Losing Weight Is Only The First Step
You know, Mrs Jim, I was thinking about what you said in your post — that there are no secrets to weight loss or magic pills or whatever — and you are so right. But even if there was such a thing, it wouldn’t work in the long run. Huh? you say — wouldn’t it be great if I could wake up tomorrow morning and instantly be 30 pounds thinner? And my answer is NO. Here’s why (and I am speaking from experience here since I — like Mrs Jim — have lost well over 100 pounds and am maintaining):
Weight loss is only the first stage of weight management. I think it’s a mistake to focus on losing pounds like that is the goal — it is nothing but the first step to successful weight maintenance. And it is a very important first step because it teaches you the skills and knowledge that you MUST have in order to keep off the weight for the rest of your life. If you skip that step, you never have a chance to acquire the tools that you need to MAINTAIN your weight. I’m willing to bet that almost everyone here has lost weight before and regained it. Keeping it off is the hard part, folks!
It took me a year to lose 125 pounds. I’m so glad it didn’t happen any faster — it was a year of tremendous changes as it was. I learned so much in that year — I learned a totally different way to eat (which I still do every day — maintenance doesn’t look any different than losing), I learned how to exercise, how to talk to myself, how my body reacts to different levels of carbs, calories etc., how to deal with setbacks, how to deal with emotions — the list could go on and on. Bottom line — you’ve got to live the lifestyle and learn as you’re losing or you will have no hope of keeping the weight off.
When I weighed 257 pounds, I used to wish that I would magically wake up the next morning and be thin. But do you know what? If that ever happened, I probably would have celebrated by eating a bag of Oreos. I would not have learned a thing about weight maintenance. So be happy that there is no magic pill or cure or secret formula. Take it one day at a time because this is forever and there’s no reason to hurry. There is no end in this journey — this is your life.
Meg
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