[QTestRDH]

So some of you may have noticed I haven't been around for several weeks. I've been so busy with school and work I haven't had as much time to get on 3FC. I'm not gonna lie though, sometimes I just don't feel like it because then I will be held accountable for all of my bad decisions. Out of sight out of mind, you know what I mean?

I've been eating my fair amount of garbage and have gained and lost the same 2lbs for the past 3 weeks. And I know its all due to the fact I've just been gorging myself and not think twice about what I stick in my mouth.

I just don't know what to do!!! My initial motivation is dwindling and it seems I've lost my will power too! I feel like 27lbs is too much to just turn my back and go back to my old terrible ways...but I just don't know how to get back on track!!

I'm thinking maybe I would like an accountability buddy as well so let me know if any of you wonderful ladies are looking for a buddy to keep close tabs with as well!

This was a loooong post. Sorry about that but I just don't know what to do, I'm feeling so down on myself and discouraged.

[Star2Be]

Hey!! I had been wondering what happened to you lately... You were definitely missed! And personally I think it is fantastic news that you haven't gained more than like 2 lbs--that tells me that (despite what you said) you obviously haven't thrown all of your healthy habits in the garbage, hehe. And seriously, you shouldn't let that get you down, because those can be gotten rid of SO quickly, y'know?

Think of what you've accomplished so far: you've lost 27 lbs! That is amazing! Think about how proud of yourself you are when you stay on plan, and not even just that, but also how much better you feel. Don't you feel so much more energetic and vibrant when you're making healthier choices, eating right, exercising, etc? Especially in comparison to the way you feel after making a not-so-good choice (god knows I've been there!!). Don't go back to the "old ways"; you and your health deserve better than that!

I think the best think you can do right now is stick around this site... The members here are so supportive and motivational that (at least for me) it really inspires a person to get with the program. OH, and of course one of the best things that I always do when I feel my drive slipping--look at goal/mini-goal stories! Especially the pics, haha... That provides the biggest inspiration for me, cuz I'm like "WHOA, I will do anything to look like that!" Hehe.

I'm so glad to see you back, and I really hope you get your motivation back soon. Don't give up!

[futuresurferchick]

Hey QtestRDH... I feel frustrated with myself tonight so it's great to read your post and feel like I can help someone else. Not that I wish for others to need help but giving support helps me to give myself support too!

Anyway, you are going through a rough patch, and that sucks. But you DO know how to get back on track. That's how you've lost 27 lbs, by being persistent and consistent and committed. Start checking in here regularly, and do what you gotta go. Get re-committed. You're right that you've come too far, sister... there's no going back now.... you just gotta get on with it, even when you don't feel like it!!!

[cfmama]

You need to STOP gorging and eating unhealthy foods. Now.

You need to make a plan and STICK to it.

You need to come here every single day, MULTIPLE times a week for a good butt whoopin

You've come so far babe. Don't stop now! Because if you do... those 27 lbs will come back and bring friends. And the next time you go to lose weight it won't come off as easily and it will take LONGER because you'll have more to lose. You know I'm right

Cheer up! You CAN do this. You WILL do this. You HAVE to.

[activeadventurer]

Hey girl,
Maybe I'm old and have been through too much but IMHO I would hardly call 2 pounds and 3 weeks a slippery downward spiral. Maybe more of just a wakeup call to pay more attention to taking care of yourself and doing the things you need to do for you. Keep coming back and checking in. DCM

[H8cake]

I'm so glad you're back! You are young and if you get this under control now it will be so much better for you. Don't wait until you are in your forties and having health problems because of the weight before you fix it. It's so much easier to lose when you are young. So in other words: Do as I say not as I did! You can do it!!! Just make yourself come here for the motivation/determination/inspiration/commitment that you need. We're here for you! 2 pounds is nothing, don't sweat it, just hop back on the wagon and get moving again!

[iminhere]

everytime I reach the 20 lb mark I lose motivation, and go back to my old ways....I think I must get scared of being thin or something! maybe we are hiding in here, in a cocoon of fat, safe from the world.

but the world is still there whether we hide from it or not...that's why THIS time I am not going to back down.

I would be glad to be your buddy.....

just PM me and we will get this party started!!!

[joyra]

QTest, I too have noticed your absence!

My only suggestion would be to check into the site as often as you can. When I'm "off" I don't much feel like logging on either... but the more I do it, even if I'm not on plan, the more likely it feels like something will "click" and I'll get some momentum again.

Also challenges help me, more than anything else. Valentine's Day just passed so I imagine a lot of new challenges will start up.

[bonfire817]

I know exactly how you feel! My problem is that I get it in my head sometimes that since for the last 5 days I have done good, so I think I can eat what I want for the day and it ALWAYS comes back to haunt me...and it's never right away, like 4 days later I will be up 2 pounds!
I need to come here daily and read everyones stories...it really helps me, I know I'm not alone and I can relate with most everyone!!

[Pandora123a]

QtestRDH,

I could have written that post last week, except for me it was seven weeks of struggle and being mostly off plan. I'm a week ahead of you...I got back on track last week and this week was able to put my lowest 2008 weight back on my tracker! To do this I had to stop and look at exactly what I had stopped doing, and get back on track.

It isn't motivation, its commitment. (There are many posts on the difference.) For me motivation is the excitement, commitment is the grim determination that this is what I want and will do.

You are in a great position...you haven't gained 30 pounds, you have pretty much maintained. You can decide to stay where you are (and hey, you have a gorgeous picture and are now 27 pounds lighter, you must look pretty good.) Or you can get back on track. I hope you don't decide just to give up...that way is the surest way to find those 27 pounds again...and you know they always seem to bring a few friends with them!

Keep posting...you are right, it is part of accountability.

You can do this.

[Merksie]

27 lbs is way too much to just turn your back on your progress . . . don't do it!

Even if your choices aren't on-plan enough for you to lose more weight, you can and should celebrate your success at maintaining your weightloss during this extraordinarily busy period. Maintaining is hard work! Maintaining means you will emerge from this period with your progress intact, ready to continue down the scale. Giving up and regaining means you will have to start over where you were before.

I've done both those things, and believe me, maintaining during your "off periods" is a LOT better. So hang in there and do whatever you have to do to stay focused enough to at least maintain!

[Scarlet]

You will hear over and over again in posts that people stopped coming here or posting because they were struggling--this should tell us all something, but you need to hear it as this is your thread--so---come to the forum and post regularly, daily, hourly, whatever you need---read other posts, read other blogs, find the motivation you need here if you aren't finding it out in your life.....

This is a new day, you didn't gain back what you lost, and now you hopefully have new momentum--so go for it!!

[thistoo]

I could have written this post, right down to the 2 pound yoyoing. Mine has mostly been frustration at the fact that in order to move forward with my weight loss, I know what I have to do, but doing it is so *hard* for me. Depriving myself of carbs has been sort of a way of life for the past two+ years, but to get over this recent plateau I've had to cut them back completely.

I've given up everything, including my morning oatmeal, which makes me really sad, and I keep failing and then binging because I'm hungry all the time. But I've spent more than two years losing 65 pounds, and that's way too far to go back. 27 pounds is too far for you to go back too. Just think, you're almost at the 30 pound mark! That's really exciting.

We can both get back on track. I've 'restarted' every day for the past two weeks and then fallen off the wagon again, but I keep on trying. I hope you will too.

[Numina]

Qtest,

If your best friend needed you to go into her dorm room every 2 hours and wake her up to check on a head injury, could you do it even if you weren't "motivated?"? Of course you could! If your little brother needed someone to give him medicine every four hours for the next month, could you do it even if you weren't "movtivated?" Of course you could!

So, you have no trouble taking care of other people when it's important --- you just need to recognize that your weight problem is just as important and that you deserve loving care from you, too!



So, let's get at it, soldier! Put a rubber band around one wrist so that you see it every time you reach for chips or ice cream or pizza and so you REMEMBER that you have the power to make good decisions or bad, every single time a decision presents itself. This isn't about perfectly making the right choice every single time --- its about making more good choices than bad. Its about maximizing those good choices.

Now make it as easy to make good choices as you can. Go on a mad cleaning spree and throw out all the junk food. Fill up your water bottle and put it right where you can reach it. Book a walking date with a friend, even if its just a 10-minute stroll between dorms. Plan out what you are doing for dinner -- RIGHT NOW! Start writing down everything you eat and calculating the calories; that way, you are honestly accountable to yourself.

I'll tell you a secret: these skills you are learning for losing weight, the habits you are building to push on even when the initial excitement fades or the weight loss stalls, are going to make you a better parent, a better employee, and a better student. You are building a "personality muscle" that you will use all your life AND at the same time you are choosing healthy over disease and disability, zest for life over fatigue and depression, confidence over fear and self-loathing, natural beauty over fat.

Now, put on some wicked music, something that flat-out stomps its way out of your stereo, take a deep breath, throw your shoulders back and GET ON WITH IT!

[lottie63]

Originally Posted by iminhere

everytime I reach the 20 lb mark I lose motivation, and go back to my old ways....I think I must get scared of being thin or something! maybe we are hiding in here, in a cocoon of fat, safe from the world.

but the world is still there whether we hide from it or not...that's why THIS time I am not going to back down.

I would be glad to be your buddy.....

just PM me and we will get this party started!!!

I get like this. I can easily lose 20, even 25....but after that I tend to slip backwards. There was ONE time I lost more than that, I lost 30, and then after t hat, another 40. (I Have since gained it back and then some) but still, I knew THIS TIME that if I could make it past 30, that I could do another 40, and another 40 after that. It seems to be my magick number.