This week I have had just about everything I shouldn't have. Things like chocolate, pizza, bread. I managed to get off track every single day this week and didn't run that much to top it all off. I have never felt so guilty in my life. I think I have gained at least 4 pounds but I'm not even going to step on the scale right now. When will I ever learn not to eat things like that?! It's not worth it! I feel like I have failed. Big time.
It happens to all of us. Don't beat yourself up. We are human, afterall.
Where I used to get derailed is by NOT weighing after such an episode. I think being accountable to yourself is useful and kind of nips the whole thing in the bud before it snowballs. Take accountability for it and move on.
You haven't failed. You've caught yourself after a week! That's the hardest part. The easy thing to do will be to continue to be out of control, but you can still pick yourself back on and get back on track. It's never too late and the situation is never that dire... especially not after only a week. Make a commitment to start with your next meal. I find writing out a meal plan helps when I'm trying to get back on-plan after an off-plan period. Write out a meal plan and stick to it, at least for a few days till you get back into the swing of things. Nothing stops you from getting back on track right now. Last week is past, but there's so much opportunity in the coming week to make healthier decisions.
Thank you all! I just need to stop using food for emotional reasons. It doesn't solve anything and only makes things worse. Stress from school is definitely why all this happened. I'm just gonna have to make time for running no matter how much I have to do when I get home.
I second LRH's suggestion - it might be a good idea to weigh yourself and see the proverbial damage. When I go off plan I'm tempted to skip my morning weigh in to avoid seeing the consequences of my choices, but I find that it's best for me to suck it up and see what I've done. This helps to keep me from making those same bad choices the day after a binge.
Brush yourself off and keep moving. Sometimes if I know the scale will reflect something bad (like if I'm retaining a lot of water), I don't weigh-in. As an emotional person and an extreme emotional eater, something like an increase on the scale can send me on an emotional swing and make me want to binge. You don't have to weigh-in to see the damage (if you don't think it'll do any good). But, you DO have to keep moving ahead. You stumbled, accept it and keep pressing forward.
I agree with everyone else and it may not be as bad as you think! It takes almost 14,000 more calories than you burned to gain 4 pounds. That's a lot! Move forward and don't look back!
Do NOT beat yourself up over this! We all have hard times and over days. Tomorrow is a new day, just strive to stay within calories!
For me, when I want to go crazy on my eating, I drink a big glass of water and then head out and walk/run instead. By the time I am done, I no longer feel like overeating is worth cancelling out the effort I just put out.
Stay accountable, come here and read instead of eating. Go for a walk. Drink water. Whatever you do, DON'T QUIT! You can do this!
In the big scope of things, one bad week isn't the end of the world.
What really matters is how you handle it moving forward. You've recognized that stress started it, so one good thing about looking back, is you can learn how to better handle stress in the future.
I have found through lots of mistakes and practice, that sticking with my food plan and exercise are 2 things, that sometimes are the only 2 things that keep sanity in an insane world. Some days, the simple act of stopping and having a tasty nutritious meal, or checking out for a run or a session of weight lifting gives me back a feeling of being in control.
Were you able to find something more substantial to have for breakfast!? If I remember correctly you were having cereal and it seemed by the time you got home you were ravenous?? Hope I'm remembering that right.
I may be WAY off here, but just ensure you are eating enough. I know you want to lose weight, and of course you have to eat in a deficit, but I know if I eat too little it triggers some MAD binges and overeating fests of the worst foods.
What Stephanie said about eating enough. I find it extremely difficult to find that perfect balance. I have been trying to manage without logging every bite I eat, and I find that I am not eating enough early in the day, which makes me inclined to eat a sleeve of crackers or something equally lacking in nutrition later in the day.
You haven't failed. You've caught yourself after a week! That's the hardest part. The easy thing to do will be to continue to be out of control, but you can still pick yourself back on and get back on track. It's never too late and the situation is never that dire... especially not after only a week. Make a commitment to start with your next meal. I find writing out a meal plan helps when I'm trying to get back on-plan after an off-plan period. Write out a meal plan and stick to it, at least for a few days till you get back into the swing of things. Nothing stops you from getting back on track right now. Last week is past, but there's so much opportunity in the coming week to make healthier decisions.
I totally, totally understand how this feels. I just had a really bad food weekend (mini vacay), and the scale says less than 2lbs of damage (possibly a little water retention in there too). I think the best thing to do is really get back to your plan - for me, that means really watching my caloric intake, especially things like fat and sodium after this weekend. xox
Horrible horrible out of control week :(
