I didn't just fall off the wagon. It ran me over.
dblair27
Posts: 64 Member
Hi everyone!
This is probably my fourth or fifth time restarting here at MFP. Last time, I was self-proclaimed KILLING IT with a total loss of 28lb. As the story goes, I got a little cocky, I cheated a little too much... and all of a sudden, I'd gained back 22 of those 28. Oof. I didn't just fall off the wagon. It ran me over.
I'm a serial starter, but my last attempt was my best by far. Any other serial starters out there? Tips for not falling off the wagon--or, at least, dodging the wheels when you do?
I'd love to make friends! Add me if you're in a similar boat, or if you're not. I'm not picky.
xo,
Danielle
This is probably my fourth or fifth time restarting here at MFP. Last time, I was self-proclaimed KILLING IT with a total loss of 28lb. As the story goes, I got a little cocky, I cheated a little too much... and all of a sudden, I'd gained back 22 of those 28. Oof. I didn't just fall off the wagon. It ran me over.
I'm a serial starter, but my last attempt was my best by far. Any other serial starters out there? Tips for not falling off the wagon--or, at least, dodging the wheels when you do?
I'd love to make friends! Add me if you're in a similar boat, or if you're not. I'm not picky.
xo,
Danielle
6
Replies
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Don't have a waggon in the first place, then you can't fall off it.
Think sustainable lifestyle changes not diets you start and stop.16 -
Don't kill it. Healthy weightloss is slow, you cant speed it up, you cn only make the ride as pleasant as possible.7
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I am NOT an expert, by any means of the term.
For me, it was my cravings I needed to change. When I was initially diagnosed pre-diabetic, it scared me. I kicked all the junk out the door out of necessity, not desire. I managed to keep it up, and eventually I stopped craving all the sweets and junk. It was difficult at first, but now it's easy to go for the carrots and celery for a snack rather than chips or a candy bar. I rarely even give the office cake a second glance.
I realize that different people see and use food differently. My wife is a stress eater, while I am not. In fact, I lose appetite when stressed. So she has a hard time maintaining her weight. YMMV.0 -
As others have suggested, don't "diet" - focus on building healthy, sustainable habits that you can keep up for the rest of your life. When you get to your goal, you want to be able to stay there and not yo-yo back and forth over and over again.
One tip for when things start to go off track is to keep logging! It can help you realise that, in the grand scheme of things, that one extra cookie wasn't a disaster. Which (at least in my case) can be enough to stop me from thinking "screw it, I messed up once, I'll just eat ALL THE THINGS now!" One stumble doesn't mean you're out of the race; just get back up and keep going. Go slow if you need to. As long as you keep going, you'll get there anyway and you'll stay there a whole lot longer if you learn and adopt some healthy habits along the way. Good luck!
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Good luck! This is my second time starting mfp. I'm trying to create healthy habits . I still have my treats sometimes...within moderation. So hard sometimes though.0
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Start a food diary and never stop. Go over your number? Log everything in. Go over like over the cliff? Log it. Don’t know how many calories in that meal or dish? Make a good faith effort to put a number on it and move on. You don't need to be prefect, just persistent.
You will never be “off” again. The process is more important than the numbers.7 -
Tomorrow is a new day. That is what I tell myself. Always restart!!1
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Cockiness of having been at it for a little bit and having some quick success is a constant threat for me. This time I’m making sure to put on some of my tighter clothes that used to fit whenever I start to feel like I can fudge a little. It reminds me of how much I really want these clothes to be loose again.1
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I’m in the same boat as you! Loss 20 pounds and then regained it! I didn’t realize until i hated the way i looked in my photos!
I need some help keeping accountable and staying on track0 -
Just a though, instead of "going odd the reservation", as we say down here. Set a new goal if you are having trouble staying in a deficit. Mini bulk? Recomp? Get to eat more and may gain some lean mass! Just my thoughts.1
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TavistockToad wrote: »Don't have a waggon in the first place, then you can't fall off it.
Think sustainable lifestyle changes not diets you start and stop.
^^ This
Don't even think of days when you go over your goal as "cheating." It's perfectly okay to include days like that in an overal healthy lifestyle.2 -
As others have suggested, don't "diet" - focus on building healthy, sustainable habits that you can keep up for the rest of your life. When you get to your goal, you want to be able to stay there and not yo-yo back and forth over and over again.
One tip for when things start to go off track is to keep logging! It can help you realise that, in the grand scheme of things, that one extra cookie wasn't a disaster. Which (at least in my case) can be enough to stop me from thinking "screw it, I messed up once, I'll just eat ALL THE THINGS now!" One stumble doesn't mean you're out of the race; just get back up and keep going. Go slow if you need to. As long as you keep going, you'll get there anyway and you'll stay there a whole lot longer if you learn and adopt some healthy habits along the way. Good luck!
Oof, I personally am awful about logging mishaps. Some part of me desperately wants my diary to look perfect--even if I know that I've made some poor choices. Perhaps I'll start logging the mishaps, in the hopes that they won't always be so discouraging. Thank you. 0 -
I am going to suggest one last thing that I have tried once or twice. It's called intermittent caloric restriction. I am in a "lean bulk after losing a kitten ton of weight too fast really, but I digress. Basically l, what I will do is if I know I have an event coming up where cals are going to be high, I insert a day of low calories. This allows me to bank up some doe the night. Some people do well in straight deficits, others not so well. Lyle McDonald has talked about this. Eat at maintainance 4-6 days a week or whatever, and then create your deficit on the others. I am going to add a couple more things that might help. I do tims restricted wating or basically, breakfast skipping. It allows me bigger meals through the day with a little more inflexibility. Also, if you dont already do this, look into meal prepping most of your day. Allow some structured flexibility inside life. Remember, that high calorie hyperpalitable foods chew though calories fast. Just a thought. Best of luck.0
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As others have suggested, don't "diet" - focus on building healthy, sustainable habits that you can keep up for the rest of your life. When you get to your goal, you want to be able to stay there and not yo-yo back and forth over and over again.
One tip for when things start to go off track is to keep logging! It can help you realise that, in the grand scheme of things, that one extra cookie wasn't a disaster. Which (at least in my case) can be enough to stop me from thinking "screw it, I messed up once, I'll just eat ALL THE THINGS now!" One stumble doesn't mean you're out of the race; just get back up and keep going. Go slow if you need to. As long as you keep going, you'll get there anyway and you'll stay there a whole lot longer if you learn and adopt some healthy habits along the way. Good luck!
Oof, I personally am awful about logging mishaps. Some part of me desperately wants my diary to look perfect--even if I know that I've made some poor choices. Perhaps I'll start logging the mishaps, in the hopes that they won't always be so discouraging. Thank you.
the thing is, you need progress, not perfection...2 -
My weight loss has been super slow because if it wasn't I would have "quit" and "restarted" over and over again by now. I enjoy whatever I want (like a donut this morning) knowing that I may just lose 0.5lb a week and I'm ok with that because over the last 1.5 year I've kept off almost 40lbs. Yes there are week(s) that I don't lose and honestly it's fine. I am more concerned with my health, fitness and feeling confident than the number on the scale. Hopefully you can find the healthy balance too. 3
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Same here! I’ll take some friends for motivation, add me! Btw, when I try to add someone it makes me send a message? Does that look right?0
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Maybe you are getting on the wrong wagon repeatedly?
Make smaller sustainable changes over time.
Start with logging what you normally eat and see where you can cut back a couple hundred calories not 1,000 calories. Reduce portion sizes of higher calorie foods and increase portion sizes of lower calorie foods.
Don't go the low carb route if you really love bread and pasta. If you hate salad don't do a meal plan centered around eating salad. Don't avoid restaurants or events.
Plan your eating/drinking more if you find you always overdo things in the evening or weekends. Be realistic. If you like to snack or drink change the type or amounts.
Keep weighing yourself regularly and if your weight starts to go up make a change. Log more consistantly or accurately for example.
Don't stop. You don't have to be perfect every day to lose and maintain.
If you do not find it easy to maintain a lower weight maybe choosing a goal weight that is slightly higher would be better than the losing and gaining cycle.
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psychod787 wrote: »I am going to suggest one last thing that I have tried once or twice. It's called intermittent caloric restriction. I am in a "lean bulk after losing a kitten ton of weight too fast really, but I digress. Basically l, what I will do is if I know I have an event coming up where cals are going to be high, I insert a day of low calories. This allows me to bank up some doe the night. Some people do well in straight deficits, others not so well. Lyle McDonald has talked about this. Eat at maintainance 4-6 days a week or whatever, and then create your deficit on the others. I am going to add a couple more things that might help. I do tims restricted wating or basically, breakfast skipping. It allows me bigger meals through the day with a little more inflexibility. Also, if you dont already do this, look into meal prepping most of your day. Allow some structured flexibility inside life. Remember, that high calorie hyperpalitable foods chew though calories fast. Just a thought. Best of luck.
How low is low? Just enough to maintain the deficit with the day of higher eating? Do you notice bloating/discomfort from the shift?0 -
My weight loss has been super slow because if it wasn't I would have "quit" and "restarted" over and over again by now. I enjoy whatever I want (like a donut this morning) knowing that I may just lose 0.5lb a week and I'm ok with that because over the last 1.5 year I've kept off almost 40lbs. Yes there are week(s) that I don't lose and honestly it's fine. I am more concerned with my health, fitness and feeling confident than the number on the scale. Hopefully you can find the healthy balance too.
I've tried talking myself into that mindset a thousand times! The positive self-talk takes a lot of effort, but I think I've finally decided that health does matter more than the number on the scale... with that in mind, I still scale-obsess. At one point I tried to ditch the scale altogether, opting solely for measurements, but the not-knowing was driving me up a wall!1 -
psychod787 wrote: »I am going to suggest one last thing that I have tried once or twice. It's called intermittent caloric restriction. I am in a "lean bulk after losing a kitten ton of weight too fast really, but I digress. Basically l, what I will do is if I know I have an event coming up where cals are going to be high, I insert a day of low calories. This allows me to bank up some doe the night. Some people do well in straight deficits, others not so well. Lyle McDonald has talked about this. Eat at maintainance 4-6 days a week or whatever, and then create your deficit on the others. I am going to add a couple more things that might help. I do tims restricted wating or basically, breakfast skipping. It allows me bigger meals through the day with a little more inflexibility. Also, if you dont already do this, look into meal prepping most of your day. Allow some structured flexibility inside life. Remember, that high calorie hyperpalitable foods chew though calories fast. Just a thought. Best of luck.
How low is low? Just enough to maintain the deficit with the day of higher eating? Do you notice bloating/discomfort from the shift?
Rate of loss is up to you really. All according to the deficit you choose to how low your lower days are. If you are trying for 1lbs a week, just make sure you are in about a 3500cal a week deficit. Like for instance, I am going out to lunch tomorrow to a nice Ramen house. I have a realistic idea that for my lunch will be 800cals give or take. I ate at my my slow bulking calories all week. About 3200. I then today cut to 2000cals while hitting my mins for fat and protein targets. Most of my carbs cane from some fruit and veggies soon hit my fiber goals. By doing that, it let's me have some wiggle room to have a nice lunch without blowing by calorie goals. If I come slightly under, oh well. Lyle takes about people doing 5 days maintenance and two low cal days. About 25-50% of maintainance. If I ever have to cut, I might use this strategy. No I have not noticed any bloating. Best not weigh on the next day after a heavy cycle day, your weight will be up. What are your stats? How much are you trying to lose? Why are you trying to lose weight? What are your maintanace calories? How do you track loses and gains? All these are questions you have to answer to get help and for yourself.0 -
Well the more I fall off the better I am at recognizing it and getting back on? So practice0
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My weight loss has been super slow because if it wasn't I would have "quit" and "restarted" over and over again by now. I enjoy whatever I want (like a donut this morning) knowing that I may just lose 0.5lb a week and I'm ok with that because over the last 1.5 year I've kept off almost 40lbs. Yes there are week(s) that I don't lose and honestly it's fine. I am more concerned with my health, fitness and feeling confident than the number on the scale. Hopefully you can find the healthy balance too.
I've tried talking myself into that mindset a thousand times! The positive self-talk takes a lot of effort, but I think I've finally decided that health does matter more than the number on the scale... with that in mind, I still scale-obsess. At one point I tried to ditch the scale altogether, opting solely for measurements, but the not-knowing was driving me up a wall!
Maybe looking at it in a way that complements your scale goals is better:
If you do it slowly and sustainably building healthy habits in the process and enjoying your life, your weight loss will be slower, that is true. What's also true is that the number on the scale next year will likely be lower than it would be if you get suckered into another diet and regain cycle, and you will likely enjoy looking at that lower number for longer than the few months (weeks?) you usually maintain your lost weight after an intense session of dieting.2 -
I am in the same space. I fell off the wagon (in a lifestyle change) because our economic circumstances changed and I had a harder time maintaining the healthier food choices. Plus, my family, doesn’t want a changed lifestyle and they eat unhealthy choices every day. So...I decided to keep my original lifestyle change but adjust it more for me personally. I realized that I craved the foods my family ate so I looked up a recipe app and put it where I could access it. Then, I looked up the healthier or even vegetarian options of those foods. I make those options and freeze the leftovers (if possible) so I have more at hand when my family decides to go on a whim. I also looked up what I may be missing nutritionally when craving certain foods like chocolate (I need almonds instead...and if the chocolate craving is strong, I have a quick and easy recipe for cocoa dusted almonds), the results have been drastic! I lose weight so much easier and don’t crave the unhealthy foods. I add fitness as I can and drink lots of water. I even found a way to drink carbonated drinks without worrying! Just purée fresh fruit, a dash of honey (local honey is good for allergies as well as a healthier sugar sub.) and a can of (or 8-16oz.) of seltzer water. I still fall, but not as far, knowing that I can eat what I want in moderation or in a healthier version (fast foods and all) I hope you have success! I hope that this helped too.1
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Im in the same boat. I lose weight and every time I get close to my goal, I panic inside and go crazy eating/ crazy hunger. Ive kept about 60lbs off but have another 50 pounds to go. Once people start noticing and making comments is I think i trigger for me to jump off that wagon. Have you noticed any patterns of why you stop?
1
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