, for this victim-blaming culture against people who are overweight. Everyone has this idea that if you're having trouble losing weight, then it's a failing on you -- you're lying and eating more than you claim, or you're lying and exercising less than you claim, or you just fail at self-control, or you...you...you. That blaming is wrong, especially in the case of PCOS. You are a survivor of a disorder that affects every aspect of your life, and is the underlying cause of your current inability to lose weight, whether people want to admit to it or not. Your difficulty losing weight is not your fault, you just haven't found what you need to do in order to be successful yet. You can't fix the root problems that you haven't been able to identify yet.

    What you're doing is clearly not working. So, take an objective look at what you're doing and your current state of health (not just weight), and see if there's something you can change that might help. If you're currently eating a lot of packaged foods, I'd say start there. Spend the rest of this month making a concerted effort to eat whole foods. Nothing out of a box or couldn't make with the raw materials. If you have to unwrap it, it should be the sanitation type packaging on meats and spices. If you're already doing that, then trade starches and simple sugars for fats. All vegetables should have grown above ground, and all fruits should have at least half as much fiber as sugar (ideally more; tip - stick to berries and stone fruit). Add butter, bacon grease, or olive oil to those steamed or grilled vegetables. Don't trim fat from your steaks, and eat the egg yolks. Don't do it for the weight aspect. Do it to fuel your body properly and help it to correct the underlying issues. The above changes will provide you with nutrients to help your body heal (especially if you can get at least pastured butter and eggs, which have the largest nutrition difference between them and their conventional counterparts). You have your weight right now. Now have someone hide the scale until May. You don't get it back for at least three weeks, because it doesn't matter right now. What matters is your physical and mental health, and right now, both need some TLC.
  • PattieCakes25
    PattieCakes25 Posts: 30 Member
    I had a bad WEEK last week. We were moving into our new house so we've had everything packed up and in between moving and cleaning and all that fun, I never kept track or really minded it. I also skipped workouts for the week.
    Instead of just giving up, Monday I got back on it. I started my low carb/Keto diet, went back to the gym. I got back into my routine.
    We are human, sometimes we lose track of things. Sometimes things won't go as planned.
    Like KnitOrMiss said, lose the scale. That scale is not your friend. At all.
    I weight myself at the beginning of each month, and even then its just to check. I don't let it get to me. My scale hasn't moved in 3 weeks, but I've heard from family, coworkers, friends, ect. that I have lost weight. I promise, the scale is not your friend.

    Your results won't come over night. Or even in the first week. That's what I have to constantly remind myself. It takes time, sometimes lots of time. But if it's what you really want, then you have it in you to do it.

    Reward yourself for things OTHER than the scale moving.
    Like, if you do some sort of an activity (I.E workout, sports, ect) for 14 days, then you'll treat yourself to a new book, or manicure, etc.
    Stay under/at your calorie/macro goals for 2 weeks/month, reward yourself with a new water bottle, or a day trip somewhere.
    Little things like that to motivate you. Write them down and post them where you'll see them so you'll stay on track.
    DO NOT REWARD YOURSELF WITH FOOD. You're not a dog.
    That will only take you a step back.

    Use colorful sticky notes and write inspiration quotes on them and stick them everywhere. You should see my office. It's colorful and keeps me motivated.
    When you feel like you're getting discouraged, do something you enjoy doing. For me, its painting or anything crafty, or going outside. It'll get your mind off the goal you didnt meet and keep you out of the kitchen.

    You just have to remember that you are human. You're going to make mistakes, You are going to fail. You just have to pick back up, and keep going.
  • smh21183
    smh21183 Posts: 10 Member
    Also, Keep in mind your weight fluctuates every day. I've only really been at this for a month. I weighed myself everyday for the first two weeks, just to see how my body fluctuates from day to day.

    If you are weighing weekly, daily, or monthly, it is also important to weight under the same circumstances. That means, if you weight in the morning before you have ate for the day, do that every time. Or if you weight at night after a work out, do that every time.

    I had a bad week last week too... There was Easter, then 3 Birthday parties, AND I ate out at my favorite Mexican restaurant (I have not control when it comes to that place). So I didn't weigh in this week.. because I know I would hate myself, and give up.

    Scales can be your friend, if you understand that weight is not really the issue. Ask yourself, Do I feel better? Do I feel like I am doing the best I can do from day to day? Have a had more energy than usual?

    Sometime we need a low, to build us back up. You WILL be fine. You WILL fine your grove. You had your grieving period, now you can get back at it again. :)
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
    Even if you do weigh monthly, I suggest weighing three days in a row or three days in one week and taking an average. It's all about the big picture. Hyper-focusing on details makes us lose focus on the real "picture" which is our entire quality of life...