How I am regaining control of my weight loss after the loss of my two pets this November
And how you can regain control of your weight loss as well!
You can also apply this info to any life hardship that throws you for a spin
So you can regain control of your weight loss and take back the reigns on your goals
*Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. All recommended products I would use myself, and all opinions expressed here are my own.
What to expect
Today we are covering 5 realistic tips that have helped me regain control of my life, my weight loss, and my goals
Including:
- Forgiveness
- Acceptance
- Intuitive Eating
- Routines
- Exercising
Let’s dive deeper
This November was difficult, and emotional to say the least!
Any loss of someone you love, animal or person, can be absolutely devastating to your emotional well being…it hurts
and it is very easy to lose interest in the things that were so exciting to you before
The promise of your hard work dwindles as your motivation plummets
I know that is what happened to me as I found myself directionless in the first time in awhile after losing two of my beloved pets
Finding no energy or will to do anything but lay in bed for WAY to long!
Losing Peanut:
Never did I imagine I would lose two of my animals back to back
The weekend of Halloween our sweet Chihuahua Peanut fell ill and could not overcome his health issues
My little Peanut passed that following Thursday
He was old about 14, but it still broke my heart, you never want to say goodbye!
Losing Cinnabun:
Three weeks later my rabbit Cinnabun’s health took a turn for the worse
She was a rescue and at some point had been infected with a deadly parasite that gradually paralyzes the rabbit
We tried medical intervention and it looked promising for our Cinnabun, she had been doing so well
Unfortunately her progress suddenly halted and reversed, and she became paralyzed from the waist down
This was devastating for me because I thought we had made so much positive progress
We decided to have her humanely euthanized
Which as any pet owner knows is a very difficult decision to make, but ultimately it ends their suffering
I was there with her through her final breath
After that experience I found myself really struggling with the loss of both of them
Struggling a lot
Feeling Lost after Loss
As a lot of us can relate to, a sudden life change can really put a wrench in our routines and plans
It’s easy to think “oh I can handle anything life hands me”
But we find out sometimes we can’t
After the loss of Peanut and Cinnabun I found myself experiencing:
- Depression
- Extreme Sadness
- Lack of Motivation
- Feeling Physically Exhausted
- Lack of Interest
- Loss of Consistency
- Severe Anxiety
- Poor Eating Habits/ Lack of Exercise
I was honestly starting to panic that I had lost all will to keep going after what I wanted in life…I just felt so sad nothing interested me
Moving on After Loss and Regaining Control
So what do we do when life gets in the way and throws us for a loop?
When grief or guilt strikes?
When we get stuck, feel depressed and unmotivated?
Today I am sharing with you 5 tips that are helping me regain control of my weight loss and regain control of my current goals after loss
and I am hoping these tips can help you too!
Is each day perfect and am I back where I want to be?
… not quite
and I want you to remember that!
We are only human, life happens and we cannot always be happy and super productive all the time
Life has ebbs and flows
and lightness will shine through the dark
Regaining Control After Loss: Tip #1 and #2
1. Forgiving yourself/ Letting go of guilt
2. Accepting where you’re at
It is always a horrible feeling when you wake up with all intentions of moving forward and being productive…
then 4pm shows up and you have nothing to show for the day.
You feel defeated and deflated,
especially if you’re experiencing loss or hardship
Whether it be you didn’t workout, you didn’t eat right, you didn’t put in time on your projects etc
It makes you feel even less motivated!
Working on my Mindset
What I remind myself is that there is only the here and now
We cannot change the past and what we didn’t do
all we can focus on is our behavior in the present and how we want our behavior to look in the future
This is where we need to be accepting of our current situation,
and accept that we are in this experience right now,
and that’s ok
You are allowed to experience emotions and take time to heal
you always have the power within yourself to pick up where you left off!
Forgiving Yourself
I thought because I took a month break from being online and on social media that I had ruined all my progress
I thought because I let my eating and exercise habits slipped I had failed
But alas, here I am… and everything is fine
Instead of hating myself and beating myself up I switched my thinking to being grateful
Grateful I could take the time to grieve the loss of my two pets
And that leads to forgiveness
Forgive yourself for having a human experience
We set new goals and habits so we can live a healthy happy life, but remember it’s not set in stone
We set high standards for ourselves, but don’t let those standards decide your worth
Not everyday will go as planned, and you will have times when you don’t stick to schedule
Own it, forgive the guilt, and move on to what’s next
Regain Control after Loss: Finding Coping Strategies
Finding Coping Strategies
A great way to work through feelings of guilt and anxiety is to find coping strategies that work for you
Some great tools and resources I use include:
- Online guided meditations; here is an amazing one from Lavendaire YouTube Channel
- Journaling, whatever style fits your preference! I really enjoy this journal by InSight: Day and Night Reflection Journal if you want easy to follow prompts that make journaling as easy as possible!
Also feel free to check out my 5 Positive Affirmations for a Weight Loss Mindset post to help you shift to a positive space for getting back on track!
These resources take very little time and are guided so it’s easy to start picking up healing habits again
Regaining Control After Loss: Tip #3
3. Eating Intuitively for Weight Loss
So we definitely all know how easily emotions can effect our eating behaviors
Whether it be eating too much or too little
Extra stress can throw our appetites way out of whack
Since this is a weight loss blog I will be focusing on the tendency to overeat/ make poor eating choices
And I definitely found myself doing both overeating and making really poor food choices after the loss of my two pets
Turning to food during stress has always been a go to for me, and I know so many of you out there can relate
Food is an easily accessible coping mechanism
But we all know too well that it can be comforting in the moment, but devastating to our self worth once the food is gone
And reality sets back in!
What to do about it and how to regain control:
First off don’t beat yourself up, you’ll just feel even worse and we already are not feeling our best
Also remeber what we discussed earlier…?
Forgiveness!!!
When I lose control of my eating I remind myself:
- What is done is done and can’t be changed
- I forgive myself and know I have control over my next meal
- These foods don’t make me feel good
- What foods do make me feel good
- What habits help me choose healthier choices
Use these questions and statements to help you move to healthier choices without having to worry about counting calories and tracking food
When I make a conscious effort to analyze my food choices it helps me feel confident in my decision making
If you still want the cupcake or pizza go ahead!
It won’t be the end of the world
Strike a balance with the food you eat while grieving and start including foods that you know work for you and your weight loss
and when your goals progress again you can reevaluate what needs to happen in regards to a calorie deficit
Most importantly remember to be kind to yourself
Regaining Control After Loss: Tip #4
4. Adding back routines 1 at a time
It sucks when you think things are going well
and life goes…SIKE!
You are making progress on your goals, finding healthy habits that work and rewriting your morning routine
You’re thinking “I got this”
Then you face your first major setback
And those “established” routines you’ve worked so hard to accomplish each day start falling by the wayside
You go back to the “I will do better tomorrow” loop…
So I am here to tell you, you CAN do it tomorrow, you can get back on track!
You got this boo!
Positive habits and routines take time to develop, remember that!
When I was grieving this last month I let so much that I worked so hard for slide
- My morning journaling, down the drain
- Working out 4-5 days a week…haha funny, wasn’t happening!
- Consistent dog walks, lets just say the dogs weren’t happy
- Reasonable eating, but chocolate tastes so much better
- Anything blog related, an afterthought 🙁
I just kept thinking, wow you really can’t change huh Melissa
So I had to remind myself that negative self talk gets me no where, and ask myself what now?
At this point I couldn’t manage to eat right, exercise AND be productive all in one day anymore
So break it down to what you can do and identify what is holding you back
What manageable steps can you take to get yourself back on track?
Focus on one routine or habit you want to get back into
Remember you got this, you already know you are capable!
You are such badass for choosing to go down the path of self improvement
and I promise you won’t lose all your progress from a couple weeks off your game
You just need to remind yourself of where you want to be
Regaining Control After Loss: Tip #5
5. Moving your body in a low stress way
Getting the “motivation” to exercise is already hard enough…add in some grieving and you may begin to feel doomed
But motivation is a fallacy
Motivation fails us even on our best days!
What does get you moving is determination, habit building and consistency
My biggest tip to restore your exercise routines is to take it slow and find extra activities that are enjoyable!
When I lose control of my exercise schedule I always go back to the basics:
- Drop intensity and length of workout
- Opt for follow along routines
- Choose fun activities that are enjoyable such as light hiking or walking; bring a friend!
- Set manageable expectations
- Don’t feel like you need to follow a strict schedule
- Listen to your body
Once you take the pressure off yourself and just commit to moving your body you’ll find yourself getting back into your previous routines
Feeling Ready to Regain Control of your Weight Loss?
I truly hope these 5 tips for regaining control of your weight loss has been helpful to your current journey
I know this is a painful time
but with time to heal and understanding of our own situation
we can begin to regain our direction when we find ourselves directionless
Quick Recap
Real quick here is a recap of the 5 tips and actions that have helped move me from my funk back into a goal getting machine!
- Forgiveness: Take the time you need to heal and forgive yourself for needing that time
- Acceptance: Accept where you are right now and brainstorm what small steps you can take to move forward
- Intuitive Eating: Don’t stress over calorie counting and eating any specific way, listen to your body
- Routines: Begin to reintroduce your routines one at a time
- Exercising: Find fun and enjoyable ways to move your body instead of pressuring yourself to keep a schedule
Utilize these tips when life throws you lemons and you are bound to make some lemonade
I have so much confidence in you!
If you happen to be looking for more weight loss inspiration please feel free to stick around and check out my other posts:
How I am combatting loose skin and weight loss
How to track your weight loss progress without a scale
Three Habit Changes to Start your Weight Loss Journey
Remember I am always here for you and my DMs are always open over at @diamondnthekale_co over on Instagram
Don’t hesitate to reach out <3 Mel