How to get past the "bad" days?

ciminder87 · December 2011

So I started trying to lose weight back in May and I lost about 15 pounds (I was at 193 lb at my heaviest) over the summer and managed to keep that off. Then life got busy and I used it as an excuse to let myself eat fast food and not work out.

Now I'm trying to start over and get back on track, but I've noticed that I will have a really bad day in terms of not watching what I eat and not working out. Not that I'm upset that this happens once in awhile-it's the holidays right, it's bound to happen once or twice. The problem is that when I have one of these days, it totally demotivates me and makes me hate myself a little bit, which leads to more bad days and sometimes a whole week before I can get it back together again.

I would really appreciate some tips for how to move past a bad day so it doesn't ruin several days in terms of the goals I have.

Thanks

ChefSuzzieQ · December 2011

That happens to me sometimes too. You just have to remind yourself that one day is not that bad and overall you are doing more than you would have done a week ago or a month ago. Nobody is perfect and trying to hold yourself to standards that are too high will just hurt you in the end.

If I don't eat right one day I try harder to make better choices the next day. If I know I am not going to be working out I try to be more conscious of what I am going to eat. And I constantly have to evaluate the things I think about and tell myself, because they are always much different than what the important people in my life think or see.

vilyli6 · December 2011

I definitely don't have the answers, but I do have the exact same problem. Some people have told me I have a perfectionist personality. If I can't do it perfect, I give up. When I make a decision to eat healthy and lose weight, I give it my all. I track everything, I eat perfectly, I exercise every day and then, life happens....I mess up for any reason (emotional eating, party, fast food with the kids, you name it!) and then I get de-motivated. I feel like a failure once again. And the one day turns into two. I start ignoring the whole healthy lifestyle and convincing myself I will start again...tomorrow.....but tomorrow turns into a week. Then I have undone all I accomplished the previous weeks. Yo-Yo dieting once again. I am having this problem right now, except for one difference. I have continued to log on this site every day, I am not forgetting that a healthy lifestyle is crucial and I am not getting so out of control. The only change I must make is being honest with myself about exactly what I am eating, not feeling ashamed to log in things I ate because the numbers "look bad." I have to change the fact I don't have to be perfect. I can be a little off and as long as I continue to improve, it will be ok. This is a continuous self-improvement and I am going to continue.

zbmb30 · December 2011

I get "bad" days. Just remember that when you have one, it's not over. Start the next day back on track. Try to pre-plan your food. If you know that you are going to be going out to eat, try looking up the nutrition information online before you go out. Sometimes places don't have that online, which now a days is odd, but it happens. Just try to remember the simple rules of eating grilled not fried, maybe eat a salad before, try to skip the butter. You can ask the waiter if you can have it cooked healither. Most places are okay with that.

As far as the holidays go, I am over the "it's the holidays, so don't try to eat well and don't workout" saying people have. Yes it is the holidays and things are busy. Try to just move more. If you go shopping, try and wear a pedometer or something of that nature and see how many steps you walk. You can also eat what you want, just in moderation. We had our work Thanksgiving dinner a few weeks ago. I had maybe a small spoonful of all the things I wanted to try, and didn't go back for seconds. I was satisfied and didn't feel like I totally splurged.

I hope some of this helps! Good luck!

lisaf222 · December 2011

I was about to right a very similar post......I am having a bad day today....can't stop eating....and lots of chocolate.....I have my 'weigh in' friday and I have totally overeaten and it will be a disaster!

trying to regain my motivation but you feel like such a failure....

Is there anything I should do tomorrow to 'cleanse'....only protein?!?!

HELP!

ChefSuzzieQ · December 2011

lisaf222 - I would just make extra good choices tomorrow. Lots of veggies. You still need to eat healthy for the rest of the week. You could work out a little longer or harder for the rest of the week.

juscallmeb · December 2011

every day is a new day. so you made 1 bad choice perhaps, don't let that bog you down or get in your way of reaching your goals.
remind yourself why you're doing this. and hey it's okay to have 1 bad day.. we all do

no one is perfect.

Sumo813 · December 2011

I think looking at "bad" days as "cheat", "spike", or otherwise days is the best way to look at it. Your metabolism is like any other part of your body, in that it will get wise to what you're doing to it and work to better optimize it's production efforts. Having a high calorie day is actually good for you, since it will keep your metabolism guessing.

As for the exercise... what I do (i suppose easier for folks who have equipment at home) when I don't feel like working out is simple. I tell myself "just 10 or 15 mins". I learned this from someone that was featured in the Men's Health Belly Off club. By the time that 10 or 15 mins is up, you're going to be warmed up and ready to go. For me, I say, you know... that wasn't bad, and now I want to see a real burn. So it gets me worked up to try and beat my last effort.

But remember to rest. Sometimes your lack of wanting to work out is just your body telling you you need a day off. But keep it at just a day.

mariegrace11 · December 2011

Yes !!!!!

BriannaLee22 · December 2011

I think you should be easy on your self once in a while. like have a cheat day once a week? That will help you to stick to a diet long term. And also go through before and after pictures of other people, This really motivates me to stick to a diet. Cuz What i feel is "if they did it I can too" And also seeing pictures of healthy lean people help me to stay motivated.

Take pictures of yourself once a month and see the progress. Whenever you feel like eating those bad foods look at those pictures, they will help you to stay motivated and stick to the diet because you don't want to go back to your old self you want to keep going and get that body you always dreamed of.

This is what helps me

I hope this will help you too

Good Luck
Stay Motivated

ccbennett2000 · December 2011

I read something the other day that said it can be self-defeating to label a day as "bad" because of what you eat. Eating healthy is a lifelong journey and so you can't paint yourself into a green (good) or red (bad) zone every day based on what you did or didn't eat.

That said, whenever I have a day where I eat "off target" and have a weigh in coming up, I spend the next day (or two depending on how off target I got) eating within my target range and I focus on lean protein. This usually helps me shed any water weight I might have put on as a result of going off target.

Also, I have been allowing myself to go "off target" at least once per week (usually Saturdays as I am home all day with my kids and we love to bake together). This may prevent me from hitting my smaller, short-term targets as quickly as I could but it also helps me feel less deprived and keeps me focused on the bigger picture which is long-term health.

I also do something called calorie cycling (i.e. 1200 on Monday, 1400 on Tuesday, 1300 on Wednesday, 1200 on Thursday, 1500 on Friday, 1800 on Saturday and 1500 on Sunday). This means I eat the average number of calories I need to eat daily and still lose weight but I sort of feel like I have built in cheat days on the weekend without going "off track." Also, research suggests this type of variation helps your body not get too adjusted to a set number which can lower your metabolism.

Just some ideas in case it helps you get back on track and past your "bad" day :flowerforyou:

How to get past the "bad" days?

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