best advice for falling off the wagon? ugh!!

There is nothing you can do about yesterday.

All you can do is change today.

Let your past mistakes go. Dwelling on them only produces guilt, which leads to depression, which leads to overeating.

Get a good workout today. Concentrate on what a positive thing a good workout is. Eat healthy today. Enjoy some fruit, and savor it, thinking about how good it tastes, and how good it is for you.

In short, to quote an old song, "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative."

I think you already know what to do, but please don't think of yourself as a failure. You had an 'off day' (or a few) but now you're ok and can start again.

Perhaps next time you feel like eating this much, you could try keeping yourself busy doing something else? It's something I'm working on - I ate about 500g chocolate on Monday! Go for a run, if you do that, or go visit a friend/relative (who won't try to feed you lol)

Remember - you lost 42lb! That's amazing

Realize that it's not just you, it happens to everyone. Look at the tremendous success stories here and realize that it happened to them, TOO! But the fact that you are reading of their success means that they didn't wallow in it or allow it to deter them - they got right back on it and persisted. As will you.

I feel awful when I fall off the wagon, too! I have an enormous sweet tooth (and my husband doesn't...so it all gets to me in the house!) and I love to eat! If I do binge, I try to do it lo-cal and healthy (at least, healthier!) foods. Eat Special K chips instead of Doritos, eat Larabars or Fiber One Bars instead of Candy Bars, Drink a LOT of water at the beginning (and middle and end) of the day and eat a big salad with a tiny bit of dressing before a meal (meringuine cookies, PB2, and roasted chick peas have helped curb my need for sweet and crunchy foods). For me it was all about the tricks at first, which slowly just became part of my eating habits.

I hate the word diet because it has connotations of repressing, restricting, and going without! This is the food I eat and I'm trying to change that for the long haul.

I initially lost 30 lbs and then gained about 15 back because I wasn't watching what I was eating. But at least I only have 1/2 as much to contend with this time - probably because some of the changes I've slowly made!

You're doing well - keep it up!

great post -- thanks for the honesty. We have all been there. I once read that the reason men succeed more often at weight loss than women is because of the guilt. Men have a bad day - chalk it up as a bad day and move on. Women have a bad day and beat themselves up about it for weeks. So for today -- BE A MAN!!! Let yesterday go -- you can't change it -- and live for today. Everyone has these kinds of days -- not sure how to stop them -- WISH I KNEW!!! But you can do the harder thing -- which is to pick yourself up and consider this a chance at a new day.

oh -- and go sweat -- if you feel the need to beat yourself up over this -- do it by kicking your own *kitten* at the gym!!!

We all have our days. Drink alot of water and do your workouts. Don't dwell on yesterday. Move forward from today. We're all here to support each other.

When I fall off a wagon, I always try to tuck and roll.


Seriously though... Yesterdays History.

Focus on today, and just stay with it. When you feel like going off the wagon again, remember how bad it feels now, and how good you will feel tomorrow when the craving is over and you DID NOT give in. You will be mentally stronger if you keep at it and overcoming the urge to binge does get easier if you stick with it.

HOP RIGHT BACK ON THAT WAGON GIRL I actually think it's "okay" for us to binge every now and then, especially when we have lost weight... it shocks our body into saying... wait... what's this... GET RID OF IT... and gets that metabolism you have worked so hard, to work for you, a kick in the butt, that's what it's supposed to do! I actually hit work-outs harder after a binge, to also tell my body... get it gone!!! It'll be fine... and maybe the next time you wanna binge, you'll think about it.... I also think when I have lost more weight, I am finally gonna get rid of the "fat clothes" I have, so there's the added incentive to not put the weight back on, cause GOING TO WORK NAKED is NOT GONNA BE PRETTY :laugh: And.... I pretty much have a little piece of dark choc. or candy daily just to prevent binges... feels like I'm being so bad.... but I'm not so much!! Good Luck!!

At one time I weighed 330. I had been on every diet known to man. I too am a binge eater when bored or upset for one reason or another. When I was dieting, if I had a slip, that was the end of the diet for me. I became a type 2 diabetic and had to have gastric bypass to keep from loosing both my feet to diabetes. That was 18 years ago. What I've learned in all this time is this: Falling off the wagon is just what it is. You just have to get back on and keep trying. Accept your slips for what they are and stop beating yourself up over it. Beating yourself up will keep you from helping yourself out. You can do this. You just need to remember that a slip is a slip. Put it behind you and move forward with your plans to loose weight. I would never encourage anyone to slip up but I have read where some diets plan for a slip one day a week. On that day you eat whatever you want. They say it jumpstarts your metabolism. I have no clue how true that is. Just remember that everyone slips at one time or another even if it is for several days at a time. Just keep telling yourself where you want to be eventually. How slim? What size dress? What weight? Go for it. You can do it.

I feel like we are the same person only I fell off that dumb wagon soon after Christmas and haven't got back on yet (( I totally wanna start going down again though! The time is now and I'm ready!!!!!

You're in the right place to do it.

bump

One of my favorite sayings: Guilt is optional. Choose to move on and recommit. Do not opt to feel guilty about yesterday and save yourself the stress and negativity. Choose to feel good about getting back on the wagon!:smooched:

This is SOOOO what I needed to read today! I have had the same problem lately. I really need to start getting back into the not snacking. I will say, when I do snack I have gotten healthier with choices of doing tostitos and salsa instead of chips and dip. And for ice cream, I have been eating skinny cow ice cream. So, I have been getting better at it. But, I still need to improve even more.

You've got to try, try and try, try and try...you'll succeed at last!

First off, to understand weight and gain you probably know as I've read in your post about water retention. Knowing that 1 pound equals 3500 calories, you would have to consume that much over in one day to gain one pound whereas if you eat the stuff you said you went running to the store for contains high amounts of sodium, that could be responsible for water retention and the tightness of your clothes.

Nobody can understand binge eating completely as our brains are very complex things. One thing that does affect our brains is the food that we eat (or lack thereof). The one food that our brains use exclusively for energy is carbohydrate. Too much carbohydrate in your daily nutrition and you'll gain weight.

Not enough carbohydrate in your daily nutrition can have other effects, setting you up for those emotional episodes that send you running to the store for what??? Carbohydrate laden foods. Once you consume those foods, your mind is at ease and the emotional distress seems to lessen. How can this be combated?

With an influx of complex carbohydrate into your daily nutrition.

Complex carbohydrate can keep those emotional episodes that send you running to the store for "junk food" at bay. The complex carbohydrate will also keep your mind sharp and fueled so you can attack the problems as they come to you instead of running for the simple carbs that burn off and leave you with all of the calories.

I find that breakfast is one of the most important times of the day to introduce complex carbs into your body. I routinely have cheerios with fresh banana, chunk pineapple, mixed with lowfat yogurt. I also eat whole wheat toast with smart balance. Those complex carbs get me going and I am ready for the day.

If you are restricting carbohydrate, that could be a reason for the falling off of the wagon.