i just ate a big greasy fast food burger

even after feeling super motivated to eat right and being excited to workout and make this the last time i have to lose weight.....i still eat something i shouldn't eat

i feel hopeless....

What were you going through prior to eating the burger? What were your emotions? One of the hardest things I've had to learn to do is work through my emotions. I would eat for any reason: being happy, sad, anxious, angry, etc.

Don't feel hopeless...it just takes time to work on your emotions and your feelings. You can do it.

don't give up hope! you are not alone in this! wait until the heavy, greasy feeling is gone and the hope will come back! one mistake does not wreck everything. you can do it - just look forward and try not to next time.

i was going to have just a protein shake for breakfast, but i found myself eating pasta salad i (stupidly) made the night before. ugh! it happens, but after 3 hours of being mad at myself, i'm getting back on track. trying to.

next monday i'm joining the weightloss challenge at work. i have realized that i need accountability to keep me disciplined. i'm too much of a self-enabler/rationalizer.

It's one burger, and it's in your rear-view mirror. Now you have the choice to let it stay at "just one burger" or to let guilt drag you into other off-plan choices. You now get to choose whether you're going to keep climbing or fling yourself to the bottom of the canyon because you slipped a few yards down the cliff face.

Burgers aren't poison, they aren't heavenly manna, they're just...food. You had some of it that wasn't exactly conducive to weight loss, but it doesn't have to catapult you into a morass of guilt and hopelessness. It doesn't make YOU "bad" or "stupid" or "weak-willed" or all the other phrases with which we punish ourselves.

You want to make a lifetime change, I'm guessing, by the tone of your post. Well, life includes burgers sometimes. For most of us, the key to making a real, deep, meaningful life change isn't in never eating another burger, it's in being able to plan around them or even plan for them. Every time you sit down to eat, you're confronted with choices; the good news is that that gives you a chance to make smart choices multiple times a day. Instead of dwelling on one calorie-bomb of a choice, think about all the good ones you've made that have led you to your weight losses so far.

Dust yourself off, give yourself a hug, and learn from this. Learn that a misstep is not the same as a failure, that you can accommodate more calorie-dense food into a plan as long as it's a rare occasion, that every choice you make is a fresh one unfettered by remorse or hopelessness.

Please don't let yourself feel hopeless. You certainly aren't.

What she said!

A huge thing for me is not letting one slip up turn into a huge binge because "i already ruined the day."

Now, you can choose to either a.) sulk, dwell, and continue eating, or b.) sulk, dwell, get over it, have a nice salad with some chick peas or chicken on it for dinner, take a walk around the block/do some sit ups during the commercials tonight, and start fresh in the morning

Remember, the success doesn't just come from the food choices-- it comes from the choice to keep working toward your goals and changing your behavior, even after the slip ups.

Hang in there!

I totally understand why you feel upset, but burgers can be a perfectly healthy part of a balanced diet---it is the 'shouldn't eat' mentality that is the problem more than the burger itself. I have been on and off binger since 12, but I have learned that I can have one burger a week, and I won't gain weight! It is about moderation in life---don't beat yourself up so much! There is always another chance to make a healthier choice today

thanks everyone

i don't feel hopeless anymore....it does still feel like i am attempting the impossible...but i do believe impossible things are only impossible because we convince ourselves they are

when i decided to get a burger (and fries ! ..diet soda) it was just sort of mindless cause i'm lazy i guess.....my husband wants to be supportive but doesn't really know how since he still even bothers to ask me if i want something when he's getting it :P ...but i can't blame him, i have to be stronger than that.......i do still hope eventually he understands not to tempt me..hopefully at some point he will follow me in my pursuit of health

thanks again fr the support ..i never had this in previous attempts, so i really think i have a chance this time..it's up to me

When I read this type post, it makes me think calorie counting is the way to go. If you mess up at lunch, skip a snack or have a low calorie one, and go light at dinner. I did not do well on WW, but I do like the way you were allowed a number of flex points for each week.

Don't feel hopeless. The past is over and gone and cannot be changed, and therefore should not be a cause of anxiety. You should focus on the present and what you can do now. You have all the power to change who you are and be the person you want to be, simply by acting as if you already that person in the present. I know you can do it Next time you have a craving for fast food, just come to the forums and post here. In that way, you can acknowledge it, and then move past it.

I'm so glad you're not feeling hopeless anymore; there's no reason to! I do think if you get right back on track with your next meal you'll feel even better.

In the future what might help is to make sure your house is well stocked with the foods on your plan. Plan out each meal so that when your husband or someone else offers you food you're not as tempted.

You can do this!

thanks again everyone


i used to do calorie counting...and i agree it works really well if you can truly devote time to all the measuring and calculating AND manage to not get obsessed....i get obsessed easily and quickly spiral into an ED ......so my therapist does not recommend that i use the calorie counting method..instead i try to eat "intuitively" and really pay attention to my hunger signals and write down all the foods i eat throughout the day.....obviously this doesn't always work :P .....a doctor recommended Medifast to me....it sounds great to me, i am just worried about the taste and all that and i would definitely want to be monitored by a doctor during....and i just don't know if i can afford that....still thinking about it...the cost may be about the same as getting groceries for me...ooh and it just sounds sooo convenient, even easy once i forget about all the junk i normally crave (peanut butter, fries, skittles !).....once when i was vegetarian, i realized i didn't even miss meat after awhile...i wonder if medifast would be similar ?

anyway, that's getting off topic !!.....i will keep in mind whenever i get the urge to overeat or eat something totally unhealthy and full of empty calories to just come on here and vent away !

i really appreciate the support and encouraging words

I think the problem is getting the extras with the burger, like cheese and bacon (and fries and dessert). I have had a Wendy's burger with everything but no mayo (no cheese or bacon either), and it isn't that many calories if I take it home and have it with water or a salad.

That said, don't give up. It's one day.

It's great that you're not feeling hopeless anymore. It's just one day, and there surely will be other days like this throughout your weight loss journey. But what's more important is that you move forward and stick with your plan no matter what happens.

Maybe you need something like BistroMD for a while? So you can learn to focus on hunger, and keep up with that, but not worry about the details of the meal -- cooking it, what it's made of, etc.

Or do exchanges rather than calories? Would that make you obsessive?

I can imagine it is challenging if you are also recovering from ED -- you still have to deal with your health but you can't do some techniques because it can trigger the ED part.

Hang in there, ok?

hugs,
A.

i'm not sure if the exchanges would make me obsessive or not, i've never tried anything like that.....but like calories, i don't know that it is something i could work with.....what is BistroMd?

today i figured out my plan a bit better, and tomorrow i am going to plan all my meals and write out a grocery list which will include eggs, oatmeal, berries, greens, fish, sweet potatoes and whey and casein protein powders.....the whey for after workouts and maybe some mornings, and casein for before bed/dinner if I add a few other things in with the shake.....not considering MediFast anymore...seems to work great for some, but I don't want to risk in anyway that I will just rapidly regain after all my hard work....it just seems too unrealistic for someone who enjoys food/cooking etc

my plan seems basic enough to me, with sound nutrition..yea? there will definitely be some nut butters in there too, but i can't go too overboard with them, but a tbsp smeared on a sweet potato...mmmm.. and i really enjoy the shakes ...i'll post my meal plan once i finish writing it out !

really really Thank You for all this great support...i can't say that enough