When did you feel ready to get your weight under control?

[bluemoon]

Just wondering, particularly for the ladies, at what point in recovery did you feel you were able to get a hold on your weight?? 

 

I gained 35+ lbs post quitting, and it all came on REALLY fast (within the first couple of months). I have lost around 5 or 6 lbs of that weight, but I'm having trouble really being able to get my weight under control. I do go to the gym, but not as often as I should. I do ok following a healthy diet during the day while I'm at work and busy, but after work I find myself SO FREAKING EXHAUSTED and hungry that I just lay on the couch and eat random stuff until it's time for bed lol

 

I do think that if I were able to get a better grip on my weight that I would feel better. I think my weight contributes to my depression and not wanting to be social (I don't feel comfortable in my own skin right now). I also think I would probably have a lot more energy if I wasn't carrying all this extra weight around. 

 

Anyway, I would love to know how long it took you to feel ready to get back down to your ideal weight after quitting. 

[BeHereNow]

It took about 6-8 months into my early recovery before I started running.  I joined the 12 miles a week running club and started doing planks.  I also started taking Wellbutrin, which helped.  I lost a LOT of weight and was super motivated for like 2 years to stay athletic.  

 

My weight fluctuates a lot. Every year.  Right now I am on the high end of the scale.  A lot of life factors have played into this.  I want to get my weight under control right now, too.  When I'm not physically active or eating right, I feel uncomfortable in my own skin... I feel like I'm not my real self.

 

Keeping a variety of clothing sizes on hand helps.  The worst feeling ever is when you've thrown away all your "fat" clothes, only to have to buy new ones a few months or a year later.  

 

For now, I'm trying to just walk at least 2 miles a day.   Baby steps.  

[Zerokewl]

i gained a lot of weight post adderall. Its sort of normalized now. I could loose more weight and I am eating right and excising and really watching my intake of candy, fast food etc. I'm focused on a gradual weight loss nothing dramatic. 

[duffman]

By the way you're phrasing everything in your post, it seems like you're operating under the assumption "IF I wait long enough and recover, THEN I will feel motivated to really hit the gym and eat well enough to accomplish my weight loss goal". Now, this may be arrogant coming from me, seeing as how I'm not as far along in the recovery process. But, at least in the fitness realm, I truly believe that motivation follows action, not the other way around. Motivation to workout has to be cultivated, and to do that, it might be in your best interest to find a workout program and stick to it for a while. It sounds like you're ready right now. Be firm on yourself with going to the gym, at least until you establish it as a habit. However, don't beat yourself up if the workout you did wasn't a "good workout". At least you went, which is more than the vast majority of people around the world could say. What dooms our best efforts to workout is the thought process "I'm too damned tired to workout". No, you're not. You believe you're too tired because you believe (if you're like me) if you go to the gym exhausted, then you won't get a good workout, and what's the point. You may go to the gym feeling crappy and tired and you may very well leave crappy and tired (though this is rare). So be it, at least you worked out. 

[hyper_critical]

My fitness has come back in fits and starts since getting clean.

Having said that, I fully endorse what duffman said. It's what people I know who are in shape say, and at 3.5 years, I'm still waiting for that spark to show up out of nowhere that compels me to go to the gym every day and eat right with the same enthusiasm I approached scheduling tasks my first year on Adderall.

When I'm eating well and working out (and sleeping regularly), I'm more likely to continue eating well and working out. Like most habits, just gotta push through that initial period, and plan for relapse/build resilience i.e. instead of "Oh no I missed two workouts so I might as well 'Netflix and chill' aka rage eat Dominos by myself watching some show I've seen 12 times and never work out again," fight through the discomfort and get back on the horse ASAP.

[Cassie]

I'm on a rowing team where I practice 3 hours a week, go to yoga classes twice a week, and climb 20 flights of stairs 3 days a week at work with a co-worker. Oh, and I also have dogs that need to be walked twice a day, whether I feel like it or not!

 

The point is, I need external accountability to work out, whether it's a team sport, class, or co-worker pushing me. I don't have the internal motivation to go to the gym alone and push myself. During early recovery (1st year or so), I had no internal motivation for anything, so peer pressure was key, whether at work, exercising, socializing, etc. I am very active but I don't ever think of anything I do as "working out." I just think of myself as an active person. I know that as long as I don't eat out all the time I'm not going to gain weight ever. I should also add that I live in Phoenix, where you can be outside literally every day of the year. So if you have to be indoors/go to gyms, maybe get a personal trainer so you have to show up, go to group training sessions/classes, and pay in advance so you'll lose money if you don't go. If I have to go to the gym for whatever reason I usually walk on the treadmill and watch Netflix so it goes faster.

[bluemoon]

I just wanna say thanks to everyone who's posted! Your words gave me that little "kick in the butt" that I needed to hear.

You guys are right, it's like I'm sitting here waiting for motivation to randomly strike me like a lightning bolt out of the sky lol. 

 

I need to cut the excuse of not going after work because I'm too exhausted. I gotta just push through it and go!! 

 

I have two girls at work who I go to fitness classes with and we all keep "talking" about how we need to start going more, but we keep making excuses. So, enough with the excuses right? 

 

I feel like at 10 months in, I can't use my recovery as an excuse anymore. I gained the weight, I accepted that it was going to happen after I quit, and now I want to lose the weight.... So I need to get out there and DO IT. 

 

I do have a question though.. How do you guys feel about a pre-workout drink for a little pick-me-up?? It's mostly caffeine based. I'm unsure about whether it's "ok" to use something like that while recovering from a stimulant addiction. Thoughts?

[Frank B]

Be careful on some of those pre work out drinks some have up to 200 mg of caffeine! Before I stopped caffine I used them a few times and my heart rate skyrocketed during workouts and after the workout a visit to the bathroom stall wasn't pretty. I don't think my body appreciated me taking it my ass was on fire. Try taking vitamin B-12 and L-Theanine before a workout that's what I use and once I get going I think they help make it a better workout.