Hi everyone!

Long story short, a little over a year ago I was down to about 160 (an all time low since maybe the fifth grade, haha) and feeling fantastic. My confidence was super high and I was in shape. Fast foward to right now, I'm 187, out of shape, and had to literally sqeeze myself into jeans this morning that used to be too big for me (although in my defense, they did just come out of the drier... )

Now I know exactly what happened--I stopped exercising regularly, started to out of control eat again, didn't get enough sleep, etc.--and now I'm trying to fix it. I know that correcting these bad habits will get me back to where I was, but at times I still find myself incredibly upset with myself and very unhappy with my current body.

This negativity and impacience that I'm feeling isn't good for weight loss and, more importantly, developing a healthy life style, but sometimes it just feels inevitable. So, I guess what I'm asking is, do you guys have any tips for staying positive, even if you fell of the bandwagon and didn't try to get back on for awhile?

For me that feeling of positivity comes from doing the right things for myself, not from being at goal (I haven't been there in a decade). So if I make good choices, I feel good about myself. And then the weight loss follows. I've fallen off the wagon many times, been run over by it, flipped it off as it raced past me, etc. Losing the weight during those moments felt so impossible. But thinking back, those feelings of hopelessness seriously would vanish in a matter of days the moment I started making good decisions - choosing the right things to eat, going for a walk, etc. I was holding up my end of the bargain, it was up to my body to do the rest. And it responded. So just start making good choices and I think you'll start to feel better fairly quickly.

Man can I relate to this. I am a MF'er I have asked my counselor many times how to stay positive and she tells me to look back at myself. I have and the feelings come right back! I do everything right, eat 5 meals plus L&G. I exercise at least 5 times a week. This has been a bad week I have had 2 handfuls of popcorn (no salt/butter); a handful of tortilla blue chips (my favorite!). I need to weigh in today and I really do not want to go. I am feeling rather depressed and impatient at my extremely slow weight loss. I appreciate all the comments that have been made.
I Love this statement from CLCSC145 "I was holding up my end of the bargain, it was up to my body to do the rest. And it responded. So just start making good choices and I think you'll start to feel better fairly quickly. "
THANK YOU!
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I saw somewhere online... someone compaired weight loss & eating healthy to tripping down the stairs. If you trip down a few stairs, you aren't going to throw yourself down the rest of the stairs. You pick yourself up! I laughed pretty hard at the vision of throwing myself downstairs just for tripping.

Don't focus on the weight you've gained back - like you said, making yourself feel bad is counter-productive.

Look at you - you are still 45 lbs. ahead of where you once where! That is fantastic! Instead of gaining it ALL back - you have stopped and said "hey, wait a minute, this isn't what I want."

I also think it is important to surround yourself with postive people. Friends/family/co-workers (and on-line buddies!) who can cheer you on.

how do I stay motivated? I just keep plugging away at it, and frankly to the above poster a handful of a favorite should not make for a bad week (unless it throws you out of ketosis and that is where you want to be) denial and never having a favorite food is a sure fire way to fall off a program.

for me it is also coming to relize that at my best weight i can NEVER eat or behave like a skinny person. I HAVE to exercise, I HAVE to count my calories and I HAVE to not ever lie about the fact that I am a fat person in maitanance and will never be able to live like a person who never has to wory about food and exercise. Just a fact that it has take me a long time to come to grips with and I am finally at peace with it.

Many of us have been to where you are, lost the weight and then we lose site of the fact that even though we LOOK skinny, it does not mean that our metabolizm has changed signifigantly, that all the things we have to do on the way down have to be done for life. ask anyone in maintanance and they will tell you that it is work every day and although you can eat more on maintanace the rules are still the same. calories in vs calories out.

So hang in there, keep with it and know that your goal weight is not the end of the line, it is figuring out how to live at that weight and continue to be that confident person on the inside as well as the outside.

i just keep my eye on the prize. their are no ifs just when i get thin. i am going to be thin again. keep saying that over and over. your brain will subconsciously think that even if you doubt it. patience!! make it your first priority above and beyond anything. doesn't mean you put it before your job, family, or finances...but you don't use it for an excuse. i use to use it for an excuse. you can do it!!!!!!!!!

I also lost a bunch and regained (on a slightly smaller scale), and it's tough to keep a positive attitude about it now. It helps that remember that we have proof we CAN do it, and we know it will feel good! And you can channel some of the negative thoughts into action - if you regain now, you just have to do this whole thing over again, and that's clearly no fun.

The impatience is the hardest part for me. Sometimes I'll even try to cut my calories down a little too far, or exercise a little too much... but then I end up starving or worn out and I end up overeating or skipping the exercise for a few days... and feel even worse than when I started. I'm really not sure how to deal with impatience, other than to attack it with math and logic, just doing what I know is reasonable and healthy despite my desire to be back at my previous low weight immediately.

I used to focus on one goal.
Then I focused on mini-goals.
Then I tried to focus on just making healthy choices for my body.

Somehow, I always managed to fall victim to life's demands such as work, kids, etc. Now, I've just decided to only do things that have an overall positive effect on my life. Eating poorly and being a sloth do not qualify.

Haha! That is so great - I laughed out loud. It really highlights how silly we are for beating ourselves up all the time.


That is completely fantastic. I have never thought of it like that. I know people say "it's a lifestyle change" but it's never really clicked until I read your words. Thanks for sharing, I hope I can remember that and keep it with me for a long time.

I have also been experiencing a really nasty case of "the blues" the past couples days. I have a lot going on right now, and I know it's normal, but I just HATE feeling so down and discouraged and unmotivated.
I have been doing OK with my diet and exercise, but it's the only thing I was doing OK with. This morning, I decided to just get 2 tiny things right today, outside the diet and exercise. Just 2. And I'm halfway there, and I already feel better.
I guess my advice is, pick something small, do it, and revel in the feeling of accomplishment. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat...

Feel better!