I have been off the wagon since November of last year. The 32 lbs is back plus a little more. I cant seem to get back on track for nothing! I watch the bigget loser and it is inspiring, but I still cant get back into eating right and walking. I just want to stick my head under a rock, after I eat, of course................ What is it gonna take for me to stop this? Im beginning to think this is the way I should be...and I know that's not right!
I just read Valarie Bertnelli's Losing it. Jenny Craig seems like a good solution, because you get a counselor to watch over you.
I am using the Lean Cuisine meal planner/calorie counter. Two weeks in, this has really been working for me. I am shocked at how much I get to eat. Even when I cheat, I just write it down and get back on track.
Getting motivated can be really difficult I have been there I understand what you are going through some what.
Maybe taking "baby steps" into steering yourself back to healthy eating and exercise rather than do it all at once. I do not know the diet you are eating at the minute but for example don't eat any crisps(potato chips I think you may know them by) for a week or cut out the fizzy drinks (soda). Maybe you could change one thing at a time rather than take it all on board at one time which can seem over whelming.
Losing weight is not a race so what if it takes a wee bit longer. I made small changes and when I was happy with that one I choose another to change. I know if I had changed it all at once it would have been a recipe for disaster and a sure fire way for me to go back to my unhealthy ways. I am not saying that I do not have treats here and there but they are not so frequent but I sure do enjoy the freedom of having anything off the menu I want. It sure does taste extra special as it is not something I have regular. These treats at this stage in my eating plan keep me on the straight and narrow as I predominantly eat healthy food now.
I know you can do this Mug just take thing slowly and plan some none food rewards for maybe 5lb or 10lb lost. I did this also nice to think I could have that bottle of nail vanish or that lipstick. I work quite well with the reward method as I love to achieve goals and get the prize. Rewards do not have to be costly just something for you as you are special and are worth it.
Never forget that you are special and are worth it. I kind of forgot that at my highest weight and wish I had remembered that sooner.
I like that you said about "Losing weight is not a race". That hit something in me and made me smile
Mug: You can do it. Just think, u made the first step to getting back on track. U got on here and posted. What I have to do to get on track sometimes is just take it one step at a time. Lower portion size, then move onto another step, then another, and so on.
I hope you feel better soon.
Hang in there Mug. I regained 17 pounds. Today I am taking it back off.
I think we just have to do it whether we feel like it or not, whether we are motivated or not. Its hard but... well what's the options?
I am posting a habit a day challenge on my site starting monday. Maybe that would be a good baby-step for you to begin? Or make a list of small steps you can take and just pick ONE to focus on.
Been thinking alot about this myself. I had a good run where I really felt in the groove for a long time then *poof* it was gone. (*poof* stands for a lot of emotional nastiness and generally bad circumstances.) But I haven't been able to find that "place" again but mostly because *poof* keeps happening on a surprisingly frequent basis.
I have a couple of ideas but it really depends on what you really respond to.
Think about what made it better when you were in the groove. What was “good” about that time? What you were doing at work, at home, with friends? Was it what you were actually doing with food and exercise? Did cleaning up your diet improve your attitude? Did getting moving make you feel better? What ground things to a halt? The weight loss or work or life not meeting expectations? Some big Life™ thing happen? Or just a change in schedule? Think about what was really important, what helped *you* to succeed and see if there are ways to move back towards that.
On the other hand, maybe what worked before just doesn’t fit with the person or the life you’re living now. Throw everything out and look at how you want to do this with fresh eyes.
Plan for motivation: got lots of ideas on that, posted them elsewhere, and will send or repost if you’re interested. I have a bit of a rant on commitment here. Commitment is more than a decision, it’s a integral change, large or small, that propels you to action. Telling me all I need is commitment is the same as telling me all I need to do is eat less and exercise more. Both are true but not necessarily useable advice because what gets you committed, actually moving, is different for everyone and no one can tell you exactly what is going to give you that vision or energy that will keep you going even when it doesn’t seem to be working. For some people, it’s a defining moment – a really bad health scare, a particularly embarrassing moment, a very important goal, a stark realization or finally, really, really just had enough. Some people can make a step-change in their life and keep it but it almost always involves a very emotional moment, either positive or negative. Fake it til you make it? White-knuckle it until you have enough successes to stoke your fire? Baby-step back into confidence? What do you think could work for you? What started you off the first time?
Once you have that initial commitment, you have to keep the fire going. Build up your support team: folks on the journey with you, folks who will cheer you on, folks who can provide specific advice (3FC is great for that – I always enjoy RockinRobin’s posts). I’m not very successful at that myself – my mother wants me to lose weight but she always fusses that I’m losing too fast, I’m too embarrassed about it at work, and my husband is something I have to overcome instead of being a support (he’s a big portion of *poof*.).
Find someone or a group you can be accountable to -- sometimes you will do for others what you will not do for yourself. I’m not sure 3FC works so well in that respect because you can just not sign on and drift away (guilty!) but maybe if you found buddy who would hunt you down if you didn’t report in? Is there a gym where you can get a trainer for some length of time? Or can you organize some folks at work or school or church or somewhere to meet and report to each other? (I really wish my Y would run a Biggest Loser program but no deal.) Someone on the boards organized her family to lose weight.
I’ll cut my post short here (too late)! Hope I have not been offensive – just frustrated with myself. If you're interested in discussing, this doesn't have to be a one-off conversation. I'm trying to get the fire back myself.
Good luck,
Barb
Last edited by Keillynsmom; 10-03-2008 at 11:00 AM.
I find it easier to do what needs to be done when I quit thinking of it as an option, and think of it as one more thing that I do because I'm a responsible adult.
I get out of bed every morning and go to work - even though I'd much rather snuggle down and sleep until noon.
I pay my bills even though I'd rather spend my money on shoes and massages and dinners out.
I do laundry and brush my teeth and clean the toilets and mop the floors - all things I'd much rather just skip over if I could.
All of those things are just part of life and things you do when you're a responsible adult. You don't really have a choice to say "no I won't do this" because it has to be done.
And I exercise and eat healthy because I don't have a choice to say "no I won't do this". It has to be done.
For me, that helps a lot with the whole "motivation" thing. I don't have to be "motivated". I just have to do it.
Mug,
What are your biggest hurdles? Do you eat out a lot? Do you cook, but eat too much of what you cook? Chocolate? Baked goods {this was mine!}?
For me, I can't speak for others, the best thing I did was picking my biggest hurdle and committing to that first. Instead of popping in a pizza or opening a bag for a skillet meal, I started cooking dinner from scratch. I got used to doing that, even though I had always thought it would be a big time drain, and I can have a healthy meal on the table in about 30 minutes of active work.
Losing weight is hard. It takes an unbelievable amount of discipline and dedication. That is why so many people quit, because it *is* so hard. However, that doesn't mean you ever have to stop trying.
Sometimes you just have to get back on the wagon a bunch of times before you stay there. It happens to all of us.
Just make a plan for what one single change you can make today to get going again. Get that as a habit, then change something else. There is no hurry - since you have the rest of your life to tweak your habits bit by bit
Commitment is more than a decision, it’s a integral change, large or small, that propels you to action. Telling me all I need is commitment is the same as telling me all I need to do is eat less and exercise more. Both are true but not necessarily useable advice because what gets you committed, actually moving, is different for everyone and no one can tell you exactly what is going to give you that vision or energy that will keep you going even when it doesn’t seem to be working. For some people, it’s a defining moment – a really bad health scare, a particularly embarrassing moment, a very important goal, a stark realization or finally, really, really just had enough. Some people can make a step-change in their life and keep it but it almost always involves a very emotional moment, either positive or negative. Fake it til you make it? White-knuckle it until you have enough successes to stoke your fire? Baby-step back into confidence? What do you think could work for you? What started you off the first time?
This was really what happened to me. As you can tell by my sign up date, I have been here for awhile, on and off definately. I have tried so many diet plans and failed so many times that I could write several books on the subject. My "click" came this past summer when I had to go to a work function and they had to videotape me as part of a presentation. Well, when I saw my face on a large 6' screen, that was my "A-ha" moment. That is where enough was enough. My mind competely reset and I am fully committed now when I was not before. Before I was always trying to find ways to work the system-how much could I get away with and still lose. Not necessarily the best approach.
You will get your moment, and by coming on to 3FC is a first step. There is a saying that if you do the same thing everyday for 21 days, it will become a habit. Maybe try that as a first step. A few people have mentioned that instead of going to whole hog, just give up one thing. Once you do one thing, the next thing does not seem so bad.
I regained some of the weight I lost this past year. I spent three months returning to a dysfunctional family dealing with one of its members going through a prolonged health crisis. I revisited a place that was haunted with very painful memories. I would like to say that I handled it well.. the truth is I handled it as well as I could. Their eating habits were as unhealthy as many other aspects of their lives. I was virtuous for 3 weeks before I succumbed to wanting to fit in and please them. I knew it was happening and I still let it happen. Old habits die hard!
I'm back, heavier (luckily the clothes that once hung on me, and I had been meaning to take in, are now fitting me well so at least no major wardrobe readjustment there) but I faced them and my past without running away or into food. I made the best choices I could considering that this is a small town with nothing but fast food restaurants to its name. (all the good ones left out of disgust .
It was hard for me to change my ticker but I made one rule when I began posting here and I am sticking to it. I have to be real with me and I have to be real with you. I didn't make any of my goals this past summer. I was hoping to make some pretty significant ones too.
Motivation?? I don't even know if I can comment on that. I will not give up.....no matter how many times I hit the mat. I am lifer here.
If I am left being the last person on this website who still has to lose some weight, so be it. I'll turn the lights out when I have met my goal but, until then, I promise I'll keep the light on for anyone who wants to join me.
Cant get back on track...HELP
I have been off the wagon since November of last year. The 32 lbs is back plus a little more. I cant seem to get back on track for nothing! I watch the bigget loser and it is inspiring, but I still cant get back into eating right and walking. I just want to stick my head under a rock, after I eat, of course...............
. What is it gonna take for me to stop this? Im beginning to think this is the way I should be...and I know that's not right! 
I'm happy to see you back! 
.