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Why Wednesday – Why You Need a Break Sometimes

Why Wednesday – Why You Need a Break Sometimes

Lisa Eirene

About Lisa Eirene Lisa lost 110 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. She swims, bikes, runs, hikes and is enjoying life in Portland, Oregon. Her weight loss story has been featured in First Magazine, Yahoo Health, Woman's Day and Glamour.com.

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14 Comments

  1. Beth @ Beth's Journey to Thin

    Great post, Lisa! I do think that breaks are completely necessary sometimes, but I think teh difference between making permanent changes and yo-yo dieting is that you pick back up sooner and you need less of a release than before. In my prior life, I would disappoint myself by being “bad” and then the cycle would continue and I would eat my guilt and shame away until it was deeply hidden, only waking up to realize I was even more guilt ridden than before. Now, I approach it the same way you do and look at those breaks as necessary, and allow myself a day or two once in a while to splurge and be a little “bad” but its not even close to how bad I used to be, and it doesn’t go on for weeks/months. I feel better when I treat my body better, so it’s win-win!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I’m with you, Beth. I feel so much better after I take an extra day or two. I don’t really deny myself anything in my current “diet” but I just eat less of it all. If one day out of the month I need to mentally unwind and stop counting calories I don’t make myself feel guilty for doing so. I used to. But you’re right, not getting in the shame/guilt spiral makes a difference in my outlook.

  2. Lori

    I take different types of breaks. well, maybe they aren’t really breaks, but I change things up. Sometimes I will only weight myself monthly instead of weekly. Sometimes I will weigh more often than that. I experiment with different food challenges, like no sugar or lower carb. It keeps things interesting for me. Otherwise I get mindless. The creep is insidious and hard to stop, especially if you aren’t paying attention.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      “The creep is insidious and hard to stop, especially if you aren’t paying attention.” So so so true! That describes the 15 pound creep for me. I dismissed the first few pounds I gained on Celexa and then suddenly it was 15.

  3. Mylene

    I’m with you 100%, really great post! I am at the beginning of this journey, and what I try to do is exactly what you said, trying to to change bad habits into good ones, not too restricting so I can keep it up for a long long time. I also agree on the break principle. I am lucky to work 4 days a week, and even if it meant lower income, being able to have Wednesday off have made my life a whole lot better. As for my diet, for now, I decided that it was okay to be more relax on week-ends. I’m still working on the concept of not feeling too guilty about this, but I’ll get there!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Thanks Mylene! I hope your journey to lose weight is an easy one. Some of the challenges were surprising. Some in good ways.

  4. Lesley Lifting Life

    Totally agree! Breaks are essential! I like to variety workouts, as you mentioned. Helps to avoid burnout and get a more overall workout than doing the same thing all the time.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Yes Lesley, that’s a great point too. Keeping things fresh and new help a lot.

  5. Miz

    I can not agree with this enough.
    Taking a break and letting our minds and bodies heal and grow is JUST as important as hardcorebadass exercise and clean eating.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      It was a hard lesson I had to learn! I thought taking a break was “admitting failure.” Boy was I wrong.

  6. steena

    You’re absolutely right, a 1-2 day break is essential sometimes. This is why I do the “cheat-day” strategy with my weight maintenance. I use Saturdays to eat whatever (within reason, not 10 cheeseburgers in one sitting). It works great for me. Everyone has to find that one strategy that works for them.
    I think you’ve got it down.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      It sounds like you are finding your happy spot too, Steena!

  7. Tanya

    GREAT post Lisa! I recently realized I had to give myself permission to take a break (my break was fitness-related) – it showed as a small (0.4 pounds) gain on the scale, but I was ready for it and have moved on…hopefully this week I’ll be back on track! I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one out there who feels this way 🙂

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Thank you Tanya! Sometimes a mental break is needed! A break from routine, and perhaps a little TV zoning out…. 😉

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