I am so discouraged as of now. I lost some wieght, but not all. Lately, I am on this "I have to eat everything in sight" binge. I am not pregnant, so I know that is not the reason for my overeating. Am I just depriveing myself? It has happened before, but I got right back on track. I did not get down on myself for it before, so why am I so depressed and beating myself up right now?

Cholie, I'm sorry you're having a rough time.
Do you have anything emotional going on in your life right now? Is the weather getting you down? Stress at work/home? Sometimes just writing down our stressers and seeing them on paper makes them more managable.
And sometimes we just need a break from trying to be "perfect". I've lost 11 pounds so far, but I've really fallen off the wagon over the past two weeks. It's almost as though I needed that time, you know? I'm ready (well, sort of) to jump back into my exercise program tomorrow, because I'm tired of eating junk and sitting on my butt.
Don't get down on yourself... you've lost a good amount of weight, and you know you're capable of doing it again.

I dunno what has gotton into me, but thanks for letting me know that I am not the only one out there who has fallen off. It makes me feel better now that I am not the only one out there who fails. But yes, mentioning those stressors, I have quite a few, my divorce being the biggest one imagineable. I am currently attending college, and the semester is wrapping up, and I am pushing myself to finish off good. I am in the process of finding and getting another job, because the one I have now just is not making the bills, which is stressing me out financially. WOW!!!! Thanks for the tip, I feel better writting out my life stress situations....

Hello

I too have felt like I've fallen off somehow. I was doing really well and now it feels like I take one step forward and two steps back. Meaning that usually on the weekends I undo all my good work. and the scale doesnt move or it moves up a couple of pounds, this has been going on now for about 5 wks, I just want to take this journey one day at a time

just climb back on and stay focoused, you can do it!

Good luck to both of you. I can tell by the tickers that you have both been successful in taking weight off. Dust yourselves off and hop right back in there. You know you can do it. You have all of us here at 3FC's rooting for you and cheering you on. We all fall off the wagon at times and have to hop right back on. Well wishes for you both.

Get right back on the horse. It could be a post Holiday slump. Perhaps you're not forgiving yourself for slip sliding over Christmas and New Years! Well, you must! You deserve it! If it IS seasonal affective disorder, try to get a some Vitamin D (google its affect on weight loss, by the way) - all those months without sun for those in the north have a telling effect! If you are eating because you are depressed, then try to get to the bottom of it - and make any changes that you can. Otherwise, love yourself - resume your regimen and know that you can always lose the weight you gained!

Hey Cholie,

I think that losing weight is often a lot like recovering from a drug addiction. I say this, because I am drugs worker and have helped a number of addicts through recovery. Recovery is a long process with a number of stages. It begins with pre-contemplation, a stage which involves denial and a refusal to even begin to think about changing. I know that I went through a stage of refusing to believe I was overweight or that I had an issue. Then we move on to contemplation which is when you know you have a problem and you start to think about changing but aren't yet ready to really adapt your life. Then comes the decision - something happens which triggers a decision to change. Perhaps a picture of you looking overly wibbly or a particularly hurtful comment from a stranger makes you think 'no more, time to lose weight'. Then there is the action stage - the hardest stage. The stage at which you have to cut those calories and walk rather than take the bus, the stage where things begin to happen. The final stage is maintenance - which speaks for itself. People rarely move from one stage to another. They stall and go backwards. Frequently, you have to make the decision to change one hundred times before it sticks. At any stage through the cycle you can lapse (you have a day of binging and awake the next day ready to start all over again). You can also relapse which is a more prolonged and sustained version of lapsing. The average addict relapses 30 times before they manage to reach maintenance. It is a NATURAL part of recovery and most people will experience it. It is nothing to be ashamed of, nor is it something to punish yourself for but if you recognise what it is it is a great deal easier to rectify the situation.

Dieting is more difficult than coming of drugs. When you stop using heroin you might still take methadone, but it isn't as if someone is saying 'you need to keep taking 10grams of heroin to stay alive... but any more than that and you have a problem'. The matter is absolute - the way to go is no heroin at all. Dieters have to keep eating, but have to control the level - and that is damn hard.

If you are an over eater (like me) you have something which resembles an addiction to food. Food stops being just about nutrition and starts to serve some other purpose. So lapses and relapses are a very natural part of the cycle of recovery. They should be avoided if possible, but its ok if they do happen... the important thing is not the lapse, but the way the lapse is addressed.

I know that thinking this way helps me - so I thought it might help you. And don't worry - I am not comparing you to a drug addict! I simply mean that recovery often looks the same.

ready for a change - that is one of the best posts i have read in a while - the way you compared and laid it all out ...that is exactly what it feels like to me... knowing '30 times' is comforting too - it doesnt give permission but it does give forgiveness... thank you!

happytobeamomof2 - the more I read the posts on this forum, the more I am convinced that the basic addiction/recovery model has a place in the world of dieting. I was never able to see that in myself, but now I do... so its been a journey of self discovery!

I'm really glad it helped... just say if you wish to discuss the matter any further.

This makes me feel so much less anxious about my current attempt to nip this thing in the butt. I've worried that, because I've "failed" so many times before, I'll obviously fail again. To hear that relapse is normal and even expected gives me hope that maybe I still can kick this thing.

Just because you fell off the wagon does not mean you have failed! I see you have lost 35 lbs, and the journey is going to have stumbles...many in fact. In my food journal I wrote the following saying for myself for these very situations: "You made a mistake...don't make the mistake of giving up!" Take a moment to calm yourself, and make a plan that will put you back on track.

jessandemma - powerful words there!

i just ate my lunch and was seriously considering going to steal chocolate from my friends desk (i am feverish and sick and feeling awful, not an excuse but hey, anything in my books works right!?!?!) but i read your post and ready-for-a-change again and it made me stop, think and NOT act...

thank you!