[DollyR]

When the weekend comes......I just get bored at home or go out with my friends of which eating is a part of .....the only time I actually stay pretty close to plan is with my boyfriend because he eats very healthy food and I don't want to look like a pig with him......

[lilybelle]

If I skip a meal I'm much more likely to indulge and have food that I shouldn't have.

[beautifulone]

If I don't get enough sleep! I need my sleep

[lucky]

I never stay on program when I....

1. Make excuses for my own bad choices or, worse, blame them on someone else. I don't care how angry someone makes me or how stressful my day is it is nobody's fault but my own if I CHOOSE to make it worse by stuffing my face with food. I can't always control what goes on around me but I can control how I react. If I don't acknowledge that what I eat (or don't eat) is MY responsiblity and no one else's then it is easy to allow myself to get off track.

2. Confuse a splurge with a binge. They aren't interchangeable and a planned splurge (or even an impulsive one) does not negate all of the effort I'm put in up to that point. Neither does a binge, of course, but if I assign the same emotion to a splurge as comes naturally with a binge then I almost always take up the, "I've blown it" attitude. And that attitude is another EXCUSE I give myself to eat what I want, when I want.

[shelby897]

I never stay on program when I'm overtired and since I work at night, this happens a lot. I can do amazing all day but once about 11:00 p.m. hits me I just lose. I have to learn to follow my own rule of no eating after dinner!!!

[Cheryl14]

Hi All!

I must admit that I find myself responding as all of you have! I have probably used every excuse in the world to deny that I was eating too much or that I weighed as much as I did!

I think my number one reason for slipping off my program , though, is when I fail to think of myself and my own needs. I am GREAT at taking care of everyone else but am a real neophyte when it comes to really caring for myself. I KNOW that I am not alone on this and that most of you probably take way better care of everyone than you do/did your own body, too!

I am beginning to notice the signs when I am reverting back to my old ways, though, and can now stop myself from ignoring my own needs. It has taken me many, many years to be able to do this! Ironically I think that by focusing on caring for others and trying so hard to meet THEIR needs and wants and desires, I was giving myself permission to think of myself as a less than worthy person. Then, as an inferior being, I rationalized that since I really didn't MATTER MUCH, what did it really matter if I ate too much or exercised too little?!!

I used to think that weight loss was calories in/calories out, of picking the right diet and sticking to it for a long enough time. I now know that those things are literally the tip of the iceberg; I first need to care about myself and love myself.

How can a person ONE HUNDRED POUNDS over a healthy body weight even begin to SAY that they love themselves?!! When I think of all I have put my body through over the years of being so heavy I just want to CRY!!!

Fortunately, I now take time for ME! I am speaking up for what I need and want. I have become healthier in my body but even MORE healthy in my MIND.

This site and all you great people have played a HUGE part in my success, and I can't thank you enough for showing me that I am not alone in my daily struggles!

Cheryl

[shelby897]

Cheryl -- you have hit the point I'm sure a lot of us are thinking. We put ourselves last -- we would never let our children eat like we do or would reach out to anyone we know who had the same problems but blow ours under the rug. You definitely have the right mind set to reach your goal -- good luck!!