11 days. I have eaten balanced meals, Healthy snacks and nothing in between. I even went out to dinner and ordered a salad! I was walking proud and couldn't wait to weigh in this weekend. Sure I would have lost something.
Today started bad. I have been eating breakfast for the last 11 days, but I was in a hurry and forgot to eart my oatmeal this AM. I thought about stopping for yummy bananna chocolate chip cake,,,but I was proud that I made it to work Starbucks free!!! Secure in my routine of going home for a salad at lunch. I was sure I could make it that long...One emergency meeting after another. It was 2:30 before I even got to think about eating. I had made plans to meet my daughter for an early dinner after work....so to late to eat now.I was SOOOO hungry but figured I would stick it out till dinner at 5:00. By then of course I was starving! My daughter was late. I had visualized getting a salad but I needed something NOW. Here is where things went terribly wrong!
Ordered fried pickels...I know...how dumb is that...but my sister had mentioned them a couple of weeks ago and I figured I would just nibble til my daughter showed. besides...I hadn't eatedn all day. I ended up eating about half of them and feeling really guilty. So what do I do...well I had already blown it...so why not order the Lo mein and worry about the diet tomorrow.
I wouldn't go through this whole story except. that this is a typical thing to happen just as I start feeling like I can loose the weight. Then I blow it big and think I am hopeless and will never get a grip on this eating. I know that not eating all day was not good...but sometimes there are days like that. I need to have confidence that I can get back on track without doing this and to be honest ...this might have happened even if I had eaten.
Right now I have stopped the binge. But the confidence that I started the day with is shattered. Will it always be this hard? Is it worth all the suffering if for no apparent reason, I just can't have a treat once in a while without going on a major binge?
Sorry this post is such a downer. I am not in a good place right now...

Hey djay
I know what your going through, it's the same way for me... I try so hard to cut back on eating, watch what I eat, stop drinking sugary drinks, and drink nothing but water...
But I so far have given in twice in one week and drank a soda each day and one of those days I ate at KFC, when I went to my mom and repented for my delicious sins, she said to me, "Matt... It's just one day... Losing weight isn't going to happen immediately... And just because you break your routine and plans here and there does not mean that your still not going to lose weight the next day, and it definitely does not mean you should give up so easily..."

I know this is kind of obvious and easier said than done... But I know you can do it! Do not think of the days of weakness as a sign that you CANT lose weight or stick to a plan, because you know inside you can! keep your eyes on the prize and remember that its worth too much to just give up after one mistake
a quote I heard once! "There's no short cuts to any place worth going."

There are going to be times when it is very hard, and times when it will be easier. This is for the rest of your life, and slip ups happen.
What you need to do is get yourself ready for tomorrow. Plan out your foods so you can start fresh.

The big mistake you made was in thinking that you could last all day without food. You can't, and that is a huge reason why you went overboard at dinner.

I might just keep a stash of portable/storable foods for this type of situation. At your desk, or in your purse - keep small cans of tuna, or tuna salad kits, meal replacement bars (like Zone or Luna). That way you can have something at least.

You haven't ruined anything. You hit a speed bump and now you need to keep going. Probably this would not have happened if you had eaten. You got to that starving low blood sugar place where we all are in danger of losing control. All day long is a long time without eating. How can you avoid this in the future? Can you come up with an alternative to the Starbucks cake? Can you keep some bars, nuts, fruit, etc. in your desk at work? Is there a freezer you can stash a couple of healthy frozen meals for emergencies. Maybe a couple of protein drink mixes in your purse or car? Okay, now you have learned something, you have some tools ready for the next time, and next time you will do better. Yes you can have a treat now and then, but that wasn't your problem today, your problem today is you didn't eat and you got too hungry. None of us is perfect. It's okay.

I have a bag of soy nuts and a container of mixed nuts in my car for emergencies. Keeps well, and filling.

I just have one question. What in the world are fried pickles ?

Thank you all for your support. Since comming here and 'dumping' all this, I have snapped out of the 'you already blew it so you might as well eat everything you want' frame of mind! I think If I maintain tonight and eat my oatmeal tomorrow morning I can get back on track.
Thank you all for your support and the suggestions. I really like the idea of keeping protien shake packets at work. I won't be tempted to snack on them , but they will be there in case of another crazy day like today.
I don't think I've let myself off the hook yet..but I'm not earing to punish myself tonight. Score one for the 3FC community!

Exactly what is sounds like. Dill Pickle slices are battered and deep fried. I know how it sounds...but they are really very good. Served mostly in the south in places That would serve fried green tomatoes! although they are catching on across the country. Havn't had any in years but my sister found them in a resturaunt in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago and got me craving them.

Congrats on breaking the all or none mentality!

You definitely can't go all day without eating -- or you risk a real binge.

See days like this as learning experiences, so you don't have the same thing happen again!!

I was gonna ask the same thing - but as it turns out I don't really want to know. Sorry I guess I'm not a big pickle fan.

I keep breakfast bars or zone bars around for emergencies...but it's a very rare day I don't bring my lunch to work. I would be lost if I had to figure out how to eat lunch out every day.

Drink lots of water to flush out the sodium - and move on with your life. It's just one day! Those other 11 still count.

I could have written the same story many times over. So far this time around I haven't had any slip ups. Trust me I am not polishing my halo or anything here. But I have done what others have already suggested. I have "emergency food". I keep a couple healthy light frozen entrees in my freezer at home and work. I have a box of Kashi TCL Almond Flax & Honey bars in my vehicle and my desk. I have low fat string cheese and some laughing cow wedges in the fridge at work, there is usally a bag of baby carrots in there too. All for the "just in case" moments. These things have kept me from going over the edge more than once. So that covers the "How to avoid this in the future" issues.

No dealing with the present. If your car had a flat tire...would you get rid of it and buy new??? Sounds silly huh?? Well your "diet" isn't just one day. It is a series of days, months, years strung together...and if you want to maintain your goal weight...(and who doesn't) it is for a lifetime. Each minute of every day we have the opportunity to make the correct choices, we can't undo the past, but we can strive for a better future.

So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and continue to make the good choice that make you fell good and feel good about yourself.

Such good advice and thoughts here. Had to let you all know. Carry on!

djay, I think you are overlooking the things you did well.

Fried pickles aren't my thing but you love them. And you ate HALF the order, not the whole thing.

Lo mein isn't so terrible. You didn't follow it up with a stop at Starbucks for dessert or a dozen chocolates or a full bag of potato chips. (At least unless you aren't including that.)

The scale will probably jump, but more than likely it is the sodium in the pickles and the lo mein.

Celebrate the fact that your "binge" of yesterday was probably much less than you would have done in the past. Focus on the positive change...and hey, as everyone else has pointed out, today is a new day.

There have been some other threads that have commented on how quick we are to dump on ourselves, and how slow to recognize the small successes that ultimately bring larger ones. Be gentle with yourself.

Sounds like you've picked yourself up, dusted yourself down and got back on the horse - bloody well done!

I agree with those who said that the problem here was in deciding not to eat, and that the thing to learn from this is that you need to have some emergency snackfood/lunchfood to hand. I've usually got a packet of sunflower seeds or a bag of almonds in my handbag, just in case I find myself in that kind of situation - you could also have powdered soup sachets at work, couldn't you? Because a cup of soup would be an easy way to get some nutrients and some tasty goodness to stave off the hunger pangs, without cranking up the calories or fat. Or perhaps some raisins, if they're on plan for you?

I'd also recommend, if you're in too much of a hurry for breakfast, a spoonful of peanutbutter before you dash out the door. Ideally sugarfree, but even regular peanutbutter would be okay in a pinch. Filling, plenty of protein and good fats to give your metabolism a kickstart.

...actually, you know, maybe it would even have been worth going into Starbucks and picking up a low fat muffin/salad/something, and a skim milk latte with sugarfree vanilla or something like that? Rather than deciding to starve yourself?

Regardless - KEEP GOING! Because that's the trick, as it turns out - you just keep on going! And it's SO damn fabulous to see yourself losing weight - it really becomes its own reward.

EXACTLY.

As I read your post I cringed every time you said "I don't have time to eat" or "I decided it was too late to snack". I could see what was going to happen even before you got there.

I keep snacks in my office and in my purse. I have a serving of almonds in a baggie in my purse. I keep a packet of wasa crackers, an apple, an envelope of albacore tuna, and a box of regular organic oatmeal packets in my desk. If I ever wind up in client meetings that run long or whatever, I know I can still nuke some oatmeal or have a couple of crackers with tuna to tide me over until I get home.

So you asked .. will it always be this hard? NO! It won't. Because you'll learn from this that you CANNOT go all day w/out eating. You'll learn to be prepared more. You'll learn not to listen to that little voice that says "oh, I can wait until dinner". You'll learn that there ARE always days like this and being prepared for them ahead of time is easier than dealing with the guilt of a binge after.

And with that knowledge, the next time you go out to dinner and want a treat, you'll be able to split an order of fried pickles (which are to DIE for! ) and eat maybe 10 pickle chips and stop ... because you will have eaten something healthy before hand and you won't be STARVING when they come out.

So ... is this a failure? Nope. It's a learning experience. As a friend says ... it's a chance to adapt and overcome.

Hang in there. You can do it.

.