The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Carrie]

Today is day 32.

Days 1 and 2 were obscenely hard.
Days 3 through 21 were moderately easy.
Days 22 through 31 have been difficult because of emotional stress. For one thing I bought a new scale and had to adjust all my numbers up 5.5 pounds. Lemme tell ya I wasn’t HAPPY about that! Add to that PMS, and for some of that time, I’ve been staying at my parents to help take care of my Dad after his surgery. I went up as much as 6 pounds, but am now back to maintaining my total loss of 18.7 pounds.
Day 32 - I’m back home and back on my plan. It's been 10 days now since I made 'scale progress'. But what have I accomplished in terms of ‘behavioral progress’?

My ‘binges’ have been mini binges ..... nothing compared to what I used to do, and I don't completely abandon my plan, I get back to it. I consider it a success that what I call a ‘binge’ is now one candy bar or a helping of mashed potatoes and gravy. A binge used to be a pound bag of peanut m&m’s, a bag of chips, a box of cookies, and a couple super value meals – all in one day! I know there have been some people that somehow manage to never ‘cheat’ after they have their first MF shake. But honestly perfection is simply not an option for me ..... after years and years of uncontrollable eating I am just not going to become perfect overnight. It isn't gonna happen, I know me. If I put an ‘all or nothing’ qualifier on my plan I will rebel and toss it right out the window.

But what I can do is strive for progress. I can develop a pattern of 1) decreasing the frequency of bingeing/ “cheating”, 2) picking myself up after I do make a decision to eat something not on my plan, and 3) being on my plan a lot more than I’m off of it. That adds up to forward progress. Actually, it adds up to 18.7 pounds gone in one month. It may take me longer to get to my goal weight, but IT IS SOMETHING I CAN DO WITHOUT COMPLETELY ABANDONING MY PLAN. Which is what I have done with every other diet I have tried.

I may take 5 steps forward, 1 step back, 4 forward, 1 back, etc. etc. but I’m still getting there. Before this plan, when I ‘cheated’ I’d just forget the whole thing and unadulteratedly eat for another 6 months or so. I have also changed my attitude towards ‘cheating’. You’ll notice every time I use that word it’s in ‘’s. That’s because I don’t consider it cheating anymore. I consider it my decision, my choice, for that moment. And it’s also my responsibility to deal with that decision and make subsequent better decisions.

I look at it this way …………. Is what I am doing now any different from maintenance??? Not really. When I get to my goal weight this is exactly what I’m going to be doing …… moderating my behavior. When the scale goes up a few pounds, I’ll have to make choices that will get the scale back down again. Sure right now I’m also making choices that’ll make the scale continue to go down more often than it ever goes back up, but it’s really all the same thing.

Perseverance: Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.

Making better choices and not giving up.

Carrie

[Starloser63]

Carrie I am glad your back home. Making better choices is what we all have to learn to do. See when I would go off plan I wasn't making better choices so I wasn't teaching myself anything. I am glad you have been able to do that. Keep at it we will lose this weight.

Take care and Hugs,
Susan

[pinkgeek]

Preach on girlie! Glad to have you back. That's what we are doing the entire time we are on the plan...retraining, not saying, "ohhh can't wait to get to goal so I can 'eat' again, when I really mean eat=binge. I think you have a good handle on the situation. Do what works for you. Also, I think that's what Jeanette's post on guilt was about. "Cheating"...no...making a concious decision to take a particular course of action and being prepared to deal with the consequences. I rue the day when I slip...every day I wake up and wonder if this will be the day. I come here, I read, I post, I read...I live on this board. I subsist on the supplements I get here (knowledge, wisdom, humor, encouragement, hope, and understanding) in addition to the Medifast supplements I put in my mouth. It's helping..it's working for now. I know that it will get easier and maybe harder and then back to easier...I don't know if I am prepared for the difficult times. I fear having to come here and say, "I had a bad day and I ate something other than what was allowed." If/when I do, I know it will be a learning experience. I hope I can be as healthy about it and ready to learn and change as you are. You are doing a great job, Carrie! You have gone through a lot of emotional stress and have come out of it smelling like a rose. Keep on Medifasting! We are here if you need anything.

[Mother of 5]

Go Carrie Go! I'm trying to make those same choices. One candy bar or one popsicle.... not 6 and a drive-thru.

Thanks for putting it in words for me. I think I'll take "Cheat" out of my vocabulary too.

I'm back on program as of today, 4/1/04, and have 1 more pound to go to belong to the 30# Club. I've decided that my mini-goal is 10 pounds at a time...... so right now, I'm on the edge of hitting mini-goal number 3. Which makes me feel like I've accomplished more and don't want to "give up" that goal by choosing to eat outside of my plan.

Hang in there! We WILL make it!