Almost 2 years ago I started South Beach because it was recommended by my Doctor. I did amazingly well and lost 54 lbs on it within the first 6 months. While I still tell everyone I follow SB, I haven't really done so in the past 6-8 months. My hubby also joined in with me and he did well also. Now we're both getting off track. He has put 15 lbs back on and I have gained 25 lbs back and it's driving me crazy and getting me very upset. It's easier said than done to get back on the track and I'm looking for something to get me going. What has everyone else done, to push them back on the wagon? Any advise would be so greatly appreciated.

P.S., I need to change the tickler.....It's wrong

Cannwarren. You're in good company--this kind of thing has happened to many people on their weightloss journeys. What's key, I've found, is to first figure out how the slide happened. Then you have to figure out how you can prevent it from happening again. On SBD, what usually happens is that you go off plan and the sugar cycle keeps you from getting back on--the withdrawals in P1 are hard and it's easy to give up. It's also easy to convince yourself that you're giving up so much when you're on plan. The truth is, you're giving up even more when you're off plan...your health, your (true) happiness, your ability to enjoy tons of things (from sitting comfortably in an airline seat to playing with your kids), and, quite possibly, your life.

Being back on plan is its own motivation, IMHO. You feel SO good when you're back on plan that it's hard not to keep going. Getting there is the hard part. Personally, I found that when internal motivation didn't work, external did. I'm a people pleaser, so I joined my local nutrition clinic, where I went for weekly checkups, and had to fill in a daily food diary. Facing the music each week made me much more motivated to follow the plan. It took a while to get back on track, but I'm there and losing more every week. I gained back 40 of the nearly 130 I'd lost. If I can lose it again, so can you...especially with only 25 (good for you on keeping nearly 30 lbs off!!! )!

Here's another thing that totally motivated me: someone posted an online site where you could put in your current and goal weights, and it would show you what weight you would be at if you lost 1/2 lb a week (or more). I couldn't believe how long it would take for me to lose it if I only lost a lb a week. It made me realize I had to get going on it, or this thing would be with me forever!

Once you've got some kind of motivation in place, set yourself up for success in Phase 1. Make sure you do it on a week when you don't have any reason to go off plan (no birthdays, celebrations, business dinners out, etc.). Throw away everything that isn't on plan in the house (or give it to a friend). Fill the fridge and pantry with good OP stuff. Figure out things to do to distract you when you get the muchies. Plan on taking it easy so you don't stress yourself during the SBD flu. It shouldn't take more than five days to get rid of the cravings. Then you're good to go!

Hi Cann, remember me? We started about the same time two years ago. Don't beat yourself up. I'll bet you are still doing lots of beachy things even if you aren't sticking exactly to plan. The first six months were easy, right? Since then it hasn't been so easy. Winters are tough for me. Over the holidays last year I gained back 5 lbs. Got them off again, and another 10 lbs or so, then over this winter I regained again. But even so I am way better off than I was 2 years ago. Spring/summer always seem to be much easier to stay on-plan. All those yummy garden-fresh veggies. Let's get back to business together!

I truly sincerely believe that this is a process, a journey. For some of us, with a lot to learn, it is going to take longer, take more attempts. The biggest factor for us is that we decide that, no matter what, we are not going to give up on ourselves. Ever. It doesn't matter how many fresh starts you need. You can have as many as you want.
Take a look at yourself now, and I am not just talking about weight. Do you have healthy habits now that you didn't have two years ago? Do you know more about healthy eating? Do you have a collection of great recipes? Have you learned things about yourself - why you eat, why you carry excess weight, what are your trigger foods/danger times, etc.? A lot of the work we have to do has nothing to do with exercise or tracking our food, it is inside our head. Even if the scale doesn't reflect it yet, you are farther along on your personal journey. We often learn more from our mistakes than our successes and that helps set us up for success in the future. We can do this!

I agree one hundred percent with what Laurie said! You've got to figure out what you're doing, where you want to go, and how you want to get there. I was in your boat just a few weeks ago. I had gained back 15 pounds since Christmas. I thought a bite here, a drink there and suddenly I have no motivation to eat well. But since jumping back on the scale I realized how quickly I sabotaged the good work I had done all last year.
The 3 things that really help me to get back to it are weighing in (whether it's daily or weekly, having some concrete number to know if you're doing well or not has really helped to keep me going), journaling my food, and exercising at least 5 days a week. If I can do these things, so can you.
Welcome back to the Beach, we're so glad you've rejoined us!!!!

Don't ever be embarrassed. I lost 65#s and then fell apart last year after the sudden death of my mom and gained back over 80#s. Starting fresh worked for me. Cleared out the kitchen from all "contraband" and made lots of new dishes for inspiration. After a few weeks, it became second nature.

Now I'm working on the exercising part...I also became a couch potato too. Good luck and see you on the Beach!

Thank you so much to all 4 of you. One of the major things that keeps me going is people like yourselves that share their kindness and words of wisdom with me on a daily basis. It really it the support I need to stay focused on what my goals are. All of your words have really touched home with me today. My neighbor sent over carrot cake muffins last night with cream cheese icing. I had two last night and they were delicious. I though. wow, one would go great with coffee this morning, but I had a dream last night that all of my clothes were so tight I couldn't breathe. I felt terrible. This morning, I woke up, drove Hayley (my 6 year old) to school and when I came home, I was so ready for those muffins. I made my coffee and some home eggs and some shredded cheddar came out of the fridge with me and I made a great omelet. My 6 year old is probably one of my greatest support tools. She reminds me of how I want to be around her. Needless to say, the muffins are now wrapped up for me to give to the guys at work that are always starving for anything. I met my daughter at school today and brought her a healthy subway kids lunch and packed myself some cheese and slices of meat for a healthy protein snack (I avoided subway because of the bread). So I feel I made a great choice for today so far. I took out lean ground beef for tonight and am making chili. I know it is one day at a time. Again, I would love to keep in contact with all of you on a daily basis, your words really hit home for me today and I can't thank you enough. This really is one of the best message boards for South Beach.

back. I just came back yesterday and I do remember how supportive everyone is here.

You can do this and so can I. Congratulations on getting on top of this before you gained back everything or more.

!!! Don't worry about falling hard off the wagon. We all do it!!!! Keep coming back to Fat Chicks on the Beach! The support here is what's kept me going after I fall on my head over and over again. Good luck!!!!! You can do it!

Hi Cann, I am in the same boat as you even though I have not left this board, my eating has been horrible and my ticker is lying and I have been sliding backwards since Christmas. I have regained probably about 15 lbs and feel horrible because my clothes fit worse and I am not eating right. This week I celebrated my birthday and I have decided it is time to kick butt and get back into gear. I have one more birthday luncheon tomorrow and then on Saturday I am starting Phase 1 for two weeks and I have a food and exercise journal ready which is what worked for me when I lost all the weight before. I have been exercising but only walking and I know for me that is not enough. I need more vigorous exercise and I need to count my calories that is what works for me and I am ready.

So you know what worked for you the first six months, remember how good you felt, how your body felt when you were eating right! How much energy you and hardly ever felt sick- Lets get back to that and let's start the journey and here is to getting back on track.

Thank you Bunnababy, Weezle and Pearlrose. My earlier post showed me down to 300. I have since fixed the ticker and it's now right. This board is one of the most important tools we have to sticking to this lifestyle. It's easy to stray away and get off track. I just told my husband I have left the last of the carrot cake muffins for him and to do what he pleases. I have done perfect today. I think just doing it and not making myself wait, but be a key that I need now to get this to work. I would love to see a copy of your journal to see how you keep track.

Hi Cannwarren. Welcome back

I've definitely discovered that this is a lifelong journey. I stuck to plan like a fiend to get to goal but now I'm constantly monitoring the 5+ lbs that sneaks back when I go astray. I'm actually just taking it off yet again. I have a 5 point list and every night I have to check off the things I did. It definitely helps me knowing I have to be accountable for my behavior, even the little spoons of peanut butter.

You can do this! You already proved you can lose and keep it off, you've kept almost 30 lbs off. That's an impressive accomplishment as anyone who has tried knows. Pat yourself on the back for successfully losing and maintaining that loss and hop back on the beach for the next leg of the journey

This is a sample of what I use didn't quite copy over well but you will get the idea
Lifestyle Log
Goals for the Week Date: ______________________
Daily Calories:
Daily Fat Grams:
Daily Steps:
Physical Activity Days per Week:
Minutes per day:
Lifestyle Goals*:
• __________________________
• __________________________
• __________________________
• __________________________
• __________________________
• __________________________
• __________________________
Plan / Steps:
• __________________________
• __________________________
• __________________________
• __________________________
• __________________________
• __________________________
• __________________________

What barriers do you anticipate facing for this week?n Time n Travel Work n Fatigue n Weather n convenience n Holiday n Eating Out n Lack of support n Family demands n Health problems n Hunger/Appetite Emotional triggers n Social function n Lack of motivation n Injury n Stress n __________________n __________________
What plans do you have for overcoming your barriers?
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________
Healthy Eating and Active Living | HEALTH
Daily Meal Record Day 1: ______________________ Date: ______________
Time
Amount
Food/Beverage
kcals
Fat (g)
Totals
Lifestyle Activity Record
Type of Activity
Minutes
Distance
Steps
Totals
Feelings/Situations

Pearl, did you create this yourself? It's really good!

I use a journal that I actually like a lot--it has many things in common with Pearl's (though I think her's is better!) and is available on Amazon. My nutritionist recommended it. Don't be thrown off by the fact that it's designed for teens, as it works very well for adults!

Hi beachgal -- sorry to go OT, but can you tell me how to do a link that has words in it (like "a journal") instead of the link URL? Thanks!

No I did not create this myself, it was given to me from health insurance company.