Falling Off the Wagon

sahar516 wrote: »

I feel like someone learning to ride a bike. I keep falling off. I start each day with good intentions and then throughout the day my mind starts dwelling on what events are coming ( and I rationalize skipping the plan) and when temptation comes, I cave.. Also at night, I seem to NEED snacks. :

Just keep working on riding the (metaphorical) bike, you'll get it. Failing only really happens when you stop trying. If you keep sincerely trying, you improve.

When your mind starts dwelling on what's coming, can you gently redirect your brain to think about how womanfully you're going to handle the temptations and enjoy yourself while moderating indulgence? (Those little movies in our head are very, very powerful in influencing our future actions; it's useful to realize that we really are in control of them, even if that, too, is a skill to be practiced and learned. Vividly imagining the positive future, instead of the opportunity to return to old but negative habits, is a useful tool.).

Also, with respect to the snack needs: As others have said, figure out why you need them.

If it's habit, make a new and different habit (taking a casual walk, doing some stretching or yoga, reading a chapter in an exciting book, taking an aromatherapy bubble bath, meditating, listening to some enjoyable music, having a hot cup of a delicious herb tea . . . ). It's almost always easier to break an old habit by replacing it with a new one, rather than just exclusively trying to stop the old one.

If it's boredom, revive an old hobby you haven't had time for, or start a new one. Like I said earlier in the thread, particularly good are hobbies that require clean hands (sketching, adult coloring books, needlework, learning to play a musical instrument, . . . .) or that create dirty hands (painting, carpentry, remodeling projects, gardening . . . ).

If it's actual hunger or appetite, consider whether you could start by trying a slower rate of weight loss, so you don't feel as deprived. Or, consider whether you've cut out foods that seem "bad" (they're not ), but that are very important to your happiness, that you could eat in a smaller amount and still be satisfied. Or, experiment with varying your nutrition from what you're doing (getting relatively more protein, fiber, or fats, for example) to see if you feel more satiated. Or, experiment with the timing of your eating (how many meals/snacks, at what time of day, which are larger, with which nutrients) to see if that helps. Or simply reserve some calories so you can have snacks!

To me, weight loss was kind of like a fun science fair project for adults. It's about experimenting and learning things about how to make the process work for you - which is very individual. The point is to remodel how you eat and move to achieve your weight management goals, while being as full, satisfied and happy as possible along the way, and so that you learn the techniques that will help you maintain a healthy weight long term. (IMO, if you aren't willing to continue a particular aspect of your weight loss strategy permanently, then it's a good plan to figure out how to work that in an a sensible way by losing. IMO, the only difference between weight loss and the long-term plan ought to be that moderate, sensible calorie deficit.)

It can be done. I was obese for around 30 years. I've been at a healthy weight for 3 years now. I'm far from the only one, and others have maintained weight longer.

NovusDies wrote: »

Panini911 wrote: »

x

NovusDies wrote: »

Panini911 wrote: »

delete please I couldn't find the link (there was a great post about how one day of overeating made zero impact on long term progress...)

You looking for this?

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10603949/big-overfeed-ruins-everything-nope/p1

thanks! overfeed is the word i forgot when searching

You don't have all of @AnnPT77's threads bookmarked?

I'm not sure whether I should thank you, or eye-roll.

Today is a new day - shake it off and put it out of your head. The most destructive thing you can do is continue to beat yourself up about it. Analyze why you fell off - and move on.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I'm not sure whether I should thank you, or eye-roll.

I wouldn't mind being thanked. Stalking someone is so seldom appreciated for some reason.

sahar516 wrote: »

I feel like someone learning to ride a bike. I keep falling off. I start each day with good intentions and then throughout the day my mind starts dwelling on what events are coming ( and I rationalize skipping the plan) and when temptation comes, I cave.. Also at night, I seem to NEED snacks. :

I'll continue with the bike riding analogy.

When you're learning to ride a bike you use training wheels to keep you from falling off. So put on your food consumption training wheels for a while.

I think one of the biggest mistakes is that people try to go from zero to hero with their eating habits overnight. It's like deciding one day to learn to ride a bike then getting upset that you can't join the local peloton the next day. It's just plain unreasonable to expect either of those things to happen you're a noob, a learner, so act like one and put your food training wheels on and keep it simple until you start getting a handle on this.

When you're learning to ride a bike all you concentrate on is what matters. Learning to stay upright and putting one pedal in front of the other. Approach learning to eat the same way, concentrate only on what matters, eating in a calorie deficit.

Then once you can ride (eat in a calorie deficit) comfortably, then you can start to worry about going faster (rate of weight loss), riding better (eating more nutritious food), riding harder (adding in exercise), etc.

But none of that is possible if you don't learn to ride first.

(I hope that makes sense LOL)