Disaster

[Smoke420]

I've been working out and following a fitness regemin for about 4 1/2 years now. I went from being a small wimpy out of shape, slightly overweight guy to a much bigger, solid strong guy. Back in april of this year I starting a cutting routien and went from 190lbs, down to 178lbs in about 2 months. The extended workouts didn't really bother me, but the diet sucked. And after about two months I stopped losing body fat, and I felt like I had hit a wall. But I kept on doing it, and gradually started to loosen up on my diet restrictions.

But last month a disaster happened. For about 4 weeks straight I completely threw the diet out the window and started eating anything I wanted. Which often was high fat, high carb foods. And I started drinking heavily. About 8-10 beers a night. And on top of that I was lucky if I made it to the gym once or twice a week.

I finally kicked my ass into gear again last week and started the diet again, and now I'm working out 5 days a week, and the alcohol cosumption is under control again. But I can't help but feel really guilty about this. During this binge I only gained about a pound and a half, which is almost completely worked off now, but I can't believe that after all the hard work I've put in over the last 4 years, I almost ruined it all. That is, I would have if I continuted on my path to distruction. Anyone else have an experience like this? I'm looking for tips or advice to prevent this from happening again.

 

[LeiYunFat]

Don't push yourself too hard too long and learn to consume in moderation. Luckily, I've lived by these rules for some time and I haven't had the misfortune of steering myself in that direction.

 

[cusimar9]

I've been doing this on and off for years, most notably the last 2 years where I just ate whatever I wanted and didn't do any exercise at all.

For me it tends to happen when I've suddenly got a lot to do - ie moving house, decorating etc its just not feasable to go to the gym 5 days, so I just think "I'll have a week off", which then becomes 2 weeks, which then becomes a month etc etc.

In my personal opinion I'm trying to raise my "normal" bar, so that if/when I decide to have a lazy week, It'll mean I'll "only" go to the gym 2 or 3 times and although my diet might become less than ideal, it certainly won't be "bad".

The exercise is one thing, but I can't see my diet suddenly getting as bad as it used to be. I've learned so much over the last few months that I could never eat something without being reasonably aware of whats in it, and I feel the most immense guilt if I eat something I know I shouldn't.

I would have thought this would get easier with time, and after 4+half years you should know better than anyone what it takes to be dedicated.

The only advice I could give would be to think one week at a time. Set yourself a minimum (ie 2 days training per week) and if you don't achieve it, ask yourself why IMMEDIATELY, don't wait weeks/months before doing something about it.

At the end of the day, its all about MODERATION. For you to find yourself in the situation you were in, you must have been pushing yourself too hard. Try and let yourself have a few beers now and then, and eat a few cheat meals here and there. Life's for living, and if you train 3+ times a week then I don't see why you can't treat yourself occasionally.

If you can stick it out for weeks on end, great, but if you ever find yourself 'fancying' something and you know its been ages since you last strayed off the path, then FFS just do it, just remember, the key is moderation.