Staying on Track

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RebelHeart

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Hey all. I am having a super hard time keeping myself on track.

To start, I have a fiance and two little kiddos at home (4 and 6) and I have a very active job. Im the heaviest I have ever been at 311 lbs. It seems like I start off every day with the best of intentions. And have a pretty easy time staying on task at work. I need to drink more water, but who doesnt? But as soon as I come home its like all bets are off. I grab whatever I can find to eat. Snacks as soon as I walk in the door, samples of dinner, anything and everything. How can I get this under control?
 
Hey and welcome to the forum!

What's your diet like during your work day? Have you taken a look through the diary section?

Everyone is pretty different when it comes to what ends up being successful for them in terms of weight loss/maintenance, so you might find something that someone else has done that speaks to you. You also might find benefit in starting a diary and writing down your food for the day, activity, mood, etc. You may also find support from others going though similar struggles.

Without going on much information, it sounds like you are hungry when you get home from work, so is there a way that you can have a snack an hour or two before getting off of work? Or have a planned snack when you get home? It seems like maybe your are telling yourself something like: "I will be GOOD today and not eat until dinnertime," or something along those lines, then your brain is rebelling at the end of the work day. You will see me repeat myself a lot on this forum, that the more you try to deprive yourself of something, the more you will end up wanting it.
 
RebelHeart said:
It seems like I start off every day with the best of intentions... I grab whatever I can find to eat. Snacks.., samples of dinner, anything and everything. How can I get this under control?
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I could have written that, most every morning I woke up deciding today was the day I would start eating right. It did not usually last past noon, some days not that long.

I cannot offer you a great deal of wisdom, but about a week ago I decided to go on a low cal kick start diet and then just did it. It did take some will power at first a lot; but I am on day 9 now and feeling better about myself. The best think I did here was to start a diary and recording my food every day. It really makes a difference knowing you'll be accountable and posting your food. I suspect you already know what a good diet should look, to get started anyway. What helps me most is to focus on what I am eating today, right now, and not thinks so much about future goals. After more time I may shift that a bit, but its working for me today.

Best of luck.
 
Alligatorob, that's some good advice. Sometimes it works to not think too far into the future. Just take it one day at a time.
 
I usually start with a pretty good breakfast. Eggs and toast or something like that, and black coffee. Pack a lunch and a couple snacks. Usually a sandwich or salad, some fruits and veggies, and maybe a little treat or something like a couple of oreos. Staying on track at work is easy because i have to leave the ranch to get something different, and usually i dont have time to. Honestly, i think it boils down to a lack of self control when im home. My family has never had a good relationship with food, so i was never really taught to either. We just eat until were stuffed. Or graze all day even if we arent hungry. Mostly, i guess, im looking for things that will help me build my self control and break that cycle. Im hoping a trick or two someone else knows might turn out to be something that helps me
 
Try deciding what you are going to eat for the day in the morning, you might even write it down, and then stick to it, no matter what others are doing. It will take some will power for the first few days, and probably some explaining to others. You might even get your family to help, but if not don't let that distract you from staying on track.

Try it tonight and let us know how things go.
 
Hi, RebelHeart - how's it going? :)
I wonder if you just "grab whatever [you] can find to eat" when you walk in the door because you're just plain tired?
I'm saying that because that's what happened to me one day this week. My transport home had got muddled up, and I ended up walking and catching a patchwork of three different buses, with walks of several blocks in between, to get home, and when I got there I downed bread (it was stale bread, even - but that's what was there!) butter and cheese like it was going out of style - purely from tiredness, I'm sure.

If that seems likely to be a factor for you, the answer might be to have something substantial but still healthy right there ready to go when you walk in the door - a big bowl of soup, or a giant helping of fruit salad with a dollop of yoghurt on top, with a sign on it saying "family keep off!".
 
aiminglow said:
Hi, RebelHeart - how's it going? :)
I wonder if you just "grab whatever [you] can find to eat" when you walk in the door because you're just plain tired?
I'm saying that because that's what happened to me one day this week. My transport home had got muddled up, and I ended up walking and catching a patchwork of three different buses, with walks of several blocks in between, to get home, and when I got there I downed bread (it was stale bread, even - but that's what was there!) butter and cheese like it was going out of style - purely from tiredness, I'm sure.

If that seems likely to be a factor for you, the answer might be to have something substantial but still healthy right there ready to go when you walk in the door - a big bowl of soup, or a giant helping of fruit salad with a dollop of yoghurt on top, with a sign on it saying "family keep off!".
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This actually sounds like a great idea. It could very well be the reason. I did go to the doc and got some blood work done. I have hypothyroidism, and am now on a med for it. It seems to be helping. I also just started a new job, thats a little less active. I'll still be walking a ton, and have some stairs to manage, but it wont involve so much lifting. So hopefully this all will help. Thanks for the idea to try!
 
Hey Rebel, good to see you are still here.

I know we are all different, I can tell you about my experience, may not work for you, but it might.

I was at 320 a few weeks ago and had a long history of uncontrolled eating. Like you I often did fine until later in the day, most every morning I woke up committing to a diet and then sticking to it at least until lunch, sometimes a little longer, but before bed time all bets were off. Now 6 weeks later I am down 22 lbs, but more importantly eating well and feeling good about it.

I did what I call a kickstart, I committed to a 2 week long low calorie diet, my target was 1,200 calories a day and I think I was under that most days. It was hard at first, it took a lot of will power, but I got through it. I frequently reminded myself that all I really needed to do was eat well that day. The kick start really helped me reset my eating. Years ago we'd have said my stomach shrank, not sure how medically accurate that is, but it feels that way. Now I am able to eat a good diet of less food and still feel good. Things that I did not want when I was overeating, fruit and veggies taste pretty good now. I can't say that I don't still struggle, I do, but right now I am dealing with it and its a lot easier than it was.

Like I said this may or may not be the best approach for you, but I am no expert, all I can do is share my own experience.

Best of luck to you.
 
Im thinking maybe i could find a couple of accountability buddies that wouldn't mind exchanging numbers to help keep each other on track ? Time zone specific, and at least two, because my new job is a night shift position, and I still habe day activities. So dont want to harass someone when theyre asleep.
 
i use a system of daily eating called intermittent fasting. every day i go anywhere from 14 -18 hours not eating anything. do i get hungry during those fasting times? ... of course i do... maybe 3-4 times every day. but i know my mind is just being devious. it isn't something you can do overnight, but i've learned to ignore hunger feelings and guess what? even without eating anything, they go away. it usually takes ~5 minutes, but it's like having hiccups... you don't realize when you stop, but eventually you realize you've stopped.
 
overlandflyer said:
.... intermittent fasting... it isn't something you can do overnight...
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But it is overnight, isn't it? I mean, the 14-18 hours includes sleeping time? ;)
 
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