I really really need to lose weight, both my parents are diabetic, I'm pre-diabetic, high cholesterol, knees starting to hurt, etc. Started Weight watchers Dec 12th, lost 4 lbs 1st week, gained 0.6 the second week (Week of Christmas) and this week I'm just out of control and I don't know what to do! There was frosted brownies and chocolate cake in the office, I scarfed down three brownies and half the dang cake before I even came up for air! I just totally lost control, it was like someone or something took over. Now I'm depressed and upset with myself. I do this often. How do I stop this madness?

Don't beat yourself up! Tomorrow is a new day, a chance to start over and the past is the past.

I have had gains of up to 10lbs within a week and realized I couldn't let the number dictate my mood. It took me 13 months to lose 100lbs and at one point I'd lost 115lbs, I was 2lbs away from goal and decided I wanted to start binge eating again. For an entire year (This year) I've maintained when I should have been at goal but I'm not going to beat myself up. This is a journey and a long, slow one at that! Take it day by day and you'll be just fine!

The hardest thing I had to learn over the last year has been to truly forgive myself and move on. No excuses, no beating myself up, just learn from my slip-ups and move on.

I hit 160 on November 5, 2011 and have gained and lost the same 6 pounds since then. I hate that I've been doing this, but every day I just fogive myself, take what lessons I can from the mistakes and move on. If you don't do that, you cannot be successful and you will beat yourself up over everything. And where has that gotten you???

Set small goals for yourself. Brownies in the office today? Vow to not eat any until there is only one left. And ENJOY that one brownie! For me, I can't take that first bite or I am totally out of control - it's hard as HECK to resist, but I have ZERO chance of controlling myself one I give in, so I either have to resist all temptation, or I have to wait until there isn't enough left to get out of control when I do eat one.

Beating yourself up and expecting perfection will get you nowhere. None of us, even those skinny, in-shape model-type women are perfect 100% of the time!

The books, The End of Overeating, and Refuse to Regain, both helped me a great deal.

The End of Overeating, helped me understand why I had such difficulty eating certain foods in moderation (the salty, sweet, fatty combination described in the book as extremely addictive).

And Refuse to Regain, gave me practical advice on how to break the cycle.

The information in both books can be adapted to almost any food plan, and it also helps me see and remember that I'm fighting a powerful adversary. I'm not weak, lazy, crazy, or stupid - I'm just fighting a battle that is a lot more difficult than we've been encouraged to believe.

Some foods just are easier to abstain from entirely, than to indulge in "in moderation."

If you are prediabetic -- that is why. Are you taking Metformin? Should you be?

I am too and I know eating something like that without a matching protein is going to SLAM into my blood sugar and send it spiking.

Keep away from brownies and their pals. If you are going to have it, save it for a special time -- birthdays and holidays and go in already eaten a protein and measure your portion out.

Once you get into the blood spike and crash cycle, you want more sugary/starchy things to spike you back up for the high because the crash feels awful -- sleepy, low energy, blaaah, shaky, anxious, etc. It's hard to break back out of.

You might look up the Insulin Resistance diet even though you are doing Weight Watchers just to learn how to match the protein to carbs so your blood sugar stays stable and not shooting all around.

You have extra obstacles with the prediabetes, but don't beat yourself up over. It is what it is. Just move on toward learning to manage your condition.

GL!
A.

Yep!!!