HEEEEEEEEEEEELP.

My ten by February tenth goal is looking BLEAK. I've bounced back up to 164, despite having seen 162 at one point after having about 4 days of around 2000 calories a day without enough (or sometimes any) exercise.

I'm horribly demoralized, I haven't had time to post lately, and I feel like ***. The fact that I probably won't make my goal is weighing heavily on my shoulders, and I'm having a hard time seeing the good in having lost the 7 lbs now that I'm a bit stuck.

I'll be in the middle of eating something TERRIBLE for me, KNOWING it's killing my calories-wise, and I don't GAIN anything from it... WHAT AM I DOING??? I promised myself today that I was going to get myself back on track, then went over my calorie limit by a good 500 calories..

Augggggghhhhnnnnalksdnflkafh.

Here's what I think about setting time-restricted weight-loss goals: THEY USUALLY WON'T BE MET. If I make one, I have to be okay with the possibility of not reaching it. The thing is, you can't tell your body what to do. You can assist it in its desire to lose weight, but there are just somethings that are OUT of your control, you know?

The other thing is, we're all human. We all mess up. To expect yourself to be perfect 100% of the time is totally unrealistic. Go a little easy on yourself (in terms of don't beat yourself up).

NOW, now pick yourself up. Look at your eating today -- 500 cals over? Well, at least it's not 800 cals over. Put down the junk food before you can't say that anymore. Know that whatever backtracking or backsliding you've done lately is NOT permanent, and it's up to you to make the change. To turn your behaviors around. This is where you ARE totally in control. You may not be able to change your weight on a whim, but you CAN decide what goes in your mouth, within reason.

THis is supposed to be all empowering and stuff Think of me as Oprah.

Anyway, forgive yourself and move on! It happens, just get back on the wagon as soon as you can, and we'll be here for you!

I agree JAIMEE ~ I haven't had a good week either; I have been stressed out and discouraged by circumstances beyond my control. So I have been munching the last two days; OK so that's enuff of that already! Back to eating well again, tomorrow ...

The key to longevity is to forgive oneself, again and again and again. Try to look back to see what triggered it, if you can. Then look for alternatives for the next time it comes up. I don't do well with time limit thing either; the less I restrict myself the better I do.

How about starting with just breakfast, then lunch, then snack, then dinner and so on. Break it down; one-step-at-a-time until you are back on track. Don't promise yourself; just commit to it; and then just do it ...

And, we do understand ROSEBUD

trudge on, babe. The only thing you can really ever do is try again tomorrow. I'm sorry you've not been exceeding your calorie allotment. I haven't been exercising either...and it's killing me.

I went to the gym today and I ate well... but we all have bad days. Get your butt back on the horse and try again! You CAN DO this. If I can, anyone can.

Jess -- I've been bingeing all weekend, and today i finally stopped with the compulsive eating, but still went over my WW points.
I am totally there with you, also not enough time to post like before. I think that's part of the problem! 3FC withdrawal!!
I don't know, it's rough, what can I say. I just got the advice on another board to keep tracking, at least just to keep that habit. Makes sense to me, even if i'm going over my points, to at least keep writing it down.
Good luck!!
S

I agree with shrinking lizzy - you're going through 3FC withdraw! Forgive yourself for whatever you ate, drink lots of water and remember that we're all here for you!

I'm having trouble putting together an eloquent post that says something different than what's already been said, so I'm just going to echo them. You're fabulous and you can do this! One day isn't the end of the world. Even if it's TEN days off, that's just a fraction of the remaining 365 you have to be ON. It's okay to fall down as long as you get up! "He who gets up one more time than he falls makes it through."

OH Jess!

<3

Don't beat yourself up. We've all been there! You have done so amazingly well for yourself. 7lbs is a phenomenol amount of weight to have lost in such a short time.

I know you feel down and bummed out and you're eating something crappy right now, but don't like it eat away at you! Don't create a cycle of dieting/guilt/food/guilt/binge/guilt/starve!



Take a step back breath, and remember that you picked a random day to reach a random goal. You'll reach ten pounds eventually no matter what you do. And if you want it to stay off you have to know that your eating will not always be perfect and you should take the bad times and let them happen, if they do.



Is there anything else that might be stressing you out? School? Socially? I often take my stress and mask it by worrying about my diet too much. In fact I tend to try and avoid whatever is really bothering me by obsessing over how bad my eating gets. When I get like that I know I need to switch off the weight loss for a few days and focus on the rest of life. Then when things settle down a bit and I feel better I think about it more. This doesn't mean I use it as an excuse to binge and be a lazy bum. I just stop beating myself up for having that muffin instead of the salad or a choclate bar instead of an apple.



I have faith in you Jess, even if you don't make that 10 by 10 goal, you'll get to 10lbs gone and then 15lbs, and then 20lbs and you'll look back and be amazed by yourself.

I'm was going to say the same thing as suitejudyblueeyes. I agree with her. When it comes to dieting, you need to be able to forgive yourself. That's part of emotional eating; you eat and you KNOW it's something you'll regret later, but you still eat it anyway. We ALL have done that. You need to be able to forgive yourself and be easier on yourself for your mistakes. I think you do need to keep your "eye on the prize" though. Otherwise you might slip off and never go back on track. But I don't think falling off the horse for a few days is going to mess up your weight loss forever. And if you're really going to be very upset about not meeting your 10 pound goal date; I wouldn't set another date-mini-goal, because you might find yourself falling short of what you wish. And that in itself can take a toll on your self esteem. You just need to realize how far you've come and that you've done wonderfully already. Just take small steps and be proud of yourself for the smaller victories you do everyday. Taking an apple in the morning instead of 4 party sized bowls of Lucky Charms. Packing a healthy lunch before work instead of getting junk out of the vending machine. Taking the stairs instead of the escalator at the mall. You need to be proud of yourself for everything (big and small) you've done up to this point.

One last piece of advice; drink lots and LOTS of fluids. Your body might also be retaining water since you changed your diet so suddenly from all that munching. And drinking tons of water/fluids will sort of flush you out. So, you might want to try that. It's helped me many a time!

Good luck dear, I really hope it all works out for you.

Hey Jelbb- One thing I've started doing is stop weighing myself. I count my calories and exercise but I do not jump on the scale. Literally, the numbers drove me nuts! I couldn't handle the up and down or no change at all. I am judging my success by how my clothes feel, and eventually I will jump back on that scale. Just not right now.

I agree with Cookie -- that's another thing to think about. Try taking a break from the scale. It is HARD, but once you get used to not knowing the concern just kind of lifts away. Weigh once a week for two weeks or so, see if you don't start to feel slightly saner.

The scale is a big, fat, dirty liar.
Why they're so popular, I sure don't know.

This cracked me up!

It's true. You may just need a break from listening to the scale, and instead just focus on being healthy.

Jelby cakes, (they're like rice cakes, but with less fat and more awesome, you see...)

I am not going to let someone who does so much good and has so many encouraging comments for other people beat herself up. WOMAN, are you listening to yourself? You've been working hard and doing so well. So you didn't eat the most virtuous food for a few days. So what? Really. What difference does it make if you don't hit 10 by 02/10? Suites is right, time-restricted goals are all well and good, but you can't beat yourself up for not crossing that finishing line in time. Seeing that date is an impetus for your goal, not the be-all end-all.

In fact... are you sitting comfortably for a cheesy little story? OK, here goes. Picture the scene... sports day - July 1994. I am eight years old and I am excited about being in the obstacle race. So, the shot is fired and off we run. I am quickly in last place and when it comes to running under the rope net thingmajig one of my pigtails gets caught. By the time I untangle myself the other kids are beginning to pass the finish line. But I kept going. I ran with that egg and spoon, I hopped through to tires and I picked up the jump rope and skipped to the end. It just didn't occur to me not to. Gosh, you shoulda heard the applause when that little fat girl crossed the finish line.

The moral of THAT story is don't make me pull anecdotes out of my ***! Keep on truckin', sugar. It's not the mistake, it's what you do to rectify it. You're going to eat wicked, delicious and sometimes disgusting things. You're a human being. It happens. But whether you let that binge destroy your drive is quite another thing.

Exercise - it makes you feel good afterwards. Drink a bottle of water. Buy some sugar-free popsicles and more of that sugar-free gum. Paint your toenails and brush your teeth. Eat good food - your body deserves some sweet treatment after eating junk. Take a few minutes to post on 3FC when you're feeling weak. You know as well as I do that this place helps so much.

Now - be good!

As far as setting time goals..as you can see by my little Valentine's Day goal...I had the bright idea that I could loose 12lbs by Valentines Day. OKAY that's a week from tomorrow...as of right now I haven't lost anything. We will see comes Monday.

The way that I look at it...as long as I am still loosing it doesn't matter how much.

I had a horrid day on Sunday with junk food and still feel kind of bad 3 days later. I just tried to get to the gym, get movin more, drink water, and eat better..my body will flush it out.

keep your head up. It is february 6th..the 10th isn't here yet. You've come far...8lbs is great. Now eat right and move your butt and don't weigh yourself until the 10th. You may be surprised.