I'm so frustrated. I can't seem to figure out how to make things work. You may remember when I reached my goal of losing 101 pounds back in September on my first day back to the grind and how worried I was about finding a way to maintain my hard-earned loss. Apparently I had good reason for my fears and they were not unfounded.
Since reaching my goal last September I've been steadily gaining bit by bit and struggling to find a way to fit in my workouts after a long stressful day at the office. I struggle every day to stay away from all the free food they push around every single day. Last week alone they had a big breakfast one day and ice cream sundaes another day. I don't understand why they feel the need to reward employees with fattening crappy food.
I know it's possible to find a way to fit it all in. I know it can be done. I see many of you not only work full time jobs and take care of your families but also put in the hours you need to stay fit. I just can't seem to find my way.
I miss my two hour workouts and my daily walks. I miss having the time to go to the market every day and cook healthy meals every night. I miss it!
I knew it was going to be difficult to find the time to workout but I didn't think I would regain so much so quickly. It's depressing to think how much sweat and effort it took to lose and how easy it finds its way back.
I walk over 3 miles every single weekday back and forth to the train station. I make every effort to get to my cardio kickboxing class twice a week during my lunch hour but that doesn't always happen because there is always some "emergency" that pops up just as I'm getting ready to leave for class and then I get extremely upset that I can't go which makes me even more stressed out.
Something has got to give. I have to find a way to make it work or hit the lottery so I can be a lady of leisure who can spend as long as I want hanging out at the gym and taking care of myself.
I'm not giving up on this fight but it is HARD and I need to find the time to make it work because I don't want to go back to where I was. I'm not where I was but I'm not where I want to be either.
I'm sure you've all heard the saying "it's better to have love and lost than to never have loved at all," right? I was wondering if it is the same sort of thing with weight loss. Is it better to have lost and regained than to never have lost at all? I'm not sure.
The battle continues....
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
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I've regained many times. So I feel your pain. My advice to you as a classic yo-yo dieter, do whatever it takes to stop now! If you can't exercise, eat less. Or differently. I can't tell you how many times I looked back with regret and thought "if only I hadn't eaten that cookie, I'd have not eat the next one and the cake and... " as down the slippery slope I slid. How many times I thought "if only I'd started my diet again last month, by now I could have lost..."
ReplyDeleteWhen I had to stop doing cardio in December (because of a minor injury), I immediately gained weight. And the holiday eating didn't help! But since then I've buckled down and taken it off, still without being able to do cardio. It's harder, but worth it.
You can do it too!
It's tough. Your body will adjust to what were previous challenges. You're constantly having to step it up, eat less... then the gains set in.
ReplyDeleteI'm of the opinion that changing the type of exercise might be the way to challenge your body without investing MORE time during the day to exercise... knowing that there's only 24 hours in a day, and that there are things you HAVE to do to survive besides exercise.
I'm struggling with the same thing... trying to find that balance myself.
This is something I'm trying desperately to halt for myself as well, since October. It's a major struggle. Maybe what you need is a complete reboot? A fresh slate. Ignore, for a moment, that you lost all that weight. Say you are starting over right now, right from scratch. Don't look at what you used to do, it doesn't apply because you aren't that person now, so let it go. Meet the new you, and ask yourself if you were a new client to nutrition and weightloss and fitness, how would you structure it?
ReplyDeleteThe key, as always, is in the food. Exercise is to benefit your physical ability and health, with a side bonus of a SMALL extra caloric burn. So, look at what you're eating, what you can change, how to change it. It's time to start tracking every calorie for at least a week, so you can evaluate what you are doing, and how best to meet your new client's needs.
Seriously, fresh-slate it. Start over without the baggage of what you used to do, or did. Today, no past, only moving forward! *hugs*
Oh how I feel your pain!! It's tough, but you are tougher. If you can't fit in the workouts, then focus on the food. Maybe you could invest in a treadmill or weight machine so that you could work out at home before work? Lord knows if I didn't have a treadmill, I would NEVER work out, and the early mornings seem to be the best time for me.
ReplyDeleteI think it's harder trying to lose weight the second (or third or sixteenth) time because the newness is gone. The first time around, you are carried on by NEW! LOW! WEIGHTS! and it's exciting. But you can absolutely do it again - you might have to find a different way to do it, but you can do it.
I'm pulling for you!!
Hi MB! I honestly think the comments on this post have extremely super advice!
ReplyDeleteI would also add 2 points:
1) Exercise your right to be a "skinny bitch." Meaning: You know that the sundaes and breakfasts at work are because they know they put you through so much crap each week, so they are plying you with fattening mind-soothing food. Recognize it as a peace gesture, and then act like a skinny bitch and don't eat it. You know, just meaninglessly pick at it so you don't offend.
2)If you don't have time for the gym, do extremely intense exercises that take only few minutes. I figure that a set of 10 pushups takes less than a minutes. 5 sets take less than 5 minutes, though I don't do the sets in a row, but stagger them. But they do wonders for fitness.
Seriously, take the advice above. It's great!
:-) Marion
Oh, I totally understand! (says the girl who has regained about 30 pounds of a 50 pound overall loss). It is so incredibly frustrating! I don't know if this is an option for you, but I have found with my busy job that I HAVE to work out in the morning. If I plan to work out at night, something always comes up. I am so not a morning person and it's painful, but it's really the only way for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm sending encouraging thoughts your way!
I'm sorry that you're struggling. I don't have the work situation, but traveling is always a problem for me, especially when I'm staying at other people's houses. I agree with the other comments that the food is the key.
ReplyDeleteI hear you with the last minute emergencies - our trial is over (we won!) so it's not as hectic, but it's hard to get your mind set that "I am going to walk for 50 minutes" and then get hit with something that has to be done right away.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have found my voice and have learned to say "do you mind if I start on that when I get back from my walk?" The old me just would have sat down and done the work. I've found that 9 tiems out of 10 though it can wait an hour.
HUGS!!
I'm sure it must be frustrating!
ReplyDeleteWith a 3+ mile daily walk, you've got the exercise covered. Maybe you can work in a couple of little 10-minute bursts of activity during the day? (I climbed stairs 3 or 4 times a day.)
As for the office food, once I realized that unless "they" tied me down and force-fed me, I was in control of what I ate. For whatever reason, that mindset gave me a sense of power over the situation. When they set up a sundae bar in the conference room, I grabbed my yogurt and joined the party. I scheduled meetings to coincide with the monthly birthday party/cake. In other words, I took "them" out of the equation.
I know you can figure this out, MB.
Hugs! You know, it is not uncommon for people to hit a low weight and bounce back up. In fact, it is very common. Especially with throwing a new job in the mix.
ReplyDeleteIf exercise is really a problem to fit in now, then just concentrate on the food. While exercise is important, food really is 80% of the battle. It might help to start asking the company to provide healthier options for the food they bring in. Once they do that, you might be surprised at how appreciative your other coworkers are of it.
MB
ReplyDeleteOne if the things I love about you and your blog is your raw honesty. I remember reading back in Sept about your concerns for maintaining your 100 pound loss. When your lifestyle goes from fully focusing on losing weight and getting healthy and then switches to having to worry about work, it is tough to adjust. Time is always a factor - so I guess the question is, when can you devote time to yourself? Even if it is for short periods throughout the day, like some have suggested.
Although morning may be tough, it's probably the window of opportunity you have been looking for. I am not sure what time you get up, but if you can give yourself an extra 1/2 hour or 45 mins in the AM, it might be worth it to get a workout in then. And I know you were never bog on calorie counting but to maintain, it really is about calories in, calories out! Make sure you have your "eats" at work and stay away from the crap they are pushing at work as "rewards." It's so funny how every office seems to do that!
I wish you the best of luck finding what works! And I know you will find that balance. You are tougher than you think! After all, you DID make your goal - and you WILL do it again! Have faith and stay strong!
You work such long hours, it's going to be hard to fit it all in, but you'll figure it out, one workout, one day at a time.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely hate it that food is used in the office to motivate people. I'm switching to a new department and I'm told that the monthly team meeting includes cake. Errr. I'm going to test the waters to suggest a healthier alternative either to replace the cake or in addition to the cake.
Keep your head up! It's when it feels hardest that it's most important to strive forward! The best thing to do is keep your eyes on the horizon.
ReplyDeleteI am a Master’s Student in Nutrition, avid runner, and health enthusiast, and I absolutely love your blog- you provide great insight and inspiration for anyone who has ever had a goal to be healthier and happier in their own lives. I’d love your insight on my own blog- if interested, feel free to visit me over at Lucky #13(.1)! Keep doing what you do, you’re fantastic! http://luckythirteenone.blogspot.com/
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ReplyDelete{{{HUGS}}} I know how this feels.
ReplyDeleteHang in there, and work is not worth it, if you were off sick one day someone else would/could deal with the "emergency" you need to remember how important your health is.
ReplyDeletePlus it seems that when people work too much they actually are not really efficient anyway:
http://lifehacker.com/5894523/how-many-hours-do-you-work-per-week-hint-if-its-over-40-you-may-have-a-problem
I echo the others, hang in there. This is my 3rd attempt at weight maintenance. This time, the difference is what I don't eat.
ReplyDeleteI don't eat grains or processed sugar. Both things trigger me in even small amounts. Once you don't have bread or sweets, then I found I don't crave them. And that makes life and weight maintenance a whole lot easier.
Have you tried going wheat/grain/processed sugar free? To me, knowing what not to eat was key this time around.
Keep trying different things. You'll know what works when you stumble upon it. :)
I do think that it's worth loosing the weight. Each time we do, we learn what does and what doesn't work. Eventually, adding the what works practices to your life and you will maintain.
Never easy but worth it. You are worth it.
Your body will fight you every second now that you've lost weight. Basically, you have to eat at least 20% less than someone of the same weight as you are now who has never dieted. And this will last for the rest of your life.
ReplyDeleteYou probably have to exercise an hour a day, every day, just to help keep the weight off. Exercise is not very effective at helping someone lose weight, just keeping it off...and that's if you follow the 20% less rule.
You have to ask yourself what you want. If it's simply to keep the weight off, then prepare to be at war with your body for the rest of your life.
If you want to be healthy, then exercise moderately (30 minutes/day, at least five days a week), eat mindfully and with moderation, try to eat mostly simple, fresh, non-processed food and prepare to see some, if not all, the weight come back. Watch your non-weight numbers (blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose). If these numbers stay stable and in the healthy range, you can consider yourself healthy, just not slim.
That's the truth we must all contend with.
You won my Camelback givaway! Email me your address at katiejisonherway at gmail dot com k?
ReplyDeleteInvitation to Participate
ReplyDeleteHi. I’m Parveen Bahra, a student studying Health Psychology (MSc) at the University of Derby, England, UK. I am conducting research as a part of this course, investigating the journeys in losing weight of those who perceive themselves as previously or currently overweight. I am interested in looking at both men and women’s experiences in losing weight.
I have created an online survey asking questions in relation to this topic and am sending the link to bloggers such as yourself who appear to see themselves as overweight and are attempting to lose it. I am specifically interested in individuals aged 30 years or over and who have now or have had previously a BMI of 25 and over due to this being classed as overweight.
If you fit these criteria and would like to participate in this research please click the link below where you will be directed to a more detailed outline of the study. In addition you will be asked to provide your consent to take part before entering the actual survey which consists of 4 demographic and 4 open ended questions. Your participation is entirely voluntary and would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to contact me via email if you have any questions.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9FFBW75
Thank you
Parveen Bahra
Derby University Postgraduate Health Psychology (MSc) Student
P.Bahra1@unimail.derby.ac.uk
it is true that after losing weight you can easily regain it by little mistake like eating non dietary food, leave exercise and walk for some days .but if you want toburn calories fast then take dietary food , walk in the morning daily which has good impact in your health and do exercise at least 30 min/day .
ReplyDelete