lcriswell0421

man, do i need some words of wisdom! for 6 months i had been doing great. i logged my food religiously, stayed (mostly) within my calorie range. was usually within my nutritionist's guidelines for proteins, carbs and fiber. and i lost 50 lbs! then one day it just stopped. i hit a brick wall. i stopped logging. i started eating too much of the wrong things and not enough of the right things. i'm positive it's partly due to the fact that i'm bipolar, had been in a manic phase, and then crashed. i've been having a real hard time taking my meds the way i'm supposed to, therefore have fallen into a depression and have been emotional eating a lot. i always feel hungry. i cut up healthy things to eat for lunches at the beginning of the week, then at the end of the week they get thrown out, uneaten and spoiled.

i can't seem to get restarted. i've started talking to a behavioral therapist on the phone once a month, and my goal this month is to take my meds regularly and to start logging my food again, regardless of how bad it was that day. not worrying about calories...just getting into the habit of logging again, with the theory that seeing the overages every day will be motivation to get back on track. talked to him 2 weeks ago, and i'm still not meeting my goal for the month. i've gained back 11 lbs in the past 2 months!!! it seems i just can't stop myself from making continual bad choices.

any words of advice? did anyone out there go through the same thing and was able to overcome? how did you do it? i'm getting so angry with myself, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. HELP!


Lisa

rpmcduff

I wanted to invite you to join us in the '7 Day Motivational' thread at the top of the Women's section. You already have the goals. Maybe some comraderie and friendly motivation would be beneficial to your efforts? Feel free to just jump in, it is a great group and several members have just returned from a hiatus and falling off the wagon also.

canary52

Lisa, I agree with Ron. Please join our motivational thread. We all have challenges, maybe not all the same, but we can help each other. And as Ron says, you already have goals. Not all of us have that.

Kumochi

Have you anyone who can make sure you take your meds as prescribed? If you are taking them and it's not helping maybe seeing your Dr. would help. It is really hard to motivate yourself when depressed.

Try logging that you took your meds as well as the food you ate. I hope you find the support you need.

lcriswell0421

i'll check out the motivational thread. so far today i've done well...no junk food! kumochi, my husband never reminds me. my youngest daughter asks me sometimes if i took it. my new behavioral coach suggested setting an alarm twice a day on my cell phone. that has helped when it goes off when i'm at home. when it goes off and i'm not at home it still makes it hard to remember once i get home. the alarm for the morning hasn't been going off. i'll have to check the settings on it. yes, it is very hard to get motivated while depressed. thing is, i know that i feel happier when i'm eating better and healthier, so it seems like a no brainer to just do it. i read something today, though, that helped me get started...instead of looking at the big picture and how daunting it is, all i have to do is remember that "each day starts with 0 calories", so every day is an opportunity to start fresh. so far today i'm doing well. i'll just focus on one day at a time for now and then set longer goals when i'm doing better.

Kumochi

I like looking at the calories as money. I have a certain amount to spend so what do I want to use it on. Sometimes that helps me make the better choice. I also look at exercise as increasing the amount I have to spend.