I've always thought it would be pretty impossible to get anywhere near 200lbs, much less *gasp* UNDER! And to loose 100lbs just seems like a dream.
But after looking around this website, it seems like there are SO MANY PEOPLE that have achieved this goal. It surreal. But I'm still wondering... is it possible?! And HOW! haha
This is one of those things where I can look at other people who've lost a ton of weight and say "Wow! They look really great! I'm so happy for them." However, I can't really see it happening for me. It seems like such an impossible task "Ok, you have to lose over a hundred pounds" YIKES! To get to my ultimate goal weight would be like losing a whole small person.
Okay, okay. So I'm looking at it from a glass half empty perspective, but its just so scary! I really really want to do it this time, I really want to make it and be an awesome success story and I have the drive to do so. I just don't know how.
Thanks for listening to my rant. I can't wait to be a less, well, scared part of the community.
You know what? Me, too. I feel the same way. I feel like I have so far to go that it may never happen for me, but then I read the stories here and they are proof that it can be done. I've just decided that I have been too heavy for too damn long and it is time to change.
I'm four days in this time, and I feel great. I have more energy and even need less sleep.
I started at 270. I weighed over 280 at one point. I am at 220 now. It seems overwhelming at first. I try not to look think to hard on how much I need to loose to get to my final goal. Instead I just concentrate on eating well one day at a time, same thing for getting exercise. Mini goals help too, loosing 5lbs. doesn't feel as overwhelming as loosing 100. Take it one step at a time. :~)
Welcome to 3fc! You came to the best place in the world for support and understanding.
I think the attitude that works best is to not worry about dieting or losing weight but to change to a healthy lifestyle that includes a healthy, balanced eating plan and reasonable exercise. Find something that works for YOU, something that you can stick with for years and years. Let the weight loss be a side effect of your new healthy lifestyle.
Yes, its possible. If I can do this you certainly can. I'm not special in any way. I would try not to think about the total amount of weight you'd like to lose, but think about mini-goals with a timeline. Set realistic mini-goals and try for them.
When you want something bad enough you find a way to get there. There will be adversity and challenges, but that is what life is all about.
I will tell you though, for years (decades in fact) I kinda knew it was possible - but perhaps for others - not me. I didn't think *I* was capable of it. I didn't think that I could do it. Others, maybe - me - nu-uh, just didn't have what it takes. I had no strength, no will power, zero control. Until one day I realized - well why the heck NOT me???
How do you do it? You DECIDE to. You realize that you don't have to be fat if you don't want to be. That it really and truly IS within your hands, your power, you hold the key. It's a choice. It's a choice to get fat. It's a choice to lose the weight.
DECIDE to do this, commit to do this and than go out there and be WILLING to do what's necessary to MAKE it happen.
For me that was accepting the fact that I had to completely overhaul my eating/exercise habits. Accept it, and realize that it was worthwhile of all the time and effort it required. I was done being fat. I was done settling for second best when first best was well within my reach. I was done turning to food for *comfort* which was not so darn comforting at all. It brought on waaaay more problems than it solved. I no longer settled for a quick, short-lived fix. I no longer settled for food that just tasted good - it had to be good for me too. I raised my standards.
And I set myself up for success.
I rid my home of the junk and made it off limits to me. It was freeing, not restrictive as I always feared it would be. After a couple of, I'm not gonna lie - really hard weeks - it became pretty darn *easy*. I got more and more into it. The less and less I had of *those* foods, the less I wanted it. It was nothing short of miraculous to me.
And I discovered, seeked out, other foods - delicious, satiating, healthy foods - that tasted good and was good for me- long after I was done chewing. It was a win/win situation.
I also counted/still count calories - as it's built in accountability and forced portion control - something I needed/still do.
And I planned/still plan AHEAD. Everything gets mapped out ahead of time. I know where each meal/snack is coming from. Too important, too risky to take chances. This is vital to me. Failing to plan IS planning to fail. Eating healthy won't happen on it's own. It takes intentional thought and effort. Any time spent on it is more than well worth it!! By like a lot. A real LOT.
Adhering to a healthy lifestyle is no burden, but a joy and a blessing. It's simply what I should have been doing all along. I don't drive recklessly, not sure why I thought it was okay to EAT recklessly.
So yes, it's possible. For any one and every one. Yourself included!!! We ALL have the ability to do it. Provided you DECIDE to.
I also didn't focus on the large number. I focused on the behaviors. I knew that as long as I kept at this, as long as I ate well and moved myself (food 80% exercise 20%) that there was no way possible that I COULDN'T lose. As long as I kept on going, continued on and didn't stop then it would all come off. Each and every excess pound.
Don't dread these much needed changes - but look forward to them. A whole new, BETTER life is waiting for you. Go out there and take it. It's yours for the taking. Be all that you can be. Stop being enslaved to food and start being invigorated by it. I'm certain, absolutely certain you won't regret it. In fact, you will wonder why you didn't do it earlier.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 04-29-2010 at 09:00 AM.
Wow, rockinrobin - great post!!! I don't know what I could add to that, other than to agree that it definitely is possible. Commit to living a healthier life, TheActress, & you can do this!!!
TheActress originally postedI've always thought it would be pretty impossible to get anywhere near 200lbs, much less *gasp* UNDER! And to loose 100lbs just seems like a dream.
Me too! That expresses exactly how I felt when I first started working on loosing the weight. It looks like you are much younger than me, I was 53 when I started. It had been over 30 years since I weight below 200 pounds. Your starting weight is lower than mine and you are taller.
And I did it!!!!!
Read Robin's post on how to do it. She is exactly right. Her key words that I relate to are: Decide, Commit, Be Willing, Count Calories (or Points, fat, or carbs), Plan
The part that I want to emphasize is Commit. Stick to it. The only way you can fail is to give up. If you mess up on one meal or one day, get right back on track.
Don't look at the whole picture. It is too overwhelming. Look at little doable goals, 5 or 10 pounds. They mount up.
Mainly, know that you can do this! Please don't wait until you are in your fifties.
Yes, it's possible, and achievable. There is one catch though...it's a lot of work, and there is no magic pill, gadget, gizmo, or program. You, make it work. If you really try, you can do it.
I am doing it by focusing on a time commitment to myself instead of a poundage commitment. I am fully committed to doing this for one year. You know when the year is up I'll be fully entrenched in a healthy life style. But for one year I am on plan each and every day. There is no quitting! It's the quitting I had to overcome and that is how I have done it.
Someone had a saying in their sig that said something along the lines of, "I may not be able to lose 100 lbs, but I can lose 5lbs 20 times." something like that at least.
Every 5 lbs are 5 less you have to lose. Just remember that
Just one thing I want to add that is super-important to remember.
When you start, you are going to focus on goal and all you will really think about is what you weigh now and the distant, seemingly impossible weight that would make you "thin."
But the reality is that the positive wonderful incredible changes kick in LONG before you hit your goal.
I'm your height and still 35-40 pounds above my goal, but because I'm very fit, people are already starting to say that I look I can't lose any more....
Even if I parked right here at 207 I am 100 x more attractive, confident, healthy, and fit than I was at 295.
The same is true of you! It's find to keep your goal weight in the back of your mind, but setting small achievable goals, as others have mentioned, will make you feel like you're getting somewhere right away.
Is it REALLY possible?!
I can't wait to be a less, well, scared part of the community.
I can't really add anything new since the others have said it all! (which is good because I'm on my iPhone lol) 
