How To Not Let Small Setbacks Derail You?

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foronceforalways
foronceforalways Posts: 10 Member
in Motivation and Support
This morning, I stepped on the scale and had gained two pounds since yesterday, bringing me up to 13 pounds lost instead of 15. Anyway, in my mind, there is a battle. The rational, sensible me thinks: "It's two pounds, not really that much. You're still 13 pounds down from where you were in June. It's probably just water fluctuation and you're fine. Or something to do with the menstrual cycle. Don't worry." The not-so-sensible, irrational me is going "What did I do wrong? What happened? I should binge. Clearly this whole weight loss thing isn't working. I should give up. Hmm, a bagel with lots of cream cheese sounds good. So does a huge bowl of mac n' cheese. Ooh, or Fettucine Alfredo. Or pizza."

I weigh myself every day, because I've found that doing it weekly, if it's the day after my weigh-day, I think, "I've got a whole week before stepping on the scale again - I can cheat a little now!" And then the day before my weigh day, I'm super restrictive just so I can see a lower number. Any advice on how to curb these thoughts and stop feeling the urge to give up and binge with every small gain on the scale?

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    CharonCharon wrote: »
    1. Look at your pantry.
    2. Throw all the junk food away.
    3. Go to a store and get good stuff.

    If you live with your mom, tell her your struggle.
    She might be overweight also.
    Maybe together you can change what is purchased in the home.

    Sorry, this advice is not helpful to the OP.
  • ThatBassoonChick
    ThatBassoonChick Posts: 24 Member
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    Remember that your body weight is going to fluctuate a couple of pounds naturally depending on food, water, etc. A couple of pounds isn't bad and will come off quickly if you keep up what you've been doing. I recently gained back a good three pounds. Was it discouraging? You bet! But I got back on track and quit binge eating and as of today I've lost those pounds and then some.

    I usually binge eat towards the end of the day so I either save a few calories for that or I complete my food diary which signals to me that I am done eating for the day (then I go brush my teeth).

    I try to eat about the same number of calories each day. That way it's easier to tell when I'm hungry. And it keeps my body more regulated.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    When you say super restrictive, what does that mean? We need more info. Weight loss goal, height, weight and if you make your diary public may be it will be easier to help you :)
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    I think the problem is that you are looking at this process too narrowly. You need to look at the big picture. If you gain a couple of lbs, what happens? It sucks! Yeah, water or fat, it sucks to see the scale go up. So, how would pigging out and seeing it go up even more possibly help?

    If you keep a deficit over time, you will lose weight. Not every day, but overall.

    The only failure is giving up. Don't fail. Don't give up.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    foronceforalways wrote: »
    This morning, I stepped on the scale and had gained two pounds since yesterday, bringing me up to 13 pounds lost instead of 15. Anyway, in my mind, there is a battle. The rational, sensible me thinks: "It's two pounds, not really that much. You're still 13 pounds down from where you were in June. It's probably just water fluctuation and you're fine. Or something to do with the menstrual cycle. Don't worry." The not-so-sensible, irrational me is going "What did I do wrong? What happened? I should binge. Clearly this whole weight loss thing isn't working. I should give up. Hmm, a bagel with lots of cream cheese sounds good. So does a huge bowl of mac n' cheese. Ooh, or Fettucine Alfredo. Or pizza."

    I weigh myself every day, because I've found that doing it weekly, if it's the day after my weigh-day, I think, "I've got a whole week before stepping on the scale again - I can cheat a little now!" And then the day before my weigh day, I'm super restrictive just so I can see a lower number. Any advice on how to curb these thoughts and stop feeling the urge to give up and binge with every small gain on the scale?


    There's a number of options here. One would be to continue to weight daily but take an average of those and only focus on the average number so that you can see what your weekly average weight is. The advantage here is that it will temper the day to day fluctuations in weight and give you a better picture as to what's truly happening.

    Now that being said, me suggesting it doesn't mean you can execute it without continuing to have those feelings about the number on the scale.

    You could weigh a few times per week on a set schedule, like 3 days per week, to see if that makes a good compromise for you.

    You could also stop weighing entirely. You may need other metrics in place in order to make some assessments as to what is going on, but it is possible to go this route, although it may be challenging.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
    edited August 2015
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    So you're driving to Vegas, with the person of your dreams, in a *kitten*-hot car... it's amazing.

    All of a sudden *BANG* you get a flat!!!


    Do you get out, slash the other 3 tires and walk home? HELL NO!!! You haul out the spare, change that sucker and get back on the road - knowing that you're awesome trip now has a story and a stop point to tell tales about?

    Suck it up and change the spare. You've got a destination in mind and going back will just mean starting the whole trip again later - maybe from further away.
  • 6d6574616c
    6d6574616c Posts: 1 Member
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    CharonCharon wrote: »
    1. Look at your pantry.
    2. Throw all the junk food away.
    3. Go to a store and get good stuff.

    If you live with your mom, tell her your struggle.
    She might be overweight also.
    Maybe together you can change what is purchased in the home.

    Donate the food you don't want to a food shelf. Throwing it away is wasteful.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    It sounds like you are playing mental games with yourself. That isn't a good way to sustain a pattern of weight loss, as you know.

    I think different things work for different people. I know some who succeed with weekly or even monthly weigh-ins.

    On the other hand...I need to see the overall trend and therefore I've found success in weighing daily. When I miss even 1-2 days of weighing in, I start to play games with myself like "oh I should eat this cupcake because I'm not going to weigh until Wednesday so I have time to make up for it" and for me that's not productive in the long run.

    I agree with others, it would be very helpful to know your stats (like how much you need to and/or plan to lose). When I had 100 lb to drop, I had to just eat right under or at my calorie goal and would consistently lose. Now that I am in my maintenance zone, it's more difficult to see a constant downward pattern.

    The thing about daily weigh-ins is you can't trip over 2-3 lb up as it is typically water retention and/or sodium. Try to look at the overall trend if you do frequent weigh-ins.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,565 Member
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    CharonCharon wrote: »
    1. Look at your pantry.
    2. Throw all the junk food away.
    3. Go to a store and get good stuff.

    If you live with your mom, tell her your struggle.
    She might be overweight also.
    Maybe together you can change what is purchased in the home.
    Yeah, throwing out food that people bought for them to enjoy is going to be a game changer in the home. In the wrong direction.

    The OP had a 2lb fluctuation. That's a pretty extreme move on a one day assessment.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,565 Member
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    foronceforalways wrote: »
    This morning, I stepped on the scale and had gained two pounds since yesterday, bringing me up to 13 pounds lost instead of 15. Anyway, in my mind, there is a battle. The rational, sensible me thinks: "It's two pounds, not really that much. You're still 13 pounds down from where you were in June. It's probably just water fluctuation and you're fine. Or something to do with the menstrual cycle. Don't worry." The not-so-sensible, irrational me is going "What did I do wrong? What happened? I should binge. Clearly this whole weight loss thing isn't working. I should give up. Hmm, a bagel with lots of cream cheese sounds good. So does a huge bowl of mac n' cheese. Ooh, or Fettucine Alfredo. Or pizza."

    I weigh myself every day, because I've found that doing it weekly, if it's the day after my weigh-day, I think, "I've got a whole week before stepping on the scale again - I can cheat a little now!" And then the day before my weigh day, I'm super restrictive just so I can see a lower number. Any advice on how to curb these thoughts and stop feeling the urge to give up and binge with every small gain on the scale?
    The scale is a tool. It weighs people who stand on it. Weight gets lost. What the scale doesn't say is what caused the weight gain or loss. I know lots of people who lost weight wrong. Let their muscle mass get lost. Is that ideal?
    Don't step on the scale everyday if that's the case. Do it every other day if you want to stay consistent if once a week doesn't work for you.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
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    There is some great advice already in this thread. I am going to reiterate that you need to look at this as a long term lifestyle change. Not a quick fix to get to your ideal weight as fast as possible. You need to eat consistently in a way you can live with for the rest of your life. That might mean it will take you longer to get to your goal weight, but you will be much more likely to keep off the weight once you get there.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    You may be one who does better weighing daily but only logging weekly. I have weighed myself before and after going to the bathroom and had almost a 2 pound change. Remember you lost 13 pounds so you must be doing something right. Don't let one weigh in get you down- think instead "If I don't eat that bagel with cream cheese and watch my salt intake and drink my water I should be back to 15 pound loss tomorrow."
  • WellingTX
    WellingTX Posts: 617 Member
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    Easy to say and hard to do. Don't live and die by daily results. Too many things going on in our bodies to make finite conclusions about success or failure.

    Long time ago saw a post from a100#+ success story that said a full third of his daily weigh ins were higher than the day before. Key was the long haul where the down days were greater than the up ones. Personally I weigh daily to keep myself on track but only log Monday mornings.

    Be kind to yourself if something doesn't go the way you planned or you simply fall off the wagon. Always a new day to start again.



  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    if you weigh in daily you need to be prepared to see perfectly natural weight fluctuations...natural weight fluctuations aren't a "set back"...weight isn't static and there's more to body weight than just fat.

    do a little research on how the human body works...that should help.

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