[KittyKatFan]

I am in Week 52 - hurrah

I took a suggestion from this board to make a one-year commitment which I have successfully completed. Now I'm wondering what to do next. I am not near my goal weight, but with any luck and perseverance it shouldn't take another full year to get there.p

I am debating whether to make a six-month commitment or another 12-month commitment. I am also thinking about a six month commitment to what I'm doing now, but adding a couple of things to the commitment (I.e. no pastries or pancakes/sugary carbs found in breakfast foods, which has apparently become my weakness, or committing to no cheats but maybe one day per month where I can go up to 2k calories).

For those who committed to a year but didn't reach goal in that time period, what did you do? Thanks!

[Madame Souza]

First of all, I want to say good for you! Look at how much you have lost in this year! That takes dedication and commitment.
How about take a lifetime commitment? I started my weight loss journey by deciding to give it a year and see where it took me. Well, from reading on this board and from experience, I realized that in order to make it work for me, I needed to not look at it like a diet but a lifestyle change. I truly feel that that is what it takes to loose the weight and keep it off. If you look at it short term (in years or months), you are saying that it will end and you can go back to what you were doing before you changed your life.
I did not have a goal in a time period so I would not be disappointed in myself. I think it is very hard and there are too many factors involved in weight loss to have time based goals.It also sets you up for failure. What if you decide to loose 50 lbs and only loose 45? You still lost 45 pounds! Just do your best and be proud of every pound you loose.

[TiffNeedsChange]

Congrats on your amazing weight loss!!
I made a year long commitment starting mid-June; basically, I want to be in the normal weight range by my birthday in June next year! That will take me losing another 90 pounds . I hope that I can remain strong as you did.
I don't know what your next challenge time frame will be but I wish you luck!

[Kahokkuri]

Congrats on your success! Since your health is a lifelong commitment, why not commit for one more year? It sounds like you'll hit your goal weight before then, but having a one-year commitment may be a good mental trick to make sure that your first six months of maintenance also go smoothly. Whatever you do, best of luck!

[twinieten]

I would commit to another year as well, since the ultimate goal is always to stay at your goal weight. You can have mini goals in there, like your 6 month commitment. I think a cheat day once a month isn't enough, though. You have to be able to live and enjoy when things come up. IMHO, but maybe I'm not the best example being such a slow loser.

I never committed to a time frame. I committed to losing a certain amount of weight, without any thought as to how long it would take me to get there. I'm really surprised at how long it's taken, though! Two years, so far. And I'm still going because I'm not at my goal. I'm probably looking at another year, to year and a half if I keep going at the same pace.

[alaskanlaughter]

i made a commitment about a year and a half ago to focus on healthy eating and getting my weight down....i made a financial commitment (lol) to a year-long gym membership back in last October, a year contract that i cannot get out of unless i move out of town, which helps me remain committed to my workouts...

in about a year and a half, i have lost about 40 pounds and am at the smallest i've been in my adult life...granted, it's not terribly small but it's WAY better than it was before...

of course i still struggle, almost daily, with healthy choices and, most importantly for me, portion sizes (ughh) but i keep plugging along

[KittyKatFan]

Thanks for all of the support and suggestions.

I totally agree with Madame Souza about this being a lifetime commitment. It has to be. Forever is such a long time though . It's kind of like those people (like me) who have 100+ to lose, and that seems so impossible until you break it into a goal of ten pounds, ten times. I am apparently good with shorter-term goals, so maybe just doing one year commitments, every year, might be the solution.

I think I will do another year. I did it once, I can do it again. And hopefully I will lose all the weight before the one year is up, then I can focus on maintenance.

[katkitten]

what a great idea! Maybe I will make a year long commitment as well.

[nicole8705]

After reading the advice others gave me in another thread, I think I'll focus on a one year commitment rather than how much/how fast I lose.
June 16, 2013 here I come!

[Amarantha2]

Just wanted to say hurrah for you and congratulations on your excellent loss so far. You are awesome.

I agree that it is a lifetime commitment and think you made a good choice with the year time frame.

[KittyKatFan]

Originally Posted by katkitten

what a great idea! Maybe I will make a year long commitment as well.

Of all the advice I have gotten from this board, making a one year commitment was the most impactful for me. By making that commitment to myself, I was able to make sure that one or two poor decisions or "lazy days" didn't make me abandon the weight loss quest like I may have in the past when I goofed up.

I remember coming back home after a not so successful trip, food-wise. The alarm clock went off at 4 am and the last thing I wanted to do was get up and exercise. But I told myself, "get up, you promised yourself that you would do this for a year.". And that's what I did.

I encourage you to make a time commitment, whether it's one month, 6 months or a year. Especially if you sometimes have a defeatist attitude or all-or-nothing attitude like I do, where you feel like throwing in the towel if you have one bad day. And it is better than a weight goal, IMO, because sometimes you can't control how quickly you lose - but you can always control the time you stay on the program.