Ugh, I am so frustrated! I have been doing so well on plan for the past few months. It's been a challenge, but for the most part not too hard. I've not been hungry and the weight has been coming off. Unfortunately, in the past couple of weeks I have felt famished ALL THE TIME! I just want to sit and eat (particularly carbs). How do y'all get back on track after a rough patch?
I know exactly how you feel, some weeks are harder than others and I'd rather eat when I'm stressed. I'm sure you've seen some of my previous posts about going on a binge because staying on track seems impossible when I'm having a rough day but I work through it now. I actually have one high calorie day per week and it really helps keep me in check and curb my boredom.
Have you tried having a day where you use most of your weekly points on top of your daily points? Try having one week where you set aside one day to yourself where you can eat foods you normally wouldn't, it may help =D
OOOO how i know what you mean. you have been doing so well, staying focused and determined...and when the frustration sets in...it seems like all the effort i have put in will just be wasted, if i give in to the binge i feel inside!!
i so agree with kimberly...i don't do one day a week, but i do set aside 1 weekend out of 3-4 weeks...where i just don't count the calories, or anything. i just don't overdo it. its sort of like, working for weeks and weeks and then having that 3 day weekend!! its just enough to get me excited again...but not too long that i don't overdo and gain a lot of weight which of course would make it mentally hard again!
in my experience, i seem to hover around gaining 1-2 pounds maybe 3, but they quickly fall back off a soon as i get back into routine again. but i don't have a long experience with this...as i have only be dedicated since dec 1 last year. even so it is working for me.
please hang in there....you have so much less to lose, so it will come off slower and slower as you get closer to your goal, than say i do, as i still have a lot to lose. you are at 5.47% weight loss since you started the red team and wow, that puts you in the TOP TEN losers for the entire team!!
THAT IS AMAZING!!
NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF YOUR GOALS....even if you do get off course a day or so, keep your eye on your goal
I find I'm hungrier when I'm not eating enough fat, honestly. I'm not sure what it is, but when I make sure I'm incorporating my healthy fats, I feel fuller, longer
If it's mental, is there anything that you can do that will remind you of how far you've come? Go shopping and try on the smaller size that you're in, or go for a walk and really think about how different it feels to be in your skin now versus 26 lbs ago. Find something that weighs 26 lbs and lift it to FEEL exactly how much weight you've lost.
If it's physical, look to see what your mix of carbs, fat, and protein is. You may even want to enter a few days into sparkpeople or some other website to see the make-up of your foods rather than just points. I definitely feel more satisfied if I'm getting enough protein and fat. Fat is often looked at as the enemy, but our bodies definitely need fat to work correctly, especially healthy fats. Are you getting in your 2 tsp of healthy oil every day? Also, are you eating any weekly points? If you think you might be feeling deprived, add in some treats each week. Your weight loss might slow down just a bit, but it's worth it if it allows you to stay the course.
I had a few weeks recently where I just felt like I was struggling a bit. I think mine was definitely mental. I just felt out of control even though I was eating within my points and still losing weight. I felt like I was in a weight loss funk. This week, I'm back in the right mindset. I don't know exactly what worked, but I've been focusing on how well my body works now during exercise. I wear a heart rate monitor and after just a little over a month of consistent exercise, I can tell a big difference in how much longer it takes for my heart rate to get into the target zone than before and how quickly my heart rate recovers when I slow down. It's crazy that in 5 weeks I can see that big of a difference. So much of weight loss is mental, and that's the hard part IMO. I never really realized that before, but maybe that will make the difference this time.
I might be the oddball here, but when I get off track, I have to have one strict, successful day with no treats or triggers, and I can get back in the groove. For me that means no SF hot chocolate, no bread, light on the starches. Those things, particularly bread, just make me want more. If I'm feeling vulnerable, I need to run far away, because the carbs are like drugs. In short, if I feel like I 'need it' versus 'Hmm, that would be tasty", then it's best that I don't even have a bite! One good, clean day usually gets me back on track.
Thanks for all of the encouragement everyone! I seriously do not know what I would do without this site. The people in my life definitely support my efforts, but none of them really "get it".
Jennifer- You are not an oddball. I actually am EXACTLY the same way. Yesterday I powered through a very strict structured day and did not give in to mental/physical cravings. Today I feel so much better and NOT hungry at all.
Sometimes I think I am addicted to simple carbs and when I start eating them, I just cannot stop!!!
@Skinnycow, I feel you on the addicted to simple carbs thing! I cannot keep a loaf of bread in my house because I will find myself mindlessly eating slice after slice until it is all gone. I do this more with white bread than I do with the dense whole grain bread.
What has really helped me to stay on plan is, after I finish my on plan meal, I make myself wait 20 mins before I grab something else to eat. This gives my stomach time to feel full and I don't have the desire to add on to my meal and risk eating all of my points before dinner.
Last edited by digitalrequiem; 02-21-2011 at 01:01 PM.
I might be the oddball here, but when I get off track, I have to have one strict, successful day with no treats or triggers, and I can get back in the groove.
This is very true for me. I think because it gets me out of the slowly sliding to off program. I tend to not be someone who is perfectly on program and then goes off one day and then totally off program. I kind of slide into it. I'll be a little off one day, then more then next, and then still more and before I know it totally off program. But looking back it was gradual. Stopping that gradual progression is very important.
The last couple weeks or so I've more opportunities than usual to eat out. For weeks I've been very much on program, eating some of my WP but not most of them. I've had several times eating out over that time. Each time there were reasons for it (some good -- tonight was my 19th wedding anniversary) but it has added up to more calories than usual. I'm actually not off program as I've had plenty of WP to use but it is more than I want to eat to be as successful as I want to be. It would be very easy to keep eating a little more and then a little more, etc.
My plan is that for the rest of this WW week I will be very strictly on program, not eating more than 2 WP on a given day.
I came here and was going to start a new thread but I thought you are all struggling and that might be the connection I need. I've not even been trying lately and I am so sad about it. I have had some personal and health issues that have given me and excuse to bail on this. I need to take responsibility and move on from all of this.
I have Diverticulosis and am in recovery (still on antibiotics) from an attack of Diverticulitis. I have had to modify my food and lots of the things that WW would prefer I eat have to be off limits.
Also have been dealing with a massive amount of damage to my home due to snow and ice up here in the Northeast USA. It's been hard, difficult. The snow and dealing with it all just got me into kind of a depression, I guess, for lack of nothing else to refer to it by. I went on a comfort food binge and here I am feeling sorry for myself.
I need inspiration and I need a place to come back to.
Hugs Derry, that's alot to go through especially this Winter. I"m in MA and it's terrible I too feel the same way as the OP and it's hard to come back to reality if i use some weeklies on the weekend. I find my body craves alot more junk on Monday and i'm ravenous. I dropped to 29 pts and that one pt seems to make a difference!!! Hoping with the better weather that my spirits will lift!
To be frank, I think it helps me so much to know lots people struggle. Sometimes when I go to my meetings I feel like I am the only person who didn't have a good week. I think "what's wrong with you. You're young, you have energy, you don't have kids, you should be able to do this NO PROBLEM!" This site has made me realize, it is hard for everyone. There really is no such thing as consistently losing 2lbs per week. Breaking a life time of bad habits is SO HARD, and there is no reason to feel down on myself for struggling with it.
To everyone having trouble sticking on plan, remember that at least you are here reading this. Looking for support is a great, healthy way to deal with diet difficulties! We can do this!
Do you carb crave during specific times of the month or year? Some people carb crave during the winter from seasonal affective disorder. Some carb crave as part of PMS.
staying on plan is getting difficult
I too feel the same way as the OP and it's hard to come back to reality if i use some weeklies on the weekend. I find my body craves alot more junk on Monday and i'm ravenous. I dropped to 29 pts and that one pt seems to make a difference!!! Hoping with the better weather that my spirits will lift!
