I've allowed myself to be overcome with all of life's stresses (full time overnight job, full time school, almost two year old son, unemployed severely depressed boyfriend).

I've just spent the last three weeks eating my weight in Halloween candy and anything else I can get my hands on, basically undoing all the good I've worked so hard for for the past two months. I'm petrified to weigh myself for fear of the amount of weight I've gained.

I've lost all motivation to workout, talking myself out of it because "I'm too tired," "I have too much homework," or "What's the point?" as I eat another pastry.

I was doing so well and was feeling really awesome with the weight I had lost and was maintaining and now I feel like an absolute failure.

How do I put a stop on this downward spiral? I need help!!!

Take it day by day. Start with changing one thing at a time. Say, go for a 20 min walk everyday. Or cut out a particular food.

I am sorry for all the stressors in your life! It sounds like a lot to deal with. But you are NOT a failure.

The way I get past a binge is forgetting about it. It's in the past. You just have to move on and do the best you can from this moment on.

Something else I'm learning, too, is to have grace with myself. I used to have a few "good" days where I'd stuck to my diet perfectly and worked out a ton. And then I'd slip up and eat a cookie at a party or something and feel like I'd completely "ruined" my diet, panic, get depressed, and binge eat until all the food in the house was gone... So, instead of just allowing myself to have "treats" every once in a while or having an off day where I don't eat as healthy, I would eat the entire house from depression.

Give yourself grace and let yourself know that it's OK to mess up every once in a while or even for 3 weeks straight... and then move on and forget about it. You cannot change the past now but can choose what you do this very day. These are words I am trying to live by! I hope this helps! And just know that I've been there and I understand.

Constant vigilance! Or as my roommate, a Parappa The Rappa fan says constantly "Ya gotta believe!"

Make a plan - just for today, or just for the next couple of hours if that's what you can do. Don't think crazy thoughts in absolutes (e.g. I will NEVER eat candy again!). They are frought with failure.

Like pinkpolkadotpup said, try to change 1 or 2 things - swap out something high fat wth something low fat, go for a walk, drink 8 glasses of plain water, etc. If going cold turkey on the candy/pastries is too much, just start by cutting back - commit to 1 "goodie" each day at a time of day that feels most in control for you (after lunch maybe?).

It only takes a few wins to get your mojo back. It was 3 weeks, not 3 years - you have NOT undone everything, you've just taken a detour. Life is like that. Give yourself a hug, be KIND to you the way you would if a friend was telling you this story about herself, and march forward.

Oh, and consider purging your house of candies/pastries/ice cream/etc. You can't eat it if it ain't there! Makes the decision a little easier .

Thank you so much for the kind and encouraging words everyone!

You're all so right...I'll take everything you've all said and put it to work. I needed a bit of a motivational pep up, and for that, I thank you sooooo much!

pinkpolkadotpup and cherylmn, I'm going to take it a couple of hours at a time and I'm purging my house of the candy tonight. I'm taking it to work to bribe the girls with, and I'm going to lock it up in the med cabinets to make it that more difficult for me to get at!

Nebuchadnezzar, you are so right. I'm lacking in willpower so constant vigilance (a la Mad Eye Moody!) is a good thing for me to develop.

I am in the exact same boat. I found out I was pregnant 10 days ago (unplanned, so I'm not jumping for joy or anything, in fact, I was pretty depressed) and the news sent me into a tailspin of horrible eating. HORRIBLE. I mean, fast food, chocolate, pizza, etc. In fact, I just finished eating cheesecake and taco bell. I feel disgusting and ashamed of myself.

I've been off plan for 10 days, but I was on plan for about 30 before that. I WILL get back on the wagon tomorrow. The longer I delay it, the harder it will become.

One thing I have realized though is that I don't even *like* what I am doing. i don't enjoy eating these horrible things that are bad for me. I feel sick, disgusting, ashamed, pathetic, and I know I'm only hurting myself.

Just because you end up taking a few steps back doesn't make you a failure, sometimes in life you NEED to take those step backs in order to move FORWARD. It's a life learning process and we are as humans ALWAYS way to hard on ourselves when in reality there is so much we can be thankful for.

So you had a downward spirl for 3 weeks, that's nothing tomorrow is a new day, as the day after tomorrow is as well. Take each step at a time and start changing the things you CAN change as the girls have said. Eventually things will start to look up, hey it's life there are always Obstacles to over come, that’s what makes it exciting (or not)

Good luck, you are never a failure at life unless you decided to take your life away. their is always a new day to fix things.

I'm sure you will succeed if you just take it one day at a time. Also, make sure you get plenty of sleep - when I'm overly tired/stressed, my willpower disappears. Good luck, and get back on that horse!