Hola chicks...let me preface this shameless plea for encouragement by saying what an amazing inspiration this site has been to me. Many of you may never know how your words, directed at me and others, have had a profound influence on my journey to being healthier. I appreciate your wisdom and advice.

My journey started out pretty hot and heavy (haha), in that I was losing weight quickly at first. I was tracking my food and activity pretty religiously, taking Saturdays "off" for dining-out and other indulgences. Now...I won't bull$hit you by saying, "I just stopped losing! Wah! [stomps foot]", but I've basically stayed the same weight for the past three months...I started doing Diet Bets, which I have been "successful" at in terms of winning them, but I've been "winning" them by getting all extreme (aka not eating enough and over exercising) in like, the last week of the month...and then pigging out for five days until the next bet starts... :/ Lame of me, I know. The result has been a net loss of maybe 5 lbs over the Summer. Something, sure, but I know in my heart I am cheating myself and can and should be losing much faster.

First step to recovery is admitting you have a problem right? That's why I'm writing this confession, I want to get back on track...life's not a horse race, it's a marathon. I am scheduled to run my first 5K on Oct. 20th. Any advice for reigning it in and staying on track would be much appreciated.

Thank you chicks! I think you are fabulous.

I think you've already taken the first logical step here, recognition. And losing "only" 5 pounds is so much better than gaining anything.

Good luck with the 5K! I'd planned on running my first one back in May but I got pregnant instead (doctor's orders that I lay off the high-impact stuff). I can't wait to get back to it again next year.

As for getting back on track, just do whatever works for you to stay accountable. In my case, I track everything I eat in a food journal. Some do better with tracking online or through an app. Remember that every day counts, that every meal counts! So make the most of what you eat.

Good luck, you can do this!

First,you have lost an awesome amount of weight; don't ever lose sight of that. And second, 5 pounds lost over the summer is good (maybe not as great as you want, but still good). Heck, 0 pounds lost would still be good in my book. Be thrilled that you didn't gain 5 pounds, which in and of itself would not have been an atrocity.

I share the same over-achieving pattern that you do, all or nothing. Get there by all means, then binge. I try to reign it in by not getting too invested in the number. Not getting overly excited to reach some point, not being totally invested in it, not trying to get there by any means, and then undoing my good work.

I am actively forcing myself to not be elated about seeing 150 this AM. I'm trying to be nonchalant, it's just another pound, so keep chipping away at the next one.

To make a long story short, I guess my approach is: if there is no high then there is no low.

Good luck, lecomtes. You know you can do this.

Hang in there. I've been stuck for a while also. I had the same experience with diet bets. The first one was relatively painless and I steadily lost the 8 lbs in a month that I had to to win. The next two were white knuckle rides! I found myself getting desperate near the end, because I wasn't going to lose my money - oh no! Then, like you, I went a little crazy after the bet ended. So... I probably lost the same amount as you over the summer. But, I look at it this way. This is how I want to live my life eventually -- staying at about the same weight. So, this is good practice. Yes, I'd like to eventually lose more pounds, but until I do, at least I can maintain (and lose slowly).

You can do this! Just keep doing what you're doing, and if you want to step it up, do so. I think I just don't want to try that hard right now... And that's not such a bad thing.

AwShucks, you took the words right out of my brain. I have 0 experience with diet bets, but I have lots of experience with maintaining (or just losing really slowly) while I'm "dieting." A lot of it does seem to boil down to the question "Is my desire to lose weight strong enough that I can eat significantly below maintenance-level?" Some days, the answer to that question is a resounding YES, and I'm sure those days are the reason I'm still slowly losing instead of only maintaining. However, this time around, my mental health is my #1 priority and honestly, eating at a deficit is really taxing on my mind, even if I fill up with veggies whenever hunger strikes. I have tried white-knuckling it before, and it worked great, until I was underweight and borderline-anorexic, terrified of losing control and ballooning back up to my original weight, which did end up happening after a couple years. I'm not saying that's the case for everybody; I may be in the minority. As difficult as it initially was for me to accept, I am now mostly okay with this slowwww weight loss. I've noticed that the more I accept the decisions I make without judging myself harshly, the more I can gently encourage myself to try a little bit harder.

Definitely stay accountable (whatever that means for you -- for me, it means being very mindful of what, how much, and why I'm eating) and try to keep yourself motivated by whatever means work nicely for you. Hanging around 3FC is, of course, a great motivational tool.
I don't know if you've necessarily been "cheating yourself," or that you should be in a hurry to lose weight. That's a lot of pressure! You were right that life is a marathon. If you try to sprint through it, you may become fatigued and discouraged. I also really like what newleaf123 said about not getting too attached to numbers you want to see on the scale. "If there is no high then there is no low" definitely rings true for me.

Good luck, and congrats on the 5 pound loss.

Small progress is better than no progress girl, just keep going!

Thank you so much ladies, I feel a renewed sense of motivation reading your replies. I'm going to track my calories again and maybe take a break from the dietbets for a while.
Elladorine, thanks, I'm a bit nervous about it, but I hear it's a wonderful experience. That's a bummer that you had to miss your 5k in may, at least you get a beautiful bundle of joy out of the deal though!
Newleaf, It's a challenging pattern to overcome, I like your idea of no highs, no lows. I do tend to get overly invested in certain destinations, losing sight of the fact that health is an ongoing thing. Thank you.
Great perspectives awshucks and peccavi...thank you! "I've noticed that the more I accept the decisions I make without judging myself harshly, the more I can gently encourage myself to try a little bit harder." -This is so true for me, I feel that my weight loss so far has been more a practice in forgiving myself than discipline. That's one reason I find 3FC so helpful, I started to notice that I don't judge other overweight people for the things I have often resented myself for, and maybe I deserve to treat myself the same way, with understanding. It's so true that there are just some days when the motivation to lose weight is greater than others.
Thanks for the encouragement Natalie, I'm going to keep at it and I hope each of you ladies will as well!
I believe this is possible, and you've helped to remind me that gaining 160+ pounds of extra weight took many years, and it may take a while to lose...and that is alright!
You are appreciated.