So, last week was a complete and total disaster. Every day- Monday through Sunday, was a giant dieting nightmare. See, I have been planning my 4 year old's Spongebob themed birthday party for a couple months, and the last week before the party I just decided I really needed to come home from work and get things done- I needed to take a break from the gym for once. I think that was the first mistake, because it all went downhill from there. My old eating habits snuck back up on me... pizza for dinner one night, McDonalds grilled chicken club for lunch (thats not the worst I could have gotten I know, but I can't tell you the last time I'd had a sandwich from a fast food place before that day!) and so on. Add to it the fact that I made from scratch 4 dozen cupcakes with homemade buttercream icing... yum... and you get the point. My issue is that over the course of last week, I've gained back about 4 pounds!!!! and now that its a new week, I would really like to start fresh- but I am so depressed about my "week of weakness" that I am having trouble finding my motivation again- even though I KNOW I only have about 4 weeks before wedding dress shopping! yikes!!! do you have stories about times you've "fallen off the wagon"? How did you find your way back on plan?

this is a Rockin' Robin Q if ever I saw one.
Once I have one good day back under my belt, a workout at the gym, it gets much easier. Even one meal back on plan gets me moving in the right direction again. It's like getting back in the behavioral groove, kwim?

I meant to add, I doubt you've gained 4 real lbs of fat, I'm sure some of that is the accompanying water weight.

I have fallen off the wagon so many times that I can't even count. Just take a deep breath, brush your shoulders off and start fresh. Don't think about your week of craziness anymore...it's behind you! Time to move onward and downward!

what Emme said. It's over and done with now and it's time to just move on. You've got some great and exciting goal dates to work towards, just put your focus on those and get back to the healthy way of life.

I'm guessing that without even thinking about the scale, you didn't feel as good after that week as you do with your normal routine of healthy foods and activity? So give yourself that gift of feeling good (even more important than the scale/looking good!)

Heck - I was off the wagon for 25 years! Just climb back on. what's done is done. You can't change it. You can only go on from today.

Maybe this will help you put it in perspective. I've been very strict with myself since January, but I recently decided that I would now "eat like a thin person." I have set my daughter up as my example. She watches what she eat, keeps portions small, works out, cooks most meals at home, etc. Exactly what you think a thin person would do. And once in a while, she goes off for a couple days. Cookies, pizza, party food, blah, blah, blah. Then she comes back to reality and straightens it out again. Gets the portions back in control, cuts out the sugar, and all is good again. That's the food reality of most thin people - getting it back and straightening it out after a few days of being off plan. We're harder on ourselves when we go off plan for a few days because we want to see the downward progress. Sometimes we don't think of this as a lifestyle, even if we say we do. Life is too short to be too hard on ourselves. Life is also too short not to take advantage of every day - in the best health we can be in. You can get back in step.

The biggest lesson to be learned here is that you ate off plan and skipped the gym and you didn't enjoy it. That shows how much you've embraced the new life style you've chose. Take that with you and go forward. You really will feel better once you get back on track because that's how our bodies are supposed to be treated. You can do it - 4 pounds of mostly water will come off in no time.

Lin

Thanks for the support everyone- I went to class last night at the gym like I usually would, and it felt good. I didn't eat the BEST dinner, but it was what we had as leftovers from the weekend that had to be finished up, so its OK. Today I brought my usual fruit, cheese and yogurt for breakfast and cut up tomatoes, cucumbers, and a can of tuna with a little balsamic vinegar for lunch (its actually really good!) and out for dinner tonight at one of my favorite places because they have a couple of healthy, lower calorie options that are delicious! We're also going to squeeze some gym time in tonight- I'll probably just run tonight, no class- my knee kinda hurts from last night. Thanks again!

It's over and done with. You fell, yes, but that was over a week ago. Don't carry that with you, forgive yourself, it happens and move on. The more you beat yourself up in your head the more it will feed the old pattern of not feeling good enough for this. But you ARE good enough, your doing amazing, we aren't perfect, all we can do is try. Be kind to you and say "You know what I messed up but look how good I have been doing, look at the progress I have gained so far, I'm doing awesome so lets keep going" Try and look at the good even in the bad, realize what triggered you into falling off the wagon so next time when the trigger happens again you will recognize it! Learn from it and keep going

Don't beat yourself up. Get back on plan and stick to it as best as you can. You will feel better. Things happen, life happens.