why is it so hard to re start

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2baninja
2baninja Posts: 511 Member
in Getting Started
I started on my latest health journey a year ago Sept. It went great, it was easy, I ate well (mostly) I exercised, I lost weight. Then in Feb. I took a planed break, my only goal was to not gain. That worked very well, it was supposed to last at most 2 months. But it's now a year later and I can't get back in the groove.....
Since then I've competently fallen off the wagon, I've gained back 10 of the 30 I lost, and can not get back into the swing of not eating junk for lunch and working out regularly again.

This has happened in the past also, it's like someone flips a switch, I just wake up one day and have no cravings for junk food, none for candy, it's easy, then someone flips the switch back and I crave all that stuff that made me fat in the 1st place....

I don't expect any answers, just venting I suppose.....

Replies

  • 2baninja
    2baninja Posts: 511 Member
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    My go to lunch, when I'm late or stressed is KFC, there is no way to make that healthy...
    When I lost weight this last time, I worked out regularly, I stopped eating fried food for lunch and ate salads, it worked great, till I hit the pause button, I should not have, I should have kept going till the switch got flipped on it's own.

    I also suffer from depression, and maybe that is the switch that gets flipped, but I never feel the switch in any other parts of my self.

    I've been logging my food right along, ever since I started, even when my calories are 1000 kcal over every night, I'm still logging, I know what I need to do, I always have, it's just doing it....
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    2baninja wrote: »
    My go to lunch, when I'm late or stressed is KFC, there is no way to make that healthy...
    When I lost weight this last time, I worked out regularly, I stopped eating fried food for lunch and ate salads, it worked great, till I hit the pause button, I should not have, I should have kept going till the switch got flipped on it's own.

    I also suffer from depression, and maybe that is the switch that gets flipped, but I never feel the switch in any other parts of my self.

    I've been logging my food right along, ever since I started, even when my calories are 1000 kcal over every night, I'm still logging, I know what I need to do, I always have, it's just doing it....

    Yes, again, I completely get that :)

    Maybe you would be encouraged to know that I managed to lose 70 lbs over the course of many years by applying myself when the switch was "on" and trying to minimize the damage when it was "off". Now, by "applying myself", I don't mean I had an extreme deficit or ate only fruits & veggies. I had my deficit set to no more than 1.5 lbs/week (in the beginning, when I had 100 lbs to lose) and ate a balanced diet that included all the things I like. I've been going through a rough patch lately, but am still hanging in there. You can do it too... just have a long-range view and take advantage of the good stretches.

    And again, you mention swapping out KFC for salads. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other... there's lots of good stuff in the middle ;)
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    2baninja wrote: »
    My go to lunch, when I'm late or stressed is KFC, there is no way to make that healthy...
    When I lost weight this last time, I worked out regularly, I stopped eating fried food for lunch and ate salads, it worked great, till I hit the pause button, I should not have, I should have kept going till the switch got flipped on it's own.

    I also suffer from depression, and maybe that is the switch that gets flipped, but I never feel the switch in any other parts of my self.

    I've been logging my food right along, ever since I started, even when my calories are 1000 kcal over every night, I'm still logging, I know what I need to do, I always have, it's just doing it....

    I disagree.
    Baked Tenders Honey Mustard Twister - 403cal
    Reg coleslaw - 120cals
    Pepsi Max/Water - negligible/0 cals
    Total - 523 cals

    Even moving away from the baked chicken to the usual fried chicken you have
    Original Recipe Twister which is 137 cals more so a KFC 'fried' meal for 660 cals which I'm sure you can fit into your daily calorie budget.

    Not sure where you're from but this is using information from the Australian KFC but I'm sure there will be similar options where you're from.
  • 2baninja
    2baninja Posts: 511 Member
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    Danp wrote: »
    2baninja wrote: »
    My go to lunch, when I'm late or stressed is KFC, there is no way to make that healthy...
    When I lost weight this last time, I worked out regularly, I stopped eating fried food for lunch and ate salads, it worked great, till I hit the pause button, I should not have, I should have kept going till the switch got flipped on it's own.

    I also suffer from depression, and maybe that is the switch that gets flipped, but I never feel the switch in any other parts of my self.

    I've been logging my food right along, ever since I started, even when my calories are 1000 kcal over every night, I'm still logging, I know what I need to do, I always have, it's just doing it....

    I disagree.
    Baked Tenders Honey Mustard Twister - 403cal
    Reg coleslaw - 120cals
    Pepsi Max/Water - negligible/0 cals
    Total - 523 cals

    Even moving away from the baked chicken to the usual fried chicken you have
    Original Recipe Twister which is 137 cals more so a KFC 'fried' meal for 660 cals which I'm sure you can fit into your daily calorie budget.

    Not sure where you're from but this is using information from the Australian KFC but I'm sure there will be similar options where you're from.


    Never heard of the Twister.

    True, I could eat something "healthy" at KFC, I should have specified, nothing I like at KFC is healthy...
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    There's really nothing inherently 'unhealthy' about KFC.

    The coating and frying method of cooking make it slightly higher in calorie content than say 'baking' or 'grilling' but chicken is still chicken. You just can't eat quite as much of it when it's prepared that way.

    Foods like KFC (and other "junk" or "fast" food) tend to be unhealthy because of the quantity of food consumed rather than the food itself. You can easily order a meal at KFC for around 600 calories which for most people is a reasonable and manageable number of calories for a main meal.

    A 2 or 3 pieces of original recipe (or a sandwich/burger), a side and a diet drink can easily be fit into a reasonable daily calorie target. The issue with fast food is that they make it convenient to order a 'meal deal' which 99% of the time is enough food for 2 people.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    If a person is in need of substantial weight loss, that is negatively impacting their health far more so than any particular food choice. That doesn't mean we shouldn't give attention to the nutritional quality of our diet, but our weight loss doesn't depend on it. If the "unhealthy" thing you desire fits into your calorie goals, no harm done.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    You might not be able to go back into weight loss mode until you are mentally read for it (I've been working on that for nearly a year and consider the fact that I stabilized my weight for the past 6 months a huge victory in and off itself). But I do have some questions you might want to consider:

    You say that you eat (too much? / things you don't consider appropriate) when you are stressed or late. How often per week does this happen?

    What plans / habits do you have in place for such situations? What are your alternatives? What about those alternatives appeals to you (or not)? How quickly can those alternatives be made ready? How much do you have to think to get those alternatives ready? What alternatives can you imagine that are both quick and appeal to you?

    Try and figure out the answers for both the situation where you don't have time and the situations where you're stressed out.

    What compensation tools do you have for stress that are not food related? Which of these tools can you realistically implement in your life? What other alternatives might you be able to try?

    Make a list. Then go over the list and chose 3 things that appeal to you. Rank them 1-3. Implement number one. Try it for 2-4 weeks then evaluate how successful it was. How often did you mange to chose your alternative over your go to? What problems did you face implementing this one change? What might need to be changed to make it more viable?

    Once you've got that working. Work on your next alternative until that one feels normal.

    Last but not least: forgive yourself for when something doesn't work according to plan. Cheer yourself for those things that do work and move on.

    Good luck!



  • rosiorama
    rosiorama Posts: 300 Member
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    How do you feel about the exercise part? Instead of focusing on the food, could you try getting back on that wagon? I don’t want to preach about the mood lifting affect of exercise, but I find that when I get back into the exercise part, the food part follows because I want to support and not undo the fitness portion of the equation.

    Sorry, I have to get ready for work, and there’s more I want to say. Some days, I am the nutty person at the gym who is trying to “keep it together” but I’m there because eing at the gym is sometimes the only higher point of the day.

    My gym routine lets me eat fried chicken when I want it - just not every day. You can figure this out.


  • aimeetu
    aimeetu Posts: 139 Member
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    Instead of saying you fell off the wagon and have to restart maybe you can start where you are and meet yourself there. What good things are you already doing. Also you mention this has happened before - maybe the key is not to take a break - if the protocol you're following when you're on the wagon is sustainable there shouldn't be an on and off. JMHO

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