In a Rutt

[GregP]

Glad to hear everyone is doing well. Well everyone excpt me. Question...Have any of you just hit a point where you have gained and you just seem to loose your will to keep doing it? I have gained 10 pounds and it don't take long to do it. Seems like i work 7 days a week most of the time and i'm physically and mentally drained. Whats a good way to get onboard again?

i need suggestions!!!

[ValleyGirl]

Don't worry, you're not the only one "in a rutt"..you're just the only one posting about it. I'm sure most people only share when things are going well. I can't tell you how to get out of the rutt, but can offer some advice for the busy times. When I know I'm going to be working tons,I HAVE to carve out some time to stock my pantry with good "grab and go" snacks and prep meals ahead. As soon as I start eating out all the time, or just grabbing something quick, I pack on the pounds. Try to find an hour or two to stock your fridge and freezer. Then take what you need with you for the day. You can get cooler bags that look just like lunch bags. Get organized. Have a plan. Hope this helps.

Sabrina:)

ps- I find if I keep an assortment of low or no-cal flavoured waters around (including in my car), I'll drink more water and snack less. Some faves are Sobe Life Water, Skinny Water and Fuze.

Sabrina:)

[PAMMIE]

GOOD POINT SABRINA. SINCE I'M NOT A BIG DRINKER I'VE FOUND I LOVE THE ZERO CAL VITAMIN WATERS. IF I KEEP A FEW IN MY CAR, I ALWAYS SEEMS TO DRINK THOSE

[Lindsay]

I changed up my fitness routine.

found something new to start and concentrate on!

now i'm jogging with my dog, and it's made a world of difference, and has kept me from getting lazy & unmotivated.

[jojobeans]

Try not to focus on your intake of food 24/7 it gets exhausting !! Try not to get bored and keep busy. It's always in the back of my mind . All i can say is keep busy and when u think your hungry , grab an apple ! lol !

[RevyD]

I find that by exercising on a daily basis it helps me to stay motivated. My philosophy is if I exercise I don't want to screw it up by eating badly. I also always feel better after I exercise. I manage a very large medical unit and I always walk about 2 km on my coffee break or lunch. I find it helps me to destress and I am not tempted to go grab something bad for me in the cafeteria .

I also walk as soon as I get home so I don't throw myself on the couch and not get up again. Once I sit down I am done and will not do any exercise so I have to keep going.

Weekends I try and do a big hike , walk or bike.

I never used to exercise at all and would always eat for comfort, emotions or being tired. Now that I make time to exercise i personally find it so much easier not to eat badly or for my emotions.

Hope that helps.

Debbie

[EcMjawad1]

Hi,

Everyone on here has great ideas. I had a week where I felt like I backtracked. What I found helpful was to reflect over my week, review my eating choices and then to make Sunday's my day to prep food for the week..I found if I didn't have the right food, or ready to go food, I made poor choices. I have been exploring foods I like that can help me loose weight. I also have added protein and less carbs which have made a big difference for me. The flavored water mentioned is a big help, I just bought a case of Costco brand that is great. I also track my food daily at CalKing. Exercise also helps with the rut. I was finally able to return to the water after 5 weeks post surgery. It seemed to make such a difference, I spent time feeling how the exercise made me feel, how my body felt, and telling myself that exercise was worth it for my success. Also, trying to figure out the emotions that put you in a rut are also helpful...I was forced to address my feelings, a gift of the band, instead of continuing the cycle of eating, feeling bad, and giving up..this was no longer an option. It's a learning curve for sure. I also figured out the reason why I felt I had no energy was because I wasn't taking vitamins..this is really important for the banded person. Once I started taking my vitamins I felt better almost immediately and felt like exercising. Just give yourself permission to have days where you need to figure out what's going on with your journey and then continue...

[AngieB]

Glad to hear everyone is doing well. Well everyone excpt me. Question...Have any of you just hit a point where you have gained and you just seem to loose your will to keep doing it? I have gained 10 pounds and it don't take long to do it. Seems like i work 7 days a week most of the time and i'm physically and mentally drained. Whats a good way to get onboard again?

i need suggestions!!!

Hi Greg - Sabrina is right....you are not alone. I feel the same way. Not gaining much, but not super motivated on the food choices right now. My RN asked me to snack and let me tell ya.....that was a bad turn for me. I was talking to her about a slight unfill and she advised against it, as she feels I am at my sweet spot. (Which I agree with her. I am at my sweet spot.) Only thing is it is not working for me because I am not at the place where I only eat 3 meals a day now. Snacking has thrown a monkey wrench in my daily diet plan. So now I have to break that habit. I would be freaking awesome if I could get my poop in a group and ONLY eat when I am hungry. Snacking for me was a huge wrong turn cuz I am a grazer. Grazing can add more calories to your day than an acutal meal.

I understand busy schedules and life. I leave my house before 6:30 am and run until later evening. Making exercise something low on my list. I changed up my schedule and now use my lunch time during the week to walk. It feels great to break up my day and it's like a bit of me time. I feel a slight resentment with my me time in my daily routine. So this helps. I am not sure how you feel, but as a mom, wife, and being in the work force, I seem to jip myself on me time. So any little bit helps in reguards to doing things for myself. My point is we have to make time. Fit things in anywhere we can.

For me, this is a life style and not a race. I don't mind if gaining health takes me a few years. I have lost 50% of my weight in the first year. My first year was a huge learning curve for me. I think this year will be good for weight loss if I can get my eating under thumb again....

I am only chiming in cuz I am singing your song and don't want you to feel like you are the only one out here that is not doing the deal. I have little to add in the way of suggestions as I am feeling my way though my own issues.

Great topic and I look forward to reading more of what people have to share.

Oh, and I agree with the beverage subject. I have a water bottle filled with crystal light with me 90% of the time....that really helps get my liquids in. Now if I could get off the drug...I mean sugar.....I would kick some A$$!

[jhawkchick75]

Totally understand!! I work two jobs and in the month of April I only had two days off. Some days I was working up to 15 hours a day and exercise just wasn't an option. I also was so tired and stressed that I wasn't making good food choices either. Now that April is over it is NO EXCUSES for me! I am back on track w/ working out and am working on my food choices as well. I am doing a food detox next week to get my rear back in gear and to get this last bit of weight off.

Just know you aren't alone. See my post earlier about making mini goals and finding upcoming events to work towards. That has been a big help to me.

Good luck!!

[GregP]

Great tips everybody. In a little better frame of mind. Weighed this morning a lost a few of the 10 pounds. This is a great topic because i can go into the convient store go down every isle and not buy anything when I'm in the dieting mode. When I'm not look out!!! If you took time to read all the labels we would hardly eat anything. Seems like as a rule: If it taste good it's probabbly bad for you! lol

[Kimmy in MD]

I find getting back to basics really helps. All great tips above but I didn't see these suggestions:

If you are not keeping a food log start one or re-start one that you have abandoned. There are several online. I use fitday.com and love it. It will help you track your food and excercise and it gives you a breakdown of the type of calories you are consuming,i.e. how much fat, carbs and protein. Using this you can make sure you are eating enough protein and fat and not too many carbs.

Also, maybe find an excersice buddy and set a time each day where you walk about 90 minutes, if you are doing 15 minute miles that should be about 6 miles which is well above the recommended 10,000 steps per day. Also a pedometer can help you make sure you are getting enough exercise and not being a couch potato.

Good Luck getting back on track. You can do it!

[skinnyagain]

I would ask myself, am I following the baasic rules? And when I wasn;t losing fast enough I wan't following the basic rules...Not drinking until 1 hour after eating, I wasn;t drinking enough water, I wasn't eating three meals a day...etc...when I made those changes, the weigh began to come off again...Slowly but at least it was moving in the direction...

Do you need a fill? MAYBE A UNFILL, CAN YOU EAT THREE MEALS A DAY AND NOT PB? i THINK FOR ONE WEEK, YOU TRACK YOUR CALS, AND WATER, AND SEE WHAT YOUR DOING...MAYBE YOUR NOT EATING ENOUGH GOOD FOODS...IF YOUR DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT AND YOUR RESTRICTION IS GOOD, CALL THE OCC...THAT IS MY TWO CENTS WORTH

KIM