I cant seem to get myself in gear.....................Since Ive started trying to lose weight in January I have lost 30 pounds but thats with dieting for a month on off for two then diet again and quit again. It seems like I have the wrong mentality as in being either good or bad. I was doing so awesome with eating right and excersing on the treadmill and bamm all of a sudden, I quit and eat horribly. Why cant I get myself in order here?

I know I want to lose this weight terribly. Anyone ever go through this and what got you past it?

i think everyone gets to a cracking point once in a while. i was doing soooo good and tonight i was home alone because i forced myself to clean all night, so i ate TERRIBLY almost a whole bag of doritos and a whole box of kraft mac and cheese for dinner.

but who cares? i cant change what i did. so tomorrow im gonna act like it never happened, and go to the gym. as simple as that. dont be discouraged! you already lost 30 pounds thats AMAZING!

story of my life! when i first really put my mind up to losing weight it was easy. I joined weight watchers weighed almost 200 pounds and got down to 175. Gained a lot of it back. Did south beach got down to 155. Gained it back lost it again and got to 140 and then gained it back and now I weigh 189. That was all over the course of 5 years but it's the worst feeling to know that you were at your goal and now your almost at your heaviest...again. But the only thing it's made realize THIS time trying to lose it... is that I have to LEARN that i have to work hard and eat right and that's the bottom line. I hope that this time I can remember that because I really don't want to keep doing this to my body. Good luck to you and me my friend!

I don't feel that your "eating horribly" is your fault or a lack of willpower. For one, the "horrible foods" are cheap and processed, they simply contain ingredients that actually keep you addicted and are never satiated. It is a vicious circle.

One friend of mine, a scientist that takes an interest in the human diet, once told me that the human body has its own 'intelligence', divorced from our rational mind. Our body's intelligence guides us to eat the foods with the vitamins we need. Normally. But then, with the onset of industrial farming and engineered food products, our body's intelligence shifted. Now we only want to eat doritos and kraft mac & cheese.

But, the good news is that you can "fix" your bodies intelligence. By getting rid of all the bad processed food in your house and eating only whole grains, fruits, vegetables, etc., your body will start to naturally want those foods again and will shy away from horrible foods.

I don't think you have the "wrong mentality" - I think that there are MANY factors to consider. My first step would really be to get rid of the junk - don't even let it be an option.

I'm a librarian. Here are the books that helped me.

I lost 40 pounds with small changes over five years, then gained it all back in one year. What changed it around for me was the book The End of Overeating by David Kessler. It gives details of what bonnnie said about the engineering (and marketing) of food that has tricked our brains into thinking we need candy when, really, we need fruit.

After reading that book, I quit fast food and junk food, cold turkey. He mentions Cognitive Behavioral Techniques at the end, so I got the books I knew, as a librarian, that most linked CBT with diet -- the books by Judith Beck. The Beck Diet Solution works with any healthy diet; it teaches you how to stay on it. The Complete Beck Diet for Life has a healthy diet in it. If you read the Beck books and like them, we have an active support group on 3FC -- join us!

gardnerjoy that was refreshing to hear someone say that our bodies actually need fruit. You hear about the neanderthal diet..and how we are not supposed to eat fruit. But i love fruit. I have found the more fruit i have in the house, the less candy/junk food i want.

I have to second the books recommended by GardenerJoy. I checked them both out of the library -- yay, librarians! I found The End of Overeating interesting, especially the parts about how our brains respond to fatty/salty/sugary food. I feel that the Beck Diet Solution just might be the key for me. I have never read a diet book or a self-help book (I sense it is sort of a self-help book, with the lists and all), but I am really enjoying it and finding it helpful.

One of the first steps in Beck is to make a list of all the reasons you want to lose weight, and schedule two times a day to read it -- preferably times you tend to have trouble staying on plan. I love reading my list and it does help me remember that my long-term goal of maintaining my loss is more important than the immediate gratification of a treat. You are also supposed to consult it any time you could have trouble -- like before you head into a party or hit the supermarket when you're hungry. Sure, we all think we can just try to remember that we want to lose or why we want to lose, but reading my list of 12 reasons first thing in the morning, and again in mid-afternoon (my trouble time) is so very, very helpful.

You can do this -- you can have the body you deserve and set a healthy example for your family! You can!!!

Perhaps it would help if you told us what you are trying to do. Maybe we could help you tweak your plan into somthing that is more sustainable for you.

Been there, done that. I spent the last 12 years gaining weight, all in all I think I gained something like 150 pounds in that time.

This is my 3rd attempt at Weight Watchers. I'd tried other diets to, to worse failure in the past. You just have to accept your own wants, needs, limitations and strengths. And ya know....I found that diets where there's a lot of restrictions and "absolutely no"'s led me to fail. WW failed bc I either stopped tracking or would eat too many snacky foods.

I'm doing a lot better this time because I have huge support from online and my friends and family. I've got a few big goals to get to that require losing weight or they don't happen (like Disneyworld. I can't go to Disneyworld until I'm under 200, plain and simple). I've never had great health but in the couple months before I rejoined WW I had a few health scares that in no uncertain terms made it clear as day that I HAVE TO lose weight. When you are sitting at your desk at work and freaking out, thinking you might be having a heart attack? THAT is rock friggin bottom, baby.

I'd never reached rock bottom before. I'd never had this combination of ability, support, knowledge and motivation. Those are all key to succeeding.