Hi Guys,

I've disappeared from these boards over the past few weeks... I'd been doing great with my diet for over three months, but everything went downhill when my husband and I moved interstate 2 weeks ago.

Long story short, the disruption of moving and the stress of relationship issues has resulted in me going off plan for several weeks now! I haven't weighed myself yet, but I'm pretty certain I've just about gained all the weight back I lost...

Has anyone been in a similar situation, and what's your advice for getting back on track and staying there when stressed? Thanks

Life is always going to happen, in spite of our best intentions.

Be patient, pick up and carry on.

You have not failed, you just had some life stress. It happens to the best of us!

Learn from it, look at it not from your perspective, but from a frame of mind, what would you tell a friend or family in the same situation. Take *you* out of the equation, what would you tell someone else in your situation?

You've had a lot of stress, no one is perfect, be kind to *you* pick up and carry on!

I don't think I have any advice but I have fallen off plan recently too. I have had anxiety issues and they just go on and on. I am weighing myself tomorrow morning and just going back to what was working before with a few minor changes to try to make it more sustainable. You can't go back in time but you can move on.

Sorry to hear you are stressed. They say moving is one of the most stressful life changes and if you are having relationship issues too then that can't be easy. Big hug!

You only fail if you quit trying. Moving is majorly stressful, and it is also difficult to eat right and exercise when you are in the process of moving.

Just try to commit to getting back on track tomorrow. Do one thing to support your continued weight loss, whether it is staying within your calorie limit, getting exercise, avoiding your avidity cheat food, etc. getting through just one day will help you feel confident about eating back on track.

Or maybe you try to maintain until the personal problems subside. Then hen things are more settled, go back to your plan.

Good luck.

i view this as a journey....sometimes i do good on my journey, sometimes i do bad on my journey...but i pick myself up as soon as i can and carry on....i ate amazingly well for a few days this week, then a sinus infection, antibiotics and impending TOM knocked me for a loop....i ate like crazy yesterday...still moving forward though....today i ate a more appropriate amount of calories....i dont view it as a "fail"....i just see it as some days i do better than others and if the majority of those days are successful, i will continue to slowly lose weight

You did not fail. This is a lifetime -- and none of us are perfect. You just have to move forward.

You know the saying..........some things we can change and some things we cannot change. Wisdom is knowing the difference.

I have SO issues....I can't change him. I accept that. Don't know if we'll be "together forever" but we're together now. Whether we together or not, I have to take care of myself.

So take care of yourself. Don't beat yourself up. Look at the big picture.

Those exact words. If you give up now, you will regret not picking up the pieces now before everything is out of control. Think about it, if you give up now, in a year, you'll regret not trying again. You can do this!

Thanks for all the fantastic support and advice guys! Time to jump back on that weight loss horse. I think a part of my problem is that I'm such a perfectionist and an all-or-nothing person, but I need to let go of that in order to keep things moving forward, as a few of you have mentioned :-)

You can't fail unless you give up entirely. I like to think of my weight loss journey as just that- literally a journey. Sometimes I get off at the wrong exit, get stuck in traffic, get a flat tire, or run out of gas, but I don't turn around and head back home!

Dust yourself off, give yourself a pep talk, and get right back to it! You can do it

Hi Finch 13 - nothing to do but pick yourself up, dust off, and try again. Stress really affects my eating too. The best thing I can say is be gentle with yourself, and this stressful time will pass. I have found that getting jammed up about the weight and food stuff just makes to 100x worse, and causes more stress.

I know it's hard, but give yourself a pass to refocus your mind and relax.

sending comfort and hugs!

Yes- something pretty similar- I moved long-distance to 'close the gap' in my long distance relationship and promptly gained. I've lived here almost three years now and have only recently gotten serious about losing that weight!

Moving is really stressful, especially if it's far, and it can really cause a lot of tension in relationships. Try to do your best to deal with it head on... always easier said than done, but best to establish a pattern for dealing with conflict that comes out of an issue or it becomes harder and harder to talk about.

As hard as it can be, try to stay on track diet-wise Maybe you can focus on maintaining for awhile, while you're getting settled. There's nothing worse than feeling stressed and gaining weight on top of it. Try to do something healthy for yourself every day and the rest will follow.

I agree with everyone else! I "pinned" this little guy a few weeks ago and thought I'd share.

Very true! You've all given me some great advice. I'm definitely going to keep plugging away at my goal for 2013! I'll have to weigh myself soon and reset that ticker though, sigh :-/

I'm an "all or nothing" person as well, and it does make things harder, imo.

You did not fail, you had a rough patch and you can move forward and do this!

One of the things you can do to help keep you on track is post here for accountability. I've seen so many do that, and I think it is helpful.

Do you use My Fitness Pal to track your calories, water consumption and exercise? Since using that, I am constantly on plan! MFP and this forum are my biggest motivators and my reasons for being successful thus far.

Here's to a great day today! And tomorrow...and the day after...and the day after that....

Yep, I use My Fitness Pal and it's worked better than anything else so far. I stayed on plan for 3 months using this and I'm back to posting here for accountability this month :-)