After losing over 70 pounds and feeling and looking the best, healthiest and fittest I ever have in my life, I hit the self-destruct button.

Three months ago, I had a fall and badly damaged the ligaments in my left knee. I have been unable to exercise and going from working out 8-10 hours a week to nothing has been awful. In such a short period of time, I have become a real couch potato, eating junk to "comfort" myself, gaining 16 pounds, feeling consumed with guilt and self-loathing and losing my self-confidence in the process. I'm looking desperately for a way out of this gigantic hole I have allowed myself to fall into. I seem to have lost the spark and determination that took me to a 70+ pound weight loss in the first place.

I am allowed to resume "gentle" exercise this week and have signed up for a BL Challenge on this site but I feel I have gotten so far out of my routine that it is going to be very difficult to get myself back on track. It just seems too "big" and unachievable.

I know getting myself back on 3FC is one big step in the right direction. Does anyone have any advice for me or is anyone willing to give me a good shake to help me get my act together?

Thanks in advance

xxx

Hi there!

Give your head a shake, girl! To reuse one of my favorite analogies -- think of your situation this way...

You are trying to climb up a large set of stairs. Half-way up the stairs you slip and fall down a few. Do you throw yourself down the rest of the stairs? Or do you pick yourself UP and carry on? This is what you have to decide. Do you want to throw yourself back to where you started? Or do you want to carry on?

IF you choose to carry on, there is only one thing you need to do. ONE. You HAVE to get a grip on your eating. Right now. Success is 80 percent diet, 20 percent exercise. LOTS of us have lost significant amounts of weight WITHOUT exercise. Heck, I lost my first 50lbs without moving at ALL. So the fact that you are injured ISN'T really a valid reason for eating whatever you want to!!!!

SO, either recommit to what you were doing food-wise prior to your injury, OR find a structured program that fits with your lifestyle and commit to it 100 percent. Right now. Allow the exercise to happen as it happens. But you HAVE to get a grip on your eating plan IF you want to climb those stairs to success.

You can DO this!!! You've already taken the first step by recognizing what you are doing. IF you want to continue, you have to CHOOSE to do so and then act. And IMHO, diet is the key for you right now. It won't be easy, but you CAN do it...



Kira

I just wanted to post, Kira is a smart lady so you would be wise to pay attention to what she has responded with here

You CAN do this!!

I'm too new here to give you advice, but I want to wish you well here and in your life.

Good luck to you

The thing that helps me is to literally take it one day at a time. Can you stay on your program just for today? Plan your food for today. Get out and take a gentle walk. Stick to your plan - just for today. I literally mean it.

I know how an injury can derail you. I had a foot/ankle injury and I could barely walk. I started feeling sorry for myself ... started eating for comfort, ... you can imagine the rest.

Today is the day you start getting back on track!

You don't have to be a long standing member to offer up advice

Speaking as someone who feel off the exercise and diet wagon much harder than you did, the best you can do it just start back up when you are allowed to with the exercise and take it one day at a time. 16 pounds will come back off, so don't stress out over that. You just need to focus on what you can do to make each day successful. Not each week, but each day until it's a habit again to eat healthy and exercise.

p.s. I was so glad to see a familiar face with a post this morning! I have missed you!

This happened to me once before as well. The difference for me was the first time I started to lose weight I didn't ACTUALLY believe that I could do it. I was exercising, dieting and losing, people were saying great things but in my head I hadn't quite believed it. So I fell off the wagon and gained a lot back.

About a year or so ago I "flipped that switch" in my head and decided I COULD do it and I needed to focus. I got back on the exercise wagon, refocused my diet and really drew on willpower to get me through bad eating situations. I also worked with a personal trainer and he was fantastic at pushing me on my workouts and supporting me as I went. Knowing that he believed I could do it did a lot to help me believe it. (If a trainer is an option for you I highly recommend one - but pick someone you connect with - it helps).

Just getting back on track and believing in yourself is more than half the battle. Congrats on taking that step - I know how hard it is! Good luck with the journey!

Aw, thank you Cakses - it feels so nice to be welcomed back like that! I have missed you too - hope everything is going well for you.

Thank you all for your support - I feel so much more positive already and have started planning the day ahead. I think it's definitely going to be one day at a time Judy Lynn and then I can take it from there.

Kira - I love that analogy and you are so right. I wouldn't have put so much weight back on if I had kept my eating right but I allowed my feelings of pity to get in the way. No excuses!

I have planned my eating for tomorrow and arranged to go to a fitness class with a friend - now I've made that commitment with her, I know I will see it through. I have wiped the dust off my food diary and it will be getting put back into use. One step at a time.......

I like Kira's analogy; it is so appropriate. I also agree with Judy. Get back on your program and make it work just one day. Then, do it again the next day and build momentum one day at a time. It seems to me that your biggest obstacle is not your injury; it is the mental rut you have found yourself in (been there many times myself). So you ate more than you would if you were on your program--that happened and it is over. The critical thing now is to decide how you will react to that slip up (i.e. will you get back on your program or will you continue to eat in a way that is ultimately self destructive?). You have come so far; you have a lot to be proud of and a lot to fight for.

You can do this! I am pulling for you.

J

Miss Vitality,
It's so good to see you back, I've missed reading your posts and you've been a source of inspiration. You have the skills and ability to get back on the wagon and ride it all the way.
Cakses, It's good to see you back too.

Bette K

16 lbs isnt that much! you gained it fast so you will prob lose it faster than you did the first time around.

i lose my motivation sometimes too, but i just keep going because im committed. sometimes it seems so insurmountable that i just want to give up. but even when my motivation is down i keep at my diet. i dont like it and i dont enjoy it and im not like "into it" those weeks, but after a few weeks of loss my motivation comes back.

Thanks Bette - it's good to be back! Will see you over in the BL forum soon xxx

Getfit - I had a personal trainer before and that worked really well. It did help that we had a really good relationship. I've kept in touch with him throughout my injury and he has been an excellent source of advice. He knew how frustrated I have been not being able to exercise so has kept the brakes on me. Now my knee is much stronger (albeit not 100%) I hope to get back working with him.

Thank you all ladies - it doesn't feel quite so overwhelming now and I feel that old spark of determination creeping back in.