I let myself go a bit over the Festive season and I went on holidays afterwards... As a result I have put on 2kgs and feel awful. But I am finding it REALLY difficult to get back into healthy eating and exercising.

I have managed to do laps in the pool Sun, Mon & Tues this week and today (Wed), I went to aqua aerobics, so I am getting my exercising back on track (though would like to include walking more). But it's the eating that is really causing problems!

I've always been an overeater and an emotional eater and I think being back from holidays has meant that I am feeling more emotional adjusting back to "real life". I know I also got into some bad habits while away.

I am trying to plan my meals but I am not sticking to them. Grrr. It doesn't help that I still have junk food in the house from Christmas (it's dwindling quickly though and I am not going to buy anymore so there is no temptation!). But I'm super hungry all the time!!! So so hungry!!!

Any tips on how to get back on track? I am beating myself up majorly for this and feeling so awful which I know isn't helping... But I need small manageable steps to get myself back on track!

Any help or tips would be so appreciated!

AvD

First of all, be kind to yourself. It IS super-hard to get back on track after holidays and such. What has helped me is to make an "appointment" for myself, a commitment to start on a particular day. Prepare your environment in advance: stock up on healthy, filling foods, get rid of the "junk" that only makes you feel tired, hungry and bad about yourself. Make a plan and stick to it. Make contingency plans for social situations. I just can't emphasize enough how important planning is. Once you get going, you will start feeling better and that in itself will be a great motivator. Best of luck to you--you will do it!

Get rid of the sugary sweets - you are hungry because of the sugars in your system. At least that's my problem. I did a pretty low carb couple of days and the cravings were gone after that. If I felt I needed something sweet, I got a diet soda to tide me over.

I feel your pain. This fall was a tough one for me.

I feel for you -- it is SO HARD to get back on track. But you've made a start with the exercising. I agree that getting the rest of the junk food out is key. But if you feel as though you're trying to make yourself go cold turkey, then one thing that has helped me is to set a goal for each day for one week and continue those "achieved goals." For instance, I'll start off with just making sure that I drink enough water. The second day, it's water and five servings of veggies and fruits. Third day, it's water, veggies/fruits, and exercise. By the end of the week your sugar cravings will have abated and you'll be back in your old weight loss habits.