So you know a lot of us have been throug the weight loss thing more then we want to admit... So for those of you whom have lost fair amounts in the past but gained some/all of it back what do you feel you learned that makes THIS time different?
I figure if we all pull our heads together something might click for someone who is struggling.
Mine was: Empty Carbs = No Willpower! I always thought *I* was the issue... now I'm a firm believer that with me it's 90 percent foodchoices/chemistry and 10 percent willpower. Also that doesn't mean I have to cut it all out it's all about what you know causes YOU issues, and how to balance out the choices you make, and not to keep that crap in the house... and to not keep anything off limits just know when and where to eat it. I don't have to goto extremes. I don't have to go low-carb I just have to go GOOD carb!
-muse (whos lost 50lbs maybe 4 or 5 times but THIS IS the last time!)
I wish I would have had my head on straight. My priorities were all sorts of screwed up.
Now I have the maturity, support, and willingness, to get the work done that will get me the **** out of this fat hole!
I've also lost that 50lb, three times before and the thing I've learnt is that I am not going to eat things that I don't like, just because I'm on a diet. This time I'm making changes that I know I can sustain. So no cottage cheese and rye crispbreads this time round.
I'm also learning (but not quite there yet) as per a recent thread, is to accept the compliments when they come, instead of thinking people are just being kind.
i never lost weight before this, but im fairly young too... literally from the womb until i was 18 years old i steadily gained weight. like a balloon ready to pop. it just never occured to me that i could actually stop it. what i have learned though is that its not magic, its not as hard as i thought it was. i second the whole 'dont eat foods you dont like'. its important not to give up because of binges or bad days or even a bad food choice. i also love that weight loss (for me) is basically a math equation. in < out thats it. i hope im still welcome to post on this thread even though this is my first (and only) weight loss attempt.
You're more then welcome to post. Some people get it right the first time and we can definately learn from those people as well. I think the only reason I failed other times is I was still trying to eat the same crap foods but just switched over to low/cal-low/fat versions. or I was so strict that when I did mess up it went on to a full-on binge for months/years.
Depression was also a big issue with me too but that's another story.
I think it's awsome you have a handle on this at a younger age. I'm only 33 but I've been technically obese since I was 18 and overweight well before that and I feel like I've missed out on a lot because of it.
I wish I had known that buying clothes a size bigger was just asking for trouble. I put on 15-20 lbs and went up a size. Instead of getting my head out of my you know what and losing those pounds I bought the next size up and when it got tight I bought the next size up. What was I thinking?????!!!!!
-That is was doable and that I could do it. I spent soooo many years thinking that it wasn't. I just chalked it up to having no control and was practicallly resigned to living my life (a shortened one no doubt) being miserable. What nonsense. I've ALWAYS had the control. No one ever forced me to put food in mouth. Never not once.
-That by giving up the foods that I overate the most, it would make me want them less and less. How cool is that?
-That I wouldn't I miss all that high calorie/high volume food.
- How much better I feel eating less
-How much better I feel being active
-How much energy I would have.
Oh I could go on and on. I just plain old wish I had woken up earlier and not wasted so much precious time.
I always lost weight for vanity.....just because I wanted to look good. Also, I never dealt with the left over emotions that had no where to go and no way to be soothed. When the emotions took over again, I used the food for comfort and gained all of the weight back. This time, I was 42 when I decided to try again....and vanity was no longer my primary reason for doing this. I do still want to look good, but I now had painful knees and feet, fatigue and no stamina to speak of. This time, my primary reason is my health and my future. This time, I am learning how to deal with the loneliness, boredom, anxiety, depression in healthy ways. Food is no longer my solution.
I could write a chapter on this topic, but I will try to keep it brief.
1. Change the workout routine every 6 weeks. Keep switching it up so my body doesn't get used to what I've been doing. I need to weight lift to increase muscle and change the shape of my body.
2. Starvation diets don't work--I gained the 60+ pounds when I started to eat "normal" again.
3. Do not weigh yourself 20 times a day. Do not gauge your self-worth on what the scale weight states. FOCUS on changing habits then the results will come.
4. Accept the fact that *I* am the only who can change it.
5. I will never be constantly motivated; it comes and goes....keep going no matter how frustrated I am.
6. Read my "why" reasons everyday to keep me on track.
7. Get exercise out of the way as soon as possible.
8.Let go of my past attempts and focus only on what I can and did do today.
9. Come to terms with I *ruined* my body by binge eating. I can only get it to the best I can be. Every person has different results, addressing unrealistic expectations.
10. NO matter what excuse I can come up with it truly comes down to how much you value yourself and how bad you really want it.
11. Don't expect to change 13 different habits at once, pick three and work on those. Give self stars on calender for when I do work out.
12. I can do it no matter what my negative chatter states.
13. It is hard work. Yes, that one piece can hurt. NO, start now, don't wait until Monday.
14. It is possible. I DO have it in me. No matter how hard the ride gets; it is worth it.
15. The people who win at this are putting in more effort, time, and portion control compared to the ones that don't. They keep going no matter what.
16. If i binge, get back on the horse as soon as possible.
Last edited by better health3; 08-16-2007 at 04:47 PM.
Actually I breifly mentioned depression, but your comment about eating because of feelings made me think I should expand upon that. I knew before I was an emotional eater and I ate because I was bored or lonely or sad... Knowing that is one thing but what to do about it when you can't seem to help yourself and eat even when you don't want to?
I think I was also trying to self-medicate with food. I think lots of people do it to an extend but given my history I think I was probably champ at that aspect of it. Hehe.
Taking care of myself this time around also included getting on medication for the depression. I know mediction alone wouldn't help with weight loss as i've been on it before and gained lots, but being on it and actively DOING something about it I suppose I'm less likely to head to food to fix what's missing in the head. Especially if I'm not eatting the sugar which drives me to eat that stuff in the first place.
I still feel my food choices and daily exercise are the main keys for myself, but it's important to take care of all aspects of yourself I think.
Having lost and regained 120 pounds, I guess the thing I wish I had known is that by losing my control I would go on to waste another 7 years of my life being fat.
Even now, I wonder what these last 7 years would have been like had I not spent them in a vicious cycle of eating, feeling depressed because I was gaining and lonely, and eating more to soothe those feelings.
I also know from experience that losing the weight doesn't make your life magically wonderful. Sure, it's easier, people are nicer, you look better, you're healthier, but otherwise you are the same person with most of the same problems and insecurities. So you can't do this to fix who you are. If you don't like who you are as person now, work on it NOW. Otherwise, after the weight loss you'll just be a person you don't like in a better package.
CONSTANT vigilance...I was a chubby preteen/early teen, and lost 30 pounds the summer before highschool. I weighed 99 pounds my freshman year (though I was a late bloomer with no boobies and only 5'1" at the time). Then after I lost the weight, I started eating the way I did before. NUH UH. Can not do. Just think..if I had only got it right the first time..But atleast I have something to learn from!
I too was a vanity eater. Take off ten for the wedding, take off 15 so maternity clothes looked good, take off 20 for the beach trip. Ugh! I was always successful, but once that "event" was over, so was my desire to or my drive to be thinner. I know now that I have to drop this weight to be healthier not only to be thinner. I know that this is a life long way of living, not just a "until I get there" life. I have to much that I am looking forward in my life, I can't let my health or my weight get in the way!!
Secondly, I know that a healthier lifestyle is a choice minute to minute. If during any one minute I choose to live less than healthy, it doesn't mean that my whole hour, day, week, month, life is destined to be unhealthy. I slap myself up, and make better choices there after. I used to think the whole week was shot if I slipped up, and I would just decide to start over the next week. Not anymore!!
And finally, I get rid of clothes as I grow out of them. Nope, I can't afford new clothes, but I also know that I can't afford the mind set that a few extra pounds is ok because I have bigger sizes in the closet. I am good to scrounge up the cash for a smaller size..... not so much for the bigger ones!!
1. I'm different. My body is different, my chemistry is different. I have to test everything and just chuck the advice that doesn't work for me. So what if "other people" can eat all things in moderation? I can't. Period. And I've had to accept that and work with what's real for me.
2. Eat food as close to the way it grows as possible. The less manipulated the better!
3. I'm in it for the long haul.
4. Lastly, the thought in my sig: if hunger is not the problem, food is not the answer.
What do you Wish you had known LAST time?
