Hi. I lost quite a bit of weight last year and at about 2 weeks before the new year I kind of fell off the wagon with stress getting to me. I have been off the wagon since. I have gained back about 15 pounds. God I hate admitting that.

Due to the stress of school, and family/personal issues, I was making really bad food choices and exercising rarely.

Now I have fully realized how much weight I've gained back, and it scares me but apparently not enough to give me the motivation I need to get back to losing again.

So I need some tips or advice or help or something because I don't know what to do. I know it seems simple, just go to the gym and start eating diet food again and just throw myself back into my program-- but, heck if anything concerning weight loss was as easy as it seems then we wouldn't be overweight now would we.

I know that at least getting back to posting here often will help, so I think I have made the first baby step lol

The best step is that first step; coming back here is important. It will help keep you aware of your goals. The next one is choosing to eat better each day; forgive the mistakes, and just keep on going. Eventually, you will get back into the swing of your plan.

Also, make sure that you are getting the nutrients your body wants/needs; meaning choose nutrient-rich foods that satiate your hunger and feed your body. Some people eat too little, then binge. Make small changes. At the same time, try to find better ways to handle your stressors; that will take some time and effort too, but in the long run, will help your eating too.

To me it sounds like you know how to lose weight fine.

What you don't know as well is coping with stress. So how about spending some time in that area? Are you an emotional eater? When you get stressed do you rely too much on take out? What exactly is it that's a stress trigger? Stuff like that. Was it holiday time and social eating that trips you up? Was it student finals? What?

So the next time a stress bump in your life road hits, you can take it without falling out of your wagon. You know YOU are the driver of this wagon right? You steer where it goes.

A.

You know, I eat when I get bored, I eat when I am upset, I eat when I am stressed of worried, or especially as a reward for doing something I don't want to (like for school). I especially give into cravings really easy.

I was preparing for my first solo art show and really stressing to get everything finished in time and after it was over around February 10th, I just kept eating badly and slacking on my workouts

Hah! I guess it's not really funny but I just posted in another forum regarding a completely stressful art class that has me in tears multiple times a week that's causing me to come dangerously close to an emotional binge.

I'm finding posting here helps or even just reading, hot tea or even coffee. The warmth is comforting to me and fills my tummy. Depending on when you're stressed, occupying yourself can help. Go for a walk, run, gym, whatever it is. Usually I can't do that because it's at night when my kids are in bed but I end up cleaning... something. Toilets, showers, floors. The more stressed I am the cleaner my house gets. I want a dirty house!

The important thing is you're here before you regain too much. Even if the 50 pounds your ticker is showing is before your 15 pound regain, you've still kept off 35 pounds! That's an awesome loss! Even if you maintain for the rest of your stressful semester, that is a success!!

Good luck finding a way to manage your stress without food, something so many of us struggle with.

Wow, this is a tough one. I don't really have much advice to give.

Do you have access to a company EAP program or a counselor who could give you some tips on reducing stress?

Would it help to try to do something new or different with your food or exercise plan? Maybe changing from running to walking, or whatever you do, might get you motivated to exercise again. If you are counting calories, maybe you switch to a low carb plan?

Finally, rather than jumping tight back into weight loss mode, maybe try to just maintain for a couple of weeks. Allow yourself to have a break and get through the stressful period before losing again.

Good luck and stay strong.

Same thing happened to me. I thought it was stress but in my case it was a lack of having a goal. Now that I have a clearly defined goal I'm back on the program.

The stress is still here.

You can focus on the stress or focus on a goal.

I haven't read all the posts, so forgive me if I'm repeating advice: Sometimes it helps to do something completely different from what you had been doing. For example, if you've been doing low carb, try calorie counting. If you've been running for exercise, try a fitness class instead. The point isn't that you have to stay on the different plan; the point is that sometimes trying something completely different from what we've done before can get us out of whatever funk we're in.

Emotional eating is a problem many people have to deal with. I believe that if you’re in a generally good disposition, you won’t need food to make you feel better. Every time you feel a bit down, try and make yourself comfortable in other ways: put on some nice music, cuddle up in bed with your favorite book, have a chat with your best friend and share your feelings, dance, do a bit of shopping, anything that puts a smile on your face is welcomed. By creating a relaxing atmosphere around you there will be no need for ice cream to make you feel better. Feeling stressed out and being overwhelmed with anxiety can easily lead to emotional eating.The best strategy in this case is to try and reduce any stress that’s interfering with your normal activities. Take deep breaths, stay calm, try and approach every problem in a rational way: work to find solutions instead of stressing over them and letting anxiety take control.

Good luck and I hope this has helped a bit!

I really understand how hard it is to get back on track once you've stumbled. It helps me to think of something I've read here (I'm paraphrasing, so please forgive me): It's not how many times you fall, it's how many times you get back up.

For me, the idea of getting back on track is sometimes completely overwhelming, so what I find helpful is to just have one good day. During this day, I eat exactly as I used to eat (when on plan). I do the same things and I just log all my foods, etc. I work out as I used to and I do all the familiar things. If I feel the urge to binge, I distract myself and use any and all means to stop myself. I just focus on that one day as if my life depends on it. I even tell myself that I will have thoughts and feelings that will attempt to sabotage my efforts, but I won't let them have power over me. Not on this day. I don't think about a week from now or a month from now. I just focus. I also visualize how I will feel the next day, the sense of pride, accomplishment, etc. I will often organize my kitchen or my closet or my kid's rooms or toys. I just give myself this feeling that things are starting anew. Once I can do that one day, and even though it's sometimes a monumental effort, it gives me the strength and confidence to stay on plan another day and another and so on.

So essentially, it's one day at a time, but it's a very effective and major endeavor. I hope you find your way to the road you were on before.

So this is your start. Find alternatives coping strategies to deal with boredom and stress. Also, find other ways to reward yourself that don't involve food.

Remember to BREATHE. STAR = Stop Take a breath and RELAX. Deliberately let go of tense muscles.

I know the stressy/anxious feeling in your stomach can easily be mistaken for hunger or you want to eat to "stuff it down" -- avoid OJ, coffee and other acidic food when you are stressy.

Learn to put things on "Pause" in fitness world if you have something else come on the front burner. "Pause" doesn't mean "QUIT." It just means PAUSE. But neither does "pause" mean go all willy nilly either.

But then you aren't ADDING to the stress by expecting unrealistic things of yourself in a difficult stressy time. Give yourself permission to address project deadlines and finals and pause the other stuff a bit. You aren't going to be a student forever -- this time will pass.

I'd think more about handling stress in better ways. May want to check out "Life is Hard, Food is Easy" by Linda Spangle.

GL!
A

You know EXACTLY what to do; you got it right - eat less, move more. Yes, it IS that simple.

But easy? Nada! - you don't lack motivation; you lack commitment. Losing weight is not really an exact science as we know it. It's creating a calorie deficit, sure, but there's TOM that us ladies deal with, plus even if you stay in your caloric range, you may ingest too much sodium, resulting in water weight gain, etc etc etc. Some days we are "very good" and we gain a pound! Some days we eat without abandon, & we lose a pound! - we don't always understand exactly what our body is doing, but we know that if we stick to plan 80-90% of the time, we WILL lose weight. Sometimes we stall or plateau & we have to tweak our diet/exercise plan to get the scale moving again.

Bottom line? YOU DO KNOW WHAT TO DO & HOW TO DO IT. Now forget about your stressed out slip up, & commit to what you know & get back on track. You can do it!!

JohnP said it best. Focus on your goal.

Go stand in front of the mirror. Close your eyes. Imagine how you WANT to look. Then open your eyes. Do that now, I'll wait.

Now when you opened your eyes, did you see the person you WANT to be? If not then get to work. Do that whenever you feel like you're falling off the wagon. You can make choices that get you closer to your goal, or you can make choices that move further away. If you are on a program that you can't stick with, you need to modify it to reach your goal and be able to stick with it. Good luck and keep us posted.

When I started my most recent attempt at weight loss, I knew I wanted to eat a certain number of servings of meat, veggies, fruit, bread, etc. each day. So I made up magnets for my fridge; one for each serving of type of food that I wanted to eat in a day. As I make up meals, and grab snacks I move them from one section of the fridge to another. At the end of the day I have a very easy way to see how I did for the day. For me it is much more tangible and likely to be used than a food journal.

Good luck getting started again with whatever you think will work for you. Sometimes it just takes a little something to tangible change.