Red flags: the warning signs to watch out for

I used to weigh in every week. I used to count all my calories and track my proteins, fiber, etc everyday. I used to peruse Spark and the blogs and my friends' status updates regularly for inspiration. I used to work out 6x a week, at least.

And then I started to slip.

It was very slow. A couple pounds up here and there, one or two back down. The consistency started to falter.

Red flag: I started eating more nutritionally void foods- desserts, mostly. Some more chips. Foods I know that, a piece here or there may not make a huge difference, but that repeatedly adds up. Or, within the last 4 months I was celebrating life like the world was ending- drinks! Food! Oh the calories.
If I could have stopped right there and reigned the excess eating in, it would have helped.

Which lead to the slippery slope of:

Red flag: Not tracking all my food. It is SOOO easy to turn a blind eye to that extra brownie, or the burger and fries if I was good the rest of the day, right? Tracking my food kept me consistent. Even if I went over 100 calories, or 1000 calories, at least I knew what I was doing.
Tracking, tracking, tracking. For someone like me, that means all the difference.

Which lead to the next big hit:

Red flag: I started to not weigh-in regularly. I knew I would have gained a little weight, so I didn't want to weigh-in. Then I would get back on track for a couple weeks, eating the same foods in the same amounts that I knew would lead me to weight-loss, yet I didn't weigh-in. I didn't use the subsequent weight-loss as a celebration because I didn't have a starting point. Had I gained 10 lbs by then? 20? How much did I lose a week- 1 lb? 2 lbs? 3? I knew I lost a few, but I didn't celebrate the success. My weigh-ins should be recorded at least once a week.
If I would have weighed in consistently I could have held on for dear life to the number I was on, wherever I was at, and decided enough was enough. It is a visual reminder of what I'm feeding myself.

Red flag: I stopped perusing the blogs and updates. I didn't regularly check-in, because I knew I wasn't weighing-in, all all the other excuses I gave myself.
Perusing Sparkpeople regularly helps keep me consistent.

(slideshare.net)

Red flag: Inconsistent fitness. I tore a quad. That was serious. I was off running, off boxing, and even walking hurt so much for about a month and a half. That is not the bad thing at all, that just sucks. However, I didn't change my eating habits and calories. And then I renovated, causing me to be tired and again, completely inconsistent in my workouts. Working out for me is the easiest of the battle with weight. All of a sudden I worked out once, maybe twice a week. and still eating like I was. I gained a large chunk of weight in those 3 months.
No matter what life throws at me, there's got to be a way to get fitness in. It makes me feel better every time.

These were my warning signs I turned a blind eye to.
If you see one of these warning signs in your weight-loss journey STOP and take stock of what's happening and where you are at. Do not let the slide keep going.

It took me seeing a couple of pictures within the last couple of months, and the sudden shock of seeing myself in a full-length mirror when I rounded a corner to make me realize I can't let this all slide anymore.

Let's do this!
P.S. Sparkpeople needs a 'red flag' emoticon.