Is diet fatigue a real thing? If so, I think I have it. I started my weigh loss effort in January of 2012 and since then, I've lost 76 pounds. However, I lost most of that between January and September. Since September of 2012, this weight loss gig has been a real struggle. I had a job for a while where I traveled for business and almost every time I went on a business trip, I landed face first in free beer and free food. The whole time on was on that job, from August 2012 until May of 2013, I was on a weight loss roller coaster where I'd gain weight one week while traveling, then lose it the next week or so, then gain it back, then lose it...
In May of this year, I got another job where I don't have to travel at all. I thought my diet problems were solved! Not only do I no longer have to travel, but my new employer and facilities are very weight loss friendly. So, I jumped right back on the wagon and started losing weight again, right?
Not so much.
As of this morning, I'm up 2 pounds from my lowest weight.
I'm having a really tough time finding my groove again. I know what I need to do to lose weight. I do. Yet I find myself eating a little over my calorie/points budget almost every day. It's a slice of pound cake here, a small order of fries over there, a few extra ounces of beef here, an extra tablespoon of dressing over there, a bag of popcorn yesterday, an extra piece of chicken the day before...
It's this pattern that I can't seem to shake right now coupled with the fact that I'm thinking about food all the blasted time. I'm constantly thinking about what I can eat next and when, even while I'm eating. I'm also hungry a lot more. It's not just emotional hunger although there's a good portion of that. Right around the evening meal and right around lunch I'm getting moody, gut-growly, getting the shakes hungry.
Even then with the extra stuff I'm eating, according to my food tracker, I'm not anywhere near maintenace calories for my height and weight, yet I've been gaining the last two weeks. For example, this week, I ate a total of 900 extra calories. I gained a pound.
Ugh.
I know I just need to suck it up and get back to eating like I should but I am finding that extraordinarily difficult. I'm just sulky and childish and mean right now.
Ugh.
I'm not sure if I need a good kick in the rear end or if I just ought to set my calories/points to maintenance for a while or what.
Ugh.
Did I say ugh?
Last edited by Garnet2727; 06-28-2013 at 01:35 PM.
Diet fatigue is totally real. Wait until you hit a 4 month stall, then it REALLY sucks!!!
I've actually taken breaks from the beginning, every six weeks or so, when I'm frustrated I up my cals or add a cheat food. I don't full blown QUIT, but I relax. You may need to do this for a while.
If you feel you can't "break" - and a lot of people can't, maybe find a new activity or hobby that will distract you.
Been there, done that. I started my diet plan at 304 lbs. in August 2012. For the first 5 months it was clear sailing and I even survived the holidays and lost weight. By Jan. 2013 I was 257. Then I stalled out for months and yo-yoed up and down 3 lbs back and forth.
Finally in April I decided things had to change. I started using MyFitnessPal to track every calorie and discovered my little "cheats" were really adding up. So I just cut out those foods entirely. No ice cream, no cereal, no bread, no pasta, no potatoes, not even a little bite. I discovered it's much easier when I don't have to think about the portion size or whether I am over the calorie limit--I just don't allow myself any of the high carb foods that contain wheat, sugar, rice or potatoes. The benefit is that I am never hungry now. There is a major news article out this week that proves that high-glycemic foods even affect the part of your brain that create addictions and cravings.
The second part I changed was adding more exercise into my routine. I now go to the gym 4 nights per week, and 3 of these nights include a 1 hour aerobics dance class. I also try to exercise on the weekend by riding a bicycle or playing golf or even just walking the dogs at the local dog park.
Since I upgraded my diet and exercise, I have lost another 20 lbs. in the past 3 months.
Of course diet fatigue is real. Otherwise, there would only be weight losers and no regains. It's hard. It is worst than quitting smoking was -- which was a cake walk compared to trying to change eating habits.
One trick that has helped me is that I think of the high carb/high calorie foods like they're drugs. I have no trouble telling myself that doing drugs is not something I want in my life. Ever. So, once I moved the high carb/high calorie foods into that category, it helped me with not indulging in them. One poster mentioned that there's now scientific studies that the high carb/high sugar foods cause addictive behaviors in the brain. Maybe thinking of these foods as drugs isn't so crazy.
It really is unbelievable HOW FAST weight comes back on after being off plan for awhile. I hear the people that say 'it's water weight' and all that jazz, but I'm telling you, I've had a couple of weeks off plan where I'm gaining 2 or 3 real pounds that don't just quickly come off like water weight, and I'm only eating 2000 calories a day those days.
That's why I believe bmr is really total nonsense when you're talking to long term dieters. Our bodies don't follow normal patterns anymore. No wonder so many people gain weight back.
So I hear you, I'm there with you, and I'm SICK of thinking about food all the freaking time.
BUT, I'm not going to stop going. If we have to obsess about food all the time, at least make it count for something and get back to making the scale go in the other direction. Like you said, you know what to do, just DO IT.
Thanks, y'all. It's good to know that there are others who have had similar experiences. I am doing much better today.
I have been stalled in the 220s for 4 months now. Until today. I'm actually down to 219.5. I guess I just need to whine a bit to get the scale to move!
Sorry to resurrect this old thread but, well, damn. It would appear that my latest stall was because I wasn't eating enough. Since I wrote the OP, I dropped a pound. I was down another pound on the scale this morning and while I know that could definitely change by my weigh in day on Sunday, it is certainly encouraging.
I'm still eating more than I did in May when I was staying stringently at or below my daily points/calorie allowance. For those who follow the WW plan, I'm delving into my weekly points every day. For calorie counters, I'm finishing each day right around 200 calories over my daily allowance.
I'm really kind of flabbergasted by this. I think this is the first time in my life that my body, with sending me hunger signals, was actually telling me something useful. I dunno, I'm having trouble articulating what is going on up in my head. By increasing my food intake just a little I'm satiated and losing again.
July i decided to really kick it up a notch after nearly 4 months of hardly losing any weight a few lbs here and there.
New diet, new fitness plan. Hopefully it will force me over into the 150's