Hooray jendilly for getting Day 1 under your belt (so to speak)!

And thank you for your honesty - so many of us struggle to stay OP and it is good to see someone trying to understand the whys of going off plan and how hard it is to get back to staying OP.

We need you too - individually we are strong, as a group we are mighty!

Here's hoping you have a great Day 2!

There is strength in numbers...and everyone's experience helps someone else on their journey. Whatever you're feeling...
Someone (s)here can relate to it and give you the "Atta girl"....or kind of support you need at the moment.

I just read this on another blog and thought you might find it helpful:

ONEKIDSMOM wrote the most incredible blog yesterday, detailing months of struggles, good intentions, and false starts here on SP before she got it right:

www.sparkpeople.com/mypa
ge_public_journal_individu
al.asp?blog_id=5681016

I just want to share that I went through similar times. I started over and over. Sometimes I started over 10 days in a row. I, unfortunately, don't have that documentation on SP. I was already at my WW goal weight (BMI 25) when I got here, but using SP I surprised myself and was able to get far healthier and fitter (BMI 21-22). Oh, but I have documented slips and getting back on track, for I have frequently (yes frequently) eaten more than I really wanted to. I'm still working on improving my eating 5 years and 5 months after I started this healthy journey.

The most important factor for success is NOT GIVING UP. Be determined. Keep trying no matter what. Believe you will get it right, even when you can't today. Do your best each day and you will see improvement. Don't waste time and effort beating yourself up. Accept it is hard. Be patient with yourself but be honest. Do not accept excuses. It can be done even when it is really hard and there are frequent slips. Even if you've struggled for weeks, months, or years, you can get it right. If you keep trying, you will!!!

Very well said hiker.
Its a long journey for most of us and when the journey is long you are bound to hit road blocks and peaks and valleys. The idea is to take each one as a challenge/hurdle and do your best to overcome it. Occasionally you will fail but in order to complete your journey you have to make several attempts before you get through it

best of luck to you

Thank you again. I truly respect everyone that posted here and gave your insight and honesty.

I'm happy to say that I went in today for my WI and I'm down 3.5 pounds! It's strange to me that I've cheated so much the last few weeks and I can still lose, but I'll take it. It would've been more had I stayed on plan completely. I didn't go in last week (my coach was gone) so this was a 2 week WI.

Day 2 of back to 100%. I'm going to have a rough weekend with a big 3 day event away at a hotel, which will include a dessert auction (it's orientation weekend for Miss WA) I already told someone, this is a pageant event...the girls won't be eating the desserts anyway, just the families and volunteers. Can't we do a Salad Auction instead?

Well I have officially screwed up......

I have been on a two day carb binge, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!

I am so mad at myself....I've had everything from donuts to pizza - I know I've gained at least 3-5 pounds in the last two days. Have had 3 sodas!

I have been on this program for so long, why now?! I don't even know what triggered it.

All I know to do is get back on track tomorrow, and don't turn back. This is ALWAYS how my weight has come back!!

Someone HELP!! This cannot be happening again!!

Don't be mad, just refocus your energy into going back on plan. There is no way you gained all that weight, it is just water weight and will flush out after 3-4 days. It seems that this 3 month mark is a bit of a struggle for all of us.

Jendilly, I could have written your post. I've been at the same weight for over a month for EXACTLY the same reasons you posted. A bite here and there - every day. I am within 15 pounds of my goal, but having lost 65 I admit I'm pretty happy with how I'm looking, and how my clothes feel, and the size I'm in, so I've continued to be "on the program" with my packages, water and veggies - but then am adding the extra bites. Maybe I should just be truthful with myself that I'm in maintenance. But I am so scared to go off the packages and gain back. This is not doable long term, it's too expensive. So I need to do it RIGHT and phase off properly. Like you, I need to refocus, buckle down and lose those last few pounds first. We have come so far!! It's not time to stop yet. Let's do it together.

I agree with kontesanera - you are human so don't be so hard on yourself. Just get back at it! Can't change the past, so learn from it and keep moving onward. And if you need a pep talk all of us here are ready to give you one!

Thank you for understanding. I'm not stopping now...pushing forward to goal. I may not hit my "target date", but I will hit my target weight. It feels so nice to not be alone in this. I was feeling like I couldn't post here because no one would understand. I was worried about being judged...or ignored. It took a lot for me to post this thread and I was ready to delete it and go away.

To everyone that has struggled or is struggling, please reach out to those here. I know I care about your success as well as your struggles. Not going to tell you that it's always easy to stay on plan, but I'm going to encourage you to always try your hardest to stay there. Once you stray, it's so hard to come back...but it's WORTH the effort! You're worth it.

Read this quote today and it really hit me as true:

If you think you are beaten you are, if you think you dare not, you don't. If you like to win, but you think you can't, it is almost certain you won't.

I think what hit me about it is that it really applies to the way I was thinking before starting IP. I had so much weight to lose and it seemed like an insurmountable problem. Just starting was so hard because I kept thinking of it as "I need to lose more than 100 pounds and that's huge." It seemed like an impossible task and I couldn't imagine myself doing it.

The first few weeks (and some days since) I spent a lot of time telling myself "just focus on today. You aren't going to go off plan today. Don't worry about tomorrow." It helped. When faced with something not OP that I wanted to eat I repeated that above over and over in my head.

Somewhere along the line, something clicked and it became easier and easier to stay OP. Maybe just getting in the habit of it? Maybe the fact that I was doing great and really starting to like seeing the numbers go down? Maybe feeling so much better in general? I don't know, I just know it got easier most of the time. Was still hard sometimes, but I got through it.

Sorry for the long post - the quote made me start reflecting on my journey so far and I was thinking of the struggles all of us go through to stay OP and make this work.

To those who are struggling, be nice to yourself - don't beat yourself up, just make the next bite you put in your mouth OP (I know, easier typed than done). Part of this journey is learning why we managed to get in the position to need IP - what are our triggers? Slips along the way happen sometimes, what's important is how you deal with the future.

to everyone!

This same sentiment works for stalls
All too often I see people post that their stall (or slowdown) is so demoralizing they want to eat off plan. To me, this diminishes or negates all the progress. One of the reasons many people don't maintain is because they no longer get that constant positive feedback of the scale going down. Unless they look at the flatline as progress as well, it'll go up again.

Maintenance of a significant weight loss is just as much daily ongoing progress as losing weight. It takes fortitude.

So, no matter what the struggle: losing, maintaining, or getting back on plan, it really is in our mental attitude. It is totally possible to change your thoughts. Change your "mind", change yourself! Anyone who needs to learn how, I suggest internalizing the info in the Beck Diet Solution book

Absolutely true Lisa! And I keep meaning to order that book - it's on my "do do" list which currently has about 83 things on it. Off to order now!

Okay ladies.....today is a new day, I've got this!!

Thank you for the support! I am going to take one day at a time and not get so overwhelmed with the program! I did so great for 11 weeks! I will not let this get me down!!

LET'S DO THIS!!!

Congratulations on getting back into the good fight. You must pat yourself on the back for maintaining and then realizing you are in trouble and then asking for help. Great job! Today is only my first day so I am looking up to you for staying with it and taking good care of yourself. Hope to see more of your posts as you continue your journey.

Have a blessed day!

Joanne