Weight Loss Sabotage!!

[Odoyal Rulez]

I don't know if anyone here does this; but I personally do this frequently, and I have been told by some fellow coworkers that they too do the same thing: Weight Loss Sabotage.

 

Say you are having a great week, your diet is on point and you are faithfully doing your exercise, the pounds are dropping and all is right with the world....then friday rolls around and your office has a pitch in..and a craving comes up and you go ahead and eat a piece of candy...then since you had that little piece of candy your WHOLE DAY is ruined..might as well have another...and some meatballs to go with it..OH and dont forget the pie and ice cream.

 

The next day its the WEEKEND! You had such a great week, you go ahead and treat yourself to a breakfast out, grab some pancakes and eggs, maybe drink some coffee, then later that evening maybe its movies and a dinner with your SO, or bowling and beer, after all its been a hard week and you've been good.

 

Come monday you are back at square one...or maybe even a little heavier than the previous monday....***** happened, you were sooo good.

 

Also, right when I get close to my goal weight, I find myself eating crappier because I know im so close..its like my mind subconsciously doesnt want me to get to that goal or something.

 

It took me awhile to realize I had this pattern of behavior..and while I havent completely broken that habit, I am aware of it and trying to stop that routine.

 

If anyoen else experiences this, all I can tell you is to stop and think about what you are doing, and why you are doing it. Are you really hungry for that 5th piece of pizza? Or are you eating it because you worked so hard and deserve it?

[WeirdEyes]

You have described me to a "T." :o I've been working on this issue, but still fall off the wagon every once in a while.

[Salsa Dancer]

It's been many, many years since I've been close enough to my goal to have experienced that, but I know what you mean, Odoyal. I've talked about this same phenomenon with friends, regarding tasks to do. I can get 98% of the job done, then stop and move on to something else. What is wrong with me that prevents me from doing that last 2%? We've mulled it over and not been able to understand the mental block that is at the root of the problem. If anyone knows the answer, I'd like to hear it. I hope this doesn't happen to me when I approach my weight-loss goal. If it does, though, I'm going to take your advice and push past the mental block.

 

Could it be that you've enjoyed the journey more than you care to admit?

That maybe getting there, means no more goals to achieve? Nothing left to accomplish? I bet you there is a release of endorphins with each pound loss and we are addicted to those chemicals. Maybe we get lost in the journey and the journey to the weight goal IS the goal, rather than the number on the scale? I know that weight loss helps to beat depression...at least it does in my case. I'm starting to feel like my old self again. It's gotten fun for me to catch up with my friends or cousins, and say, "I lost another pound!" One cousin calls me every couple of weeks to see how I'm doing. I think it will be sad, in a way, when I can't say "Another pound is gone bye-bye." Silly, isn't it? I'm really glad you brought this topic up. I've had other "dreams" for my life besides weight loss. I want to learn to play the guitar and the keyboard. I want to learn to speak Spanish. I want to develop some line-dance workouts. Rather than sabotage myself at the end of this experience of losing weight, I'm going to choose another goal. So I'll be the Skinny Guitarist, or the Skinny Pianist, or the Bi-lingual Beanpole...those will be my goals. ;)

 

Maybe that is why I see some women get very thin, then go beyond their goals into an almost anorexic state of appearance. Maybe they don't want to stop feeling the euphoria of another pound lost.

 

The human mind is an incredible thing and I am constantly amazed at the games that it plays. This is what I believe, that we are souls, and not just minds. Our minds are a part of who we are, but still a thing to be mastered by something greater than our minds. If my mind stopped working, lets say with Alzheimers, we are still people. So it's cool to be able to get past the little games and tricks that our brains play on us and not let the brain master us. Okay, I've gotten deep enough. I'm giving myself a headache. ;)

[Carol51]

I did the same thing for a long time. I finally set a goal that was more reasonable (135 lbs for 5' 3.5") I told myself I could have my reward (a small wine refrigerator, definitlely something I wanted, but did not really need) when I had maintained that weight. I bought the refrigerator about ten months ago, and haven't regained the weight since. Its large enough that it is a constant reminder that provides a positive reinforcement. I probably maintained the weight for about 8 weeks before I bought the refrigerator - but I just said I would "know" when I could maintain the weight. Good luck with the weight loss and maintenance. It's hard to replace the positive feeling from losing weight, but I was lucky and found a "reward" that continued to work for maintenance.

[Jan_In_Maine]

You are discribing exactly what I have been going though ... I understand it completely, BUT I don't understand why I can't get past it. I know exactly what to do and how to do it ... I don't want to get back to where I started, but I just can't seem to head down a straight line. Jan

[bjar719]

Maybe that is why I see some women get very thin, then go beyond their goals into an almost anorexic state of appearance. Maybe they don't want to stop feeling the euphoria of another pound lost.

 

My take on this is that there is a fear of regaining the weight once we reach goal that may lead some people to continue losing past their goal. I worry about this. I have lost and re-gained a number of times and work with at least 3 people who have lost significant amounts of weight and have put it all back on again. I'm scared of falling into that trap. Although I changed my eating habits to lose this 60 pounds (rather than going on a "diet"), I still occasionally have cravings that are becoming harder to ignore. My hope is that since I am now more concerned about my health (good blood pressure and low cholesterol), that I will stop any over-indulgence before it can have a negative impact on my overall health. But time will tell.

 

My thoughts about why we sabotage our good works when we're so close to goal is that the closer we are to reaching our goal weight, the harder and slower it is for the weight to come off. And we've been so good for so long, that we begin to feel we are entitled to start enjoying food a little more. Only a "little" is not enough. The hardest part of the battle, I think, is not the weight loss itself, but maintaining the loss. How do we start incorporating those treats back into our diet without triggering the binge process?? This is when real will power and self discipline come into play. And as the weight loss slows down (I've maybe lost only 5 pounds in the last 2½ months) it is easy to get discouraged. And I don't know about any of you, but when I get discouraged, it's easy to think "oh, what the heck!" It doesn't matter how much better I feel physically, emotionally, or mentally with the weight loss, when that temptation hits, it is very hard to stop and think about why I shouldn't have that cupcake. All I think about is how good it will taste! I believe successful weight loss is much like remaining a sober alcoholic: you battle every day with the knowledge that you never are truly free from the addiction.