How do you get back "on the wagon"?

[bossy]

After nearly 2 years of model behavior (food and exercise-wise) I've had a bit of a setback in the last few weeks! I've been eating like a pig and really cut back on the exercise - so the question is.....when you've "fallen off the wagon" how do you get motivated to get back on?

[funnybone]

Well, you just have to do it. This has been touched on a bit in the HLSG threads. You should join in and read some of those posts, if you haven't already.

First of all, it probably helps to see "WHY" you had a setback. What was it that made you over eat and cut back on exercise? Was it vacation, an illness, burnout, etc? If you pinpoint "why", then that will help get back on track (or I would think it would help).

I've mentioned a couple of times in the past that putting on the exercise clothes is half the battle. If I think too hard about it, I can think of a million reasons why sitting on my butt is better, but I don't allow myself to think that way - not any longer. So, I put on those clothes, and it helps motivate me. The thought of exercise is worse than the actual exercise.

I was on vacation at the beginning of the month, and was out of a routine for about 2 weeks. I made a promise to myself to start on a specific date again, and kept that promise. I have now challenged myself to do TaeBo for 21 days in a row. I have just finished Day 16 today!

Basically, I hope to be able to include exercise as part of my daily (or almost daily) routine. I shower daily, put my make up on daily, etc. I want it to be something that I don't have to think about - but just to do it.

Good luck!

[neenbeez]

The only thing I can add to funnybone's excellent advice is to not feel guilty about the past couple of weeks. Let it go! If you dwell on your setbacks you won't be able to start fresh today. Good luck.

Neen

[NydiaC]

Over the years, I have discovered that what motivates me the most is RESULTS. The only way to get results it to start. Visualize where you want to be and just start doing what you need to, to get the results you want. Once you start doing, you'll start getting the results and you'll become more and more motivated to continue. It builds on itself like a snowball. If you backslide, oh well. Its part of life. Just get back on track as soon as you can.

Like Nike says, "JUST DO IT!" Good luck!

:cool:

[SusanMac]

I find that I need to be happy with doing just a little bit at the beginning. When I'm in a rut, it's easy to sit on the couch and tell myslef that I can no longer run 5 miles like I used to, so why bother. But, if I just start with a brisk walk, it's typically enough to get a few endorphins going and make me feel better and believe in myself.

I also have a wall calendar where I mark down days that I've worked out. Nothing fancy like times or other details, just that fact that I got off my buns and did something aerobic. It's totally inspiring at the end of a week or month to see how many little blue circles are on the calendar! Sounds strange, but it works for me.

[LaraW]

SusanMac, I do the same thing with my calendar! Except I have a red "X" for each day.

I have heard that it takes 3 weeks to make or break a habit - good or bad. What has worked for me is to schedule the time with myself, the same way I would schedule a meeting at work, or a haircut and then stick to it. Going to a class that is held at a certain time on a certain day helps me also.

We have recently moved to a new area, and a higher altitude. I cancelled my gym membership June 1 and boy do I miss it! We toured a new gym here, and had a free day of exercise there, and boy did it feel good!

I am a very routine driven person, and I feel very uncomfortable when I am yanked out of my general routine for a long time (not like vacation or something, but this move has really forced me to establish a new routine!)

I would say, just get started and increase gradually. Maybe if you can do a 30 min walk today and Thursday that will be enough for this week. Maybe next week you can do a 30 min walk Tues, Wed, Thurs and increase from there to where you want to be.

Something else to try is to just do one healthy thing each day, whether it is to exercise or to eat a healthy dinner. Keep track of what you do and you can see your progress! That's why I do the X on my calendar for my workout days.

Good Luck!
Lara

[BosunsWife]

One day at a time...

I feel for you since I am going through the same thing right now. I started a very healthy weight loss program the first of April and was doing so well until the first part of August - lost 16 pounds. We have had a bit of stress in our life lately - DH's sister giving us grief about a wedding in November, DH trying to figure out if he wants another child (YES!!!) and getting DD potty trained and into a "big girl" bed.

I'm ready to get back on track and will be going in to see my psychologist tonight and face the music so to speak. If we are able to conceive, I am really going to need all the help and support I can get from him and our group to be able to stay at a healthy weight while pregnant this time. I am bound and determined to try and only gain the 15 pounds the doctor told me he wants me to gain. When I was preggers with DD I gained (GASP) 45 pounds and I definitely DO NOT want that again. I have lost it all, but what a struggle.

Its a life long struggle (or it has been for me) and I know it will continue to be. Just when I think I have my eating in check it comes back to slam me in the face.

Thinking of you.

[JulieM]

bossy, I have been through this too many times to count, so I know exactly what you're going through! My DH has a theory that makes sense to me. When you "fall off the wagon" and start eating things you don't normally eat, these are things usually containing more fat and bad fats. If you're like me, you've also upped your consumption of simple carbs like white pasta and white potatoes. My DH's theory is that fats are addictive, so if you start eating more fried foods for example which contain high levels of trans-fats, then you immediately start craving high-fat foods, which often go hand in hand with simple carbs. In this mode, all the good things I've grown accustomed to eating and love (like fruits and vegetables, whole wheat pasta, etc.) look unappealing.

The only way I have found to break this cycle is to force myself to eat very light for just one day. By dinnertime that day, or by the next morning, I'm really hungry and all the good stuff looks yummy again and then I'm back on track. For me, eating right and exercising go hand in hand. When I eat right I want to exercise and vice versa. I don't know if the one day off the fats breaks the addiction, or if it's simply a hunger thing, but it feels like both.

Let us know what works for you!

[Mbart]

One other thing that might help, is to enlist a friend or significant other to do something with you. Some wise soul a while ago told how she had challenged herself and her hubby to eat 5 fruits/vegetables a day for a month. I loved that idea! Very doable and could be fun. And if you do it with someone else you can check up on each other. When I lost some weight recently I was doing it with a girlfriend and for about the first month we talked daily about how we were doing. It was so helpful, especially when I was about to dive into the freezer for ice cream, or raid the girl scout cookie stash! I would call my friend, and she could talk me down!

You could also see if someone wants to exercise with you, or if you're competitive, sign up for an event down the road that you would be compelled to train for. There are runs, walks, mini-triathalons or relay triathalons where you team up with a group and do one leg of the triathalon.

By the way, on a personal note, just have to boast about my big brother, who does a lot of bike races, triathalons, etc. He was recently trying to put together a team for a relay tri, but nobody was available (end of August, lots of people on vacation) so he ended up doing it himself. He is an outstanding biker, a very good runner, but cannot swim to save himself! Yet, he made it through the entire swim! He was the second to last person out of the water, just beating out a 78 year-old woman. Even so, he ended up beating all of his buddies in the neighborhood because he is such a fantastic biker! I am really proud of him! Just had to share.

Good luck with motivating, and keep posting here...we'll keep giving you pep talks!