I know what I want to do but...

[dreamer6]

hey everyone--
I was hoping to get some advice!

Throughout high school I was over weight and then i had started to pick up running my junior year. My eating didnt change much but i did lose some weight. people noticed and it did feel good! end of my senior year my eating habits changed and i began to work out a lot more and i lost a TON of weight. i did cheat a little with some weight loss pills but stopped cus i got scared of using them. I lost weight instead of gaining is my freshman year and got really toned and felt fantastic with all the attention that i was getting but during the summer of that year I lost my schedule and started eating unhealthy again. i'm about a year from that point now and havent had a good workout in a long time. I was training for the half marathon this year but just got discouraged with the weight gain :/

when i do find the time to go to the gym i get even more discouraged because i am not where near the endurance i once was. that just bugs the hell out of me. I know it will take time since its been about a year since i fell out of shape..but i want to be able to be at my goal weight in about 6-7 months time. i dont know what the deal is but i know that i want it bad and i want to be at my goal weight but with where i am at right now i m not motivated enough because i just have this thought in my mind that i can never weigh 120lbs

Binge eating has become a MAJOR issue, something that i had always been obsessive about not doing. but things are rough and before i was de stress with running but now im just discouraged with the weight gain and loss of any self esteem..

any help?

 

[Jericho]

#1: Yesterday is gone. You have to look at this singular moment as a fresh page. No more I could haves or I wish. It is now I will and I can..got it? good!

#2: Let's look at your binge eating. Do you tend to eat alot when you are experiencing a certain emotion like anger, sadness or being bored? I bet the answer is yes cause we almost all do. It feels good. It sounds like you had a good stress relief as well with running. If you don't think you are up to running yet, then you need to find a different plug for it instead of food. How about just walking? Listen to music or read a book. Something that replaces the comfort you have with food. It is hard. It will take time but I know you can do it. If I can, you can. Emotional eating is how I got to the 400 pounds I was. Since focusing on making small changes, I've dropped near 30 pounds so far. I know you can lose it too.

#3: Identify people around you who will be supportive and tell them you are going to work on your weight. A support system is so needed in this. We will do what we can but hearing someone say good job in person does alot for how you feel.

#4: Identify your personal modivator. I think you might have already with your running. Good. Remember how you felt when you did. You can reach that again. A personal desire will keep you going.

#5: Identify what you are eating. Keep a food diary for at least a week. Write everything down and be honest about it. At the end of the week, you can see where changes can be made. Make it work in had with emotions connected to why you ate certain things.

#6: Don't think that you have to eat like a mouse. You can eat the 'good stuff' too, just in moderation.

And most important...lucky number 7...

Be positive.

 

[whiskeytangofox]

hey dreamer

Good luck with everything you are doing and listen to jericho because he knows what he's talking about!

Also, you didn't say your weight. How much do you weight? No matter - please please please deal with the self esteem issue separately to your weight. I'm sure you can drop the excess pounds but you don't want to get into habits of yoyoing or letting it emotionally define you.

Find a system that is sustainable for you, even if it means slower weight loss than before and work with that. I've been dieting since the New Year and only once (ONCE!) have I reached my exercise target for the week. Make sure your food is sorted because that will actually cause most of your weight gain even though exercise makes you toned and healthier and feel better. Don't rely on exercise though because anything can throw it out.

your endurance will increase faster than it did last time so I think you'll be surprised at how good you are so soon.

 

[whiskeytangofox]

Dreamer

I just looked at your previous posts. My 2 cents: let go of the guilt. When I read your posts, they seem so guilty and stressed. Let go. Let go of the past. You are 19 and you gained some weight. You can lose it. Do it to a timetable that you are happy with and that doesn't trigger stressful and counterproductive behaviour in you. If you can't train as much as you are planning to, then set up a training system where you train less often. Make it more productive and effective but less frequent.

Other things will come up - you are not on the biggest loser and you have other responsibilities so don't feel like by missing a session because of finals you are somehow not giving it your all. You need to rest, you need to relax, you need a day off occasionally.

Don't let it emotionally define you. You have your entire life ahead of you! You have time! TIme to lose the weight, time to do whatever you want to do! Don't despair - really. You don't have that much weight to lose and you are young enough that your body will probably bounce back pretty quickly.

And to repeat again - control your eating. That is 95% of your diet. If I had given up eating right when I stopped my 'daily jogging' I'd be 25 pounds heavier right now. But now, even when I don't get to the gym, I know by eating right my body is still reducing. find a way to come to terms with the diet part and be happy with it.

 

[dreamer6]

Jericho: Thank you for ALL of the advice! It was very helpful and motivating. Sometime I just think that its hard to tell those around me. Every time that I have told a friend, they say that I am 'just fine' and that there is nothing wrong with how I look. I don't want to 'argue' and go into how I want to be in shape again (which would also entail losing the weight anyway) because this is something I really don't like obsessing over.

In the past, it has never really been about looks. It has always been about how I feel, referring to the physical shape I am in. I had just given up with telling those around me because I know that they are just trying to be nice to me. I have kept a diary though so I record my thoughts in there and I have recently started to keep a video diary and I feel like those will help. But do you think that's a good replacement?

Again, I thank you for your advice, I truly appreciate you taking your time to help me out!

 

[dreamer6]

whiskeytangofox:
i currently weigh 175lbs.

Also, I appreciate your thoughts. Not many people that I tell tend to be very honest about what I tell them, but i know that they are trying to be nice.

And you're right. I know that those things that you mentioned are something that I really need to work on. I KNOW i DONT want this issue to emotionally and mentally define who I am.

DIET DIET DIET. you're right. its my biggest challenge but I have been doing MUCH better than before. I grew up eating fairly healthy foods and even during my freshman year of college. The second year really killed it and I didn't realize how hard it was to stop eating junk foods since I never really did to begin with.

The stress and guilt is something that I also need to get over. I tend to look back into the past a lot. But I know that what i eat/do today will make for a better tomorrow and a happier me. As for the rest, lol, that is something I am also starting to learn this year. A few of my resolutions were what you had listed as things I need to fix and taking breaks and relaxing is certainly one of them. I got really burnt out last year but now that I see what can become of that, I now know that I need to learn how to be able to take care of myself before all else.

Once again, I truly appreciate your time and thoughts. I really was motivated by all of your advice and will certainly keep people updated with all that's going on. Thanks again!