Location: Smack dab in the middle, Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 668
S/C/G: 203.4/170.4/140.0
Height: 5'0"
Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT.
It never fails. I go on a trip (even a short one!) and things go straight to ****.
At my weigh-in tonight, I was up 4 damn pounds. I have only had two gains so far (in nearly six months) and this was my biggest (the other was 1.4 pounds.) I was on a two-day trip with my mother and a friend (just got back today) and said trip included some splurging.
This is honestly the first time since I started losing weight that I have seriously considered some kind of fasting. I guess I'm so disgusted with myself at the moment that I just want this four pounds off. NOW.
I'm not going to let this stop me, of course...it's just that it's disappointing, even though I was expecting a gain this week. I didn't walk, because I was in a strange city and didn't know my way around; I didn't drink nearly enough water, because I had no desire to have to take bathroom breaks every fifteen minutes; and of course there was the aforementioned splurging.
I guess it helps to know what went wrong, though. Tomorrow morning I am going back to my normal routine. And, for the next little while at least, no more trips.
I just wish I didn't feel so disgusted with myself!
You feel gross now but I'll bet real money - not Monopoly money - that in going back to routine, you'll be back to your "before trip" weight within a week.
"No more trips" is kind of extreme, you gotta live your life.
This is absolutely, and completely normal. You had a trip, you had a splurge. You're back on track now, and it's straight back into the normal. It's the best thing you can do for yourself right now So you've got that right.
Most of that weight will likely be gone within a week. Lessons learned for the next trips you decide to take.
Well no one has mentioned it yet, so I will. Do you 'really' think you ate 15000 (the calories in 4 pounds plus the usual 500 per day deficit that is recommended for weight loss) extra calories in a weekend? And that's 15000 OVER what you would eat for maintenance calories to gain. That is equivalent to eating 34 cups of Ben and Jerry's Cookie dough ice cream in that weekend on top of what you normally eat for the day. Or, if ice cream calories don't grab you. That's like eating almost 6 large size Dominos Pepperoni pizzas on top of what you normally eat during that weekend. I really doubt you ate to gain 4 pounds of fat.
You changed your routine in so many ways so your body doesn't know what hit it, so it's holding onto water. Don't worry about it. It will be gone as fast as it came most likely save for maybe a few ounces of 'true' splurge calories.
You know, if I travel and stay 100% OP, I come back with a gain. It's inevitable. Something about traveling does it by its very nature.... Changes in air pressure? Humidity? Stress of the unknown? Who knows.
You'll be back to pre-trip weight in no time. This is life... it has its ups and downs... and I have to say, WAY TO GO making it to 6 months with only TWO gains! That is really something to celebrate!
@Snoofie Trips are the hardest time for me to stay on track too. But you CAN do it! Don't give up experiences with family and friends by vowing to take no more trips. You just need to prepare a little better next time.
For instance, my girlfriend and I are planning to go on a two day trip to Sandusky, Ohio in a couple months. First, I hope to be doing so well on my weight loss by then that a little "time off" won't kill my efforts. But also, you just have to plan ahead.
My first inclination when road tripping 8 hours? "Woohoo! We can stop for gravy, biscuits, and bacon at Cracker Barrel on the way!" Well, no, not if I want to eat anything for the rest of the day without feeling totally guilty. So I'm going to pack my normal breakfast of 2 Special K protein bars.
Because eating at restaurants is my all-time favorite thing to do on road trips, I'm going to still do that. But I'm going to make "healthy" (at least healthy by restaurant standards) choices when we do stop. I also plan to pack healthy snacks, drinks, and maybe sandwich stuffs in a small cooler for the car for those times when stopping would mean grabbing two fist fulls of Little Debbie cakes.
You can also get really far calorie-wise in restaurants by simply cutting your portion size. I cut my normal portion in half at P.F. Chang's last weekend, and while I didn't feel GREAT about the calories consumed, I definitely felt better than I would have during a normal trip to PFC.
What you did is totally normal and nothing to flog yourself for. You can learn from your mistakes and do better on your next trip! (Also, I remember going to DC for a long weekend with my husband while trying to lose weight. We walked EVERYWHERE, which is not the norm for us in Knoxville at all. Got back home thinking I'd have surely lost SO MUCH weight from walking everywhere. Nope, I actually gained a couple pounds! ARGH!)
Oh, I know the feeling, it can be very discouraging, but I'm pretty sure that if you fast you may throw off your metabolism, so I think it's best if you just go back to your regular dieting, or nutrition routine.
You feel gross now but I'll bet real money - not Monopoly money - that in going back to routine, you'll be back to your "before trip" weight within a week.
"No more trips" is kind of extreme, you gotta live your life.
I agree with this, 100%.
Look, for most of us, there are ups and downs in this process. As much as we would like our weight to march cooperatively downward day after day and week after week, things rarely work out that way.
I find the best way to handle that is to take a longer term view. What matters is not whether you weigh less than you did a week ago. Rather, what matters is that you weigh less than you did a month or two ago.
Small setbacks will happen, for all kinds of reasons - some within your control, and some not. Starving yourself (even for a short time) or declaring no more travel are extreme, unsustainable ways to deal with those setbacks. Better to focus on ways to incorporate these bumps into your plan, plan for them and accept them. Now that you are back home you can get right back on your regular plan and you'll see how quickly the bump smooths itself out. A small fluctuation due to a change in routine (that is really all that 4-pound gain is) is not cause for a radical solution.
I went on a weekend trip over the weekend and when I weighed in on Monday morning I was up two pounds. I figured I did deserve it because I was not getting right and had a couple of candy bars. However, most of it must have been water weight because three days after being back on plan the two pounds are gone.
My biggest problem is the one going motivation to stay on plan. I do well all day and every intention of exercising and it all falls apart when I get home. Ugg.
You feel gross now but I'll bet real money - not Monopoly money - that in going back to routine, you'll be back to your "before trip" weight within a week.
"No more trips" is kind of extreme, you gotta live your life.
^^This^^
Actually, I give you credit: I wouldn't have even weighed myself until I had been back on program for at least a week. Why put yourself through that? I mean, there is NO WAY that you actually gained 4 lbs. of fat. That would mean you would have had to eat 14000 calories ABOVE your maintenance range, and I guarantee that you didn't. So, what it is is water weight. You probably ate some foods that you don't normally eat (which is understandable and just fine---it is a vacation, after all), and some of those foods probably contain more sodium---hence the water retention.
Location: Smack dab in the middle, Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 668
S/C/G: 203.4/170.4/140.0
Height: 5'0"
Krampus: You're right, giving up trips is a bit extreme. I guess I was just so frustrated at my weigh-in that I decided the trip was the problem, when I know it's not.
Lovely: I have been back on track ever since I got back, and I noticed that after just two days of being back, the 4 pounds had dropped off. So yes, it was definitely water weight. Dammit, that saltier-than-usual food was so good...but kind of not worth it. *L*
Sheramama: I keep reminding myself that "this happens to all of us!" and it helps. So thanks.
berryblondeboys: The visuals you provided were great, and really helped me realize that gaining four pounds of actual fat in three days is kind of not possible, not if those calorie calculations are at all accurate (and I trust you that they are!) It helped me realize that, no, there's no way I ate that much food. If I had, I'm pretty sure I would have burst, not just gained four pounds. *L*
Heather: Oh, you are *so* right...the scale was forged by Satan himself. I wish I could stay off of it! *L*
abluvion: Like you, there just seems to be something about my body that does not like travelling at all. I've only had one other gain in the six months I've been doing this, and it was after the one other trip I've taken in that time. (And that trip was to visit my best friend, who's a nutritionist, so there was no junk food involved in that trip whatsoever.) I think my system just goes "WAIT. NOT OUR HOUSE. NOT OUR FOOD. DOES NOT COMPUTE" and just hangs onto *everything* I eat. Well, luckily I don't travel much. *L*
Katie: I think what helped me not to be TOO upset about my gain (okay, so I was still upset, but not as bad as I thought) was that I was totally expecting a gain. So it's not like I was super super careful and thought, "Oh, I won't gain, I was good!" I went into the trip thinking, "Well, I'm on vacation, and I don't expect myself to be perfect, so what happens happens." Mind you, I didn't expect four pounds, but I did expect a bit of a setback. It's good to know, though, that others experience the same travel-related issues that I do.
Naomi: I was only half-serious about the fasting thing. I've never agreed with the idea of it, and I know myself well enough to know that even if I *did* manage to get through a fast, I'd be so starved by the end of it that I'd end up eating everything I could get my hands on afterwards. I've just been keeping on track this week and trying my best not to fall off the wagon.
Emme: "Today is a new day" has become my new mantra. It's helped me so many times when I feel like I've completely messed up.
carter: You have a really good way of looking at this! I've been trying to keep in mind that, yeah, maybe I am four pounds heavier than I was before I left for my vacation, but I'm also fifteen pounds lighter than I was before I went on my LAST trip (which was only at the beginning of May!) So thanks for giving me that insight. <3
NEMom: Oh, those candy bars...they're such sweet temptations, aren't they? I had a couple on my trip, too (and some potato chips...and some soda....and a couple drinks....lol.) But they're soooo good when they're being consumed!
puneri: My mom told me to drink lime water too! I gave it a try, and it seems to have worked! Hopefully my weigh-in will tell the (positive) tale.
lin: I have to admit that I was tempted to skip my weigh-in this week. But when it came right down to it, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew that skipping one weigh-in would make it too easy to skip the next one...and then the next one...and the next thing I knew, I'd be right back where I started. So I figured it was better to face the music, so to speak. *L*
Thanks, everyone, for the great advice and kind words. You're all awesome. <3
Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT.
So you've got that right.
Hang in there!
right? This is how it corrupts you! Hold strong, get back on plan and report back here when the scale cooperates!!
