Get halfway and then I go back to my old routine :(

nixjordan7
nixjordan7 Posts: 2 Member
edited October 4 in Introduce Yourself
Im new here and really need help!! Ive being using MFP successfully on and off for about 5 months. I get down to my target weight but always, always, end up back comfort eating beyond control and piling on the weight and starting from scratch again!

Does anyone have any suggestions or anything for a BAD comfort eater?!?! :(

Replies

  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
    You just have to stick with it and know that the most challenging part of a diet is maintaining the weight loss. MFP has to be a lifestyle, where you make yourself work off your excecesses by balancing exercise with food intake...for ever.
  • liz3marie
    liz3marie Posts: 211 Member
    im with you girl!! ive been there many of times, in fact last time i went from 130 to 200lbs in a years from comfort eating, then i went from that 200 to 150, then back up to 170...now im at it again also tryna lose this weight!! id love to see what people say on here, your not alone though, im the worst with comfort eating i know!
  • MoooveOverFluffy
    MoooveOverFluffy Posts: 398 Member
    i dont really have anything to say about the comfort food, but did want to add that i have fallen off the wagon a few times. I've decided that WHEN (not if) i get to my target weight, i'm probably still going to need MFP for a long time, maybe forever. I've also decided that i will continue to weigh in regularly once i hit my target weight, so the pounds don't sneak up on me. If i see i've gained a couple pounds, i'll change up a few things before it gets out of control...........
  • H_Factor
    H_Factor Posts: 1,722 Member
    2 ideas...you can do one, both or neither...

    1. I've recently discovered that short term intermittent fasting helps me re-focus. For the last 6 weeks I've fasted once a week for 24ish hours each time. I've done this to successfully destroy cravings and to get back into the zone. The fast itself has proven fairly easy (make sure you drink plenty of water or other 0 calorie liquid of choice).

    2. write down the things you hate about your lifestyle when you are a higher than desired weight....what are the things that bother you most....and write down those things you enjoy about the lifestyle at your goal weight. review those lists whenever complacency begins to set in.

    good luck to you.
  • caroln3
    caroln3 Posts: 217
    yes I have been doing the same thing for 14 years, it's a learning process I guess I will eventually have to stop comfort eating.
  • Bosbes
    Bosbes Posts: 55 Member
    you should find out why you tend to eat too much and then find other ways to deal with it. This is not easy, but it can be done and will help you.
  • ChaliBahli
    ChaliBahli Posts: 39 Member
    I am such the same way! I get down to the point where I start to really see the difference in my body and clothing fit and I let it all go again. Maybe not all- but the tracking will stop for awhile and in about a month I have to start up again. Feel free to friend me! We can discuss comfort eating and strategies to avoid! I knit, it helps- incompatible behavior to eating :)
  • harleenarang
    harleenarang Posts: 174 Member
    Hello from one of your fellow passengers. I have had that problem since 2008 where I had lost 15 kgs (35 lbs approx) and then came back up. Did it again in 2010 June and then back by March 2011.
    This time I have promised that won't happen and I can give u a small tip to keep a check.

    When you reach your target weight - keep a dipstick weight check a little more than the ideal weight. Lets say u wanna be 120 lb and you reached that. Now your dipstick could be 130lbs and you make sure if you touch that - you have to start controlling yourself and come back to 120. This way 2 things will help you:

    1) You won't exceed a lot above your weight so its not that bad to get down again.
    2) More frequently you do this - You will have to take the tough regime of weight loss which will remind you next time you over eat that its very hard to get that cheesy pasta off the *kitten* :P (excuse my expression)

    Good Luck and see ya around (in better shape)

    :)
  • nixjordan7
    nixjordan7 Posts: 2 Member
    Wow! Its my first time posting and Im shocked at the fast and kind replies!
    Everything of what you all said I know is right, Its a lifestyle change forever. Once I am 'in the zone' I thrive on it and the pounds come off easily as I love exercise. When something happens and I find myself due to work etc, not being able to exercise, and add some upset - I comfort eat and the cravings are out of control!! Right now I am craving sweets because Ive had them for a week at this time after work every day! Its the initial kick I need to get back into a routine. Weighing up the pro's and con's of being bigger sounds good....I dont know about the fasting :/

    Thanks y'all ;)

    So happy I discovered this website! (was only using it on iphone) :)
  • westernjoy
    westernjoy Posts: 175 Member
    Ask yourself -How and why did I get overweight.
    You have to try and change your mind set.
    It isn't a diet anymore.It's a way of life.
    That was and still is something I work on everyday
    A cheat day maybe something to think about. Just don't crazy
    on that day. I have to log everyday Because I don't think I'm over
    eating But In reality I am..
    Joyce.
  • KarenWas
    KarenWas Posts: 19
    Maintenance is much harder than losing. I have lost many times and maintained a few times. I'm in a losing mode again with plans to maintain this time. I just have to remember that this is not a diet...it is a lifestyle change. Best wishes to you!
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
    The one thing that people haven't mentioned is the change in metabolism that we have to weather once we reach target weight. The body gets used to fasting, and once we stop, it's almost as if it tells itself, "Well, thank goodness that is over!" And we get HUNGRY! Part of the old feast-famine cycle of our hunter-gatherer days. Once the game was plentiful again, it was time to build up that fat so that we could weather the next famine.

    That is what is under the whole yo-yo dieting phenomenon. We lose, and then we gain back more than we lost.

    The trick is to stick with it so that the metabolism gets to realize that this is a whole new pattern, and that we are NOT going to feast in spite of all of its urging us to do so. And it is so easy to gain it all back, steadily but slowly. Just an extra 100 cals per day will do it.

    Last time I dieted, I was with WW and ate the minimum amount of calories, lost quickly, and as soon as it was over, I was FAMISHED! A bottomless pit. Nothing could satisfy that hunger. I lost 40 lbs and gained 55 lbs. This time I am losing much more slowly--a pound per week. I have not changed by diet, like last time. MFP gives me the greatest tools for tracking calories and balancing it with exercise. I have lots more to loose, but this time, I have no illusions about the diet being over when I reach my goal. I know that that is when the REAL battle starts.

    And I realize that it will be a spiritual battle, because everything will be pushing me towards gluttony. So I am also looking into the spiritual dimension of weight loss. Fasting is a spiritual discipline. And not eating again will be a continuation of that. Good health is a gift, and one we have to receive with gratitude, and struggle to maintain.
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