A little background info: at the end of last June I started Ideal Protein, between then and (let's face it) probably Thanksgiving I lost 36 pounds (starting weight 204, lowest at 168). Admittedly I wasn't super strict with myself, but being young (22), I had age on my side. I decided to take a weeklong "break" during Christmas, with the intentions of getting back on come January

...Unfortunately I haven't been able to since then. In eight months, I've probably had a combined week of clean eating. I'm too scared to check the scale, but last time I did (two weeks ago, maybe) I was clocking in at about 191. I'm just beside myself. I was looking and feeling great last year and I've slid right back into bad habits. Not only am I ashamed of myself and my lack of self control, I'm also embarrassed because everyone I had come in contact with could tell I lost weight and would compliment me endlessly, and now they can all see I'm gaining most of it back.

Every day I say to myself "I'll start again tomorrow" and then, of course, something comes up; drinks, dinner, family gatherings, pizza.... I know I obviously didn't get off the program in the proper manner, so that isn't helping me. I also don't want to see my "coach" because he did absolutely nothing, I haven't spoken to him since last year; he was just there for me to buy the food and check my progress, but otherwise I was on my own. My father still goes to him every week, so I have him buy me things, but I never end up eating any of it.

I don't know what to do. That's not true, actually. I know exactly what I need (and want) to do, but I am having such a hard time doing it. Has anyone had similar experiences?

Yes, very similar. Until the day I said "I start today" and began. Tomorrow never comes. I know this sounds much easier said than done. You can do it!

You recognize what happened and what you need to do. You know you get results from the program. Start today....not tomorrow. Give yourself credit for getting on the program at 22 years of age and not wasting 30 more years being over weight, like me! All of the events and special occasions that came up your weight loss will come up through your life....you have to pick and choose your celebrations.....can't over indulge at every event!! I'm proud of you for voicing your worries and posting your struggle. Start today.....with one meal at a time. You can do it and we will support you.

I completely relate to what you are saying, I have struggled with weight loss my whole life, like the other poster said you are young and recognizing now what you need to do.. now its time to commit to doing it I know easier than said than done, I am getting back on the wagon today.. and going to take it one day at a time and plan, plan plan.. good luck you can do this!

You can't change the past, you can only learn from it and get going again. Now you know that you can't not be "super strict" with yourself and get to where you want to be. That's a good lesson to learn.

So you just start over and keep going. Sometimes it's just a matter of doing it one meal, one bite at a time. You know IP works and it's time you put everything you learned the first time around to good use to help you reach your goal this time.

Not only am I ashamed of myself and my lack of self control, I'm also embarrassed... Quit being so hard on yourself. Old saying, but so true "it's not how many times you fall down, it's how many times you pick yourself up and keep going."

If your coach isn't motivating you and helping you find your best strategies to do IP, come hang out here - we'll give you tons of motivation and ideas!

And as Clarington45 said - plan, plan, plan! You have a great opportunity to make the rest of your life better by getting your weight under control now and it's super that you recognize it. Get started and hang in there!

Story of my last year I lost 70+ on IP and then went through some major changes in life (move, new job, starting school again) and fell way off the rails. I half-heartedly tried to get back on IP about 6 months ago but my heart just wasn't in it, I was still focusing on what I COULDN'T have once recommitting to IP (fruit, yogurt, hubby's homebrew beer). I had lost sight of the fact that food should never be at the controls....when you let food drive the bus in your life, it tends to ride you over a cliff

I also made the mistake of not coming back to this forum right away...you have taken a huge step in the MENTAL game of weight loss just by posting here! You have nothing to be embarrassed about - you are human! And any regains don't take away from the HUGE accomplishment of losing the weight in the first place - it just means that pesky fat lived to fight you another day. Losing the weight, keeping it off...they are smaller battles in the larger war. You can lose a battle and still win the war

Hang in there!

jacaline - Many of us have faced similar situations and can feel for where you are right now. I, too, fell off and could not find the motivation to get back. Here is what helped me, along with the advice of a wise lady, Ruth Ann!

Look upon your second approach to IP as one totally new, not restarting the old goal and patterns. Do not knock yourself for the pounds regained, just approach this as new goals, new incentives. Do not fall into thinking 'these are pounds I have lost before'.

Get out the food diary or a personal diary and journal your frustrations, anger, whatever. Getting it out on paper helped me to put the feelings relating to restarting away. I chose new goals, wrote down reasons for which it was important to me now as opposed to when I first started IP.

My new rule is to be 100%IP in both actions and thoughts - I am working one day at a time to keep my mind on track without allowing the thought of slipping, cheating, stretching, rationalizing. If the program is no cream with coffee, then that is it, no "quick splash" 'cause it won't matter, no licking beaters, no extra mouthful of an allowed IP food, no extra veggies cause I cooked a wee bit much. I am toeing the line.

Now some may say that sounds extreme but having slid down that slippery slope because of those kind of behaviors, I want to walk proud and tall that I know I can control those behaviors because my health and sanity are too important. I am not going to rationalize away changes and modifications to the program. I will earn the right to modify it when I get to Maintenance and then the rules for that will govern how I get to earn and eat off the regulation of Phase 1.

You can do it but you need to decide what actions you will put into place NOW to do that. Clean cupboards of non IP food, organize an IP closet, shopping for neat veggies, whatever. NOW.

I agree with all the other comments. I could have written your post, except I gained back even more. I started a new job in January and have basically gone into hiding since then. All my friends at my old job were so happy for me that I lost the weight, I'm embarrassed for them to see me. I was supposed to play softball with them this summer, which I backed out of. I spent the whole year trying in vain to restart a previous diet, it was starting IP that shook me out of it. I'm also fairly young, and there are definitely different challenges for us than others. Not any harder or easier, just different.

Maybe try shaking things up? Try some new recipes or some alternative foods. It might help with the "diet fatigue". I'm making a real effort to constantly try new recipes and not get stuck in a rut. There's some I like better than others and will have more regularly, but it's still important to mix it up.

Anyways, you're definitely not alone in this.

This my third serious attempt at Ideal Protein. I have been in your same place. I lost 40 lbs felt food about myself then went back to old habits and gained it all back. I then tried to get back on program for a couple years, every day I would fail and say I'll start tomorrow.

I am three months into my third time on program. I have lost over 40 lbs in three months. The key this time is going to an excellent health coach. I have to drive over an hour each way to see her, which is not easy. I work full time and have three boys. Not cheating at all, therefore I stay in deep ketosis which makes this plan work great and simplifies things.

One of the biggest things that keeps me on track is that I made the commitment to myself. As my coach said my first week, you have to take care of yourself first before taking care of others.

I read the maintainers thread. There are many successful people there that have kept off the weight. They have a list of several books that help with the mental aspect of weight loss. I feel getting my head in the right place is going to be the key to maintenance.

Jacaline

Good for you for posting your story and asking for support. I don't have much to add as you have gotten some great feedback from experienced IPers. You can do this and you deserve to be successful reaching your health goals.

I agree that this this sight can be a huge source of support but some people also benefit from the in person accountability of a good coach. So find a good coach for yourself even if it is a bit out of the way or may be it is your family doctor and get the IP support here.

You can do it and I look forward to reading your posts as you get back on track.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm experiencing this at this very moment!!!!!!!!! I started at the beginning of March 2014 at 195.4 (lost 16.4lbs to 179.0). I was doing great til the end of April when my family and I went to visit my parents in Hawaii. We were there for 10 days and I was about 85% IP. I didn't gain any weight, but I didn't lose any either. Since we got back from that vacation, I have been up and down in the mid-170's. I was still eating IP...sometimes 3 brownies in a day plus a couple of IP chips...plus my regular dinner. Some days were better than others, but I didn't go crazy. But about 2 weeks ago, I figured out how much money I spent on IP products and was shocked! So, I decided to not eat so many and tried to "be good" on 'normal' food. I shot up to 181! I am ashamed, too! Disappointed in myself! I just can't seem to get back on track. I sometimes look at food...knowing I shouldn't eat it...but choosing to anyways. It's crazy how cravings work!

BUT........I just joined (like today) the Labor Day to Thanksgiving Challenge here on this forum. I encourage you to do it, too (if you haven't done it already). I also decided to make mini-goals for myself. I didn't think I wanted to do that in the past, but after reading many posts that had mini-goals it made me excited! And my first mini-goal is set for 3 weeks. I can do that!

So, please sign-up for the Labor Day to Thanksgiving Challenge! Hope to see you there!

I know many of us can relate. A couple of years ago I lost 95 pounds on ip. For the first year the scale bounced around a lot, 20 pounds up, 20 pounds down while I fought for my motivation again and a tired metabolism who just didn't want to lose any more. Then last year I faced some horrible health news between my husband, myself and then my sister-in-law. Now almost one year later much of my weight is back, not all, but enough to feel like I have to start all over again. However it's never too late and we did it before. I'm lucky to have a very close friend who I lost the first time with (she too gained most of her weight back) and she started back on ip last week and so I'm joining her on Tuesday.

We can do this again. I've decided to not over think this and dwell on the bad choices I made in the past. I just want to get back into my skinny clothes again.

Dana! I'm back too girlfriend....we got this

One thing that a great friend (you know who you are) suggested as a help to 'restart' - do not look upon this as a continuation of the original goal and plan. What that leads me to do is look at every pound as one that I have lost, again, over and over. That emotionally is a negative sort of thought.

"If I had not messed up, I would not be losing this same pound at 185 that I did several times before." Not a good idea to rehash bad times and bad choices. Start anew.

Instead, in my journal I have a new start weight, a new goal, and a new approach. "I have lost 5 pounds on my way to goal" instead which is a much more positive thought.

So happy to see a familiar face. Best of luck with your re-start. I just need to get through that first week.