Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to the forum. I did pretty well last month (my first here) and I was feeling encouraged and determined, but now, like always it seems, I'm slipping back into my old ways. Every day I slip more, and feel worse about it, and so I slip some more. I start the day planning to have a "perfect" plan day, but realize later I haven't made it past breakfast. After losing 18 pounds, I've gained back 4 and the old familiar panic is starting to set in. Why do I do this to myself? I was so happy while I was losing the weight; now I am snappy with my husband and feel like I'm pretending when I'm smiling with anyone else.

Something about me hates asking for help (not sure why, just grew up that way?) but I'm asking for help now!! Any words of encouragement or advice you can give me would be so so appreciated! And good luck to everyone!

Hey, I'll hang onto you if you hang onto me. I've had a fortnight slippage. We need to keep focussed. We can do this.

Number one piece of advice? Write down everything you're going to eat. It crystalizes your commitment. I don't know if you're already doing that - you say you are planning - but if you're not, try it. If you are, write down everything off plan that you've eaten. Knowing you'll have to write it down makes you more accountable.

ive had the same problem more times than i can count. remind yourself that the only way to stop feeling bad about yourself and to genuinly smile is to get back on plan. dont try to compensate for your failures by going low on calories or going crazy with exercising, just get back to your normal plan and youll start feeling better soon, i promise. dont give up. i know its hard, but youll regret it if you let your work go to waste and dont meet your goals.

Pick up a new hobby. I've binged when I'm bored or stressed. Having a hobby release does the trick for both those ailments.

Can you plan out your meals the night before? Or in the morning, first thing? Having a plan in place is essential for me at least and it prevents me from grabbing whatever I see. Also, setting certain times I'm going to eat helps prevent me from random snacking during the day. I don't reach for the chips at 1:00 because I know I'm going to have lunch at 2:00.

Also, if you like writing, try journaling! Whenever I'm feeling snappy or irritated about food or weight loss, I journal what I'm feeling and that helps me vent. I keep a lot of things bottled up about my weight loss because no one in my life seems to understand. I've found that coming here and to this forum specifically has helped with that. Come on here and write a quick post...it may help!

Hello,
I am glad I found this post. I am struggling with the same thing now. I have been doing well (-17.5), and gained last week. Only 0.5, which is not bad since it is the only week I have gained since May. However, I am slipping too; in a big way with fast food and restaurants. I feel myself on that all-to-familiar slope and I am terrified. I don't want this to be like every other time. I'm so scared right now

Aiming for "perfect days' is a sure path to failure for me! There are several chickies here who do manage to hit perfection on many days, but I'm sure not one of them. I don't even try anymore because in the past, making even one tiny bad decision (like eating a cracker with butter on it) meant that I was no longer perfect for the day, and thus I would give myself permission to eat free-for-all for the rest of the day. Bad, bad plan! It's much better (IMO!) to aim for PROGRESS. To aim for a series of good food choices. If there is an unwise choice here or there....well, people sometimes make unwise choices. But to let one unwise choice serve as a reason or excuse to eat badly for the rest of the day doesn't make much sense, in light of the goals we are striving to reach.


I think it might also be helpful to change the way that you're labeling things. Is it really "slipping"? Or is it making conscious decisions to eat off-plan? I say this not to beat you up (because you're already doing that to yourself! ), but to help you (and all of us) to realize that we must take responsibility for the food we put into our mouths. We really, really must. And when we label it with a benign word like "slipping", that indicates that it is something out of our control, like when we slip on a patch of ice or something. At least that's how it seems to me.

So: If you make an unwise choice, acknowledge it. Write it down, think about what led to the choice and what you can do to help prevent it next time. And then it's RIGHT BACK on plan. Not tomorrow, not Monday, but now. And go to the Goals forum and read some of the incredible stories of the ladies and gents who have made such great progress. If they can do it, so can we!

I noticed you don't have a 3FC blog. Maybe you should start one so you have a place to vent (or you can vent here of course, but sometimes you want to vent in privacy, and you can set your blog entries to 'private'). This has helped me a lot. Whether it's before you feel a binge coming on, during, or after the binge, just go to it as soon as that feeling kicks in as possible. Writing it down can make you stop and adjust yourself back into dieting/on-a-mission mode.

I second Windchime's suggestion - I have derailed a couple binges by forcing myself to sit down in front of the Goals stories. Cried in frustration and anger, too - but there's something about that purge of emotions that's pretty darn healing.