Why is this last stone so difficult? :o(

[Monkey]

Has anyone else nearly got to their goal and then come up against a brick wall?

I've been so happy on LL most of the time up until now. I've gone from a size 20 to a size 12-14 since the end of May this year, which is fantastic. I've recently bought a heap of new clothes and had loads of fun shopping everwhere I fancy, but couldn't buy stuff before.

But....now I'm really really struggling.

I can only seem to stick to abstinence for 1 day before caving in and eating, often a lot, like a massive binge if I'm honest. This is completely knocking my previous confidence that I would be able to maintain my new slimmer figure and then I'm getting stressed and wanting to eat even more - bonkers I know.

I'm going on holiday in 2 weeks time and I was planning on trying to eat 'sensibly' and then go back onto abstinence when I get home. However, I'm now completely petrified that I'm going to put on loads of weight and then then not be able to lose it.
Has anyone else had similar experiences - what did you do??

Thanks
Monkey

 

[Cerulean]

Pretty much all of us on LL who have been regular contributors this year have found that last stone an absolute devil...

If you look at this link you will see a group of us that went into development during the late spring/early summer and all of the problems we had. Alas I have shut down my blog for the time being whilst I force myself not to spend so much time writing about my life and more time living it, but yes, around about the last stone I started messing about - I stuck to the exact programme for almost 200 days and then the minute I hit a stone away from goal I started pushing the boundaries and playing psychological games with myself. It's partly the part of you that protected you with weight having one last go at it, it's partly the fact that you have become 'institutionalised' by LL and are worrying about what happens once you succeed - after all if you think about fairy stories, they only tell you up to the point that they all lived happily ever after - the erason noone writes about the happily ever after is that it's boring and doesn't make terribly interesting reading! Part of your mind may be rebelling against the fact that once you hit that goal you may be forced to sort out other parts of your life...who knows? - The important thing is that this is where you really do all of the hard work and start learning about the real nitty gritty of why you were fat in the first place and what might make you change that so that you become a skilled weight holder and start thinking and acting like a slim person. One thing is for sure that the people who put in the work at this stage are the people most likely to hold their weight - all of the returners in my group assumed everyting in their lives would be fine once they got close to goal, all of them were back within 2-3 years having put all of the weight back on.

So - have a read of the link and I also recommend Mrs Lard's blog - we spend a lot of time on here talking and thinking about the last stone...you aren't alone! And there are also exercises and parts of LL designed to deal with this stage of the journey - so mention that to your LLC and I'm sure she will be able to guide you.

 

[kitkatkin]

I too am struggling with the last little bit so I know exactly where you are coming from!

 

[Monkey]

Thanks Sarah
What you say does make a lot of sense. I've always been the big one in my group of friends and I think part of the problem is that I now feel under pressure to stay slim, whereas when I was fat, this was just 'normal' (even though I was completely depressed about it!).
I'm not really sure why I've always overeaten - I always pretend it's because I just love food, but this isn't really the whole truth, especially as I just as often hate food and wish it would be gone from the world and make things easier! I'm definitely going to spend some time thinking about all of this and check out those threads you mention.

Thanks again, Monkey x

 

[Monkey]

Hi Kitkatkin

I looks from your tracker as if we are at a similar stage in our LL journey and even though I'm sorry you're having a hard time too, it's good to know I'm not the only one struggling! What's your plan for this week?

As it's Sun night, I'm going to try and have a fresh start tomorrow morning and try hard to remember how I did it during foundation when it seemed relatively easy! Where has my iron will gone...? )

Hope you have a good week
Monkey x

 

[kitkatkin]

I am just planning to take it day by day. Had an ok day today - drunk 6.5 litres and been to gym but am sooooo hungry (due to major carb lapse yesterday) and only have one shake left

 

[whatsnewpussycat]

Just stick with it - it'll all be worthwhile. Our counsellor was telling us today that research shows those people who actually make it to their goal weight have a significantly increased chance of not putting weight back on. Those people who never make it to goal are far more likely to pile the weight back on. Hopefully that's persuasion enough to get to GOAL! Actually, I might stick that in my development scrapbook to give me the impetus to lose that final stone...

 

[Mrs Lard]

Dear Monkey

I want to support everything that Sarah/Cerulean has said and add one more thing...the last stone is usually the slowest. That is everyone's experience that I have come across; maybe some people on minis will disagreee and it would be great to find out if that's the case.

Whether this is because we start messing about or just because once you get down to lower BMIs, the weight loss slows down, I am not sure. I think the LL theory is that if you follow the programme completely, you will still lose weight (3lbs of fat) per week.

So,if you can steel yourself for the final hurdles, you will get through.

Good luck and do check out the Highs and Lows of Development thread, which kitkatkin has already visited.

Take care.

Mrs Lard xxx

 

[Cerulean]

Oh - yes - I forgot to say that - there are many joyful cases were people have done everything to the letter and stayed the same for three weeks in a row - normally when they're about 7lbs away from goal - that's sucks. was on 66.6 kilos for ages!

 

[iceycold]

My counsellor also said last night, that people who make it to target before going into management are the ones that maintain their weight loss afterwards.
Must be a statistic from the recent conference. That should inspire us, I hope, I have 1 stone 4 lbs to go

 

[kitkatkin]

I did so well all day yesterday - even managed 7.5 litres of water. Then tried on my new size 14 jeans I had bought on Saturday and they wouldn't even do up (bearing in mind they did in the shop when I bought them). Now rationally I know that this was because I had drunk so much water and was probably bloated but it was the final straw and I ended up in floods of tears. My husband was fantastically supportive (he did lighter life too and is now on management after losing 3.5 stone) but even though I have had bad days on LL I have never felt as low as I do at the moment. Seem to be stuck in a vicious cycle - My weight loss slows down so I get frustrated and want to cheat, I then cheat and so the weight loss slows even more cos I go out of ketosis leaving me feeling depressed and wanting to stop the programme all together.

 

[Monkey]

Hi Kitkatkin

Sorry to hear you're having a rotten time, but I'm sure the bloating is just temporary and that if you stick with it those jeans will be slipping on in no time.
I do know what you mean about the vicious circle though - I do the same thing - get depressed cos I dont feel like I'm getting anywhere, have a lapse and then dont lose any weight for even longer! I think we just have to remember how much we've lost and that even if we have a couple of bad weeks, it's only a blip in the long run (...god, I almost sound positive, which is a shock..!)

Today is not going so well for me so far either if its any consolation - I just got back from a 5 hour journey round the M25 to nowhere - someone ran into my car when I was on my way to work and although it was drivable, I decided to turn around and head home rather than chance it all the way there and back - unfortunately there were loads of accidents on the motorway, plus you cant really 'turn round' on the m25, hence only just got in, having left the house at just after 6 this morning - aaAARRRGGGHHH!!! I'm now desperate to gorge myself on something to make up for it, but instead trying to drink loads of water and lurk on here to distract myself!

On the up side, just had the peanut crunch bar and it was yummy!

Monkey x

 

[kitkatkin]

Monkey,

I'm having one of those days too - I'm a secondary school teacher and have been running around all day. Have my nightmare class and also forgot to bring in some exercise books for another lesson that I had left at home from marking them.

Managing to stick with it - have decided to go home and take a hammer to the bathroom scales - it will stop me monitoring my weight on a day to day basis and then getting despondent and will hopefully make me feel better!

Stick with it - we know it works if we stick to it! Hang on in there. Lucky you with the new bars - our counsellor didn't have any last week - will have to wait until thursday!