I crashed…more like a hiccup…Saturday I had Birthday Cake (very small slice) and Mexican for dinner …I could really kick my self. I ate Fajitas (plain without shell and other condiments). I maintained but didn’t lose. I could kick myself for as hard as I worked last week. I got back on track yesterday…and today is a new day. I’m hoping it was just the sodium that caused me to maintain.

Self Control to eat only good things…where do you get the motivation? I’m on Day 16 and this is the point at which I normally would quit because I only lose a pound or so a week if that…and mentally that’s not enough for me…I WANT TO LOSE 20LBS a week. Which is ridiculous…but I need some instant gratification to keep me motivated!!!

You did nothing wrong by eating what you did, dont beat yourself for it. My nutritionist says that is 80% of the time I do good it is ok. Usually when the scale stalls for me I have a surprise a few days later of 2 or 3 pounds

Dont give up

Everytime you eat something off your plan takes away from potential weight you could be losing...that is where I find the motivation.

As you start to see results you will also feel more motivated.

When people notice your weight loss it is motivation.

I didn't have the best weekend either But it was only one meal on Saturday when I went a bit overboard, so I'm hoping the scale won't punish me too much tomorrow! It was one meal, we can't let one meal get to us
Cat

I have lost a LOT Of weight in the past... but have given up on diets that were working over and over again because I wasn't losing fast enough and so I saw myself as a failure. "I'm not losing the 2-lbs-a-week I planned for, therefore this diet doesn't work"

It's a recipe for disaster and regain. Even if you don't lose a pound this week, or even next week too, you are a WINNER if you don't gain.

"Only" losing a pound a week adds up to over FIFTY pounds gone by this time next year.

Over and over again the folks I read here who have lost a lot of weight say that the key to their success is stick-to-itiveness. It's not X plan or Y plan or Z hours of exercise. It's not low-fat, or low-carb, or exchanges or points. It's DOING it -- day in, day out, keeping going after off-plan meals, through plateaus and slow losses and no losses and water regain.

One thing that helps me a lot when I get discouraged is to give myself permission to "maintain" for a few weeks, and just not gain anything. Then my body is usually ready to give up more weight, and we keep plodding on.

Another thing that a couple people here have been doing is making a commitment to continue their plan for the next year. It's not a goal of "x pounds by y day". It's a commitment to action.

And that's an important distinction. I always get frustrated when I aim for a specific result (weighing x pounds by y day, or losing 2 pounds a week), because the results are not something I can control that closely. I CAN control my actions (eating on plan, planning for eating out, making on- or near-plan choices in social situations, exercising, etc.), and my actions will lead to the weight-loss results I seek. But I find it much easier to control whether I've been on-plan lately than to control how much weight I've lost because I've been on-plan. Do you see the distinction?

You CAN CONTROL what you do -- what you eat and how you move. You can't really control how much or how fast your singular amazing body will give up fat due to what you're doing.

So focus on what you're doing, and look at the long haul. The long view helps a great deal when you're frustrated about This Week.

I don't have self control to eat only good things. That would never work for me. I eat pizza once in a while, birthday cake (although like you, a very small slice), chocolate a few times a week...etc etc. I just do it within my calorie allowance. If you are able to keep these choices within a certain range of calories, you will lose weight, although yes it probably won't be 20 pounds per week, but I know that feeling well!! You are doing this for life, so in my opinion, you need to find a way to fit in the things you really like...or adapt them to your new lifestyle. Sounds like you were doing that anyways, since you didn't have a shell, or condiments - really it sounds like you did great!

Look at this way.....you didn't mention margaritas and chips and cheese, so really you did quite well. Birthday cake and dinners out are part of life. You had a small piece of cake and grilled meat with vegetables with some oil. Not so bad at all. If you had thought about it earlier, you probably could have worked those calories into your plan for the day and eaten lower calorie but filling foods for breakfast and lunch. It is all about planning. When I lost weight on Weight Watchers, they used to allow for saving points through the week for occasions like this. So if each day, I ate 100 calories or roughly 2 points less than my target, on Saturday night out I would have an extra 500-700 calories to feel guilt-free about. I understand they don't do this anymore, but it was effective for me, and really helped me to stop the "Oh well, forget it, I ate a piece of cake, I might as well eat the chips, cheese, quac, fries, sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortillas too." I just calorie count now, but I try to apply the same method. I have a feeling that maintaining this week was due to other factors, and not a small piece of cake and fajita filling, and the loss will show on the scale shortly.

I can really relate to this. Even though my goal is to lose 1.5 to 2 pounds, when I have lost exactly 2 pounds both last week and this week, I was very disappointed. Why? It is the upper range of my goal. I should be satisfied. Interestingly, I lost exactly, to the tenth, two pounds both last week and this week, but this week I ate 2,300 calories LESS than last.

So you ate a small slice of cake (maybe 100 calories?) and then some sauteed veggies and meats that happened to be at a Mexican restaurant so they are called "Fajitas"? How is this "off plan"? Sounds like you were on plan, and the scale is doing what it does, which is bump around on its way down.

I agree with the previous posters who thought you did well. You made adjustments and exercised conscious choice throughout your meal by leaving off the tortillas and higher-calorie condiments and selecting a small piece of cake. You took part in the celebratory atmosphere without losing control.

That is exactly how you live your life while staying with a plan for losing/maintaining weight.

Try not to beat yourself up for making what many would consider excellent decisions. You did eat "good things." Will your weight loss slow a little for a couple of days or a week? It might. But the more important question is, did you remain in control of a potential weight gain due to drastic overeating? Yes! You 100% did! Celebrate that positive rather than dwelling on the potential negative (and slow loss is still loss, so I would contend that it isn't even a negative).

I would love to lose 20 pounds a week, but unfortunately my *** won't just fall off, I've got to work it off. Sometimes that's slower than at other times. If you're finding ways to do it and still enjoy your life and not feel as though your weight loss is punishment, you will keep losing. The only thing that could stop you is if you gave up entirely--and you've already proven you're tougher than that.

You didn't gain 20 lbs a week, you aren't going to lose 20 lbs a week. If you quit, you stay where you are at or you gain. If you continue going, you lose. It is your choice.

It also sounds like you did fairly well.

The only thing that works for me about what you ate is try to plan ahead of time to MAKE it fit the plan. This may mean finding a MUCH lower but satisfying calorie breakfast and lunch (breakfast is my hardest meal of the day, I don't like eating in the morning) so that you have room for those things later.

I allow myself one splurge day per week...I call them my "fat" days.

It helps me to curb those cravings.

This week I had fajitas as well, and two margaritas. Now I am back to my calorie counting, but looking forward to next Saturday and dinner date with husband. -- It helps me to stay on track. 12 years ago, when I dropped a significant amount of weight, I came up with these "fat" days.

So don't feel bad!

I love this. It speaks volumes to me as I, too, am one of the "I didn't lose 80 pounds this week!?! Guess I'd better go pig out and quit!" I have had to work very, very, very hard on my patience.

I'm in the middle of trying not to beat myself off for three days off plan right now. I did worse than you, and it's that darn 'all or nothing' mentality of mine.

I feel like if I do something remotely off plan that it's over and I've failed.

I know that is a ridiculous mindset, but it's so ingrained that it's really hard to break.

But WE CAN DO IT!!!