How easy to revert to old habits
kds10
Posts: 452 Member
Did great from end of March to August lost 25 lbs then have struggled since then...I did IF...18 6 day. I always tell myself even if u r going to eat junk keep it contained the within six hours but nope last 2 days are junk from morning thru to bedtime.
I seem to be doing that a few times week for the last couple of months...I had 8 lbs to go in early September thus no weight loss and even gain of 2 lbs
Even if I do good for 4 or 5 days per week my food bender wrecks it all
So close to goal why do I do this??.
I seem to be doing that a few times week for the last couple of months...I had 8 lbs to go in early September thus no weight loss and even gain of 2 lbs
Even if I do good for 4 or 5 days per week my food bender wrecks it all
So close to goal why do I do this??.
10
Replies
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In my case it was my inner child that I was allowing to control my food choices as if it were a game.
Everyone’s motivator is different; don’t give up on yourself.
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I do the same thing and I would love to know more about the inner child too. Please help, amy19355. You now have a captive audience.2
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A lot of us have been there, its down to you to get back to doing what worked, im exactly the same , ive had a weekend of over indulging and my old ways are creeping in.ive only gone up a pound but it makes me think why bother and i slip back to bad old habits, its tough but only you can do it.
Keep going mate1 -
holycrosser wrote: »A lot of us have been there, its down to you to get back to doing what worked, im exactly the same , ive had a weekend of over indulging and my old ways are creeping in.ive only gone up a pound but it makes me think why bother and i slip back to bad old habits, its tough but only you can do it.
Keep going mate
It is almost like I think who cares I only have 8 lbs left to lose so even if I gain a bit....but it is like wtf keep doing this and by six months i will be up to where I was.
I tell myself if u r going to do that at least keep the eating contained to six hours but nope my triggers get activated and I go back to all or nothing way of thinking...and my well might as well blow today1 -
When close to goal it's very hard to keep in a deficit. My advice would be to reduce your deficit or set to your goal weight maintenance calories and just settle in to eating that way. Trying to force the last pounds can end up with hunger, overeating and restriction cycles, and burnout.7
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Also, doesn't sound like IF is really helping you?5
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Sometimes this can happen if you're calorie intake is too low. Eventually your body simply can't sustain it. Maybe taking a break for a week or two and adjusting your calorie goal would be helpful.4
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I find it's easy to fall into old habits when my "dieting habits" are significantly different from my usual patterns. Being to restrictive on things like eating schedules and what foods are allowed on my diet is a recipe for disaster for me.9
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How much of a deficit are you trying to hit? With less than 10 lbs to go, set yourself to 0.5lbs per week, 250 cal deficit. Understand that such a small loss can easily hide behind normal weight fluctuations, so you won't see a loss on the scale every week. You have to be patient
I found focusing on other goals rather than weight loss really helped, like sticking to a workout program or increasing veggie servings. I still weighed myself, but looked at the scale moving as a nice side effect rather than the goal.7 -
I'm an emotional eater and seeing my family is a big trigger. I had a family visit in October and have struggled ever since and reverted to old habits. Thank goodness for my therapist and ability to continue to process the feelings and see beyond the old pattern and habits. I am also looking at different coping mechanisms, too. Take care and know that you are worthy of meeting your goal.
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Nothing complicated.
I am no longer a child and haven’t been for many years.
Weight control (gain, lose, maintain) sn’t a game that starts now and ends when some goal is achieved.
There is no secret to eating healthy and for me, I found the only “trick” is to actually do the healthy eating AS A LIFESTYLE.
In other words, I looked in the mirror one day and sternly told myself to grow up.
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I’ve had a few migraine lately which I find make me really crave lots of carbs which messes up my count. I was being gentle with myself (migraine are a *kitten*) but a couple of days of that and I just want to keep eating everything in sight. It is very difficult to pull it back in. I’m having to focus on one day not making it breaking a diet. Wake up and go for it again with a clean slate. And log everything good or bad so you can see it.0
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I think for me 2 factors:
1 - all or nothing mentality which I have had for years
2- low fat ....for years low fat was my way of thinking in my head thus eating cheese/nuts etc triggers in me that I wrecked my day as those foods r high in fat0 -
MelanieCN77 wrote: »Also, doesn't sound like IF is really helping you?
Disagree. .if not for IF I do not believe I would have lost 25 lbs. Even though I have been hit and miss with it the last few months I always go back to it.0 -
MelanieCN77 wrote: »Also, doesn't sound like IF is really helping you?
Disagree. .if not for IF I do not believe I would have lost 25 lbs. Even though I have been hit and miss with it the last few months I always go back to it.
Well then I don't understand what you wrote in your original post. Eating excessively for a couple days each week for a few months is a classic sign that your IF routine is too restrictive. It doesn't work if you are only able to be hit and miss with it, the thing that works is the thing you are able to stick with and lose weight.7 -
It may be IF helped get rid of most of the weight but now you are closer to your goal the margin for error is much smaller so a different approach is needed. I do IF but within that eating window I also count calories, I have to as even with two stone left to lose, eating whatever I want results in Weight gain. Do you also track your calories?2
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I can revert back to old habits if my routine is thrown off or I am extremely stressed or work more which makes me forget to eat or makes me so tired I don't want to cook and instead go grab a sandwich from the convenience store. Very easy for me to fall back into bad habits.1
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For me, the "inner child" thing is a kind of, "nah, na, nah, na, nah nah, you can't make me, I will do what I want!
"
Also for me, eating healthy and being active takes determination, dedication and commitment. In a sense strictness. I had a severely strict upbringing and became a rebellious teenager. Overly strict restrictions on my behavior and activities? "I'll show you!" So, it seems I am programmed to continue this behavior.
But, I am an adult now. I am in control (mostly) of what I can and can not do. I try to nip this knee-jerk behavior in the bud, but being human, I am not always successful. *I just pick myself up. Dust myself off. And start all over again.
First though, I (briefly) stop everything I have been doing. Take a break. Review my routines. What is causing me to rebel? Am I overly restrictive in my calories? Am I doing too much activity to sustain long-term? What needs to be revised?
*(It all reminds me of something my cousin said when we were little kids and she was asked why she was so late getting home from school: "I run-ded and I fall-ded and I got up again. And then I run-ded and I fall-ded and I got up again. All the way home."
) 4 -
I know it's far from perfect, but I have a cheat day once a month. That way if I get any cravings, I keep myself going by explaining to myself I can have what I want at the end of the month:)4
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MelanieCN77 wrote: »MelanieCN77 wrote: »Also, doesn't sound like IF is really helping you?
Disagree. .if not for IF I do not believe I would have lost 25 lbs. Even though I have been hit and miss with it the last few months I always go back to it.
Well then I don't understand what you wrote in your original post. Eating excessively for a couple days each week for a few months is a classic sign that your IF routine is too restrictive. It doesn't work if you are only able to be hit and miss with it, the thing that works is the thing you are able to stick with and lose weight.
I disagree...I don't think it is too restrictive at all. I had these moments when I was counting calories/points/fat grams, etc. etc. etc.
I have no interest in counting anything...except the hours that I eat in the day:)
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MelanieCN77 wrote: »MelanieCN77 wrote: »Also, doesn't sound like IF is really helping you?
Disagree. .if not for IF I do not believe I would have lost 25 lbs. Even though I have been hit and miss with it the last few months I always go back to it.
Well then I don't understand what you wrote in your original post. Eating excessively for a couple days each week for a few months is a classic sign that your IF routine is too restrictive. It doesn't work if you are only able to be hit and miss with it, the thing that works is the thing you are able to stick with and lose weight.
I disagree...I don't think it is too restrictive at all. I had these moments when I was counting calories/points/fat grams, etc. etc. etc.
I have no interest in counting anything...except the hours that I eat in the day:)
OK. So you have no problems. Carry on.3 -
MelanieCN77 wrote: »MelanieCN77 wrote: »MelanieCN77 wrote: »Also, doesn't sound like IF is really helping you?
Disagree. .if not for IF I do not believe I would have lost 25 lbs. Even though I have been hit and miss with it the last few months I always go back to it.
Well then I don't understand what you wrote in your original post. Eating excessively for a couple days each week for a few months is a classic sign that your IF routine is too restrictive. It doesn't work if you are only able to be hit and miss with it, the thing that works is the thing you are able to stick with and lose weight.
I disagree...I don't think it is too restrictive at all. I had these moments when I was counting calories/points/fat grams, etc. etc. etc.
I have no interest in counting anything...except the hours that I eat in the day:)
OK. So you have no problems. Carry on.
LOL never said that...I am a huge believer in IF regardless. However just because I have 5 months or so of doing it does not mean that years of bad habits come undone. I will still continue to do it I just have to be more diligent with it...no different than someone counting calories/points, etc.3 -
timeforwork wrote: »It may be IF helped get rid of most of the weight but now you are closer to your goal the margin for error is much smaller so a different approach is needed. I do IF but within that eating window I also count calories, I have to as even with two stone left to lose, eating whatever I want results in Weight gain. Do you also track your calories?
I will second this. I do a variation of IF that works for me, but I still have to be careful with my calories or I will, at best, maintain. IF makes it easier for me, but does not eliminate the need for keeping an eye on my overall consumption.2 -
HoneyBadger155 wrote: »timeforwork wrote: »It may be IF helped get rid of most of the weight but now you are closer to your goal the margin for error is much smaller so a different approach is needed. I do IF but within that eating window I also count calories, I have to as even with two stone left to lose, eating whatever I want results in Weight gain. Do you also track your calories?
I will second this. I do a variation of IF that works for me, but I still have to be careful with my calories or I will, at best, maintain. IF makes it easier for me, but does not eliminate the need for keeping an eye on my overall consumption.
Yes for sure...but my issue is when I revert back to old habits such as eating from morning thru till bedtime or feeling that I have to eat the whole family size bag of potato chips (this way they will not be around the next day) instead of shutting down my eating window and saving some for the next day.
However that is years of learned behaviour and I have just been doing IF since the spring so I still have moments of those old habits/triggers coming back unfortunately.
As I stated for years my way was trying to eat low fat and or putting expectations on myself to eat perfectly each and every day and one slip up meant wrecking the whole day and might as well binge all day long and start fresh tomorrow.
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OP what I read you saying is that IF is your big behavioral change, it is what you use to control your eating. But you have for some reason let up on your discipline of following the IF faithfully. So by not being as diligent in this period of time, those bad eating habits have pushed their way back into your life.
To me that would be time to sit down and focus on why you let this happen. Because only you can refocus, and get your discipline, and diligence back on track and get back to the LifeStyle of eating that you want to follow. No one else.0 -
maureenkhilde wrote: »OP what I read you saying is that IF is your big behavioral change, it is what you use to control your eating. But you have for some reason let up on your discipline of following the IF faithfully. So by not being as diligent in this period of time, those bad eating habits have pushed their way back into your life.
To me that would be time to sit down and focus on why you let this happen. Because only you can refocus, and get your discipline, and diligence back on track and get back to the LifeStyle of eating that you want to follow. No one else.
Absolutely...honestly I think it was because I was close to my goal. It is like whatever, if I gain one lb or so not the end of the world, some of the pressure has come off and because I was closer to my goal I figured that the weight loss was going to be slower anyway.
I have been thinking about this and have decided that I am refocusing on IF and have set a goal of a 3.5 lb loss to end of December. THat will take me to 5 lbs of my goal weight. ON average I do great during the week but have noticed that for a day or two on the weekend, I have tended to let it slide and I think those two days that I blow it have stalled my weight loss.
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maureenkhilde wrote: »OP what I read you saying is that IF is your big behavioral change, it is what you use to control your eating. But you have for some reason let up on your discipline of following the IF faithfully. So by not being as diligent in this period of time, those bad eating habits have pushed their way back into your life.
To me that would be time to sit down and focus on why you let this happen. Because only you can refocus, and get your discipline, and diligence back on track and get back to the LifeStyle of eating that you want to follow. No one else.
Absolutely...honestly I think it was because I was close to my goal. It is like whatever, if I gain one lb or so not the end of the world, some of the pressure has come off and because I was closer to my goal I figured that the weight loss was going to be slower anyway.
I have been thinking about this and have decided that I am refocusing on IF and have set a goal of a 3.5 lb loss to end of December. THat will take me to 5 lbs of my goal weight. ON average I do great during the week but have noticed that for a day or two on the weekend, I have tended to let it slide and I think those two days that I blow it have stalled my weight loss.
This was me.
Ok...it still is me.
Knowing yourself is the key to this thing.
So...figure out how to make it work for you. For me, I eat less during the week so I can accommodate the *kitten* show the weekend is without it adversely affecting my progress. I lost the last bit that way and have been maintaining since using that method.
If you are dead-set on using IF, shorten your window during the week maybe? Then allow yourself a longer window on the weekends. I'm not sure if that would work. I can't do IF myself. I'm a monster. There's blood. It's ugly.
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baconslave wrote: »maureenkhilde wrote: »OP what I read you saying is that IF is your big behavioral change, it is what you use to control your eating. But you have for some reason let up on your discipline of following the IF faithfully. So by not being as diligent in this period of time, those bad eating habits have pushed their way back into your life.
To me that would be time to sit down and focus on why you let this happen. Because only you can refocus, and get your discipline, and diligence back on track and get back to the LifeStyle of eating that you want to follow. No one else.
Absolutely...honestly I think it was because I was close to my goal. It is like whatever, if I gain one lb or so not the end of the world, some of the pressure has come off and because I was closer to my goal I figured that the weight loss was going to be slower anyway.
I have been thinking about this and have decided that I am refocusing on IF and have set a goal of a 3.5 lb loss to end of December. THat will take me to 5 lbs of my goal weight. ON average I do great during the week but have noticed that for a day or two on the weekend, I have tended to let it slide and I think those two days that I blow it have stalled my weight loss.
This was me.
Ok...it still is me.
Knowing yourself is the key to this thing.
So...figure out how to make it work for you. For me, I eat less during the week so I can accommodate the *kitten* show the weekend is without it adversely affecting my progress. I lost the last bit that way and have been maintaining since using that method.
If you are dead-set on using IF, shorten your window during the week maybe? Then allow yourself a longer window on the weekends. I'm not sure if that would work. I can't do IF myself. I'm a monster. There's blood. It's ugly.
I agree with you, I have revamped and am doing on average an 8 hour feeding window instead of six. I do pretty good on average with working out anyway but some of those "bad" eating days I tend to say screw it with working out I will just lay on the couch stuffing my face. So my commitment to myself is mandatory 8 hour feeding window no matter what I am eating and continue to work out regularly. My goal is to get down to 155 by end of December, I currently weigh 158.5 so very reasonable goal IMO.
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