3 days of studying and stressing out has kicked me off the wagon. With all the Easter chocolate around the house, I'm having a hard time getting back on the wagon. And it's not just the chocolate. It's everything I can put my hands on that I can find in the house. This is so frustrating.

I feel so much better when I eat well. I feel like crap now that I don't eat well. Since I feel like crap, I keep eating crap! It's a vicious cycle. All the weight I lost on the first week of our challenge is probably all back on now plus probably more.

I have to find it in myself to get back on the wagon. I miss being in charge of my inner girl! She's in control now! And I do not like that. I have to start eating well right away! No more eating unhealthy foods, and no more binging! This has got to stop!

This reminded me of a "Maxine" I read one day. It said that "Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out - but I can usually shut her up with Chocolate."

You can do it. You've done so well thus far. Everyone has faith in you.

Ok Francine - dig deep and find that self control! You know what to do - look at all you have already accomplished!!!! I know getting back on track is not that easy to begin, but once you do, you know it will get easier! Throw out the junk food, pick up some fruit and salad mixes and get back on track!

You can do this Francine and you will feel so much better when YOU are back in control. Falling off the wagon isn't the problem. NOT getting back up to fight is the real issue.

We're here for you Francine! ((((((hugs))))))

Sharon

I hear ya ladies! Loud and clear! And you are so right. Falling off the wagon isn't the problem. I wasn't getting up to fight back! I never thought about it that way. So no more self pity. I will stay away from the chocolate (after all, it's for the girls, not me) and will grab some veggies in a short while for a snack this afternoon. Now, I'm going to take a few minutes and do my 8MM right away. It's time to fight back!

Thank You!

This post was on my other site today from one of the members:

there is no wagon.

most of us have big nights where we ate too much. most of us have nights where we ate too much dessert. most of us have had days where exercise didn't happen. show me one person who is perfect 100% of the time and i'll show you either a liar or a person who leads a very boring life.

being healthy does not mean being perfect. what is life without dinners with family, drinks with friends, hot dogs at ballparks?

i "cheat" and "fall off the wagon" sometimes. i don't let it become a downward spiral. that is the difference between gaining and maintaining or losing. one night of drinking too much, eating too much does not mean disaster. it's not "cheating." what is a disaster is letting that one night become a reason for not exercising the next day, or the day after that, or the reason for eating poorly for the next two weeks.

just throwing it out there !

Hey Francine,
I did exactly the same as you. I am a student and when the Easter holidays rolled around I fell bad.
Really bad.
As the Cadbury thing suggests I'm a chocoholic and on Easter Sunday I gorged in the stuff along with a whole lot of other food. Instead of getting right the following day, I proceeded to have a week of continuous eating. I was always full last week. I ate chocolate, cookies, ice-cream, bread, huge dinners, burgers, pizza, full-fat cheese etc. I felt awful the whole time but I couldn't control myself.
I think it happened because I had been so strict with myself for the previous weeks and once I popped I couldn't stop. I had to really concentrate on all the hard work I've done so far to get back on track. I also think that getting back into the routine of going to school helped a lot.
I've been good for three days now, but I'm not going to be as strict as I was before Easter.
It is inevitable that you will fall off the wagon alot if your too hard on yourself.
Good luck
Maria

Over indulgence not cheating. Cheating is as bad a word as diet. Cheating implies something very bad. we must limit our intake of certain foods but we are allowed to have anything we want. Why do we think more of our children and husbands, boyfriends ect than ourselves. We do not allow our children to over indulge we try to encourage our spouses and others to eat healthy why do we then allow our inner selves to control our own eating behavior. Do we not deserve to eat healthy and have healthy bodies? Do we not have the right to have someone, even if it is ourselves, to care about what we eat?We try to help those we love by keeping them on the right track can't we love ourselves enough to have the same mind set when it comes to our own wonderful selves. We deserve to take the very best care of ourselves as we do those around us!

Life happens. Food happens. S@*t happens. The purpose is to make us real. We can not love or even try to help others if we do not understand life or its down falls.fear, anger, guilt, depression, joy, happiness, all of the wonderful emotions of the world. All these things help us to not only help ourselves and to figure out who we are but enable us to help others. We can do this and we are all here to help one another with our own diversified views on life to get through it and succeed!

Well said Ladies! Now, if only, I could remember all these wonderful things you said as well as the ones I tell others when I keep over indulging. But that's fine. Gained 3 pounds since Sunday! I'm not even worried! I know it will come off quickly again. What's important is not how much I weight, but how well I continue to eat and exercise every day!

When I feed myself correctly, I'm on top of the world! I kicked my sorry butt yesterday afternoon and decided to start eating correctly again. No more eating all those foods in ridiculous amounts. I eat every day to survive! I don't live just to eat! I love eating, but it doesn't mean I have to eat until I see the end of the empty box.

Life happens as you said. And it's all about enjoying every minute with family and friends!