I know we hear this phrase a lot in many aspects of our lives, and I'm sure we've heard it in our heads regarding weight loss time and time again.
I was reading a post that rockin robin posted in another thread. Isn't she inspirational?! It got me to thinking about the fact that I KNOW this time that it's different. I KNOW the weight is going to come off. I KNOW I'm not going to quit.
Perhaps my family, who has heard it and lived through it with me time and time again, would smile and nod supportively without any true belief. Perhaps others would think that there's no way that I could know that this was the time for it to actually happen for me. But that doesn't matter, because I know it.
How do I know it?
1) I never went at this with my usual gung-ho all-or-nothing attitude. I didn't start out working out an hour a day for six days a week. I didn't tell myself all the coulds and could nots. I simply started counting my calories and upping my exercise and watching the weight drop incrementally.
2) I haven't gotten frustrated with splurge-related gains or stalls. I've had a lot of special events lately that have resulted in a slower weight loss than I am generally accustomed to seeing at this weight. But I am fully accountable to myself for what I've done to stall that weight loss. And when the special event or splurge is over, I jump back on the wagon without berating or belittling myself.
3) When I hit my 230/229 plateau that I ALWAYS hit, I was patient. It was a much shorter plateau this time, and I think being patient and sticking to my routine was the key. Usually I'm frantically upping or lowering my calories, my exercise, my food groups. This time around I just plugged away and I got rid of the 230's a lot faster than the last two times.
4) When I've gotten lax on exercise, I just give myself a new start date. I don't think about how I've backpedaled or how much work it was going to take to get myself back into the shape I was in when I stopped working out. This has been key because it helps me get back on the wagon after a 5 day hiatus rather than waiting 5 weeks (or until the next "diet").
All in all, I think it comes down to patience. Before I wanted the weight to drop off of me as fast as possible. Now I just want to keep losing, keep on track, become healthier.
What has you knowing that THIS time it's going to be successful for you?
Good for you for KNOWING this time is different. It is liberating to have that resolve. I have every confidence this time IS different for you--just by the thoughts shared in your post and the honesty it took to write it.
I guess I quit lying to myself and quit making excuses. I also quit lying to others. I quit sneak eating. I quit saying to myself that I was somehow *different* and couldn't lose weight. I told myself and others I didn't overeat. I quit defending my horrible food choices. I got honest. I quit throwing out Krispy Kreme boxes before getting home. I quit making excuses to go to the store late at night for something and while there getting me something horrible to munch. I quit staying up after my family--making a huge plate of leftovers after they were fast asleep.
I have also decided to absolutely CRADLE myself in support of a community. I do not share my weightloss journey except with a very select few and of course here at 3FC. I don't need to hear the naysayers. I share the experience with those that love me and accepted me at my heaviest--all the while wanting me to be my healthiest.
I also hold myself accountable by regular weighins--evaluating daily my food intake and always getting the most "bang for my buck" when it comes to eating. I have also educated myself about food and have armed myself with the knowledge I need to be successful--some of this has been done through experimentation. I have always been a foodie but my past ways of eating and cooking are thrown to the wind basically. I find ways to satisfactorily recreate anything my pallet calls for.
I also did some soul digging. When I am running for the cupboards now I really stop and ask myself..."what the **** am I REALLY hungry for? What happened that makes me want to do this again." I am learning after many decades how to truly care for and love myself. I AM my own best friend and I am WAY okay with that.
My doctor told me I'm pre-diabetic. She put me on a low-glycemic 'diet'. I hate that word because I know this is not a diet but lifestyle...anyway...
Like you I have embraced this reality. I'm not manic about it. I am slowly but surely figuring out how to do this. As a result, I've made some mistakes but the good news is that I learn from my mistakes. I am learning what really works for me and what doesn't.
I'm honestly loving it, rarely feel deprived and feel better than I have in a long time. I know part of it is the wt. loss but a good part of the brain fog has lifted because I'm eating right. I guess I just got used to feeling bad all the time and that was my 'normal'.
I have wrapped my head around the fact that if I don't do something now, I will develop diabetes, take meds and still have to change my way of eating. DUH! Much easier to take my dr advice and start now!
I'm also at that weight where I usually plateau and in the past would give up. Thanks to this board I know I will have lots of good resources and much encouragement should that happen. I'm not giving up. I too think patience is the key to success.
It really is about sustainable life style changes. With that comes wt loss. I focus on the former and then I am rewarded with the latter.
TBG, you are so inspirational, too! I think you hit it on the head with the word honesty. How many times in the past were we dishonest with ourselves? I don't even count the dishonesties I presented others because they were lies I told myself, too!
I'm being much more low key with my weight loss this time around. I'm not announcing it to anyone who crosses my path. I'm just doing it. It's not a show for other people. It's a reality for me!
My doctor told me I'm pre-diabetic. She put me on a low-glycemic 'diet'. I hate that word because I know this is not a diet but lifestyle...anyway...
Like you I have embraced this reality. I'm not manic about it. I am slowly but surely figuring out how to do this. As a result, I've made some mistakes but the good news is that I learn from my mistakes. I am learning what really works for me and what doesn't.
I'm honestly loving it, rarely feel deprived and feel better than I have in a long time. I know part of it is the wt. loss but a good part of the brain fog has lifted because I'm eating right. I guess I just got used to feeling bad all the time and that was my 'normal'.
I have wrapped my head around the fact that if I don't do something now, I will develop diabetes, take meds and still have to change my way of eating. DUH! Much easier to take my dr advice and start now!
I'm also at that weight where I usually plateau and in the past would give up. Thanks to this board I know I will have lots of good resources and much encouragement should that happen. I'm not giving up. I too think patience is the key to success.
It really is about sustainable life style changes. With that comes wt loss. I focus on the former and then I am rewarded with the latter.
Yes, this time it is different!
Woohoo!
It's funny how preventative weight loss sometimes only becomes a motivator for us when we're THAT close to it not being preventative anymore. Good for you!
A New Creation--The last month or two I am really coming to understand GI's and what they mean to me. I have to say for me atleast--there is MUCH to be said for the index. The times I binge and am out of control is almost directly correlated to foods high on the index. It sounds like your doc may know a thing or two. As far as it being a "diet" there is no reason for it to be. You can do low GI foods for the rest of your life! How exciting to think about the wonderful foods to discover just ahead of you.
TBG, you are so inspirational, too! I think you hit it on the head with the word honesty. How many times in the past were we dishonest with ourselves? I don't even count the dishonesties I presented others because they were lies I told myself, too!
I'm being much more low key with my weight loss this time around. I'm not announcing it to anyone who crosses my path. I'm just doing it. It's not a show for other people. It's a reality for me!
Thank you for those kind words. Today is one of those days I can really use them.
Last edited by Thighs Be Gone; 09-12-2009 at 12:20 PM.
A New Creation--The last month or two I am really coming to understand GI's and what they mean to me. I have to say for me atleast--there is MUCH to be said for the index. The times I binge and am out of control is almost directly correlated to foods high on the index. It sounds like your doc may know a thing or two. As far as it being a "diet" there is no reason for it to be. You can do low GI foods for the rest of your life! How exciting to think about the wonderful foods to discover just ahead of you.
I was just talking to my brother last night about how I don't feel the need to binge like I once did. For me, I can see so clearly all the things I was doing wrong. I clearly have not been eating enough protein. I am not nor have I ever been a big meat eater so I have learned how to incorporate more protein in my diet and when I do the cravings and urges to binge subside/disappear. My hunger is under control when I have good adequate sources on protein on a regular basis.
I don't know if that makes sense, but you really struck a chord in me when you said 'The times I binge and am out of control is almost directly correlated to foods high on the index.' I can totally relate in my own way.
And yes, this is a way of eating I can live with for the rest of my life!!!
ANewCreation like you I was told by my doctor that I was boarderline to being a diabetic. My family has also seen me start lose weight and then stop and gain it all back I am currently at the highest weight that I have ever been in my life. They are all for me loosing weight but I am thinking they are waiting to see how long I stick it out this time.
I am tired of being fat . I hate shopping for clothes I never find any thing that fits me right and with all these Stores changing their Sizes jest upsets me even more now it is more diffcult trying to find something that dont look it you had to squeeze into it or it jest looks bad.
I have been counting my calories and Drinking plenty of water and getting in lots of cardio. It is comming to the end of my second week and I am feeling pretty good about myself and that I am gonna Keep doing what I am doing. I know that i didnt gain all this weight over night and that its not gonna come off over night. I can be patient .
Maybe when I go back to the Doc in a month 1/2 She will be able to lower my meds for the Triglercydes. I know that I am worth it. I have no desire to quit now. Their is so many people on here that inspire me to keep going. I am addicted to this site I check it a million times aday and it keeps me going.
Butterly50, I see my doctor mid October and I can't wait to see her face when she sees how much I've lost. We'll be discussing some lab work and I really hope that there is a big difference in the numbers from what they were last time!
ANewCreation like you I was told by my doctor that I was boarderline to being a diabetic. My family has also seen me start lose weight and then stop and gain it all back I am currently at the highest weight that I have ever been in my life. They are all for me loosing weight but I am thinking they are waiting to see how long I stick it out this time.
I am tired of being fat . I hate shopping for clothes I never find any thing that fits me right and with all these Stores changing their Sizes jest upsets me even more now it is more diffcult trying to find something that dont look it you had to squeeze into it or it jest looks bad.
I have been counting my calories and Drinking plenty of water and getting in lots of cardio. It is comming to the end of my second week and I am feeling pretty good about myself and that I am gonna Keep doing what I am doing. I know that i didnt gain all this weight over night and that its not gonna come off over night. I can be patient .
The great thing I can tell is that a few pounds in YOU will start seeing changes in yourself and the way your clothes are fitting. You will start seeing some change in the mirror--the small changes--in things like the way my very tight wedding ring started fitting, the way my shoes weren't quite as taut across my foot, etc. These little things motivated me. Maybe no one else could see it--but I did! You will too.
Maybe when I go back to the Doc in a month 1/2 She will be able to lower my meds for the Triglercydes. I know that I am worth it. I have no desire to quit now. Their is so many people on here that inspire me to keep going. I am addicted to this site I check it a million times aday and it keeps me going.
Yep, 3FC is a great tool. Consider it your secret weapon! We are all here for you. It is more than a virtual world to me. We are all on the same path and know it well.
Last edited by Thighs Be Gone; 09-12-2009 at 02:46 PM.
LOL--I dreaded going to the doctor for FIVE years because of weight! I finally MADE myself go a few months ago. He was very curious as to what I had been doing and we had an in depth discussion about nutrition. WOW! I cannot believe MY DOCTOR was asking ME questions. OMG! When I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago they took my heart rate. (I never knew they did that.) The hygenist said, "WOW! NICE!" My heart rate was a 54. Before that day it was nothing I ever considered. I started this whole ordeal for HEALTH and health alone. The other perks and encouragements (from healthcare providers especially) have been great though.
I was reading a post that rockin robin posted in another thread. Isn't she inspirational?! It got me to thinking about the fact that I KNOW this time that it's different. I KNOW the weight is going to come off. I KNOW I'm not going to quit.
Well thank you so much for the kind words! It means a GREAT deal to me. I'm assuming you mean this post:
Quote:
and that life is just passing them by while they sit back and watch it?
from rockinrobin:
Quote:
10000% I felt this way. Exactly. I wasn't living up to my full potential, not even close. I know you're supposed to love yourself even though you're heavy - and I did. That wasn't the issue. The issue is that I couldn't physically do many of the things that I wanted to. I was definitely on the sidelines looking in. Not any more. I participate. I'm active. I'm energetic and full of stamina. Those things could not occur while I was so heavy.
Quote:
does anyone else ever feel like they will never get there?
from rockinrobin:
Quote:
In previous attempts (1/2 hearted ones) - yes. I doubted highly that I would ever get the weight off. I didn't think I was capable of it. Didn't think I had it in me.
I was wrong. I had the ability the whole time. The whole time. I had it in me the whole time, I just had to dig down deep to find it........
Because this last time - there was no doubt in my mind - that the weight was coming off. Zero. Zippo. Nada. Zilch. We do have the choice whether to be fat or not. And I finally realized that I didn't have to be fat if I didn't want to be. Finally figured out that this wasn't rocket science. This wasn't some hare-brained, crazy, out of this world outrageous unthinkable, unheard of thing to do. It was weight loss. It was something I DID (do) have the power to control. It was within my hands. I got myself into the mess, and I was going to get myself out of it.
Upon becoming miserable enough and sick and tired enough of living my life on the sidelines and fearing for that life, I said, enough is enough. It's time to deal with this. It's time to do something "grand". It's time to stop dying and start living. It's time to step up to the plate and do whatever is required to live the healthiest and happiest life possible. It's time to start taking care of me and my health. It's time to start taking care of the mother of my three precious children. It's time to get this weight - OFF. OFF. OFF. I didn't want to be fat any longer. I was done. And thoroughly and completely determined to get it off.
So I committed to "do it" And I did.
Decide to do something and it SHALL be done. No ifs, ands or buts. No questions. No doubts. No way it can't happen if you're determined to MAKE it happen.
Chunkey Munkey - commit to it. MAKE it happen. And you WILL get there. There's no way that you CAN'T. And trust me on this one, you won't regret it one bit when you do.
The sidelines are not a great place to be. Get into the action. Get into the game. Be a part of it. You don't even know what you're missing. Weight loss is a DOABLE thing that anyone and everyone CAN do. Yourself included. You have no excuses NOT to do this. No valid reasons. You ARE capable of doing it. Take those doubts away. Because believe me when I tell you - you CAN do this. You really, really can. And you should.
It sounds to me like it really IS going to be different for you this time. For me, that alone, KNOWING that I was "going to do this, no matter what", what a wonderful feeling. I knew the end of my misery was near. I really, really, knew it. I'm so glad I finally woke up and realized what I was doing to myself (killing me with food) and finally realized that I should just STOP THAT. It sounds so simple. But really, it's like I finally woke up and figured out that being fat is a choice. and losing the weight is a choice. and keeping it off is a choice. Choice. Choice. Choice. And that I should just CHOOSE IT already!!!
I knew that each and every time I said no to one of "those foods", I was saying "yes" to me and that I would be one step closer to being that slim, trim, fit, energetic and healthy person I always longed to be.
Thanks again for the kind words. I look forward to hearing of your continued progress.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 09-13-2009 at 06:47 AM.
Well thank you so much for the kind words! It means a GREAT deal to me. I'm assuming you mean this post:
from rockinrobin:
from rockinrobin:
It sounds to me like it really IS going to be different for you this time. For me, that alone, KNOWING that I was "going to do this, no matter what", what a wonderful feeling. I knew the end of my misery was near. I really, really, knew it. I'm so glad I finally woke up and realized what I was doing to myself (killing me with food) and finally realized that I should just STOP THAT. It sounds so simple. But really, it's like I finally woke up and figured out that being fat is a choice. and losing the weight is a choice. and keeping it off is a choice. Choice. Choice. Choice. And that I should just CHOOSE IT already!!!
I knew that each and every time I said no to one of "those foods", I was saying "yes" to me and that I would be one step closer to being that slim, trim, fit, energetic and healthy person I always longed to be.
Thanks again for the kind words. I look forward to hearing of your continued progress.
Yep, that was the post! Congratulations to you getting to that point. I'm going to stick around here updating you all on my progress (good and bad) to maintenance and beyond!
But This Time It's Different...
