In a funk...

  • with my non-weight loss. It isn't anyone's fault except for mine. I am eating the old junk foods like there is no tomorrow. To be totally honest I am afraid there won't be a tomorrow if I don't stop this. I know I have to start over again but I just cannot seem to muster the ooomph to do it. I also know from the weeks that I followed plan to the letter this is the right plan for my body. Anyone else have this problem? I feel like such a failure and yet my weight is still down 17.5 lbs from beginning.

    Guess I am just hoping someone has some sage advice for me but in reality I also guess I am just whining about my own lack of willpower to get moving again. Guess I am also feeling those Christmas blues that hit me every year.

    Is the best thing to do just to do it and forget about what every one else in the house is doing, eating fudge, cookies, other candy, chips, you name it it is right here under my nose. It will help so much when the kids get moved out. If anyone remembers they were supposed to be out by now but their home got wrecked so they are here until mid-January. I know that I cannot totally use that as an excuse because something else will replace that in January, then February, etc. etc. etc.

    Doesn't anyone have the magic pill for me????? or perhaps a swift kick in the a**.
  • I don't have a magic pill, but I've got a big hug for you, Bunna.
    I know just how you're feeling. You know, it sounds like now isn't a good time for you to be trying to be completely OP. You've got a lot of stress in your life at the moment, and Christmas approaching doesn't make things any easier.
    Instead, why don't you try going on Phase III for awhile, and just maintain? I'll bet it's a lot healthier than the way you're eating right now, and you can allow yourself some treats that you'd never get on Phase I or even II.
    Sometimes we just have to "give in a little" if we're going through a rough patch. There are a lot of healthy snacks out there! We don't have to have the regular, greasy, deep-fried Doritos... we can have the Baked Doritos with a healthy dip!
    Or a big vegetable platter with a yummy dip.
    What about the Herbed Roasted Potatoes on page 287? Or the Chocolate Stuffed Steamed Pears (page 293). Ooooh... the Chocolate Sponge Cake! (p.292)

    When you're in a better frame of mind, you can go back to Phase I! Don't give up, sweetie! Don't give in to all that crappy food. You KNOW it'll only make you feel worse.

    You know what we're missing in the recipe section, girls? Phase III!!!
    Skinny-mini Peggy, have you any suggestions for us?
  • Bunnababy, everything Ellis said sounds like good advice. We all have setbacks and days (or weeks) when we just don't give a darn about what bad food we're eating. I just came through six months of no weight loss (at least I didn't gain either). You've already lost almost 18 pounds - that's fantastic! Pick up a 20 pound bag of potatoes next time you're in the grocery store and think "I weigh this much less than I used to". Even though I haven't been on 3FC very long, everybody is very supportive, so just keep writing whenever you need a boost. Hang in there!!!!
  • Bunna, thanks for the PM. If nothing else, I always have lots of hugs.
  • And Ellis Hugs are excellent!
  • Bunna, big hugs and prayers for you

    I think Ellis' suggestion is very sound. Try that and see. Just don't get upset with yourself, okay? That just leads to guilt and depression and more eating! Have you read anything by Geneen Roth? I'm going to post one of her essays on here, but I think you would love her books and they would give you quite a boost. The one I have, When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull up a Chair, has a bunch of really short (like 3-5 pages) essays so I think you might be able to sneak one in whenever you think about eating.

    and hope that we'll see you around here more often. Remember, you don't have to be OP to post.
  • Bunna - bih hugs. Give yourself a pat on the back for the 17.5 pounds lost. Way to go.

    Buuuuut...you must rethink this whole thing. What are your goals? What do you want to achieve in the end? How do you plan to get there? When do you plan to start again? Answer those questions and think of more if you need to and make a plan. If the plan means that you delay until after Christmas because of the temptations, then don't beat yourself up over your decision. Remember, it's the plan that you laid out for yourself to accomplish your goals.

    However, if you decide to start before Christmas, plan for that, too. Just make sure that your plan does not leave you feeling deprived. Have some OP sweet tasting things to snack on while other are into the fudge, etc. Also plan the occasional treat, too. My personal plan for Christmas is to stay on Phase 1 (and keep up most of the exercise), except on special occasions...e.g. staff Christmas lunch, Christmas dinner, Christmas Eve dinner, and any other special events that we have planned. Of course I am planning to be reasonable at those events, just maybe not fully OP.

    You can get through this...we're all pulling for you.
  • Bunna-

    Believe me, I know where you are because I've been there. I think we all have. Christmas is such a hard time of the year with everything that's going on and all the wonderful treats (I have a HUGE sweet tooth) . Ellis had a wonderful suggestion of trying to choose better food when you are faced with all those goodies. My strategy, like Peggy's, is to stay on P1 unless I am at an event where I know I will not be OP. I've also told myself that any meal that I do not have to go off the plan, I won't. I've done wonderfully since the beginning of December by dropping 5.8 pounds but I know I have a holiday party tomorrow night and a brunch on Sunday. I'll get back on it on Monday until the next weekend where I know I will blow it again. The week after that (Christmas Eve) I'm going to Disneyland so I know it will be blown yet again. Try to plan those off plan days and stay OP the rest and hopefully, you'll either maintain or lose. You can do it! All of us are here for you. Good luck!
  • Thanks everyone for the support and great advice. I tend to stay away when I am not doing well and then stick around when I am. I bet some of you know exactly how that is.

    Maybe I need to make a commitment to post everyday for a while until it becomes habit and I get to know everyone better. Then I can be a support to others too! That is like a "HELLO" moment. Thanks again everyone.
  • Bunna, you have the right attitude!
    Yes, I'd like to stay away sometimes, too, and if I wasn't a damned moderator, I WOULD!
  • Hi Bunna..

    I dont have that much extra to add.. the ladies appear to have it all covered
    They have some really sound suggestions... especially about posting here daily. I am really swinging all over the place with my eating, but I know that my better days are when I visit the 3FC site and get some inspiration and support..

    Sending you positive vibes!!!
    Marianna
  • Bunna - I originally wrote this for uncafecvooplay but it applies to you as well.

    You must try and fail to see what will really work for you. It is how I discovered that I have a very serious sugar problem. It works just like drugs for me. Not only is it regular sugar but it is also anything that tastes sweet, can possible trigger the feelings. Once triggered I eat and eat and eat like there is no tomorrow doesn't matter what it is I just pound the food. Now I try to avoid most of the foods that can trigger that attack. It took many failings to get to this point. Like they say with ciggarettes - don't quit quitting, which translates into don't quit trying to lose weight. When I started SBD - I honestly felt that I was physically incapable of losing weight. I've been trying for 7 years. What works for me is that I only eat whole foods. Meat, salads, veggies, nuts etc. I don't eat very much prepackaged stuff, no bread, no pasta, no matter what. But it took many diet failures to realize where I need to be and where I wanted to go. I really watch my portions because I can really eat a lot if I'm not careful. I have to recheck myself on portions daily.

    Now I'm actually doing it and I got to wear a size 16 last night to a dinner party for my work and every came up to me and said I looked great. At my highest point I was wearing a size 24.

    Create little goals for yourself. My first goal was to lose more on SBD induction than I did on Atkins induction - I made it. Then I want to be below 200 because I haven't been there in over 10 years. Next is under 190 because that is what I weighed when I got married - the first time. Next is 180 because that is when my face really changes with weight loss. Then below 170 because that is where my doctor tells me that I need to be to avoid complications of heart disease and diabetes. Then below 150 because I haven't been there for 25 years and finally my goal of 130. By breaking it down into little goals it makes it more managable.

    You can do this. You deserve it and I know deep inside how much you want to do this. Take every meal - one meal at a time. Every snack - one meal at a time. Etc. I live in a house with 2 other adults and 1 child. They aren't on diets and they eat everything. I've had to walk by big gooey cinnamon rolls on the kitchen counter for 2 days. Does it bug me - H**l yes it does. I think it is very insensitive of my DM to keep buying that stuff but I don't eat it. DS has all kinds of goodies for his lunch box that I love - like little debbie stuff and I somehow manage to not eat it. At least that stuff is put away behind a cupboard door so I don't see it all the time. You can do this! Get motivated and start over. No one likes Phase I but I know you can do it.

    Good luck!
  • Hug....
    My hugs are Ellis hugs, but they are pretty good. I'm having the same kind of attitude as you right now. I wondered how I would react to this set back i've had for the last few months, now I know. I just want to get the holidays over with so I can start fresh. I haven't exercised for weeks and weeks, that what I'm noticing the most, ugh the untoned body isn't a pretty sight.......]

    We can do this togehter......I'm here with you, I know what's going on in your head, you aren't crazy, depressed or losing it! Normal reaction......now as Ellis would say (cause she's said it to me before) cuss, swear, bleep bleep )(*&(*%^%&^$^%#%$$&$#% That was my reaction too. But you are going to do it because you know that nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!!!!
  • Bunna, that's where I am too. I gained back 8 pounds in 2 months. I can't get motivated. I actually ate chips and cookies the other day. I feel so sick. Like I have a tapeworm or something.

    It's not really stress or boredom. I can't pinpoint it, but it's there.

    Don't give up. I know I can't. It's all so frustrating but I think, do I want to gain back all that weight again? I mean think about it. 18 lbs is a LOT of weight. Imagine how much 18 lbs. of chicken breasts would cost!!!

    In all honesty, scale back and re-evaluate. That's what I just did. Shame kept me from coming here for a long time. I was doing so well then BAM! Like a ton of bricks I felt like a failure. Now, like my New Year's Resolutions, I am making attainable goals. Walking up and down escalators. Not eating sweets one day, not eating chips another, not eating either on another day.

    Take things slow and you'll feel the power coming back to you. I promise!
  • It is all about making attainable goals right now. The season is so hard and I think it has to do with being so busy and dealing with so many people all the time. We can do this though. Lots of others have done and that means it is a successful eating plan that works. I know how good I feel when I am eating right and following plan and that is why I get so frustrated at myself for not just doing it.