Feeling pretty darn ashamed
 

My weight loss has hit a snag.....me. I am my own worst enemy. Thanksgiving killed my progress and I have not righted the ship. I am having a hard time dealing with always screwing myself, which only makes it worse because I am an emotional eater. I gained 5lbs in the last 2 weeks, and have only ridden my bike 7 miles in the last 2 weeks. That also makes in worse because my bike is my stress relief. So, I am getting it by both barrels. Just wanted to get this off my chest, I have to admit it to myself that I have to get my crap together.

I'm in a similar situation, and on top of my own seasonal backsliding, came down with a bug that has made it impossible to ride for the last week. I expect Monday is 'back in the saddle' day. I won't get on a scale for a week once I get going again. I know it wouldn't be pretty.

I hear you. I go to weight watchers, I will avoid going to weigh in for weeks because I don't want to see what I already know.

Fitness is up and down imo so don't sweat it.

You ride, get strong, get fit some, then you slide. Rinse and repeat but over all you ramp up little by little with some flat steps along the way. Jut keep working your way up.

Hmm. An uberclyde can swing up and down by five pounds in a day. Its not the number that's important, its the trend. Your trend was down until recently. Something changed in your life that altered that trend. You know what it is, and you know what will happen once you correct the change you made in your life. So, knowing that, how can you continue to be down in the dumps? Seems to me you are in a good position.

We get addicted to the positive feed back of decreasing weight and increasing fitness. The fact is, as Neil pointed out, we need to focus on the trend.

Get back on the program, now. Not next week. Nor, in a few days. But, when you wake up. Start with whatever your program is. I count calories. In the morning, start doing what you do.

Thanks everyone. I know what I need to do, just what everyone is saying, pretty much ^#% or get off the pot ;)

We're not that easy. There's no "getting off the pot" option;-)

I would still keep your weekly commitment to WW too, even if you know what it's going to say. Establishing a rhythm and some healthy habits is critical early on. It's just a little hump, you'll get over it. ;)

i gained a few pounds back too.. thanksgiving my favorite time of the year. i cooked it all and i made everything i like. i knew i would gain some pounds but, im ok with it ill just add a few more miles here and there.get back to your bike you will feel better

Hey, stay with it. Im in a similar boat and bust my knee 8 months back, 6 weeks before i could even peddle. Dont sweat the small stuff and just get back on and keep heading in the right track. There is bound to be the odd setback but whats important is you steer right back on course after it.

good luck

+1 on Mr Beanz comment.

I too had problems with Thanksgiving as well. I couldn't resist the traditional dinner and resulting left overs...I am continuing with the cycling/exercise plan that got me this far. "Keep the Faith".

Adding a plus one to what everyone else has said! BigFred and Neil and others hit it right on the head - concentrate on the trend, not an individual week or two. You're not alone, everybody has weeks from time to time where they don't do as well. Except me, of course, I'm perfect all the time (jk).

With any kind of "life modification, the question isn't whether or not you will fall off the wagon, but what you do when you fall off the wagon. What's important is that you recognize it for what it is (that you're human) and get back on.

Good luck and ride safe, Charles

I have had two weeks where I rode 6 days and over 40 miles and gained 4 lbs, but the week after it was net down 2. Sometimes water retention and other things just effect the scale for a bit. You'll be fine and Thanksgiving is a good time to be off the wagon for a bit. Now if it gets to a point where you dread looking at a bike, then it maybe time to think about other ways. Personally I have always loved just getting on a bike and riding a bit. It's even better now that we can carry music and audio books along with us.

The "shame" comment was what drew me to post. Shame has no place in weight loss. And its a violation of my Rule #4: Find joy. Now admittedly Rule 4 is hard to follow at times, and I'm struggling with it, but still..... Anyway, it appears the OP has a lot to be joyous about, and he's overlooking it because he's caught in the Tyranny of Numbers.

This.

You do need to keep on top of things to become more healthy. But mental health is an important part, too, and not driving yourself with your failures and learning to celebrate your successes is important.

Cheers,
Charles

I think, although I could be wrong, that most weight loss plans get abandoned early because people assume they made a mistake, or they had a couple weeks of no loss or a slight gain, and they feel shame and then give up.

For me, it's a bit more of a life long problem. I can do anything...except anything. I came to realize that I have a "Fear of Success". That's right...not of Failure, but Success.

You see, I have screwed up all manner of things thus far in life, and know how to handle being a screw-up. But when I clamp down and make it happen (whatever the issue) it proves I can do whatever I set my mind to. Then, I can expect more from myself. Other people can too....which is when the problem starts.....;>!

So admit you know your failings, you understand this can be a bump in the road and stop proving to yourself how good you are at being a Failure. It's that damn shoe commercial all the time, "Just Do It!".

When I fail at my goals I try and just accept it, put on my big boy panties and get back in the saddle. Shame and guilt are enemies of progress as they both look back not forwards. Everybody has setbacks, don't let it be an anchor but rather a kick I the arse.

You're absolutely not alone. After some great success (primarily through WW), I've been struggling for over a year now. I was down as low as 189.5 during the first half of 2011 and now, mainly through a lot of stress eating (work has been killing me, literally), I've seriously fallen off the wagon and need to get back on it, now. It helped that I managed to get out for a nice 33-miler on Saturday, with our unnaturally high current temps. After riding Hilly Hundred in October, I haven't done much of anything, and I'm paying for it, and the eating, now. I've found that if I don't keep reminding myself that I'm an athlete (through doing athletic things), I slip into bad eating habits way too easily. Throw in the stress to top things off, and I became a mess.

Time to turn this barge around.

craig,

sign up for an event that will MAKE you train. Believe me, I was right where you are a month ago. I was working 60 plus hour weeks and traveling almost non stop. I could see the weight coming back, and knew i was grabbing food wherever I could, regardless of if it was good for me. I signed up for this half with my buddy (who is a strong runner) and now I have to train so I dont embarrass myself when I run with him (at least for the first 3 minutes till he goes out of sight lol).

Set a goal, do a training plan in writing for that goal race, and then (at least to me) it gets a lot easier to stick with. If I had a specific thing I was supposed to do today, I am much more likely to do it, rather than just "knowing" I need to do something active.

Anyway just a thought...oh...and I can tell you that when I finally went back to working out 5 days a week, instead of using my work stress as a reason not to, I ended up having less stress.

It helps me when I state my goals publicly. Its too easy to disappoint myself, but, if I have to explain to others its a differenct story.

The goal for 2012 was to complete the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge in sub 6 hrs. In the last few weeks before the event and with success reasonably assured, 2 kg of the 20 I lost crept back on. Post event, my cycling is down some and will remain that way through the new year.

The 2013 goal is to complete Taupo in sub 5 hrs. To acccomplish that I need to climb better and come out ot the first 90km of hills fresher. So the priorities are:

1. Loose a bit more. -5 to -10 from my average low of 115kg (I saw 112, but, not consistantly). I'm 117 right now. The diet starts now, with the goal of maintaining through the new year and loosing slow by steady after that.

2. Increase my power by roughly 10%. That means working on both strength and speed. Especially work on power I can maintain over reasonably long periods of time (threshold to sub threshold). So, lots of intervals focusing on either low cadence muscular strength, or, spinning and opening up my cadence redline from around 110 to 120+rpm. Both of these will of course help after next years Taupo when I anticipate moving my focus to track and TT'ing.

3. Don't loose and build on the base I've already developed. Continued long'ish rides on Saturdays and when I can grab them during the week.

There. That should do it.

I'm in much the same boat as the OP. I had a very stressful period at work when I was traveling in Oct/Nov, so no cycling. Plus I put on a few pounds after a good start to weight loss. I am riding some again, so that's better. I decided I'm just in "hold" mode through the holidays; if I can just not gain, I'll consider it a success. So I'm dieting some and indulging some, and trying to to stress about it until the New Year.