[girlonfire]

I needed a break from weight loss and losing weight. Yes, that sounds dumb and I kind of regret it, but at the time I realized trying to focus on my weight was just stressing me out and causing massive binge episodes. A lot came up in my life: a car accident which resulted in a parent in rehab, someone I know committed suicide, and massive amounts of academic stress (I am writing my senior thesis this semester).

I hate to say that I have most likely gained weight; I haven't really been keeping track but I would guess around 10 pounds. My friend ran off with my scale for the weekend, so I can't know for sure, but I would guess somewhere in the 260s , which makes me very unhappy.

However, some of my stress has petered out and I am ready to commit to being a healthy weight again! I have many lingering doubts, most of which center around "what will be different this time around?" because I have never successfully broken out of the 200s. I hope I can come back around here for support, words of encouragement, and maybe a nice kick in the pants!

[ghost]

I know what you mean about vacations. I took a long one and gained from 170ish up to 220ish and I'm hating myself right now. Welcome back and I've got plenty of kicks in the pants for you if you need to borrow one.

[rockinrobin]

Hopefully what will be different is the fact that you realize that there can't be any *vacations* from eating well and exercise. It's an ongoing, never ending venture. One that you can't turn off and on. It's a lifetime commitment. It needs to ALWAYS be a tippy top priority, because it's that important and it matters that much. You must become passionate about it. Get really, really into it. Then it's never an option to not put forth the effort.

I'm sorry for all that you've gone through. I'm glad you're back and look forward to hearing of your progress.

[Eliana]

Yeah, dieting needs to be sustainable first and foremost. Sustainable means it can take us through even the rough spots. I believe in maintaining, even prior to goal, but going off plan completely usually results in far more of a gain than you experienced. And in my own past experience, that always led to self-loathing.

Welcome back though! It isn't easy, that's for sure.

[findingfawn]

Welcome back.

I learned the hard way this week that we have to figure out how to stay on plan in hard times. I know it can be done, so I'm planning and making strategies for the next big blow my life hits.

[ubergirl]

Hi Peachy-- It's nice to see you back here. I learned stress-eating as a teen and perfected the art during college, and now, in my late 40s, I still struggle with it. I can't tell you how much I wish I had learned how to deal with it when I was your age. I struggled alone, since there was no internet and I felt like I had no one to talk to.

If trying to lose triggers binges and periods of stress make you eat more, I think you might want to think about seeking counselling for this problem.

You are going to HAVE to learn a healthy way to eat and a DIFFERENT way to deal with stress. I found during the last several months when I was under a huge amount of stress, that I reverted to some of my patterns of stress eating-- but I substituted lower calorie foods, on plan foods, or sugar free gum.

But, after about a month, I realized that I HAD to work on the behavior itself-- my stress=eat pattern.

It sounds like you have been through a really rough time recently, and I'm really sorry.

But Rockin Robin often says that learning a new very planned way of eating can actually help with stress, because it takes away that spinning out of control feeling that binging always gave me.

For me, I've also found the hard way that exercise is one of the BIG KEYS to stress management. If I skip a few workouts, I'm much more likely to get nibbley.

Good luck with everything. The WONDERFUL thing about weight loss is that you do not have to succeed on the first try. Trial and error, sometimes it takes a while to figure out what will work FOR YOU.

[girlonfire]

In hindsight, it may not have been the best idea for me, but the most important part I guess is that I am not giving up completely. And I will never give up on my weight!

Thanks for the encouragement and kick in the pants!

[sept15lija]

Welcome back and keep posting!

[vdander24]

Welcome back!!! The great thing is that you are going forward. Glad things are getting back on track for you.