From 24th February to 13th March I was well and truely on the wagon. I was eating healthy, wholesome foods of not more than 1300 per day and the scale LOVED me. I lost 4 pounds in the first week and 3.5 in the second.

THEN, on 13th March I went to a family getogether. I drank a LOT, I ate a LOT. The next day I didn't go overboard, but felt sorry for myself and didn't keep track of anything. The following day I had an all day job assessment which was stressful and the food provided there was all pastries etc. I reasoned it was better to keep my sugar levels up and perform well throughout the day than concentrate on my diet and risk feeling bad and under-performing. After the assessment day I was exhausted and starving and just cooked a bulky pasta meal with cheese and bacon, had a few glasses of wine and stuffed myself to the brim to make myself feel better.

The next day (yesterday) I was annoyed at myself for being so stupid and throwing away my previous efforts. However, I still secretly ate lunch on my own before my partner got home and then told him I hadn't had anything, so I could start preparing lunch number 2. Eurgh.

TODAY, I started the day back on track. A poached egg and slice of toast for breakfast, determined to get back to the wagon. Except it's only 10am and I've already eaten lunch. I couldn't help myself. I reasoned that it was only a small lunch so I could probably have it as a snack instead.


WHEN AM I GOING TO GET BACK ON THE WAGON!?!? The scale says I've already put on 4 of the pounds I lost. I am sat here typing this KNOWING that I should stop now and get back on track. I'm just not sure I believe that I can do it.


I don't understand how you can go for almost 3 weeks of NO cheats, to then 5 days of cheat central.

Help!

I totally hear you. I have been stuck in the very same cycle as you for a while now. It sure does nothing for self esteem. However, I have been trying to reflect a little bit on why this is happening, and hopefully deal with some of the issues that are getting in my way. I have one thought for you - when you were on plan, were you really and truly satisfied? 1300 calories isnt very much, and I know that when I am too restrictive, I can only do it for a brief amount of time before my body revolts and I start to eat in much the same way as you are describing here. I would suggest trying to eat more calories - my body has lost 1-2 pounds a week eating 1600-1700 calories a day - not quite as fast as you were describing, but it may help your body to feel more satiated, while still losing. And if we can avoid free-for-all days (or weeks), then that will do loads of good for our bodies and for our emotional well being.

I agree with lovesjm, maybe when you were on the "wagon", you were really biting off more than you could chew (or too little, as it were). Everytime that I have tried to do this, I go into the same exact pattern: cut the calories, but also cut out some things entirely because they are "bad". Everytime I do this, I do exactly what you have described: have a great month of so, then either get bored or have a free for all and never look back.

Drastic calorie cutting is challenging, but also no fun. If you feel as though you are constantly missing out or can't have something, you'll glorify it and crave it, then feel horrible for cheating, then eat for comfort, and roll on down the hill.

Focusing on a larger daily intake doesn't mean that you're not still with the program, just that you're being reasonable with a plan that you can LIVE with. What would you do once you reach your goal? If you have made changes that are comfortable, you should be able to continue to manage your weight after. I'm certainly not there yet, but I can say that this time is going so much more smoothly. Good luck!

I think a lot of us have been in the same situation and you are very brave for admitting it. I will do really good OP for a few weeks, then have one bad meal in the evening, then its all downhill.. takes me a few days and lots of chewing myself out to get back on track. I have been doing things a little different lately and it seems to be ok with my weight loss. I was at UIL for my job yesterday and there were mini PB cups. I wanted a few, so I hate a couple.. did it make me gain? No.. was it something I probably should have eaten? No. BUT I am not going to restrict myself to the point that I am miserable. If this is for life.. then life happens. Just gotta find what works

Ya i have been going through the same issue.. i did so good for 2 weeks then life got in the way like it always does. I'm trying to decide if counting calories is the right plan for me because i get so wrapped up in the numbers. I read on someone's profile here and i LOVE this quote not sure who's it is but it says something like you only fail when you stop trying.. so I'm talking to myself here as well as you lol we got to just keep trying everyone fall's but getting back up is what's going to save us in the long run.

Thanks for all your replies

I think you're right - I was restricting myself far too much for it to be a long-term solution to my eating issues. The cutting out "bad" foods thing is especially true as I wouldn't allow myself anything with >5% fat. Looking at my slim friends this week, I notice that they actually eat really naughty foods, just not very much of them. So perhaps the odd treat here and there will keep me focussed and I won't feel like hurling myself off the wagon in such an extreme fashion.

Going to make some adjustments and see how it goes