I need some Encouragement Badly

Hi Everybody,

I know its been a while since i last posted on this board
im only 7 months out and have fallen back into my old eating habits
and u guessed right i have gained 3lbs....now im starting too feel stressed and majorly Guilty
im sure im not the only one this has happend too but i really dont wanna go back too the old way
i need too start working out again as well as that has been pushed too the back burner
all that i am asking is that if there is  any one else that has went thru this can you tell me
how you handled it????

i am just curious and need some encouragement

thanks a bunch guys and gals

Ryan

 Hi Ryan,

I'm only 2 months out but even so, I find myself falling back into old bad habits.  I think you've done the right thing by reaching out to this community for support.  What I've tried to do is be easy on myself rather than beating myself up (which I'm an expert on) and finding my way back to my path to health.  One of the things that has helped me the most is something my exercise specialist told me recently.  She reminded me that if I didn't exercise regularly, once I'm at goal, it will be way too easy to start gaining the weight back.  This really impacted me and has motivated me to get off my ass and move.  I know you know what to do so maybe the trick it to journal or meditate or whatever would work for you to recommit to your journey.  

Regardless, I wish you the best in getting back on track.  Again, you did the right thing by getting on this forum.

Aloha,
Barb

Ryan,

Try focusing on what you want to accomplish and what you need to do to get there.  Make a list of what you need to do and then one by one eliminate them.  It's very psychologically hard to give up everything all at once.  There is no race to the end as long as you get there.  Don't freak out about three pounds.  Statistically, a small weight gain seven or eight months out is normal.  But here is the ugly truth, your surgery wasn't a cure for your obesity, only a tool.  Your tool is only going to be as good as you want it to be.  If you find you cannot make the permanent changes in your lifestyle to achieve successful weight loss then you might need help.  I know you live in the middle of nowhere but it might be worth the drive to a support group or maybe an OA meeting.  

Kevin

First off, forgive yourself.  You haven't broken anything, you just slipped up a little.  Yes, it sucks, but its a small setback.  Don't get back on the wagon tomorrow - get back on it now, as you read this.

Secondly, start up your food journal again.  Write down everything you eat,every day, as you eat it, for two weeks.  AS YOU EAT IT.  This is important.  If you know that it will be there when you tally up everything, you may hesitate to eat it.

Return to basics: Shoot for a 6 ounce meal.  4 ounces of it should be protein, the other 2 a mix of vegetable (mostly) and starch/fruit (a little bit).

3 meals a day with 2 or 3 snacks.  Space meals and snacks about 3 hours apart.  If you're really hungry and need to move a meal up a little bit, let yourself.  It's okay.  Just do your best, and work on spacing out meals and snacks farther and farther over those two weeks.

Keep track of your vitamins and liquid, again.  Make sure you're getting your minimum of 64 ounces of water (or as per your doctor's orders).

From what I hear, everyone eventually goes through this.  I'm on month 7, too, and I know how easy it would be for me to slip up.  Just don't punish yourself for slipping up.  Accept it, it's ok, it may well happen agian tomorrow, just make sure it doesn't happen again today.

Don

Hi Ryan,

I am coming up on 8 months out and yes, I have done the same thing, right around the 6-month mark. I got to within a pound of my goal and couldn't seem to lose that last pound. Now I'm at goal but still find myself falling back into quite a few habits that are causing me to gain, if I don't get a handle on it.

One thing I do that I beieve will keep me from gaining it back is I weigh every day. I have set a limit. My goal is to stay between 124 and 125. If I go over 125, I cut myself back. I just came back from DC where I couldn't weigh for 6 days, had to eat conference food which was very limited in protein, had a glass of wine or a drink several of the evenings, had more carbs than I normally would, dumped three freaking times - two of them pretty severe and this morning weighed 126.2.

What am I doing about it? The most important thing is what am I not doing? I am not discouraged. I am not beating myself up. I am not guilty. I was away in a very stressful, grief-filled, out of my normal routine and element space. I am taking stock and seeing first what contributed to this, what I could have done different and will next time, and most especially, what I did right. I could have done much, much worse. And the worst thing I could have done was to continue ignoring, not weigh this morning, and give up. That I did not do. I wrote my weight down as usual and planned my day to get back where I know I need to be, buy the good foods, drink more water (I am really dehydrated right now), and get back under 124.

And, Ryan, this is how it's going to be for the rest of my life. I don't think my emotional eating habits will every truly change. I don't think I'll ever be one of those people who can get away with anything. I will continue to not be perfect. I already know and accept that. But, I will be the kind of person who will maintain my weight loss by constantly redirecting myself.

A plane flying from LA to Hawaii is off course 97% of the time. It is affected by wind, air temperature, and a host of other factors. The only way it arrives at its destination is by constantly adjusting to accomodate to stay on course.

This is what all of us are doing, constantly adjusting to accomodate staying on course, whether we are still losing or at goal.

I would suggest that by reaching out at a 3-pound gain rather than 30 pounds, you are doing just fine. As Thespin suggested, reinstitute the rules that you know work according to your doctor's plan... adjust your course toward your destination... and understand that there will always be external things that are going to try to blow you off course. Set your flight plan, watch your instruments and continue adjusting toward staying on course.

Best of success.

Dang it Raven. Shut up once in a while so I can post. LOL You always say what I want to just so much more eloquently. Love ya  

Anyway, I slip up all the time. The biggest thing I am able to do now is acknowledge that I have messed up and correct my actions. My biggest slip is eating chips. I have low BP and I have been told to get more salt in my diet. I HATE salt but the only way I can is by adding chips to my diet. I start to gain so I back off the chips and down it comes. I will also start to eat too many carbs. Again, I realize what I am doing and fix it. Good luck on getting back on track.

 If anyone has an iPhone, there is a really great app called LoseIt.  You can enter everything you eat and enter foods that aren't included in the original app and track your caloric, protein, fiber, etc. intake on a daily basis.  You can also enter your exercise and can customize it to what you are doing.  Because of it's portability, if you are eating out it's very easy to enter your meal right away.   Oh, best of all, it's free.

Aloha,
Barb

What Raven said....

I think everyone has given you good advise. I would do what Thesin said and go back to the basics. Maybe if you got out some pics of what you looked like before the surgery and looked at some more recent pics to give you some motivation.

I am only 4 1/2 weeks out and can barely eat anything now without getting sick but I can see how I still want to gobble everything down.

Get your butt to the gym and you will definitely feel better.

Good luck!

Kevin