What do you do when you fall on your face?

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

When I began losing fat last July I thought my goal was to lose 77 kilograms. Period. I knew I'd need a good eating program and a good exercise program. I also knew I would apply the technique I use so successfully in my practice, EFT (emotional freedom techniques.) But I really didn't know more than that.

I didn't realize there was a difference between weight loss and fat loss. It was Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle which taught me that. I didn't know about eating 5 or 6 times a day. I didn't know about macronutrient levels or proportions and I sure didn't have any knowledge or experience with eating balanced proportions of carbs and protein. I had had blood work done in the past which showed my insulin was quite high after eating. Using Atkins made me feel so much better--no big exhaustion crashes after eating like I'd had before. Unfortunately I couldn't stay on Atkins. It was expensive, it was anti social and I wasn't losing weight. I reverted to my old ways, stayed away from eating bread by itself and muddled along for a year or so, gaining weight.

Still, when faced with the instruction in BFFM to eat carbs and proteins at each meal I was dubious. I decided to do it anyway, figuring that I hadn't succeeded at the things I'd tried so I should be smart enough to listen to someone who knew what he was talking about. Besides that picture of Tom smiling is so compelling. The abs also speak volumes, don't they?

Long story short, the system works and works beautifully. I suppose it's silly my saying this here, you probably all know it already, even better than I do. I lost 16 kilos in 16 weeks and was moving along happily until I developed bronchitis and came to a screeching halt. Since then, since November I've found it challenging to bring myself back up to the level of program I was at before. I had been working out, weights and cardio 4 times a week, eating 5 balanced meals a day, carefully watching macronutrient levels, recording all foods, coming in at my appropriate calorie levels daily, doing daily EFT and had set my long and short term goals. I joined the wonderful BFFM forum and participated in a couple of other support groups.

The unplanned time out stopped all that. I finally began to put everything back in place and slowly losing again. I have resumed my program but still can't seem to get back to my former level. I was wondering if you have any ideas or insights about this? Maybe there is material in The Body Fat Solution about this but I've just begun the book so I'll be happy to be pointed to the pertinent section.

I do intend to get this fat off. I intend to become healthy, trim and energetic. I want to get back to serious work! What do you do to stay on track and to get back on track if something happens? All tips, tricks, patterns and ideas will be gratefully received!

Thanking you in advance for your answers!

[Leith Carnie]

"But if you have plans to put on more muscle ala Tom you'll have to "suffer" gaining some weight!"

I know, and it scares the heck outta me! LOL I've been eating to gain muscle and after a couple of weeks of it my abs start to become less defined, I hit the PANIC button and drop my food intake back into a deficit. After a couple of days they're back again, so its not really a big deal BUT I just cant do it as I have worked so hard to get them!
I will probably just wait until the winter months to bite the bullet and gain a little fat to build muscle for next summer.
And yeah, who would have thought a kilo or two would make such a huge difference, but when you only have a few kilos of fat. I'm going to post a series of pix on my page "Before-During-After-Now".

Posting pictures in a public domain such as this makes you accountable for your efforts to the rest of us, so there's motivation! So we wanna see lots of pix of you! ;-) Take a monthly picture, same pose like I have (If you haven't noticed, I've struck the same pose so I can check my progress with a constant) and post it on you page. It really helps!
You WILL get there! Using Tom's methods there's no way to fail, unless you aren't honest about the effort you put into it.

[Larry61]

Thank you for those kind words. I strongly agree with you. I believe the body gets accustomed to a certain weight. At present time I am figuring out a new program to hopfully kick it up another gear. I have a few more things to figure out and will get started on this next week. Will keep you updated to how things are going. And you do the same. Also I will check out the web site you mentioned.

[Mel]

Glad you repled since I have had a bad week and was thinking of NOT going to workout today. :) You reminded me that we all face a journey and the next step is wha matters. It doesn't matter how many times you fall, just as long as you get back up and it is so comforting to know that all these other people are slogging along with me. As far as I have come ( 2.5 years ago I wore a size 16, today I wear between a 2-4 and a 0 when at contest weight) I still feel that any moment I will blow up and all my hard work will go away. Nonsense. It takes a long time to lose weight and gaining back takes some effort too. You are on your way and so am I. Now I just need some really good music to load on my Ipod to get me up and in gear. :) Music and wearing my tiny clothes are plenty motivation. This former big girl LOVES to be thought of as that "thing muscular girl". OK so I am 39 and not technically a girl but a woman. :) Take care and keep the course!!

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Hey Leith, you can rant on any time!
I love your photoshopped picture. Talk about instant abs. And yes, you have done rather well!
I've been looking for a model to swipe without luck. I may try photographing one of the women in my gym 'cause the maximum loss the above mentioned site can do is 50 pounds and I've got way more than that to go. It isn't motivating to me to use a photo I can't believe, and since I'll be 60 when I get down to my intended weight those high busted, slim hipped young things just won't work.
I find it interesting that you found out that that one kilo from 75 to 74 made a difference. I guess it's like a thermostat where 25 is comfy and 26 is too warm. But if you have plans to put on more muscle ala Tom you'll have to "suffer" gaining some weight!

[Leith Carnie]

Speaking of "Photo Shop"-ing a fake "after" pic for motivation, I did this when I first began using Toms picture:

HA! Funny huh?

Looking at it now, I didn't do too badly!

I'm still no Tom though.... Give me another 10 years! HAHAHA.

Visualisation works well and I hear it coming from Body Builders and other Athletes quite a lot.
Pick a body you like and just glue your head on it, it doesn't have to be perfect, as long as you understand the representation.
It may seem like a long journey, but when you get there and look back its amazing how quick it really was. I get the same perception when doing cardio sometimes. I set myself a hard task such as 50mins of high intensity hill running and a few mins into it I'm ready to fall down and say "Nup, I'll do it tomorrow" but I end up going "For just 5 more mins!" which then turns into another 5 mins and then another, then "well I'm almost half way through..... I'll take a break in a little bit...... wow, I'm almost finished!........ HEY I'M DONE!" And there you go, 50 mins that I was ready to drop in the first 5. Setting little goals gets you closer to the final goal each time. 50mins is a long time, but 10 smaller goals of 5 gets you there!
During my fat loss I was setting a goal of about 5 kilos, but rather than celebrating each attained goal I was pushing it a further 5 kilos away. When I first started at 106 I was chuffed at reaching 98. Then to 95 etc. I thought I was going to be happy at around 85kilos, but wasnt. So I set it for 80... still not enough.... 75 is good! I got down to 74 and I looked too skinny.

LOL I'm ranting! This is turning into MY blog! HAHAHAHA Sorry, getting carried away!

anyways, you get the idea. ;-)

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Somehow in my answers before I missed out answering you Rob and Michael, so here goes…

Rob: This is a good quote. I can see how I was in the 100% mindset at first and have now shifted more to accepting that there will be bad days now and then. I’ve had a hell of a year with the death of both parents as bookends for the start and finish and in the middle lots of challenges. I think you have a great reframe there about how set-back days can serve as a refocusing tool. I appreciate your words about not letting a setback hold me back and indeed I feel like I’m quite comfortably back on track again. Thanks for your kind words and I wish you lots of good progress too.

Micheal: How are you doing now? It’s been what, about 6 weeks for you. You were working hard and had your first weigh in with out a loss. How is it going now?

Yes, I’m sure it is correct that my immune system was not in the greatest shape. I’m doing much better now but I’m aware that my reserves are very low so awareness and sensible limits are my rule right now. Thanks for the ideas about the green tea and the supplement and yes, I’m finally getting plenty of clean water.

I hope you are doing well and have seen some more results. I’d like to hear about how you are.

[Angie]

I'm a wealth of moderately useful information. Lol. I think that one was in a one of my fitness magazines a few months back. But that's the benefit of these sites - there's always someone who can help. We rock!

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Oh my, that's called ask and ye shall receive. In Hebrew the appropriate expression for a time like this translates to "You are big!" but that doesn't work so well for those of us with extra fat to lose, does it, so I'll say Thank you so much... way to go Angie!

[Angie]

Thank goodness I bookmarked it! It is weightview.com.

[Angie]

There is a website that will photoshop your weight loss before/after photo for you. I will see if I can track it down for you.