looking for advice - slip up at weekend.

[Onthehorse]

So I thought I had discovered the elixir of youth. I have been feeling great not overeating and skipping breakfast. My eating "window" starts at 12. I have just wanted to overcome my constant grazing and lose a few pounds feel less tired. I had been eating sort of 3 meals but "breakfast" at 12. I haven't been majorly undercutting kcal but have reduced to around 1500-1800.

My real achievement through doing this is the improvement in my mood. Saturday and Sunday I was struggling in the morning. Saturday evening we went to friends and I had food I was served and happily received (I don't usually eat cake as I always want more and don't miss it when it's not there) ice cream, cake, curry starters glass of wine. I wanted to also be polite. I want this to be a way of life with room for the odd bit of cake/wine.

I had also felt my energy in the last few days of fasting in the am.I thought I may need the extra kcal. Sunday am was a huge struggle (we are up at 6am) and I felt so tired. I had a feta salad at 12 - but it didn't feel enough as it was enough so we got a creamy coffee and a chocolate came with it... and I thought I would have some bread sandwich when I got home after a 4 mile walk. When we returned I was eating and grazing again. I overate.

So initial effects great energy, stopped overeating lost a 1 lb or two and even my iphone said my screen time was down 33%! I was more productive at work and generally happier.

The Friday, Saturday and Sunday - like walking through mud and I am so annoyed I suppose I bingedd Sunday - which I often do anyway but feel disheartened and annoyed at myself.

I haven't excluded all carbs but had cut down but I love bread so had been really looking forward to a sandwich at work each day.

I'm just looking for motivation and encouragement as I feel like giving up. Not sure if the inital effects were placebo. I should also mention I haven't been sleeping well so maybe that too?

I thought I had stopped bingeing and overeating. I thought I had found nature's antidepressant....

Hi OnTheHorse . Firstly, well done you for recognising you needed to make some changes to your lifestyle, having the courage and discipline to devise an action plan and stick to it and then recognise and reap the rewards (even if you feel it was a placebo affect, it still worked ) . So what if you let your hair down and "slipped" over the weekend? You're a normal human being and slips are inevitable Why are you now beating yourself up so badly and rubbishing all the hard work you've done? I'm wondering if you're trying to lose weight to please someone else and now feeling a let down? Please forgive me if I'm completely wrong but you sound as if your confidence and self esteem is really low at the moment and you're punishing yourself for doing a very normal thing- everyone has their "sod it" moments and feel guilty for a short time but from what you're saying you're putting yourself through hell right now.
You're at a watershed, you can go back to your previous plan, recognise if it was too restrictive and tweak it or carry on with a self loathing which will erode all of your strength and good work. Forgive yourself, you're normal, to err is human. Good luck with whatever you choose x.

Ah what a lovely response. It was so supportive yesterday when I was feeling a bit naff. You are right I needed to identify what wasn't working. Frankly this skipping breakfast is working. It takes a little effort but not much. I think the main reason for the dip was feeling exhausted.

Your post really was at the right time and helping to just get back on with it. Today I feel great again and yesterday I found I was able to just get back on to the previous plan that really was working. I quite like bread and think by the end last week I was trying to start to cut out some slightly higher carb foods and then thought I had willpower and sat with a whole loaf and chocolate in the kitchen as I did some slight frustrating work on the computer ..- evening destroyed by friends chocolate cake and wine! I think I was starting to obsess too much about the content being perfect where at this point I'm such early days the main thing is to stop overeating and grazing.

It is really helping me focus and just say no you can have that later, usually I've had achocolate/biscuit/creamy coffee and breakfast by the time lunchtime comes. Now I am saying no you can have it later and the psychology of that is helpful it's great that later I'd rather have a proper meal as I'm genuinely hungry.

So not sure what happened at the weekend. I do think I want to lose weight for me, but I think if my energy and mood continues to improve the weight will fall into place. I think my focus had more moved to the effect this has had on energy and that's been my goal, and when at the weekend I had a dip I chose food to try and get out of that dip. I'm still struggling with not treating myself when tired or after a hard day work in progress over 40 years of habit here trying to change.

Thank you sod this you could have left my podt but didn't really amazing support when I was feeling rubbish. x

I'm back on it after a few catastrophic slips ups..

Definitely eating more on breakfast days but I think I am not very good if I have eaten my last meal at 18.00 on the previous day then do not eat until 12 the following that appears to be too much for me at this point I feel a little faint. Not eating until 12 and having my breakfast then is going really well.

Lots of tweaks but getting there. Thanks again for the support sod this - are you fasting?