Is it slipping away?

I have that feeling!  I'm 43, female, and have lost 120+ pounds by sheer determination, exercise and calorie counting.  I have not reached my goal weight ( I was, WAS, within 10 pounds of hitting it) and then I kinda relaxed a bit.  I was a devoted calorie counter and used this site everyday to count my calories.  I was religious about logging everything I ate.  I WAS WAS WAS WAS....grrrrrr.

In July I went on vacation, I relaxed with family and I ate what I wanted. I still work out and run almost everyday.  But I have pretty much stopped counting calories ...not because I am lazy but because I know I am eating too many calories everyday and simply do not want to be accountable to myself.  I am starting to get upset and if anybody out there is an emotional eater, you know what happens next.  I will start berating myself mentally and then I will start to feel bad.  Then I will start seeking things to do  to comfort me.  I will start going down a bad bad path.  I am proud that I see the pattern but I am  upset that I feeling this way.

I have not necessarily gained weight because I play around with the same 4 pounds.  Weekends I gain 4 pounds and by the next Friday or  whatever, I've lost it... then I gain it again.    OH and by way of example, on Thursday, because I was feeling bad about me, I decided the best way to handle that feeling was eating icing, with a spoon.    Ummm, yeah, that helped.  LOL.

I am afraid I will never finish what I started.  I know its not a popular thing to say but I want to be skinny.  I do.  I am  5'6" and weigh 155.  My original goal was 145.  I am scared I am going to gain all that friggin weight back.  Any advice, thoughts?  I am off to the gym and I have 1 goal today, use this site and log everything I eat....even  if its spoonfuls of icing!  LOL

Thanks to anybody who  is reading my insane ramblings.   I really thought this would get easier.

I actually found your post encouraging because you HAVE lost all that weight. That's amazing! You should be so so proud of yourself!!!!!

Keep in mind that you are still with in 10lbs of your goal weight but my question to you would have to be, do you really WANT to be 145? Or do you just want to be 145 because you've been aiming for it for so long? It sounds like you are very healthy right now with the same slip ups that the rest of us experience.  Try not to be so hard on yourself. WhenI slip up...even continuously, I end up wanting to punish myself, and it takes a lot to wrap my mind around the whole 'just pick up where you left off' but I've found it makes things better with in a day or so and I tend to be a lot more conscious of my decisions.

Well firstly congratulations on losing somuch weight. I completely understand your fears of piling the weight you've worked so hard to lose, but you have to try not to dwell on the negative. That will bring you only further from your goal. Begin today, right now with making the best choice available to you. I am also just back from a weekend away and am up about 5lbs on the scales, and yes it upsets me but this morning its straight away oatmeal for breakfast, egg whites for lunch and so on because that is the only way of reaching my goal. So really my advice to you is you clearly know what works for you and you hav the willpower and motivation to lose 120lbs you ae amazing, focus on what you know and implement it TODAY!! Good luck

congratulations on your amazing accomplishment.  I'm earlier along in my "quest" than you are, I've lost 30 of 100 and I have a goal of another 30 by thanksgiving which, given the way I've been eating the past week or so, ain't gonna happen! 

I feel the same as you! AUUGGHHH!  But what I'm doing is logging everything, everything, everything.  I think its better to at least try to keep it together than to just let it all go by the wayside.

At least you're working out.  That's awesome! Just keep on keepin on, and through your own determination, you'll get there. 

First, congrats!  You and I are in similar situations. I started at 5'7", 185 in March.  In early August, I got down to 155, then the dreaded plateau.  I can't say this will work for you, but it worked for me to get my weight coming off again.

-First, I took a week off of counting calories and working out. I didn't over eat, but I enjoyed the food I don't typically get to eat a lot of

-I went back to tracking my food, was eating at about 1400/day.  I lost another .5 pound, but stalled again.

-This past week, I upped my calories to 1700/day (I'm lightly/moderately active: I work a desk job, but move as much as I can at work, and work out 3-4 times a week).

...This week, I lost 2 pounds. I never thought I'd see those numbers again. I now only have 7 pounds to go til my goal.

Just thought I'd share my experience, for you and for others who are in the same spot at us.  Good luck!

I have lost 100lbs and did the last 50 plus with CC.  I hit my goal last X-mass.  Since then I let thing slip and get totally out of hand and before I hit bottom. I had gained back 25 lbs in 8 months.  

I finally Have gotten back into the swing of things and have started losing again.  "Only" 20lbs to go.  I am still disgusted with myself that I allowed it to happen.  I had to find a whole new direction and out look.  But this time I will reach my goal and will not ever be more than 5 lbs from it again.

I follow a different diet now (I do not have to count) but I still think CC is the best site and I still track my calories on occasion just to make sure I don't completely over do it.

How ever it comes off it is a way of life.  I will always have to stick to a plan or it will come back.  I Keep my goal pic on the fridge and above the scale.  I will be there again.  I like being thin too!  I am at a healthy weight now but when i drop 20 I will still be in a healthy weight but I'll be thin.

You have done wonderful!  Stay with it!  

Sorry I rambled back, thanks.

It's possible you're at the weight your body "wants" to be. I'm the same height as you, and when I reached 155 my body absolutely refused to part with another pound, no matter what I did. I never tried to starve myself or anything; I exercised and ate just the same, but that was the weight I was going to be, so I decided not being obese for the first time since I was a small child was enough success for me. I would focus on being happy with yourself rather than worrying about weight at this point. And congratulations.

I think you really need to take a break from "dieting" and learn how to maintain.  Say to yourself that you are really, really proud of having gotten to where you are, even if you aren't sure it's where you want to be.  Use the tools here to figure out maintenance calories for your goal weight.  Keep active, and log everything you eat with the goal of getting to that number of calories.  Do that for long enough that you feel that is a new eating habit, and verify with yourself that you are comfortable doing that for the rest of your life.  Because that is what you would have to do if you achieve that weight.

If you find that you simply don't want to work that hard, you might want to decide that you want to eat at maintenance for a slightly higher weight.  Try to find a lifestyle that you feel is sustainable for you.  I mean, if you are healthy, who cares if you are at some ideal?  Good luck!

I am so impressed with the 120+ pound weight loss Jennifer.  Great job!

I'm 5'6" and 156.  All of the tools that I have used tell me the top end of the bmi is 154, so that is my goal.  It has taken me four months to lose five pounds and I still have two to go. 

If you wouldn't mind sharing, how did you pick the final goal of 145?  I would love to chat if you are so inclined.

Thank you all for your comments and compliments.  Two days in a row I have logged on and counted calories...whoohoo.  I have also lost 1.5 pounds so, for me, the counting thing helps because it keeps me accountable to me.  I am not finished and to answer my own question... NO it's not slipping away! 

I got very irritated when I checked my BMI and found out I am still overweight.  Reallly pissed me off.  I know it is not a good indication of weight, etc... but damn, it still exists and I am still overweight.  So, I kept plugging in numbers to find out when I would  fall into like 23% fat and that number was around 145.  (thats how I picked that goal LOL).   I have also read other posts on this site and saw that a lot of women who are 5'6" or so weighed less than 140... like 135.  So, I think I knew I would revise my goal when I hit 145 to something lower. 

But, in order to get that weight I knew I would have to refocus, prolly lower my average calorie intake (right now, 1700-1900) and it seemed daunting and I was simply discouraged.  It takes effort to lose weight and sometimes, just sometimes, I get tired of fighting.  So,  I think I just took some time from the fight and now I will refocus.  Because I want to.  :-) 

 I also agree with the post above, I am at a weight pre-set right now because it takes a lot for me to get below 153 and just one little bitty teaspoon of icing will cause me to gain weight!  LOL.  But I will do it becuase I chose to!

Thanks to everybody.  I kinda feel like Rocky ... I am going to win!  :-)

wow 100 pounds that is AWESOME! you should be very proud of yourself!!! Don't stress about those last 10lbs, seriously. I can understand wanting to lower your BF, but your body may naturally feel its best at 155lbs. 

I'm the same height as you, 5'6", and my lowest was 128lbs. However, I've gained 10lbs back haha so now I'm pushing 140lbs. But, I look good (my pics are pretty recent and I look the same in those pics as I do now), so I don't really care. You're smart to focus on BF%! 

Do you lift weights? that really really helped me lose fat and achieve a toned look. Start lifting 3 times a week if you haven't already. 

and good luck!!!! :) :) and congratulations for losing 100lbs!!