The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Elizabeth]

I've fallen off plan already
I am trying to figure out what happened to take me from being totally focused to feeling out of control. I know...it started with eating a bar....then eating another one and another. I had all of my meals eaten by 2 pm. This was yesterday. I ate some meat and figured I just needed a little break. I was planning to go back on today (with very little damage done). Well, I woke up, and to make a long story short....it was such a stressful day with two dogs...one puking the other diarhea (all over my house) and taking and picking up kids to school and friends houses and cleaning up the dogs messes. I wanted Calgon to take it all away but I ate and ate and ate instead. I'm afraid I won't be able to start again and continue with my success. Words of wisdom please. I need some talking to.

[Elke]

I don't know what help I can be but I am sorry you had a hard time. You know that all that eating you did wont make all the stress you went through go away. We all have busy lives and we all do our best to manage. You need to do this for YOU! You are the only one that can do it. Be strong and take it one meal....2 hours at a time.

[alpha femme]

ok, e... relax. what's done is done.

i think bars are a trigger food for many people. you may want to consider this when you feel better (and before you place your next order). in the meantime, drink some water and try to picture what YOU want for YOU.

i want to wear normal clothes, snowboard, look and feel healthy, scuba, and (in a twisted show of vanity) show my ex that i am waaaay out of her league. that's what i want for me. what do you want for you?

nobody is going to make a major life change without setbacks. motivation, not abstract thoughts, but real motivation, is what gives us strength. there hasn't been a day in the last week that i haven't thought about in-n-out. talk abuot reinforcing my view that i have an addiction. there are things that YOU think about that trigger you.
we all, subconsciously or not, have to learn to recognize these triggers and use our motivation as a shield and (sometimes) a crutch.

drink extra water today. before you eat ANYTHING drink at least 6oz of water and wait a few minutes until you feel in control. a lot of times, what we interpret as hunger is really thirst. if you need an extra supplement while you get back on track, have one-- just don't eat a 2nd bar. you may want to eliminate the bars for a while, period.

we started out at about the same weight; i do know how you feel. it seems like such a huge thing; we have to lose a whole person (and a fat person at that)! but you have support. you have great tools at your disposal. i think one of the best tools on here is the studio. keep flipping through the old pics-- and the new ones. then picture yourself doing what you want for you-- and living the life you are CHOOSING for yourself.

let me know how you're doing.

[DogMa]

I can't add anything to what Alex said, really. She gave you some fabulous advice.

I guess I do have ONE thing to add, also about a future order. I would get some Ready to Drink shakes so that you have something other than a bar that you can grab and go. In the meantime, you can mix up some of the meals ahead of time and stash them in the fridge so that they're ready to grab when you're stressed. Sometimes you need something easily accessible so you don't have time to think about what ELSE you can eat.

Other than that, you just have to pick yourself up and start over, and just DO it. It really will get easier, but there also will ALWAYS be times you'll be tempted to stray.

[BamaBabe]

I'm so sorry you are having a hard time... I'm a big stress eater, too.

What helps me is what has been mentioned above. I drink a regular sized coffee cup full of ice cold water when I am tempted to eat something off plan, or if I find myself wanting to munch between packets. I think it helps that it's ice cold, because I can FEEL it going down to my tummy, and it helps me to be aware that there's something in there now & the momentary stress reflex to eat IS manageable.

It may make you feel better to know that I am a behavioral psychologist by trade, and still struggle with this myself every day! It helps me to remember that anything you actively do for 12 days in a row becomes a habit, and anything you actively do for 30 days in a row becomes a behavior. So, when you feel that urge to stress eat, do like I do & tell yourself "NOPE! That's a behavior that got me fat. I'm going to CHOOSE a behavior that makes me THIN!" (I swear, this is my mantra on a daily basis! ). Then drink a coffee cup of ice cold water & tell yourself that you only have so-n-so time until your next shake. Repeat this until it actually IS time for your next shake, then sit down and enjoy that shake for all it's worth. I have even licked my shaker jar now & then! ha ha

Also, I look at maybe one or two of my shake times a day as a time to step away from the desk, go sit outside or by the TV and take my time to enjoy the moment for about 10 or 15 mins. This is helping me a LOT with the stress issue, overall.

Also, don't forget your snack options. If you find you really, really wanna munch, have a celery stick or two to crunch on. I read somewhere on here where Nancy posted that she likes celery stalks w/ mustard & pepper. I thought "EEEW!". Well, I found myself in that part of my behavior re-training of the ol' noodle where I was telling myself that I wanted to choose actions that made me THIN, not fat. I figured... hey, she's thin, not fat, so I'll give it a whirl. I was desperate. Know what? I loved it! I have that around 2 or 3 in the afternoon almost every day for a munchy snack while I do paperwork. I also sometimes shred 2 cups of lettuce & spray it with 5-6 sprays of the Fat Free Wishbone Salad Spritzer Balsamic Breeze & I feel like I ate something.

It's all about behavior modification, and that happens on a per-instance basis. You CAN choose things that are GOOD FOR YOU... why? Because you are WORTH the investment of effort!! It WILL pay off for you!!

And if you find yourself needing reinforcement or a reminder of what you are going for to pick you up when you are feeling low, just go over to the Studio forum & look at all the pictures over and over. Notice the dates they quote and see what a really small amount of time that is. Imagine that YOU will soon have a series of progress photos to share. Focus on the dates and the images there... it's a big motivator for me, for sure! Before you know it, the self-defeating tape playing in your head that says "I can't do this!" will be re-recorded with the message of "I CAN do this!"

Everybody falls off the ol' bicycle when they are learning to ride. Don't buy into the guilt/eating cycle. Just dust yourself off & get right back on & keep going! You can do it!!

[Prancer]

I went thru the same problem when I first ordered soy crisps. I know now that they are a trigger for me and I stay away from them. Bars may be the same for you and you might need to stay away from them. I also have given in or gotten to the point of giving in due to life stress. But like Alex said is eating really going to make those stressers any better? You need to tell yourself that no matter what is going on around you food isnt going to help you thru it. Food is not your friend, your physcologist or calgon. Good luck, someone here is always saying take it 3hrs at a time and that is true.

[Elizabeth]

Thank you so much everyone for your support and advice and time you took to respond to me. Everything said really does help and I will use the strategies offered. I am brushing myself off and starting over. I felt such defeat yesterday. I definately agree those bars are my trigger foods. The soy crisps are also. I just received this order on Friday and started trying these new things. They are not for me. I need to get back to the mindset I had before Monday. Back to 6 packets per day and lots of water and liquids. I will continue to post. I weighed and gained 4 lbs. since Sunday.
My dogs are better. I believe I had a bad can of dog food. The mess I had was unbelievable. Thanks goodness for Shopvacs!
You are all right! Eating did not help me clean up the mess or make it go away. It just made me more frustrated because I was off of my plan. I was weakened by my sloppy/risky eating on Monday and yesterday, well I just lost it.
I want so much to get on plan and stay on plan but I have to realize I will not always be perfect and I still can continue and have great success with Medifast and still continue towards my goal. It is sad how this event affected me mentally. I have to be gentle with myself and forgive myself for screwing up.
I have the first 3 days ahead of me again because I really went overboard on eating carbs yesterday. I will be rejoicing Saturday (again) to have those 3 days behind me again.
Thanks for being here and listening.
Hugs to you all.....
Elizabeth

[ascicles]

When you want to eat something, brush your teeth.

[Arklahoma]

Darnit, Manly, you beat me to the punch

[hawklady]

Hi Elizabeth,
I just joined the forum, but I started reading it a while ago, and it's one of the things that helped me a LOT when I was about ready to leap into a food I knew I shouldn't have. Seeing how other people have dealt with the ups and downs, temptations, etc is a real boost. And the success stories made me feel like I could do it this time myself.
You can do this, the important thing is to believe that yourself. This plan works, it WORKS!!!
Hawklady

[Blessedmommieof3]

I'm in my 3rd week and like you I'm a STRESS EATER!! That's how I got to the weight I am. Prior to MF when I was stressed, had a rough day, frustrated....I'd EAT! It never made me feel better, so I'm not sure why I did it. I just sabatoged myself daily!

I've managed, what 19(?) days so far & NO CHEATING!! I may not have stuck to the plan completely: havent' drank enough water, or I've missed a meal for the day, but not one morsel of anything off plan has hit my lips.

This has been the key for me. I promised myself I'd stick with MF until I get my weight off and that I would absolutely not cheat. I know if I cehat even once, it'll give me permission to cheat again & I'll never get to where I want to be. Just knowing it'll set me back a few days, is enough to keep me in line.

Tomorrow is a brand new day - make a commitment to yourself & start all over. You CAN do it!!

[Elizabeth]

Thanks again for the support and advice everyone. I am still working at it. Yesterday I was walking up to the gas station lost my balance and caught myself on the building. I had to wait a little while to make sure I was going to be ok. I felt dizzy and almost fainted. I came home and ate a L & G (which I was just going to start off with the 6 MF per day) and am going to the doctor to get a physical early next week. I did a search on this and see it is a common symptom for some people.

[Arklahoma]

Dizziness is a very common sympton at first which is why MF recommends that even the 5/1 be monitered by a physician (read the disclaimer at the bottom of every MMT web page). If you're doing the 6/0 then you must be monitored ~ end of story.