For the past 2-3 weeks I've been eating like crazy. Not to mention too tired to get my work outs in like I used to. Im still working out at least 4 days a week..but with the way I've been eating it doesnt matter. Ive gained 6 pounds in 3 weeks. Some of it might be water weight since I did go out and get completely drunk 2 nights ago. I dunno..I just really need some support right now. I know I can do this. I dont know if Im just scared to reach goal or if Im getting too comfortable with the way I look now? I really want to lose my last 20 or so pounds. : (

Hey there,

I am with you on this. It's so easy to get off track. Ugh, it's so frustrating. The only thing you can tell yourself is "look at the alternative". You have done so well and if you quit now, all of that work is lost. You are probably tired from eating crappy food, which is making it difficult to work out. You should start setting mini daily goals. Once you get back on track, even a little and you see a difference again, you will feel much more motivated. I feel ya, and I am with you. I know we can do this!

You're not alone. A lot of us go though stages where we go "off plan" and the weight starts coming back on pronto. The important thing is: DON'T GIVE UP! You have lost heck of a lot of weight, so you know what you need to do to get back on track.

As you say, some of the gain may be water weight - nothing makes me gain as quickly as when I drink too much alcohol. It makes us dehydrated and then we tend to hold on to water. Try drinking more water and doing all the things that have made you so successful at losing weight.

It's great that you are still working out regularly. Keep it up!

Once you get back on plan the weight WILL start to come off again. I know it can be very disheartening to gain back a few pounds - but you sure don't want to gain back all 72!!! Remember - quitting is not an option!

I've been having similar issues. As Penny said, I think it's normal. And perhaps that's why so many people gain it back!

If you're feeling out of control, maybe start by trying to retake control in the area(s) you feel most important or most do-able and work up. You know, don't try to rgain all control at once, but take baby steps again.

Good luck and best wishes for you getting back on track. I know how you feel. I think the closer that I got to goal, the harder it was. I gave myself permission to cheat at times when I shouldn't have. You have done amazingly well. I know you have the strength to pull through this.

It's alright. Just grab a giant bottle of water and watch your habits. You can do this, hun!!!

What I don't like is ... why is it SOOOOOO much easier to put weight back on in a matter of short time, but takes SOOOO long to burn it off? That's just NOT fair. No fair no fair. Okay, I know it makes no diff but I wanted to say it anyway!

You are doing really well so don't beat yourself up too much. Just try to overcome it the best you can, but don't give up!! You've come so far, I saw your ticker and wow what a great job you've done.

Jtjoray,

I always notice your posts because our numbers have been so close throughout this process. I'm sorry that you are going through a difficult time. I think that it probably happens to all of us to some degree. Why not take this time to remind yourself of how far you have come (look at pictures, try on old clothes) and all of the improvements that you have made in your life and health? I love to read about the health benefits when I am feeling down. What you are doing for your body in amazing!! You have accomplished incredible things!! Just from reading your posts, I know that you have this in you!! Now let's kick some butt in August!!!

Jtjoray- you've come so far into your goal, I think it's okay to trip once in a while. I'm sure you'll just get back up and go further towards your goal. I've seen your pics, you've come such a long way and you look fantastic. Don't worry, give yourself a pat, forgive yourself and just pretend it was a treat for all the hard work you've done so far.

Please note that this post is based on my experience. I don't guarantee that I'm right, but I wanted to share, because I think this is important.
There are two possible things that may be going on:

1. You may be having the "I'm 20 lbs from goal, and my god, what am I going to do when people notice that I'm sexually attractive again" reaction that I suspect is really common among many of us. My psyche went NO, NO, NO, NO for days.
If this is the case, be very gentle with yourself. Give yourself permission to eat small quantities of comfort food, then try writing your feelings down about everything you can think of. I ended up going to a therapist for a brief period of time - it really helped, and I went on to get married, and maintain my weight.

2. When I went back to work after my daughter was born. I had had the perfect pregnancy, was down 17 lbs from what I weighed when she was conceived. I was also very unhappy to be going back to work.

When I took those first few bites, it was like a switch went off, and I wanted to eat the fat back on. It felt BIOLOGICAL.

I've seen some interviews with formerly obese people who regained, and they said the same thing.

When this happened, I said the **** with it and ate. Now, if I were confronted with the same feelings, I would try to handle it differently.
I would be very rigid and controlled about my food. I would eat nothing that I really liked, heck, I wouldn't eat anything that even had any kind of strong flavor that would get my body interested. For me, oatmeal and celery and salads (with fat free dressing) and turkey.

I hope these help. Please feel free to PM if you have any questions.

Sue

First, let me say WOWOWOWOWOW you've ALREADY lost OVER 70lbs!!!! WTG!!!

I KNOW you CAN do this! Look how far you've already come!!!

Ok, so you've had a few bad weeks??? You've gotten lots of posts relating that it happens to many of us. Losing weight is hard work and sometimes we may get tired and/or stressed. Consider this your mini-vacation and get back to work!!!!

#1~you are still working out 4 times a week! YAY you!
#2~you are monitoring your weight and are aware of changes! This is SO important! Usually, when I've gotten disgusted and have fallen off of the "diet" wagon, I go into an oblivious state. Oblivious to how much I weigh. Oblivious to what food I am cramming into my mouth. Oblivious to how my clothes are fitting tighter (I actually usually blame my dryer---it has several dents in it for "shrinking my clothes" )
#3~you are right---some of this weight is probably "water weight". Regardless, it is a drop in the bucket of what you've lost!

Thank you everyone for you support. Im glad to say that 3 of those pounds where water weight. I've been drinking water like crazy and they came back off. I still have another 2 pounds to get off to be where I was. I can do this.

Hey you. No wagon falling off!!! Why don't you just ease into maintenance for a bit for a break? Is this the 1st time you've lost a signifigant amount of weight? If so I recommend doing some serious soul searching to establish this as your new life style and not a temporary situation. When I was your age I was "on a mission" to achieve the blessed thinness!! Well, that mentality caused me a ton of grief. Maintenance was way harder than it had to be and eventually (over the course of 9 years) I gained it all back and then again on top of that (I went from 198 to 135 then crept up to 262 after PG). My experience was a blessing in disguise as now I "get it". You always go really strong...maybe you need to kick it for a minute and gather your thoughts? Just my thoughts.....You still rock!

I know how you feel! I have been stressed out and eating all the wrong stuff....both for my weight loss and my heart! Even my fiance, who only 3 weeks ago i've gotten him into a weight loss mind set(he lost almost 10 pounds in 3 weeks!) , he is saying he felt better when we were eating healthy last week. normally, before he started the diet with me, he was a junk food junkie, maybe even worse than me! For him to say he craves the diet really means something!

I guess I can't use my current fears (health fears going on right now) as an excuse to drop my diet and quit exercising. I need to slap myself too. Hey, i'm right there with ya. The quicker you make the effort to get back on track, the easier it will be, at least it is usually true for me.

Hugs to you, you can do it. <3

I'm going through the same thing right now I haven't totally let myself slip, but I can almost feel it!

I'm glad to read that you got 3 of those lbs off! I hope the rest come off for ya quickly and eases your mind!

Kim