After I left the mechanic, the money in my pocket led me to a bad decision at a popular restaurant. Sure, I saw the commercial, but I don’t think that’s the reason I stopped.

EatingIntuitively.com is a paid affiliate of Nutrisystem, Inc.

I knew it was time, and I finally did it.  I knew I had lost some ground with my weight loss, and I was not keeping track of my weight.

I didn’t want to do it.  I had gotten to that place where I didn’t even want to know.  It’s not a very good place, but that’s where I was.

When I did get on the scale this morning, boy was it a wake-up call.  It’s almost as if I blinked and someone added thirty pounds.  The only problem is that I did it…to myself!

Denying the Weight Gain

After I got on the scale the first time, I stepped off and weighed myself again.  There was a half-pound difference, so I got off the scale and got back on it.  The half-pound reappeared.

I just stood there in the bathroom, still trying to wake up and trying to get my mind around what the scale was telling me.  It couldn’t be right.  That’s thirty pounds.  That’s way too much.  The battery must be low.  Something must be wrong.

So Angry I Gained Weight

How could this be?  The goal was to lose weight.  I didn’t just go in the wrong direction just a little.  I gained back weight in a big way.  You don’t just have a bad weekend, or even a week, and gain thirty pounds.  It takes consistent effort.

EatingIntuitively.com is a paid affiliate of Nutrisystem, Inc.

I then thought of how far I had gotten and where I would had I lost the thirty pounds instead of gaining them back.  I could be around 230 pounds instead of 290 pounds.

Can I Just Exercise More?

When I think of how I gained this thirty pounds, my mind immediately tries to figure out how to get this weight off fast.  At the same time, I don’t know if I’m ready to be really strict with my eating.  I want a little freedom to eat some other foods, and sometimes those foods are not great for me.

I’ve thought about exercising more.  Maybe I can exercise an hour each day, and that will offset my minor indescretions with food.  Then I realize I haven’t been exercising consistently.  I was exercising at least four and half hours per week, and now I am barely getting in two hours.  I just need to exercise like I was.

No Time to Dwell On It

It’s depressing when I think of the good work I’ve undone.  I worked hard to lose those thirty pounds, and it was almost effortless to gain them back.

Now that I know the number, I can look at myself in the mirror and almost see where all thirty pounds went.  I am also made aware by my clothes.  They don’t feel as loose as they did.

I’m sure there is other evidence of my weight gain, but it does me no good to spend time thinking about the extra weight.  I just need to get back to my really good habits.

Accepting and Moving On

I think I’ve done it.

First, I actually figured out what I did.  I gained thirty pounds.

Secondly, I accept I gained thirty pounds, and I’m ready to move on.

Lastly, I know how to lose weight, and I know I haven’t been doing it.  The good news I can re-focus my attention on my healthy eating and exercising plan, and I can lose weight again.  I can reach my goal of 200 pounds or less.

When a Gain is a Loss

What is the most important thing you do when you get off track and gain back weight you’ve already lost?  Everybody’s been there, and there are many different ways to handle it.  What has worked for you?  Please share your thoughts in the Comments.

I fell into the trap.  I told myself I would start my diet again on Monday.  I essentially gave myself permission to eat some bad foods before Monday morning arrived.

On Saturday, I had Thai food (Seafood Massaman Curry to be exact).  It’s a deliciously-flavored curry with lots of great seafood, avocado, peanuts, potatoes and onions (plus lots of rice).

On Sunday, I had fried catfish and fried shrimp.  Honestly, I was disappointed with the food.  It has been a while since I’ve had fried food, and it just tasted so greasy.  I guess that’s a good thing.

EatingIntuitively.com is a paid affiliate of Nutrisystem, Inc.

I’ll Start My Diet on Tuesday

Today was supposed to be the big day.  While I ate that bad food over the weekend, I imagined myself waking up today and following my healthy eating and exercising plan.  It was supposed to be a successful day.

When it came time to get on the exercise bike at 6:45am, I turned on the TV instead.  Instead of assembling my healthy meals for the day, I did nothing.  I stopped at a fast-food restaurant for breakfast, and I went out for Pad Thai at lunch.

Now, I need to focus on eating healthy food and exercising on Tuesday.

Three Simple Goals to Lose Weight

Although I knew I was off course today, I was still able to think about the three simple things I need to do.  It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out, because I did this very successfully for several months:

• Exercise for 30 minutes on the recumbent bike.
• Eat my six NutriSystem Select meals per day.
• Write about my daily challenges right here in this blog.

Eating right and exercising is obvious.  I need to burn more calories than I consume.  Apparently, it is very easy me to consume more calories than I burn, and, thus, gain weight.

Writing for Weight Loss

The third element which I believe has been critical to my success is writing about my quest to lose weight in this blog.  It could just as easily be a journal I keep on the nightstand, but I choose to share my journey in a public forum for all to read.  I hope it will help others trying to lose weight like me.

So, in addition to eating right and exercising everyday, I need to commit to writing this blog everyday.  It keeps me focused on my goal to get under 200 pounds.  It makes me face my failures, and, hopefully, figure out a way to get past them.

What Are Your Daily Goals?

What goals do you have each day to make sure you are living well?  Even if you don’t need to lose weight, there might be some things you do everyday to make sure you stay on track with your weight.

Heck, your goal might be to eat healthy as a vegetarian.  You might be focused on the amount of fiber you consume each day.  Muscle definition might be your major motivation.

Whatever it is, please click on “Leave A Comment” and share what you do everyday to move yourself toward a healthier body.

Wow, look at that.  It has been more than a month since I last wrote anything, and, as you’ve suspected, the reasons are not good.  Healthy eating and exercise slipped away from me, and, before I knew it, I had gained back twenty pounds!

It’s really scary to see how easy it is for the weight to come back.  The combination of almost no exercise and eating a lot of what I wanted immediately put me on a path to my previous weight.  That can never happen.  I need to stop this now.

EatingIntuitively.com is a paid affiliate of Nutrisystem, Inc.

Very Unhealthy Eating

For a little while there, I started eating restaurant food again.  I had forgotten how big the portions are, but I eagerly ate everything on my plate.  In the back of my mind, I was calculating the calories and realizing how easily I was exceeding my 1,500-calorie plan.

Sinking my teeth into something like the Sausage Egg and Cheese McGriddle sandwich at McDonald’s caused such an internal conflict.  On one hand, it tastes really, really good.  On the other hand, I can taste the excessive amount of butter and sugar.

Exercise Plan Slips Away

I went from exercising seven days a week to sleeping in each morning.  Yes, I was riding my recumbent bike each weekday.  I would go to the gym for muscle-building exercises on Saturday.  Sunday was open for any kind of fun exercise.

I woke up one day, and I didn’t exercise.  It was hard to get up the next day and the day after that.  When Saturday arrived, I didn’t think I could lift weights, because I hadn’t been active the days before.

Sunday is a little bit more complicated.  Fun exercise should be easy.  However, in the middle of summer in Florida, it gets extremely hot and early in the morning, too.  It makes it difficult to enjoy outdoor hiking or biking.  So, I go looking for indoor (read cooler) exercises, and I find it hard to do.  I need to get more creative.

Body Weight Management

So, the last four or five weeks have been quite a lesson/reminder.  Whatever the reason is, my body gains weight really easily.  If I eat unhealthy foods and fail to exercise, the body weight comes back quickly.  I should expect that; it’s just the speed that surprises me.

As I look forward, I realize I need to continuously manage my food well, and I need to exercise.  These are not bad things.  Great things can still be eaten.  Exercise can feel great.  I will feel great.

New Focus on Weight Management

I have had a little setback.  Instead of twenty pounds closer to my goal, I am twenty pounds more away.  I’ve been reminded of a valuable lesson about my body, and I need not forget it.

This morning, I woke up and exercised.  It wasn’t as bad as I was making it in my head.  Once I set the tone for the day, it was relatively easy to eat healthy foods.  If you started the day exercising, your mind almost won’t let you ruin it.