1. I have a reasonable goal: 5.5 lbs every month = 66 lbs by December 2014. I had always been reluctant to give myself mini goals. 5.5 seems easy especially at the beginning, but there are months that losing one lb is a big victory.
2.. I bought a treadmill. My former gym was far away and some days even if I wanted to exercise, the idea of the trip to the gym watered me down.
3. I allow myself a few treats weekly. My cravings don't help when I lose motivation. I jump on everything I've craved and avoided as soon as disappointment sets in. So I've decided I'm not going to deprive myself anymore.
4. I'm staying away from forums' competition and challenges. I have a tendency to fast/over exercise just to log great results in. Now I prefer to focus on form.
1. I am not going to stop dieting when I reach goal. I will adjust my diet for maintenance but I will continue to log my food and track my fitness. Permanently. Because when I stop, I gain it all back. Six times I have done this. NO MORE.
2. I am going to continue to have goals. They will be fitness goals. But I will have goals and plans related to fitness and health. I will never be "done" with my health/fitness plan.
3. I am going to continue to post and participate in this support forum, instead of disappearing for two years while I gain it all back, again.
4. I got a Fitbit Flex, so that will hopefully motivate me to move around more.
5. I do not have permission to eat bread. ever. again. Seriously. Identify my binge trigger foods and avoid them, permanently.
Last edited by shr1nk1ngme; 01-05-2014 at 11:34 PM.
This time I went back to what worked for me so well when I was younger: counting my Weight Watchers "Points." Even when I was counting calories using my Lose It! app, I wasn't losing! I just couldn't understand it! But for some reason, that WW system works for my body. I dunno! So strange! When I was counting calories, I was gaining weight. When I started my WW Points yesterday, I woke up and the scale was down 3.4 pounds. Yes, water weight, I know, but I'm just tickled pink that the scale is moving down!
Shrinkingme...you've really had some awesome points that I need to adopt! Mine are actually pretty similar
For me:
1. Stop letting my mind dictate what I'm doing or not doing. I'm sticking to my plan that I know works. When I lost all the weight before it was hard (but sooo worth it!) and now I keep psyching myself out of committing...the mental aspect of it is harder than the physical for sure!! But just like when I run...I'm *crashing* through that wall for good!
2. Seeing my fitness and new lifestyle as permanent...and never letting myself get to this place again. When I'm back to my healthy weight...I'm never going to stop being accountable to someone and just disappear and crawl into a cocoon to eat. That is the *opposite* of who I want to be...it's the opposite of who I am today. Never again.
3. Get out of denial about myself and food. I'm never going to be able to moderate my trigger foods. Food cannot be a source of comfort and release for me anymore. And the weight never just goes away by itself nor does it bottom out at a certain number. What I do and eat WILL manifest itself on my body...good or bad!
4. Get out of my head and realize that there is more to life than FOOD! I love to run, lift weights, and explore. I love building relationships with people and pushing myself physically and intellectually...and that's what I need to focus on. There's a whole glorious life to be lived and I'm not letting my weight or food hold me back from that anymore. Food needs to be used as a delicious way to *fuel* my life...not be the purpose!
5. Learn to LOVE MYSELF. For who I am. Today. I'm never going to be perfect...life's never going to be perfect. But I need to be grateful and appreciate what I do have and who I am...because I'm realizing life is a beautiful thing! And as much as I never admit it...I am too! Self hate only leads to binging and I've ridden that train before and I don't like it. Plus...the only way I can truly help and encourage others is if I'm comfortable with myself and I know who I am.
Last edited by RideRunRepeat; 01-19-2014 at 09:31 AM.
This time around I'm doing an actual diet, for the first time in my life. I never followed a certain protocol, I always watched what I ate on my own, without a schedule and a strict list of foods I could or couldn't eat. Knowing exactly what is expected of me helps me keep on the right path.
My biggest difference I think is I set a lot of little goals for myself instead of a couple big ones.
Before my usual pattern was "It's January. I have an event in March. I'm going to start going to gym and then I'll look good in March!"
And I always had good results, but once my March event was over, the gym petered off and finally died.
This time around, I have a goal deadline in March, one in April, one in May, one in August, and one in October. Hopefully by the time I hit October I'll be in a habit and/or have new goals after Halloween.
underanalysis: I feel you on that one. The only difference is that in my case I never reached the march event slimmer. I would tell myself that no one will notice any difference from my fat self anyway, and was that event really worth all the work I was putting in? And there it stopped.
Terra1984: I have to adopt that sentence this week. I've been blowing it for 5 days now and I need to put myself back on track.
For losing weight, I know that different things have worked for me at different times. The big thing I am doing differently this time is REALLY taking into account what I know I am able to do (and NOT do) once I reach maintenance.
Specifically, I am not counting anything. I know that despite my resolutions to keep doing that in maintenance, I don't. Been there, not done that too many times.
So, I am trying a small eating window and food "guidelines" that I know I can stick with. Since I've never done this before, I'm not 100% certain I can make it work for weight loss all the way to goal, but I truly want to design a plan for success in maintenance, not just the weight loss phase.
That's a good plan, yoyoma. I'm thinking about after-the-loss too. I've regained so many times. I want to do this once and for all so I've decided I won't start doing anything that I know I can't do for the rest of my life.