The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[need2succeed]

Everytime I think about it I feel really depressed. Somewhere along this journey I lost my way and began to slip back into compulsive eating. I'm up 7 lbs from my lowest Medifast weight of 157... and probably a good 15 or more pounds heavier than what I could have been. I don't understand why I keep sabotaging myself and all my hard work.

Anyhow, today is a new day and I pray that I can maintain the 100% full fast. I desperately want to finish taking off this weight, which is approximately 44 more pounds now. I ordered the Ready To Drink shakes and I'm hoping that the shakes will keep me going because they'll already be prepared and ready.

[Lois]

Hi n2s,

I just want you to know I'm ROOTING FOR YOU today.

Don't beat yourself up over the past....it's OVER!!!! You have TODAY:thumbup:......and that's ALL you need for a fresh start!

Remember Jeanette's post about "do overs"? It's in the "elevator" page on this forum. Read it often...it will encourage you and help you get through the beating-up-on-yourself phase.

Also....what have you LEARNED from your "slips"? I believe that if I can LEARN from my mistakes, then they are redeemable.

Be kind to yourself today....YOU'RE WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!

hugs,

Lois

[hawaiiwhatnot]

N2S,

Good to see you! So, you haven't been 100% compliant? Congratulations, you're human! Humans are NOT perfect.

You've expressed so well the battle we all face daily. It's this thing we have called 'free will' that gets us into trouble. If we were machines, we would simply configure ourselves with food realizing that input is output. Less food = fat elimination.

But we have these emotions (especially us women) that trigger eating! God knows why - everyone has different triggers for issues that range from depressing to celebrating.

On my 4 month now, I haven't cheated yet. My formula is to try and think like men do - "just do it" or program myself like a machine, and don't allow the emotions into the program. That's easier said than done as I'm one with BIG feelings, and I've stood on the threshold of cheating many times. I don't want to come here and report that I've cheated so this forum helps keep me responsible. I don't have the expertise or time to figure out right now all the issues that trigger my overeating so I just put them away. I acknowledge them when they surface, acknowledge that they are bad, and set them aside by getting a new mindset. I visualize myself in those new designer jeans or bathing suit. I reprogram my brain. It's the mental side of dieting for me which takes just as much effort and focus as the physical side. These issues have to be dealt with, but dealing with them now gets in my way, and I feel I can better handle them when I reach my goal. I don't know if this will help you or not, I hope that it will. We so want you to succeed.

Your MF pal,
Camille

[Simmshe]

Hi n2s,

Ditto to the encouraging words that you have received from Lois and Camille. I hope you have moved beyond the beating-yourself-up stage now. What a useless place this is to be--I know about self-castigation all too well and nothing good comes from it.

As Lois said, try to learn from the things that have made you veer off course. All of us have fallen down before, but we have to shake it off and get back up. And another thing to keep in mind is that when we are FRESH off of losing weight (or fat, as I like to call it!), we are extremely vulnerable to losing it with food. And we have our brains to thank for this. Not only do our brains go bonkers to try to get us to eat food because it feels we have been starving it, but our fat receptors will desperately cling on to any food that we consume in an effort to fill back up; which is why it is so easy to regain weight after we've just lost it, and gain it in record time!

I hope you are back on track, but if you're not, keep trying until you get it. You are tooooo close now to go off the deep end. So claw your way back until you get back into the groove. And most importantly--be kind to yourself. Berating ourselves is ridiculously too easy for us to do, but being kind to ourselves is often a foreign concept. Brush off your recent lapse--it's history now--and keep on going !

Sheryl

[DutchChoc]

N2S, let us know how you're doing, OK? How ARE you doing??

You were just working SO HARD -- I could tell by your stats that you were among the most driven ones here, with the large loss and aggressive exercise things you had going on. It seems to me that sometimes we make it harder on ourselves than it has to be and that, in turn, can make it seem unbearably difficult. Kind of like holding one's breath or doing something strenuous, or like trying to swim a long distance and once one gets the breathing and pacing comfortable, one can swim farther.

I feel for you because you experienced the same kind of trauma that I know I have faced and might face again. I'm very impulsive about food when I'm eating, and like Simmshe said, those fat cells are there just waiting and even calling for food and fat.

I kind of made a mess of my earliest MF attempt in May, and hobbled along until I started seriously in July. When I restarted, I really wasn't as serious about sticking to the plan as most other people seem to be. I was quite ambivalent on the first few days. But I started reading more posts here and started thinking maybe I could get some help from the forum and I suspect that's been the key item to turn me "serious" this time. As you know, it gets easy to behave and we gain pride about telling ourselves 'no' to the things that often make us feel bad about ourselves in excess.

I hope you are grabbing hold and are going to fight for what you've earned!!

[looznit]

Don't give up! As said previously, we're all human. Driving home from the grocery store with my kids this week I was put through sheer torture, to me anyway. They decided to open a package of Oreo's & I instantly started salivating...embarrassing but true. For a minute I thought just one isn't going to hurt, but I know I never stop at one. So, I just told myself that is wasn't worth intruding on my goal. I thought about that morning sliding on just washed jeans and being able to breathe & they were actually a little loose. I'll have plenty of time for reasonable treats once I meet my goal!

Here's to good choices for the weekend- be strong!

[Vickilh]

Don't those would have, should have, could haves mess with your mind. I too started MF, then went a stray and along the way picked up the lbs I lost. The first day of restarting the program I kept thinking "if you had stuck with the plan you would be in maintenance by now!!!"

Hopefully, we can all stop beating ourselves up and move forward past those "could have" thoughts. Today is a new day and I am trying to take one day at a time...not looking back and not to trying to speed up tomorrow. This truely is a journey ...with set backs ...and growth.

WE CAN DO IT!!!

Vicki

[need2succeed]

Thank you all SOOO much for your support and kind responses.
After posting this, I was out of control for a few more days and didn't even remember to check back on the board to see if I could at least get inspiration to stop. On Saturday morning, I decided to read the boards and I got inspired to stop, and to finally face what I felt must have been about a 10 lb weight gain. Instead, I was greeted with a 4 lb weight gain--which is not good, but compared to what I was expecting, it was awesome! I've been full fast ever since.

I really hope that others out there who may be struggling to get back on will be able to do so. It's hard, but it's definitely worth it!! Thanks so much you guys!!

[DutchChoc]

Yeah, N2S! I'm glad you're back "on", and yes, you were surely spared your worst fears. Things are looking good again. Keep it moving forward. You can. You already know how.

I'm a huge fan of the full fast, "just like Mike did it", etc. To me, that's what makes this program "easy". I have no mental conflicts other than which shake to make, and it's almost always the same. Thanks for the update.