I fell completely and unceremoniously off my diet this weekend. It started on Friday when I decided that I could skip my exercise. By Monday I was eating Chocolate Oreo Mudslide Cheesecake for breakfast. It sounds good, doesn't it? Well, it was. It was so good that I had to throw out what was left to stop myself from having it for breakfast again this morning.

Dieting is difficult when you've got enough stress to turn coal into diamonds and an open box of oreos on the kitchen table. I have been looking accusingly at that box all morning. I narrow my eyes, point a finger and mouth the word "you". If I had more self control, I'd close it and put it away. Unfortunately, I worry that if I get within five feet of that chocolaty goodness, I will suck the rest of the box up like a vacuum cleaner. If the sun would come up already, I'd take a walk and forget about how there is a bottle of Dr. Pepper under the desk just begging to stop my sugar cravings. As it is, I'll just sit here and remember that come tomorrow, I can toss every box of cookies, container of sugary cereal and bottle of soda.

I felt a million times better when I was on plan. It wasn't just emotionally, either. I felt good about myself, but I also just felt good. It's amazing how I forget time and time again how great I feel physically when I'm eating right and exercising daily. I don't sleep as much. I have more energy. My system simply wasn't designed for all the crap that I put into it. The worst part is that the more crap you put into your system, the less satisfying healthy foods are.

I watched a program on television a few weeks ago where they said that research has shown that food can be just as physically addicting as drugs or alcohol. When you eat, dopamine is released in your brain causing pleasure. Unfortunately, over time, it takes more and more food to get the same level of enjoyment and satisfaction that one initially got. When you add sugar into the mix, the situation just gets worse. Luckily, exercise releases dopamine, but it also increases the number of dopamine receptors.

I've tried dieting without exercising before, and I was always curious as to why it didn't work. I was taking away one of my primary forms of pleasure, and I wasn't replacing it with anything else. As it is, there's a very good chance that I already have fewer dopamine receptors than the average person (obese people generally do). What it comes down to is that exercise is outright more important than dieting. Sure, this is old news, but I never completely considered it.

What I'm really trying to say is: My diet didn't go to **** on Saturday when I had Taco Bell for lunch. It went to **** on Friday when I couldn't be bothered to get my butt on that treadmill.

Sorry for rambling.

Winter Wonder, ramble away! There seems to be a pattern to the threads this week (or is it me?) I have been off and on the wagon for a few weeks now, and I was getting so fustrated because it was my own fault and then I would beat myself up over it, and oh, look is that a chocolate bar on the counter? I am glad to know that I am not the only human vacuum out there! I also know what you mean about feeling better when you are sticking to plan. After a binge, I feel, I don't know how to describe it other than "thick". I feel "thick". I feel like I am moving in slow motion, I am sweating (yes, women sweat), my pulse is elevated and to top it off I am mad that I did it in the first place. I totally believe that you can be food addict, and recognizing that is a major accomplishment. I also know if I have been on plan the first few days, I feel headaching because my body is purging all the garbage I have put into my system. Why oh why does it have to taste so good!

Excercising is tough, and there are days when I just can not face it, but after you get into a routine, you really miss it when you don't do it. Also I have found any gains you have made in endurance or strength, goes right down the toilet if you do not keep up. I have found if I have been excercising regularly, and I do happend to slip (or plunge headlonging screaming off a cliff) the scale is much kinder to me. Sort of like my body saying, okay, so you had that Big Mac from Mickey D's , but I forgive you.

Kudos to you for pledging to remove temptation!

Well, I feel your pain. I didn't totally blow it with junk food, but I've been less than stellar since last week due to just plain overeating. I, too, started having problems when I slacked off on exercising. And I think you are right...exercising is as important or more important than what you eat.

I think exercise motivates you to eat better; I mean, who wants to go to the trouble of exercising & then eat a half gallon of ice cream? And I've noticed that everyone I know personally who have successfully lost weight did so with regular exercise. So do what I did yesterday, get back on the treadmill, and get to truckin'!

I don't know if you want a top that or anything but boy oh boy can I!

I have 2 kids. The oldest is 11 the youngest is 2 this week. My husband and I haven't been able to date because we have babysitting issues. So we finally asked grandma and she said yes! and it was overnight. We knew this on wed. So we planned this date where drove out 25 miles away to get the best fried chicken in the state. But that is all they have fried chicken, fried okra and beer! It was more about atmosphere but I had no problem eating. Then we went to a neighborhood bar that is so much fun and sat and listened to music and talked and had more ice cold draft beer

I guess the difference this time is that I planned for this. I didn't eat my normal food all day. I didn't eat normally the next day- I ate less because of the day before. And Monday morning I went back to eating every couple hours.

Anyway mudslide for breakfast is okay- you have a whole week to make up for it!

Carol - I haven't so much pledged to remove temptation as I desperately have to. I still haven't moved the cookies from the table, and they're still calling to me. My sister is thing and pregnant, though, so when she wants cookies, she buys and eats half a bag. How she manages it without weight gain is beyond me. She and her husband are moving out tomorrow, so there will no longer be any reason for those horribly delicious cookies to be in this house.

TakinBabySteps - Aside from the breakfast cheesecake, I didn't really eat too much junk food. I have been doing the South Beach Diet, though, so having chicken and biscuits for dinner is currently just as bad as a box of cookies. Getting motivated and back on diet isn't going to be easy for me.

goalnorolls - I was actually being rather kind to myself by not divulging the extent of my cheat-fest. I ate out for every meal this weekend, and I went out for margaritas . . . twice. Well, I figured I should get it out of my system before getting back on this diet. After all, margaritas are off plan, and I love the evil little things.

At least you are here and ready to put that whole weekend behind you and get going again. I had imitation oreos in the house over the weekend. I knew right where they were at and could've eaten the rest of the bag by myself. You know what I did instead? I hurried up and crushed the whole thing and threw it in the trash before I could talk myself out of it. I'm not one who wastes food either so for me to throw something away I paid good money for was a great accomplishment.

I know you either love or hate Dr. Phil but one of his keys to weight loss is to have a no-fail environment. If oreos and dr. pepper are going to cause you to overeat, don't let them into your house. Have you tried to possibly switch to diet dr. pepper. It's probably the one diet that tastes most like the original. I made the switch to diet about 1 1/2 years ago and now there are only a couple of varieties that I can taste the aftertaste. I had to give it about 6-9 months but one day I stopped noticing that it tasted different.

I'm the same as you when I don't get in my exercise. When I get it in and am doing it, I don't have the emotional cravings I once did and am more apt to eat healthy. HTH.

The only problem with the no-fail environment is that I'm living with family. While my mother is fine with going along with whatever diet I feel like being on (as long as there is something to eat when she gets home from work), my older sister is a vegetarian who hates vegetables. Somehow, she manages to live off of potatoes and cheese without gaining weight. The oreos and Dr. Pepper are hers. Nothing would please me more than to just throw them out, but I can't do that until tomorrow when she (hopefully) moves out. After all, she bought the oreos and Dr. Pepper, and she'll kill me if I toss them.

I'm really good with will power . . . until I make a tiny mistake. I'm the kind of person who won't spend a dime until I break a twenty, then all of my money is gone. I have a big bag of chocolate sitting on my dresser. It makes me feel incredible every day that I wake up, look at it, and don't touch it. The good thing is that as long as the bag remains sealed, I can look at it every day without worrying. The problem is that if I ever convince myself to take just one chocolate, the bag will be gone. After all, if I've ruined my diet with one chocolate . . . why not just keep going?

They way I'm figuring it right now is that the way I feel every time I actively choose not to take a chocolate is more than worth the weight gain that will happen if I eat the whole bag.

That does make it more difficult when you are at the mercy of others. If she doesn't move out, you might suggest to her that she get a cabinet or other space where she can put her goodies and keep them out of site and not let you know she's brought them into the house.

yeah that is a good idea. have her make her own cabinet.
I agree its hard. For awhile my husband wanted regular chips and I'd get myself baked lays then suddenly my oldest son ate my baked lays so now we aren't buying anymore chips.
Obviously this is different than a sister.

prozac gets perscribed a lot of times to people struggling with obessesive compulsive disorders, eating disorders, and depression (or a mix) because it boosts serotonin levels.

I definitely feel mentally better after I exercise.

My bf loves to have chocolate, ho hos, devil dogs, etc. He is 150lbs and can eat that stuff every day. It can be tough sometimes to not eat it when it's right in front of me, especially if I'm having a high stress day. I do have a day off the diet when I can indulge a craving (not a binge day).

I think one thing that helps me is to think along the lines that I'm managing a way of eating. Everything is ok in moderation. I'm trying make my diet healthier. Definitely a work in progress.

Rob always tells me to drop the guilt if I do go overboard, and just get back on the wagon. Guilt really can sabotage me. Hope that helps!

Winter :: I am the same way. Great with will power, until I make one mistake. As you know we both were swayed some this weekend. For me it started with just having to have a tiny piece of a sliver of my grandma's fried porkchops. Just say no has a whole new meaning for me since I started this journey. What more can we do than acknowledge our errors, learn from them, and press on? We can and will get back on that proverbial wagon.

As it turns out, my sister is now moving on Thursday. Even if I asked very nicely, it is unlikely that she'll move the food from the table. I think I can survive one more day of oreos and bagels and frappucinos and Dr. Pepper in plain site. It's hard to tell, though. I had to spend today out of the house or upstairs to cope. I might just have to do the same tomorrow.

Marge - Don't get me started on depression and prozac. I might never stop. I will have to start talking about dopamine versus serotonin and their interactions. Then, I'll start going on about how children should not be medicated with most anti-depressants (particularly prozac). Next, I'll be babbling about ADHD overdiagnosis. After that, I'll be rambling about the evils of school. You're on the verge of a full blown OT rant. I'm going to stop myself, though. I will not talk about any of that.

On a more related note, my boyfriend is always denying that I'm the least bit overweight. He loves to cook, and he would probably feed me up to the size of a large hippopotamus if given the chance. Thankfully, after much pressuring from my end, he has agreed to be supportive of my efforts.

Shannon - I have done so well today. I didn't get back to exercising, but I'm sure I'll have that down by tomorrow. After all, sleeping for two hours instead of exercising for one did NOT agree with me. We're doing well as buddies, though. We even stray from the diet at the same time. Well, that might not be what buddies are supposed to do. But, at least we both got back on plan at about the same time.

All good rant topics.

Rob's a good cook too, and I like to cook, especially bake. Yikes. It's required some re-aligning of goals and hobbies.

He's never pressured me to lose weight. He actually helps me to keep a balanced view of it; I think I would start to get more obsessed and fanatical on my own. We tend to joke about the weight, which helps me take it less seriously (not so much putting myself down as much as keeping a sense of humor about the whole thing).

He's not a saint and we have our issues. Some good stuff there too.

That's rough when you have people in the house that want all the bad stuff around. I think if I had a sister that would not help me by keeping stuff put away, I would be tempted to just toss it in the trash when she left it out. Maybe then she would be willing to put it away. Have you talked to her about it. Maybe she would not have the reaction that you think. Most people are willing to help when they can. Although coming from a family of 6 kids I can understand how sisters and brothers can be.

She actually moved out this evening, so I'm going to clear out all of the bad stuff in the morning. I actually tried talking to her the last time I decided to try eating healthier, but she really didn't put in much effort to keep the junk food out of the way. I suppose it doesn't matter, now. I officially control the kitchen.