The last day or two I've been having those "ack, maybe I should go back to weight watchers" kinds of feelings that come after a few weeks of lots of visitors, eating out, and 9 days vacation. At the gym, feeling bloated and thinking about how last year at this time I weighed about 8 lbs less than I do now, I was seriously planning to come home and log right onto ww and renew.
And then I had a good talk with myself. That I didn't gain the 8 lbs overnight. That they came back over the course of a very busy year and WHILE I was mostly doing ww or counting calories. I reminded myself that when I'm restricting myself and counting that I inevitably end up in a binge. I reminded myself how good and right I felt for the first couple of months of No S before the last few weeks of challenges came about. That I've established excellent no snacking habits. (Even on vacation and with visitors, I didn't snack.) I reminded myself of past experiences of the gain a little, panic, restrict, binge cycle and how not fun that is and I'd rather stay my current weight forever than go back to that. So I talked myself down.
I thought I'd post about it because I think this is a pretty typical pattern of thought for chronic dieters, and rational self-talk and assessment of "did acting this way work for me before?" is really all it took to save me the angst, not to mention the $15.95 a month of going back to WW.
Time for lunch!
a moment of panic - and post-panic analysis
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gingercake
- Posts: 110
- Joined: Fri May 30, 2008 5:19 am
- Location: western U.S.
Ah yes, panic, know it well. But after taking a deep breath and realizing this is the best way to go I usually feel very relieved that I can get back on track without having to do anything drastic. I don't have that "here we go again" feeling. So it takes a little time to undo some vacation (or whatever) damage.
Glad you were able to talk some sense into yourself!
Glad you were able to talk some sense into yourself!
Dawn
Hi Gingercake,
Thanks so much for posting this. I have been going through the same thing for the last few days. Thinking I have way too much weight to lose to go this slowly, that restricting sweets all week makes me go crazy on S days, blah, blah, blah. The truth is I got to this weight by going on diets and bingeing out of them, and bingeing before starting the next one. When I do my N days, I feel at peace. Even the days I mess up are not as bad as my average day before no S. The core of me does not want to return to the old behaviors. The part of me that operated through the bad habits, however, thinks all this is a terrible idea, that I am deprived and there is no way I can keep this up.
I have decided to treat that habit-voice like an annoying little brother-if I ignore it long enough, it will eventually go away.
Thanks again. Have a great day,
Joelle
Thanks so much for posting this. I have been going through the same thing for the last few days. Thinking I have way too much weight to lose to go this slowly, that restricting sweets all week makes me go crazy on S days, blah, blah, blah. The truth is I got to this weight by going on diets and bingeing out of them, and bingeing before starting the next one. When I do my N days, I feel at peace. Even the days I mess up are not as bad as my average day before no S. The core of me does not want to return to the old behaviors. The part of me that operated through the bad habits, however, thinks all this is a terrible idea, that I am deprived and there is no way I can keep this up.
I have decided to treat that habit-voice like an annoying little brother-if I ignore it long enough, it will eventually go away.
Thanks again. Have a great day,
Joelle
Thanks for the post, Gingercake.
It is nice to know that I am not the only one out there who panics sometimes and thinks of going back to counting calories.
The weight loss is slow, but it seems more rewarding. I rest assured feeling and KNOWING somehow that whatever weight I lose each week is permanant. Even on the days that I "mess up", I find it easier to think that tomorrow is another day to try and do better than to fall into a vicious 2-3 week cycle of eating really poorly before I attempt to get on the diet bandwagon, again. Plus, I'm more hopeful about succeeding with No-S because I feel like I am not doing anything extra complicated to lose the weight, just not overeating.
It is nice to know that I am not the only one out there who panics sometimes and thinks of going back to counting calories.
The weight loss is slow, but it seems more rewarding. I rest assured feeling and KNOWING somehow that whatever weight I lose each week is permanant. Even on the days that I "mess up", I find it easier to think that tomorrow is another day to try and do better than to fall into a vicious 2-3 week cycle of eating really poorly before I attempt to get on the diet bandwagon, again. Plus, I'm more hopeful about succeeding with No-S because I feel like I am not doing anything extra complicated to lose the weight, just not overeating.