So lately I have been stuggling. In fact, I have struggled my way up to 145. I was sitting at 137 earlier in the summer, but all my hard work flew out the window in the weeks leading up to my wedding. While I've stuck to working out (or at least keeping to a jogging schedule), we were eating out all the time. As my waistline grew (and my jeans grew snug!) so did my fear of stepping on the scale (with good reason!).
This week is the turnaround. I'm back OP, have shopped accordingly and have recommited to going to the gym. I have also implemented some ground rules:
-NO eating out. I have a planned dinner in October for a friend's birthday and I can look forward to that. My favorite thai take-out place has been removed from my speed dial
-Cut out the drinking. Wine became a regular part of my evening and now it's a habit- and I never counted it. A glass of wine is NOT a reward for working out! I haven't had any since last Friday.
-No white stuff. DH is "used" to having rice/bread/pasta every day, but I simply can't. He is on board with other options at dinner because I can't cook it without eating it. Abstinence is key here.
-Sugar is not an acceptable reward for eating a good dinner. I have been sugar free for almost 4 days and you know what? I haven't killed myself or anyone around me
These are seemingly reasonable expectations. I have been a "maintainer" for 4years and these were the practices I implemented to lose the weight. When I need to "reel myself back in" this is what I do and it works for me.
My problem? The weight isn't FLYING off!! I want results and I want them now!
I lost my weight relatively easily and quickly. I didn't own a scale so my weigh-ins were infrequent. I got results and I got 'em fast (I don't even remember being a 12 and was a 14 for all of 2 weeks). Thus, I've developed a big problem with slow weight loss. I get discouraged very easily and lose interest. It's a constant and exhausting battle. I wish I could go back and bottle that hellbent determination. I could use some now!
So I need some wisdom that it WILL come off... eventually. I'm going to stick to my tried and true plan, not just to lose weight, but to not feel like a bloated mess.
And that's it. That's where I'm at. I'm so glad I have this forum. I've really needed to get this stuff "out in the universe", you know?
I can identify! I lost my weight fairly quickly as well, but it's been much harder to get these few pounds off. I gained them during our move, we ate out a lot. Restaurants can get you!
You're already doing great! You continued your exercise program, which I think is huge. For me that's always first to go. Getting back to healthy eating will help and you'll start to see a loss in no time!
Congratulations on your marriage! What an exciting time!
Jen, thanks for posting. I feel like I'm in the same kind of place. I gained some weight due to various reasons (one of which was my wedding! ) and I've been trying to get it back off for 11 months now. The first time around, I lost my last 10 lbs in three months. I thought it was incredibly slow at the time, but now that I can't seem to lose at all I am just getting sooooooo frustrated!
I keep getting that feeling of "Why am I trying to lose this weight? It obviously won't come off, so maybe I should just settle down with it." The problem is that every so often I'll have a few weeks where I'll lose 1lb/week, then I will gain ALL of it back in one weekend and have to start over. I know what to do to lose, and I am doing it, it's just not working. I guess I just need to cut back more and work out more.
The problem is that every so often I'll have a few weeks where I'll lose 1lb/week, then I will gain ALL of it back in one weekend and have to start over.
Wow. Talk about a "he** yes"! That was one of the underlying issues. I actually had to get DH on board with the fact that our weekends HAVE to look exactly like our OP weekdays. It takes nothing to undo weeks of hard work over a couple of days off plan. I think that's the most frustrating part, that I really have no wriggle room. He has put on about 20 pounds over the past year, so he has agreed to go my way for a while
I really thought I was the only person on earth who gained weight before their wedding. Everyone else I know magically loses weight before their wedding. I really felt like a freak of nature.
Thanks, zenor! It helps so much to re-focus when I haven't completely let go. And exercise for me is such a necessary stress reducer.
Jen~we're both in the same spot. I was down to 136 and over the past two years I let it slip and now I'm 151.5. My doctor wants me at 135-138 so I'm now in the planning stages of following his directions. The book he wants me to follow bans "whites", "beiges" and "browns". After a couple of weeks, "browns" are allowed back in, but the "whites" are banned forever (or at least a very rare treat as that's what my doctor does and he follows this same plan). Whites means pasta--a favorite of mine. Anyway, I have a feeling that these 15 pounds are not going to go away as fast as I would prefer them to, but I will get there--I am determined!
The book he wants me to follow bans "whites", "beiges" and "browns"...I have a feeling that these 15 pounds are not going to go away as fast as I would prefer them to, but I will get there--I am determined!
yeah, I very conveniently forgot about the "beiges" and "browns"...
You go, girl! Good for you for taking the reigns! Sometimes it's so hard to face it and it definitely helps to have the doc on board. I didn't eat pasta for several months and slowly re-introduced them. It actually worked for a long while...
Allison - does the plan allow whole wheat pasta? Visually it is either beige or brown . . . Our local grocery store brand whole wheat pasta is actually pretty good. It takes a little getting used to, and it costs more, but it's not really white!
Jen - Yeah, I had been maintaining for nearly a year by the time I got married, but my eating and exercise fell apart the couple months leading up to it between having to go to a million appointments, celebratory dinners, family in town, etc etc. I didn't even consider it on my honeymoon because I just wanted to enjoy myself. I totally threw myself into losing again when I got back from the honeymoon, but instead I gained! Then it turned out I had hypothyroidism, which explained how I was gaining on 1300 cals/day and 1 hour exercise per day.
Anyway I'm still having my thyroid med dosage adjusted but I feel like I should be able to lose this weight, I just fall apart on the weekends!
Part of my brain still wants to see the 8lbs or even more that I would lose per week when I was in my teens and twenties. My brain just won't wrap itself around struggling to lose one stinkin' pound (on a really "good" week).
All of my life, every weight loss attempt was just a tiny bit little less impressive than the one before it, signifying a reduction in metabolism, no doubt. But then getting sick and not being able to exercise nearly as much as I burned off just being an active person with lots of stuff to do (I didn't always exercise, but I was always "going somewhere" not only at work, but in my free time too), really dropped my metabolism in the basement.
In the past, I would get discouraged and give up at the weight loss I consider "great" now. It's very hard to make that mental shift to "lowered expectations," though, and all I can say is what helped me is simply just plain ol' practice. Reminding myself each and everytime I get disappointed to reframe the negative thought into a positive one and keep going.
Jessica~I would think that whole wheat pasta would be okay (it's all I use now anyway) but it isn't specified. The only wheat that he allows back into the plan is whole wheat tortillas--not even regular wheat breads. I don't quite understand the reasoning. Perhaps if I paid better attention when reading!!!
I really thought I was the only person on earth who gained weight before their wedding. Everyone else I know magically loses weight before their wedding. I really felt like a freak of nature.
I gained 15 lbs during our 5 month engagement and then 10 extra lbs during the honeymoon period (putting me really close to my highest weight ever~this was before I found 3fc.) Trust me, you aren't alone. I know of a few other women who gained before their weddings.
The downfall of a rapid weightloss
. I would love to get back there...
) and I've been trying to get it back off for 11 months now. The first time around, I lost my last 10 lbs in three months. I thought it was incredibly slow at the time, but now that I can't seem to lose at all I am just getting sooooooo frustrated!
