Alright. It's only been three and a half weeks. And I've fallen off the weight loss train again. WHAT IS UP. Haha...I mean, I always start super-committed and even when I don't do everything exactly the way I want to do it, I stay committed. For two weeks. And then everything goes to heck.

Most of the time, it's life situations. I'm a college student, so my life seems to be constantly in turmoil, especially since I am in my last year of school and therefore have the GRE, grad school applications, an honors thesis, etc. added to my plate. And I am an emotional eater, so oftentimes when I am stressed, I will eat. And once I eat I think to myself, "Well, I just had a doughnut, so what's the point in working out today?" It's a vicious circle. Add to that the fact that my boyfriend constantly craves fast food, so we are always eating junk when we're together plus he never wants to work out...well, here I am.

I'm not giving up, but the past week and a half have not gone well. Very little working out has happened. Lots of bad eating choices have happened. And I feel pretty disgusting and disappointed right now. I can't keep yo-yoing or I'm always going to stay the same, and I want CHANGE. But it seems like no matter how much I tell myself (or anyone else) that, it doesn't matter, I still don't change. But I want to, I really do.

I'm going to the gym in a few minutes, and I hope my boyfriend won't wimp out on me and will go to the gym with me tomorrow. And then I hope I get up on Monday and go to the gym. And throughout all of this I avoid junk and get back on a good eating plan. I just don't want to keep hopping on and off. I want to hop on and stay on!

Hey fellow college student! I feel you on that, I am coming up on my last few semesters (Thank GOD) and I am studying for the LSAT and trying to figure out a way to pay for school and still be able to support myself in the process so yea, me and emotional eating go hand in hand. Now I know I am new at this (Like August 2010 new) but I have made one big switch that has helped: whenever I get really frustrated or sad or whatever emotion that would lead to emotional eating, I throw my iPod on and go for a brisk walk and the kind of music I am playing helps too...you can totally do this and if you need a "e-buddy" I'm here because I know college and life are tempting and frustrated...HTH

Ok, I don't want this to sound harsh, but I'm a straight talker when it comes to weight loss. I don't BS around.

1) It sounds like you need some in your face reminders of where you truly want to be. Put some inspirational photos/quotes everywhere so you have that in your face constant daily reminder to help you stay strong and on track with your goals.

2) Buy some gum to help you through your emotional times so you don't turn to junk food. BTW Extra just came out with some dessert flavored gums

3) Plan, Plan, Plan, write, write, write, repeat. DON'T let excuses be OK. They are not OK, in fact, they are down right debilitating to your success. I am a mom of four, have a full time marketing career, and my older kids participate in sports several times during the week, on top of keeping my house together and everyone organized and getting my own workouts in and taking time for myself, I have to make sure I have a plan of attack for each day so I don't give myself a chance to fall off the wagon. You have to break the cycle and it's starts with changing your thinking patterns.

4) If you truly want something bad enough, you will, at any cost, do what it takes to succeed. Remember, the only person you can depend on is yourself.

Yep yep! Without a goal, you'll always be waffling around without focus. Trust me, I do that a lot. Your ticker is pretty general, how about breaking that down into smaller goals so that when you hit it you get a little jolt of accomplishment.

Also I want to emphasize that you need to change your thinking. Even if for two weeks you're gung ho and for a week you're kinda meh, that's still two weeks you're doing all you can. If after your "meh" week you can get back and gung ho then you've never really fallen off the wagon, you've just hit a bump that jostled you a bit. GET BACK ON THAT HORSE and keep going. Even if you fall off a million times, as long as you still keep getting back on you have NOT failed and you should NOT be ashamed.

Yeah, I've been considering putting up inspiration photos/quotes just to constantly remind me of my goals, but I just haven't gotten around to it. That is also a pattern - procrastination. lol I chew gum but I didn't know there dessert flavored ones now! Cool!

Thanks to everyone for the other inspiration/tips. I guess I'm just kind of a perfectionist, so it's hard to deal with when I fail, and it makes me feel like I failed for life. I know that's irrational and overdramatic, so I just need to realize that one bad week is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

Hey guys,
I'm right there with you, except that I fell off the wagon a long time ago, and i've been slowly chasing it unable to get back on for months. I'm at my all time heaviest weight in my life now.
Like most of you I'm a student, i'm in medical school on my rotations working 12+ hours/day and then coming home to study. I don't know how to take care of myself and take care of all these other people. I come home at night too physically and mentally tired to cook, grocery shop, or work out-- i order out almost every night, i overeat, i basically binge out of 'feeling like i deserve a treat" almost every night.
It's like, i know exactly what i need to do, but i don't do it. My excuses are all valid excuses, but i take them too far. I still manage to watch my favorite shows, read stupid websites, and i get fatter and fatter and then cry about it and wonder what am I doing to myself??? I definitely need to be back here, and need everyone's support as much as the original poster here, and I hope we can all be that support we need.

I'm sorry I have to disagree with the bolded; no excuse is a valid excuse I am in the same boat as you: work about 45-60 hours a week, 4 nights a week I have class, two nights a week I have LSAT prep class, I help take care of my 80-year old grandmother and I am an avid volunteer

I can't even freakin cook, but I make sure that I go to the grocery store and buy some frozen vegetables and a few entrees and I sit down the only time I have (Sunday afternoon) and I plan out my whole week, that's the only time I can get it done now and although I am new to this, I am losing weight steadily and I can really see it now.

I don't want to be harsh on you, but I do have to agree with another poster, if you want something hard enough you will work for it.

because I want you to know it's all love...we're fat chicks in this together, and think of it this way, how can you tell your patients to live a healthier life if you yourself don't?

i agree i just meant the reasons i'd gained wieght-- i mean i had multiple surgeries, was bed confined, and depressed. At this point i CAN fix things if i want it badly enough now. Four pounds down now, 84 left to go.
Thaknks for the tough love