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Falling Off The Food Wagon (and how I get back on)

One of my biggest struggles (that I have talked about frequently) with my Weight Loss Journey is the food… what can I say I like to have my cake and eat it too (pun definitely intended)

I workout a lot and it allows me to still maintain a few treats or snacks that leave me feeling like I am not restricted – yes I could be healthier but I like to tip toe the line :p! In order to maintain this, I have to work hard to make sure that if I do have a sweet treat, that I only have one…. if I have had a naughty lunch then I have a healthy dinner,… have I had a takeaway recently?… ok well then we won’t go out for dinner the following day.

My problems, however, start because of  (what I like to call) “an absence of self control”…I can Resist anything except temptation - Oscar Wilde - Falling off the food wagon

Unfortunately this year Christmas turned into a binge eating and drinking fest! I just couldn’t stop myself. I am an overeater and although I work very hard to eat in moderation and to control my portion sizes, (I wrote about some of the ways I cope with food in my other post “Weight Loss Food Hacks“) I completely fell off the food wagon! Unfortunately for me “I can resist anything except temptation” (Oscar Wild)

Even though I did the 12 Days of Fitmas challenge this year and went for a run every day over the holidays I still put on around half a stone because of the food and drink that I consumed. It is not normal,  it is not healthy and I don’t enjoy the feeling of powerlessness that accompanies the “wake up period” when you realise that you’ve fallen into the same trap you have before.

This is what I call this…”falling off the food wagon”

and this realisation is shortly accompanied by…

Mental Breakdown Time…

Once I realise that I am now in a cycle of binging and indulging (again) this is what tends to go through my head:

“What if I can’t get under control?”

“What if I gain all of that weight back?”

“What if people call me a failure?”

“I don’t have the strength to lose it all again”

then the loathing sets in:

“How could I do this to myself after all my hard work?”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Why can’t I just have 1?”

“I might as well give up this time!”

After I have a day (or two) of wallowing in my own self pity, it’s time to pick myself up again! (let’s just assume I am naturally a bit of a nutcase at this point)

Getting Back on the Food Wagon

This is always the hardest part, I remind myself why I started, how I felt when I was heavier, all the things I couldn’t do but wanted to and I decide to take it one meal at a time. success is not final - winston churchill - falling off the food wagon!

I remember… it wasn’t all sunshine and roses losing the weight the first time, I had to work HARD and it sometimes felt like a continuous failure but determination and persistence won out, and they will again! The tips I talk about in my weight loss food hacks are how I try to keep myself in control and deal with the urges to binge and overeat, I try to remove temptations and I go back to the basics! 

Usually I will only have a bad day or a bad week, but this time I fell off for a month and it had serious consequences, but I try to remember I have felt like this before and failure and success don’t last forever! I am on a journey to change my attitude towards food, and I will slip up – as long as I don’t give up!

*(you may notice that I like to look at motivational quotes to inspire me! hense the Motivational Mantras and Fitspiration Galleries)*

I have to say, it happens less often now and I feel that the healthier I live (day to day), the easier it is to deal with the temptation of overeating and indulging…  so maybe I just like living on the edge, or maybe I am never going to be completely healthy (I think I like cake too much) but I will always fight for what I want and at the moment that seems to be enough to get me back “on the wagon” again!

To be honest, it is more the realisation that your journey isn’t over just because you hit your goal weight, in the same way that a bad day or a week won’t make you gain it all back.

Our Greatest glory - Ralph Waldo Emerson - Falling off the food wagon

*All that’s left to say is that: For all of you on your journey’s or who are off the food wagon – it is ok, you can do it, I believe in you 🙂 *

Falling Off the Food Wagon (and how I get back on) by someone who knows how it feels and has lost 5 stone anyway!

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36 comments on “Falling Off The Food Wagon (and Getting Back On)”

  1. Wow, I can’t believe it. This is EXACTLY my struggle. Everything you covered here is happening in my weight loss war. I am just getting back on the wagon after losing 36 lbs. And falling off the wagon for 30 days. This is my five millionth time but my modo is “BIG LOSERS NEVER QUIT” This one sentence keeps me getting back on the wagon. Thank you for proving I am not alone. God bless you in your journey my friend, you are loved.

  2. I totally understand the struggle. I too have had a very long struggle with food and weight. As a child, I was overweight and did not really take control of my health until college. I worked very hard to become healthy…but since I have gained weight and lost it depending on stressors in my life, etc. Over the past few months I got back on the healthy wagon and just recently (a little over a month ago) went Paleo. Once I start eating healthfully again, I am amazed at how much better I feel.
    I also like food…especially sweets. It is hard to stay away from the bad stuff, but like you said every once in awhile I do not feel bad splurging. I am also working to make sweets that are Paleo friendly, and thus not so bad for me when I have a craving for something sweet.
    Happy to have found you on the Pinterest Game 🙂

  3. What a wonderfully motivational post you have here! The quotes fit perfectly with your message – not giving up & carrying on despite the bumps in the road is what really counts. I think you described what so many people think during the diet process, myself included. It can be an emotional roller coaster – guilt being the worst part. Thanks so much for sharing with candid cuddles x

  4. Aww it’s great you lost all the weight to begin with and it sounds like you are incredibly fit. I’m so lazy and desperately need to get fit…. my eating is ok, it’s the exercise I need to get motivated for! x

  5. Hi Charlotte, I know exactly what you mean here! I can eat well for weeks, even months, then I’ll ‘treat’ myself to something and that’s it, free fall! In this case it was my baby’s birthday cake, a week and a half ago. I’m still eating junk every day! You’re doing so well though, you put me to shame with all those early morning runs that you do! x

  6. I’m afraid I love food too much. I am lucky that I can maintain my weight pretty well although I really could do with exercising more. I eat a healthy balanced diet and have the occasional treat but nothing in excess.

  7. Hi Charlotte, I think it’s natural that we fall off the food wagon every now and again, although what that means for one person may not be the same for another.

    As a rule Friday is our day of bad food, a day when we can eat what we want when we want, but there are definitely times when I fall off the wagon and have treat midweek. When I do give in, I really enjoy it for what it is a treat and sometimes I have to except that I’ve had a week full of Fridays!

    Falling off the food wagon doesn’t make us failures, it makes us human.

    xx

  8. I fell off the wagon beginning of February.
    Love that sentence: ‘A week won’t make you gain it all back’. I didn’t loose any weight yet (lol), but your post made me realize that I didn’t waste my ‘eat well in January project’ because of that week and a half in February, plus I treated myself during PMS, so I can be forgiven 😉
    Read,pinned,remembered! 🙂

    Hugs,
    Mila

  9. I think many of us who have a complicated relationship with food will know this feeling! The thing that turns me around when I’m feeling out of control is thinking about the alternatives. I can get back to doing what works for me OR I can give up and stop caring about how I look and feel OR I can make myself miserable on a series of doomed-to-fail diets. I always choose to get back to doing what works for me (eventually!) 🙂

  10. This was such a helpful post to read. I’m currently on a health kick but in quite an extended holiday so it’s rather difficult to stay away from alcohol and treats. Sounds like you know what needs to be done though to get back on track x

  11. Thanks for the hacks. I’m still in Christmas indulgence food mode, which is pathetic given that it’s February. I need inspiration and motivation!

  12. You can do it – keep positive and don’t beat yourself up. I stopped worrying about my weight a few years ago, it was taking a lot of my mental energy! Kaz x

  13. The important thing is that you have realised what you have done. I know so many people who give up or fall into denial at the first hurdle.

  14. I am in the same boat probably way before christmas but it is nice to know i am not the only one struggling to lose weight and how i can accomplish it. Thanks for sharing.

  15. Mine is more with spending rather than food but like you I always berate myself for falling off the wagon and my lack of self control but I need to remember that it is ok to fail sometimes!

  16. Oh this all sounds very familiar! I found the weight crept on last year (a few pounds for each trip away, a few pounds over Christmas) and then January has been a battle of being virtuous and losing about an ounce then relaxing for one night and it ALL going back on. I’m persevering though…

  17. You’re such an inspiration Charlotte! I admire you and what you’ve accomplished! I always watch my weight, daily, I was never overweight but probably my worst during pregnancys and after I had a hard time going back to being slim. Now I’m there again and I know what you mean, when you say you want to enjoy your cakes and all. Me too! It is possible, you can do it! Keep going!

  18. Oh this is me too. I have lost and re-gained the same stone several times over the past few years. I just cant quite seem to find the balance, I am either dieting or gaining, but never maintaining! One day I will crack it!

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