Hey, ladies! I had my weekend road trip with my friend Amy last weekend! We had so much fun, and I've been wishing this coming weekend would get here so I can finally catch up on my sleep!

This was the first time I've been away from home since I really embraced my lifestyle change. I planned to splurge on my meals while I was gone. We were going to eat pizza Saturday night, and Sunday would be spent in the park so I knew I'd be eating crap food.

Sunday, I ate fried mozzarella sticks for lunch and a burger and fries for dinner. That would have been fine, but I didn't realize how eating those foods would spark my cravings for them at home.

Monday, my husband and I went shopping for our nephew's birthday gifts. I mentioned dinner, and we wound up in the mall's food court. I ate a Petro. I will not even look up the calories. I looked them up in the past and nearly fainted.

Then Wednesday was the birthday party. I had three pieces of pepperoni pizza and a cupcake, plus SWEET TEA. (If I drink tea usually, I get unsweet and add fake sugar. Not this time!)

Thursday, I did better. I finally went grocery shopping and ate my usual salad at home for dinner.

I only went to the gym once in the week since my last weigh-in. A new school routine, plus falling behind with our class readings, has killed my energy level.

Leading up to this morning's weigh-in, I've kept thinking Just maintain. Please don't gain. Just stay the same, please. I somehow lost .6 pounds over the last week, which is a miracle and so exciting. I don't know how I would have responded to a gain, whether it would have given me the push I needed or made me feel defeated.

Point is, I've told many people on 3FC to "get back on the wagon" after they fall off. I didn't realize at the time just how hard it is to break the old habits when you get a taste of them again. All I craved this week was bad food. Even when I went grocery shopping, all I wanted was bad, high-calorie foods.

Now I've gone grocery shopping, stocked myself up on the good foods, and I'm feeling better about the upcoming week. I even turned down free food at the office today. (But that's another story. My @$$ of a coworker makes her snide comments about my NORMAL portion sizes during lunch, and I just don't want to deal with it anymore.) But I learned this week that "just get right back on track tomorrow" is easier said than done!

Certain foods are indeed addictive, and eating them is like drinking alcohol is to an alcoholic. You want more and more.

It is really hard to get back on track because it's as though a demon has been set loose--a demon composed of fat, salt, and carbs.

Stay away from foods that make you feel that way. They are not fun foods, they are not treat foods, they are crack. It really helps to think of them that way.

It's good that you didn't gain, but sometimes it takes a little time before the gain shows up. Get back on plan--there, I said it--and maybe you can avoid any bad surprises.

Good luck!
Jay

I hear ya! Last Sunday, I got back from a 10-day vacation/family visit. I did pretty well on my vacation; I allowed myself to eat up to maintenance calories. I only had one day that I ate above maintenance calories and other days I actually managed to stay on losing calories without even trying. Also, I worked out all but two days. However, since coming back I've stayed on maintenance calories rather than getting back on losing calories. And it's not like I'm even eating junk food; I'm just eating more than I normally do.

I'm really glad you didn't gain. Let's hope that we both can get back on losing track starting now.

That's not a bad idea! I didn't even count calories at all from Saturday to Thursday. I TOTALLY fell off the wagon. And in the past when this has happened - when some event resulted in me "cheating" - I just gave up completely because it was too hard to stop eating the stuff.

I went to the gym Wednesday and again tonight though! I recorded my calories today, and I'm feeling good! Let's hope it sticks.

Jay, I hear ya! I'm back on plan! Recorded my calories for the day, stayed within my limit, and went to the gym. I'm feeling good!

But I did want to say that I can't give up the "crack" foods. My plan is to limit my calories and portion sizes, not give up the foods I love. Every time I've tried the restrictive diets that say "NO" to all of the "bad" foods, I end up giving up, binging, and gaining whatever I lost back.

Pizza is really a weak point for me, so up to this stage, I've restricted my consumption of pizza. I wanted to wait until I could eat a few pieces and stop when I was satisfied instead of eating until I was sick, which is what I usually do. I did manage to do that the two times I ate pizza this week, so I feel good about that.

What I didn't feel good about was the fact that I ate so many meals of high calorie foods without planning to eat that way. I had no groceries in the fridge. I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants and eating whatever looked good in front of me.

I did buy groceries on Thursday with lots of salad goodies. But I also bought three of the mini 500 calorie Kroger pizzas. Yes, they're higher calorie than a salad or a sandwich, but I like that - if a craving hits - I won't be tempted to order pizza or buy Papa Murphy's (which is delicious but so high calorie). I can just grab a small pizza and stay within my calorie limit for the day.

Just wanted to say that about my plan. It's not at all about deprivation. I want to eat the way I'm eating now for the rest of my life (though I hope to become more adventurous with recipes once I'm out of school and can find time to cook). And it would be totally unrealistic of me to expect to give up pizza, tacos, or chocolate. I know I won't. So I need to find ways to work those foods - in moderation - into my diet.

You may think so now, but keep an open mind. You may change it later on.

Jay

I feel the same way. At this point in my life, I'm not into deprivation or suffering (whereas when I was much younger, I had more tolerance for that). In fact, I've chosen a higher goal weight / clothing size (140 / size 8) than I would have in the past simply because I want to be able to eat more of the foods I love. I'm not one who even wants to think of food just as "fuel" for my body. It is that, but I also believe that food is one of the great pleasures of life, and I want it to remain that way. I have a major sweet tooth, and I usually have something sweet to eat several times a week (sometimes as breakfast! ). I've been on plan since June 1, and, so far, I really haven't felt deprived at all. Of course, I do still have some red light foods that I am trying to stay away from for now (pecan pie, for one----that will tempt me around the holidays), but I'm hoping that I'll eventually be able to consume even those foods in moderation. My progress toward a moderate way of thinking has been really slow, but I have been moving forward, so I have hope that I will conquer my red light foods as well!

Very good! To be completely honest, there are still foods I just don't eat because I can't eat them in moderation, unless they're in individually sized bags. Potato chips is one of those foods - Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos. I could eat an entire bag while vegging out in front of the TV in the old days! I know I can't count out a single serving of Doritos if I'm left alone with an entire bag of them. And they're so high calorie, even in the individual serving bags, that I try to just stay away completely. When I first changed my lifestyle, I switched to low fat Pringles, but I've even stopped eating them. It was a hard habit to break. I grew up in a home where potato chips were the side with every sandwich, burger, chili, etc. So I had to learn to just appreciate eating the sandwich without adding the chips. Or replace the chips with a healthier side.

If the choice is between being skinny and not eating the foods I love and being a size 8 but getting to eat those foods in moderation, I'm going to choose the latter. But I hope to find a balance. Maybe get to a size 6, exercise regularly, and still enjoy pizza once in a while. Ah... A girl can dream, right?