Low mood

It's okay to have a bad day, here and there, especially in the beginning. I'm on my third major attempt at weight loss (I always get derailed by life 20 pounds from my goal weight), and there's always a struggle in the beginning with dietary changes. I'll slip up with a bad choice here and there or a couple of mini-binges, but when I stick with it, eventually the healthy habits win out. Just acknowledge that you made a couple of unhealthy decisions, and remember this moment for next time.

Also make yourself little notes or reminders that you are worth it and that you can do it.

When I do similar things, I remember an Oliver Burkeman article (which I can't find now!) pointing out that studies show the people who succeed at weight loss, staying sober, etc aren't the ones who never fall off the wagon, but who, having fallen off, get back on. You're actually *more* likely to eat healthily long term if you fail sometimes, eat onion rings, then get up the next day and make a healthy breakfast than if you never ate the onion rings at all. So don't punish yourself, just get on.

I'm so sorry you feel this way. The thing that has helped me is something I read in here 'If food isn't the issue, then food won't solve it'. I used to think that treats could cheer me up- but I remember that that they don't actually do that- just make it worse, and that gives me strength to do something else. It's hard, I know because when you are down you are necessarily thinking rationally. Hugs.

rebeccachance wrote: »

Just feel like I've ruined everything and undone all my hard work over the past few weeks. I go on holiday today & now feel like I can't enjoy my food because of what I did last night...

Today is a new day. You didn't undo everything you worked hard for. This very moment you have the ability to get back on track and eat healthy.

Enjoy your healthy food options and your holiday. Do something nice for yourself that makes you feel good and use that energy to take care of your diet and exercise.

No need to worry.

Hey hun, I'll be happy to talk over this but I also have kik if you'd prefer that?

I have bipolar II and a bunch of other mental illness diagnoses/issues. It ruled me and my body for two years and every single day is a struggle still. However, I have got a grip on my emotional eating and at this point feel like exercising is a habit, so have hope that you can get there too.

Don't be too hard on yourself, a "bad" day, a bad week, a bad month, it's all okay because tomorrow is a new day to try again and that's all that matters, trying. Make MFP your daily habit too, it's helped me enormously. I can binge but I have to log every single morsel so now, I stop before I grossly overeat, it's just become habit. Last week I didn't stick to my workout schedule but I still got three days in of some activity rather than the five/six I'd usually do and I kept telling myself that's okay.

If you can't physically make yourself go into the gym, then see if you can do something at home, even 10 minutes of a Youtube video or some marching on the spot, anything to mitigate the lies your brain wants you to believe about you sabotaging yourself.

Exercising is helping me enormously keep on top of the very worst of my depression, something I pretty much live with continuously, with the odd hypomanic episode and rare treat of a few days euthymia. But since exercising I haven't gotten to the very worst points I regularly hit prior.

Lastly, enjoy your holiday as much as you can, try not to worry about the scales too much and be as kind as you possibly can to yourself at all times. Self care is the most important thing someone with a long term chronic illness can do, physical or mental. It's a learning curve, a curve that isn't always a nice neat regular pattern.