Gaining it back

eep223
eep223 Posts: 624 Member
edited November 26 in Motivation and Support
I'm having a bad day. I lost about 30 pounds over a couple of years and kept it off for about a year. I accomplished a half marathon, and then had to put on the brakes a little bit to deal with an injury and life issues (getting married, an unexpected and unwelcome move, a serious family illness, and a job hunt, all since June, plus the possibility of a cross-country move that I'm not sure I'm up to emotionally looming on the horizon).

I haven't had the time or energy to fit the exercise in, and instead have reverted back to comfort foods, snacking, and wine to de-stress. Unsurprisingly, I have gained back more than 10 pounds over the past 5 months. I've logged back into here to keep myself honest and reign in the calories, but I'm still stressed out of my mind and snacking way too much.

This morning when I stepped on the scale, I saw a number that I haven't seen in a long time, and it made me really uncomfortable. I'm unable to run at the moment (and I haven't run since my half marathon in January), so I really need to pay attention to what I'm eating and find a way to fit other exercise in. (Went for a walk at lunch today. I guess that's a start.) I know what I have to do, I've done this before, but I'm really feeling pretty crappy about all this today. Running has been my most effective anti-anxiety measure, but without that at the moment, I'm a bit lost. I'm really trying to find my motivation. You would think the desire to reverse the weight gain would be enough, but obviously the desire for immediate comfort is overriding that. Please give me a kick it the butt.

Replies

  • beamer0821
    beamer0821 Posts: 488 Member
    so hard! i know its tough to battle all those challenging things. go easier on yourself. make a list of things you do to take care of yourself. for me that may be just to sit outside for a few minutes, a quiet bath, listening to music, reading, etc. it doesnt have to be anything fancy. sometimes a little self care under stressful times goes a long way.

    and when you do some self care i think in turn you will be able to process the stressful situations better and eating will feel more controllable.

    when you have the urge to eat when you are not stomach hungry that is your opportunity to give yourself a pep talk ie "food is not going to make me feel better, i will feel better if i just sit outside for a few minutes. I'm going through a hard time, its ok. this is temporary" rehearse what you could say to yourself, think of what you would say to a child..

    good luck


  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Running is my regulator, when I stop I gain. I suppose if can't run I will need to start counting again. Right now it is the rain, a cold and some longer job hours that have me off the mark
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
    Yeah, I know exactly what you mean, rsclause. Thanks, beamer, that's all stuff I need to remind myself of. I am having such a tough time finding anything that will make me feel better. I guess I just need to keep reminding myself that self care is good for me, i.e. eating cheese and drinking wine is not self care. It makes me feel better in the short term, but it the long term it hurts me. I don't know what my feel good thing is right now, but I'll find it.
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