I need a little reassurance.

limniade · 02-17-2009, 08:43 PM

I seem to have about 4 good weeks where I do great in my training and diet, and then have a week where I fall off the wagon and eat like crap. This would be one of those weeks. I haven't been eating over maintenance, just not making good choices in terms of food and mealtimes. (Eating a 800-calorie meal and then forgetting to eat for six hours.) This always seems to sabotage me, and I haven't been able to make a dent in my weight loss at all despite a year of "trying". I only have 10-15 pounds to lose! This is stupid!

Someone please tell me that despite periodic slip-ups like this, you still managed to lose the weight.

nunu713 · 02-18-2009, 06:53 AM

Periodic slip-ups are fine. Routine slip-ups are not.

What is causing the meal slips? Does your schedule change? Do you just get busy?

When I get up every morning, I plan out when my meals will be throughout the day (this gets really important on weekends), and then I take a look at my schedule and where I'll be. That way, I'll know if I need to bring food with me, or if I'll be eating at a resturaunt, etc.

I find the best way to stay on track is to prevent roadblocks from happening. But that's just me...

smdiskin · 02-18-2009, 08:16 AM

Note of slight worry here...

You are 5'2", weigh 111lbs and you need to lose 10-15 lbs? so you want to be 95lbs?...
If you are not naturally that light then maybe your body is trying to tell you something... I know you may not want to weigh what I do at the same height... but you may need to reapraise whether that would be a healthy weight for you....

Sorry just a little worried...

limniade · 02-18-2009, 09:15 AM

I'm actually 120 and about 25% body fat. Not that I haven't been perfectly healthy at 95 pounds in my adult life (up to age 25--naturally thin, runs in the family, eating ENOUGH is definitely not the problem) but I'd love to get back to 105 and about 17-18% body fat, which is where I was up until a couple years ago. That would be about 10 total pounds of fat, give or take a pound.

The cause for my most recent slip-up is basically having a bad week. A lot of stress, really bad mood, tired, crabby, just took a weekend off which turned into a week.

Fitness-Chic · 02-18-2009, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by limniade

I'm actually 120 and about 25% body fat. Not that I haven't been perfectly healthy at 95 pounds in my adult life (up to age 25--naturally thin, runs in the family, eating ENOUGH is definitely not the problem) but I'd love to get back to 105 and about 17-18% body fat, which is where I was up until a couple years ago. That would be about 10 total pounds of fat, give or take a pound.

The cause for my most recent slip-up is basically having a bad week. A lot of stress, really bad mood, tired, crabby, just took a weekend off which turned into a week.

I know what you mean by the lots of stress, really bad mood, tired, crabby. I do the same thing but have found that when I go to eat crap that I know that I dont need I just ask myself is it really worth it. When I am in those kinds of moods or during my time of the month I have a chocolate thing. I like the supreme protein bars..... they seem to work for me to take away the feeling of wanting a candy bar or other yummy chocolate foods.

But I have to say that I agree with the poster above. You know maybe you shouldnt worry to much about the scale wt. Personally I think that to many women stress to much on what the scale is saying....lol. You know what I mean?

I find that when I am not stressing on my diet is when I do my best.

jeepchk · 02-18-2009, 12:57 PM

Is it PMS? I find I do great until about a week out and then I can't seem to satisfy my cravings. Although, this month I switched to an early morning w/o. It has been great because people who are in the gym at 5:30 are there to workout not to chat. My w/o have been focused and intense. I didn't even get PMS. Maybe try increasing your intensity with a hiit session a couple of times. I'm also making an "emergency" kit with non-perishble items such as protein bar, sf gum, almonds, and a list of my goals and why I am going for them. Also when I need more inspiration I'll buy a new w/o magazine or book.

Also if I know I have eaten horribly I try to offset it with extra veggies and h20. JCK

limniade · 02-18-2009, 11:04 PM

It's not PMS, and I'm NOT focusing on what the scale says. My goal is to lose about 8% body fat, which is about 10 pounds of fat (so obviously it will, eventually, show up on the scale, because it's not like I'm going to gain 10 pounds of muscle while cutting).

But the issue is not my *goal*, because I already know my goal is perfectly reasonable and healthy. The issue is progressing toward my goal and how I'm having trouble with it. And I'd like to hear from people who also had trouble with staying consistent, and yet still accomplished what they were hoping to achieve with their fat loss, and how they overcame those bad days or weeks.

At the end of the day, I already know that I just need to STFU, go back to the gym and pick up the carrots instead of the potato chips. It's just been such a craptastic week (I may or may not get laid off in about 10 hours) and I just haven't had the energy to focus on anything but getting through each day.

Fitness-Chic · 02-19-2009, 03:56 AM

[QUOTE=limniade;290847671]

And I'd like to hear from people who also had trouble with staying consistent, and yet still accomplished what they were hoping to achieve with their fat loss, and how they overcame those bad days or weeks.

Everyone goes through it.... so its not that the people who have answered your posting are a rare bread.

Amanda76 · 02-19-2009, 07:49 AM

People can slip up and still lose weight, but something about how you're slipping up isn't working for you. You should have made some progress over the last year...

I'm really good at being strict when my goal is to lean up/stay lean. Because I keep my calories high, I really can't afford that many cheats (because of how I eat when leaning up, I don't desire them, anyway). I average a cheat meal a month, maybe (some months I don't cheat at all). But "leanness" isn't my objective year around. Because it's not forever, it might make it easier for me to stick to a plan.

How closely do you track what you're eating on a daily basis--do you simply "eat clean" or do you have a meal plan with calorie and macronutrient goals you follow? Have you considered scheduling a cheat meal every 3 weeks (before the 5th week where you "lose it") to see if that helps? It might just be time for something more structured.

I hope your job situation ends up working out...

limniade · 02-19-2009, 04:22 PM

Oh, I know I've made progress in terms of strength gains and muscle gains. I'm a FIT person, I can bike 30 miles at a time, pound the elliptical all I want, I've seen excellent gains in lifting, my resting heart rate is 59 beats a minute.

Cheat meals, that's definitely where I am full of fail. Hence the junk in the trunk. *sigh* Can't escape the inevitable logic.

And I did NOT get laid off today. Hurray!

SexyChic · 02-19-2009, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by limniade

It's not PMS, and I'm NOT focusing on what the scale says. My goal is to lose about 8% body fat, which is about 10 pounds of fat (so obviously it will, eventually, show up on the scale, because it's not like I'm going to gain 10 pounds of muscle while cutting).

But the issue is not my *goal*, because I already know my goal is perfectly reasonable and healthy. The issue is progressing toward my goal and how I'm having trouble with it. And I'd like to hear from people who also had trouble with staying consistent, and yet still accomplished what they were hoping to achieve with their fat loss, and how they overcame those bad days or weeks.

At the end of the day, I already know that I just need to STFU, go back to the gym and pick up the carrots instead of the potato chips. It's just been such a craptastic week (I may or may not get laid off in about 10 hours) and I just haven't had the energy to focus on anything but getting through each day.

Hi Limniade

I've definitely slipped up and I'm still chugging along towards my goals...I recently got sick for a week and ate a bunch of stuff I shouldn't (for eg: "sammies" from quiznos) just to keep my weight from plummeting back down like it tends to do while I'm sick.

I was in the gym the following Monday and picked up where I left off. One week every now and then is definitely not going to hurt you and in the long run, consistency pays off. But you gotta keep your mindset in the right place and not go spiraling into continuous bad habits.

High stress and lack of time are always going to happen but you gotta learn ways to get around that and keep on track...I'm still trying to learn to stay consistent myself.

Glad to hear you didn't get laid off!

kimm4 · 02-19-2009, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by limniade

I seem to have about 4 good weeks where I do great in my training and diet, and then have a week where I fall off the wagon and eat like crap. This would be one of those weeks. I haven't been eating over maintenance, just not making good choices in terms of food and mealtimes. (Eating a 800-calorie meal and then forgetting to eat for six hours.) This always seems to sabotage me, and I haven't been able to make a dent in my weight loss at all despite a year of "trying". I only have 10-15 pounds to lose! This is stupid!

Someone please tell me that despite periodic slip-ups like this, you still managed to lose the weight.

You quote "I haven't been able to make a dent in my weight loss at all despite a year of "trying". If this is the case than you are not trying hard enough. You sabotage your plan more than you stick to it period.

The question is do you want results or not?

Good luck.

etali · 02-20-2009, 06:47 AM

Where are you when you're slipping up? Are you eating junk at work, while you're out and about, or at home?

If you can spot a pattern, maybe you could fix it. Do you always hit the vending machine at work? Do you feel tired at home and end up cooking a ready meal instead of something healthy?

If you remove the source (don't take loose change to work / stop buying ready meals so you're forced to cook instead), maybe that would help?

Amanda76 · 02-20-2009, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by limniade

Oh, I know I've made progress in terms of strength gains and muscle gains. I'm a FIT person, I can bike 30 miles at a time, pound the elliptical all I want, I've seen excellent gains in lifting, my resting heart rate is 59 beats a minute.

Cheat meals, that's definitely where I am full of fail. Hence the junk in the trunk. *sigh* Can't escape the inevitable logic.

And I did NOT get laid off today. Hurray!

It's good that you don't measure progress just in terms of how lean you are.

So it's the cheating. It's good you can see that, too. So yeah...structure and having to be the weirdo who eats before going to parties/etc. If you can be assinine about it for 2-3 months, I bet the results will keep you motivated over the summer. It's just up to you to decide that's your priority.

Glad you still have your job! Feel like you're safe for the long term?