How do you turn around a 'bad' day?

[Blobimal]

Well 'day' might not be accurate... I've been doing cambridge but have 'plateaued' for around 6 weeks. Did really well at first and lost a lot but need to continue and have lost my drive and single mindedness. I will have several good days and then screw up enough on the other days to result in no losses. Would love to hear from people about how they've managed turn this kind of thing around??

is cambridge diet the one where you drink milkshakes instaead of eating food?
if so i would bin it and do a healthy eating plan that involves eating sensible portions of healthy food.

Thanks. There are various ways of doing cambridge. I eat one healthy, cooked from scratch, meal per day and use meal replacements for other meals. With respect, 'bin it' doesn't really help the issue. I am happy with cambridge, it has worked brilliantly. And them my motivation wobbled. It's that I wondered how other people managed to turn around, on bad days. Without going into details I do want to stick to cambridge.

While you are waiting for people to tell you howhey overcame this hurdle, why don't you go into details about why you want to stick with Cambridge, (either on a scrap for your eyes only, or on here) It may help you to figure out why you want to turn your bad phase around. It's more likely to have the desired effect than people on here telling you of their own experiences.

I do sympathise, I did really well on a similar diet (and enjoyed the sense of control) and then couldn't get back into it after a life blip. I am now even bigger and can't seem to figure out what constitutes a healthy diet with all the conflicting advice around. But I really need to do something....

Thanks nurse. Before starting cambridge I thought it through v v carefully and am comfortable with my choice and the reasons still stand. I suppose I just need a kickstart- I am maintaining my weight loss but need to continue to lose rather than stay the same. Was just wondering if anyone had any little things they did that helped. E.g. My friend reads other people's success stories (before and after stuff) and it really help her to stick with her plan, but I don't really find that helps me. Just wondering in case I can pick up any new strategies!

It's hard to say as personally I couldn't realistically stick to a diet that is so prescriptive so I can't help you stick to it!!!

I am doing a low calorie, healthy eating type diet and I find that works really well for me as it has fostered a lifestyle change which means I can stick to it.

Exercise is also important - is that something you could step up if your willpower for diet is waning....?

sorry if it seems flip but your motivation has gone because you are not eating real food. your body wants and needs real food -we don't just eat food for nutrition. we have all sorts of pleasure senses connected to eating. we can satisfy that with food that looks and smells attractive -fresh salds and veg and meat with lots of spices and stuff.

a milkshake isn'yt satisfying so after a short time we lose motivation.

Thanks for that little lesson gymboy. I've lost 3 stone on cambridge so far, far better than when I did ww. I lost motivation with that too, but after a stone. I'm pretty sure that loss of motivation can happen with most diet plans at some point. If you'd like to discuss the relative merits of different diet plans could I gently suggest that you start your own thread on that subject. Btw it's not just about drinking milkshakes anyway!

Also funnily enough I have already today had salad, vegetables, spices, quorn (am veggie) it was yummy. Yes, all 'allowed' on cambridge!

Hi Blobimal,

First of all, huge congrats on your weight loss.

It is hard to keep motivated as time passes and ( wierdly) as you start to look and feel better.

Something which has helped me recently is watching episodes of 'extreme makeovers - weightloss' on you tube - I find that really motivating. Also Secret Eaters is really good for helping to dissuade me from cheating!

Set small, small goals (1 day at a time) and feel happy as you achieve them.

Have a nice bath, read a good book.

I also use diet drinks as 'treats' - try to limit myself to just a couple a week so if I am really desperate then that is what I will have. I have only lost a couple of stoke so far ( in 8 weeks and I am breastfeeding so that really helps) but I have another 5 stone to go.

Best of luck with your continued weightless and then keeping it off!

Thanks goldfish that's really helpful, and well done on your loss too! Yes it's funny isn't it, lots of people have commented on how well I look (compared to before that is ) so maybe the situation feels less 'desperate' or something, so I'm losing momentum, even though I have some way to go to have a healthy bmi. I will look up those things you mention- they sound like they might kickstart me. Yes small treats. Thanks for the encouragement!

You're welcome. I know exactly how it can be when you have success and then it all slides.

I started 7 years ago at 14 st, got down to 11 with Slimming World, crept back up to 13 st while TTC, put on 7 stone in my twin pregnancy, lost it all (with no effort) by their first birthday (back to 13 st), then started a really stressful job and comfort ate my way up to 18 st. Got pg (surprise!), was 20 st when DS was born. Now down to 18st1, losing 3 lbs a week and planning to be down to 16st by Christmas, 15st by Valentines day and 12 st by the end of May.

Because of spending such a lot of time sitting on my behind feeding DS3, I have really mainlined on the 2 programmes I mentioned above. Secret eaters has been SO helpful to me as so many of the people on the programmes have the same issues I have - emotional eating, picking, eating in the car etc. There are loads of good tips to stop yourself, as well as helping to see how many calories it is easy to take on kind of by 'accident'.

The makeovers one I only found today - it is American so quite full on and they focus on exercise rather than weight but what I find so motivating is the transformation in the people he works with. Sometimes I find it hard to see myself as a 'slim' person, but the folks he works with are twice my size and achieve incredible results in a year. I can do the same (and so can you!).

Another programme I found inspiring (in the past) to watch is the biggest loser. The American series. This has just prompted me to look it up on you tube. Your thread may just be the kick start I need Blobimal.
Thank you, and good luck with getting back to it.

Thanks nurse! Yes I think sometimes something like that has the power to galvanise you again after a lull. I had a really good day yesterday in the end so feeling positive again! don't want to speak too soon but I think i might have got my mojo back diet-wise.

Hi blobimal congrats on your loss so far well done. I'm sure once u get going again the motivation will return.
My only advice is like above, allow yourself one treat a day and you will have that to look forward to rather than denying all the time and it leading to a big blow out.this is what happens to me anyway if I'm too strict. Hope u get back on track soon and if the advice is no help just ignore

Hi Blobimal, good news that you are back on track.

I learned something yesterday - I fell headfirst into a bag of tortilla chips when the boys got home from school as we had a very stressful half hour and doing their reading seemed easier with some tortilla chips at hand.

Normally this would lead to a grand-style blowout, but I went to My Fitness Pal and logged the calories, had a smaller portion of supper and still came in under my cals for the day. This morning I had lost another lb, bringing the total to 12 lbs in less than 2 weeks! The breastfeeding definitely helps and today I am adding in a 2 mile walk to pick up the DCs from school.

Onwards and downwards!

Thanks bambino and goldfish. Well done on not letting that tortilla moment not to a blowout goldfish- that's the trick isn't it. I think the act of actually posting my op on Sunday and getting some replies has really helped, a bit like the lightbulb moment that got me started in the first place. Little treats are definitely important. And also small goals- so I'm now focusing on the next half stone point and I might get my self something new (bra, trousers, etc) when I get there. The support of others is perhaps key though, so thanks again!

getting to and staying at a healthy weight involves eating the right amount of food for your weight - for the rest of your life

will you be sticking to the Cambridge diet for the rest of your life

or is this the right time to work out your TDEE at your ideal weight and eat that amount of food each day

Blob, I could have written your post. I've lost, as of today, three stone one pound on Cambridge SS, but have been feeling demotivated and grim about it all for a few weeks, although overall, I'm happy with the programme. It's been instructive to take food - and emotional eating - out of the equation entirely, though I'm not wild about living on sachets -though it's temporary. So no little well-meaning lectures from me on how terrible Cambridge is, and how you should just be eating less and moving more.

I still have a stone and nine pounds to go to my target, and I think you're right that, having lost a good chunk of weight, the urgency of the motivation lessens slightly. It's probably like the middle bit of a marathon.

I'm feeling good right now this second purely because I thought I might actually have gained a pound this week, but to my delight, I'd lost three pounds, and finally got over the three stone mark, after very small losses for weeks. I'm now feeling good enough to hold myself to sticking rigidly to the diet for a week, to see if I can do better.

I wish I had better suggestions for re-kickstarting. In my case, the better I do, the better I do, but a bad day makes me want to shrug and give up. One thing I do find helpful is nice non-food smells, like herbal teas, bath salts, expensive hand cream.

Good luck! How much further do you have to go?