Do you ever look at an older post of someone who was STRUGGLING to stay on plan, who sought support in their quest to turn their life around, who wanted to be healthy and love themselves and look at the mirror with pride? Do you ever look at that post that had a the writing of someone who wasn't sure if they would ever see their goal and think that even though they weren't sure of it then, they ultimately lost the weight? Do you ever look at their post from months back when they weren't sure of themselves and then at their ticker and think, "YOU DID IT!"

I love that.

I do too! I've been guilty of finding someone who has lost a significant amount of weight and looking back on their old posts when I need motivation.

Yes, I do, sometimes. Especially my own.

How WEIRD! I just did this the other day on my OWN posts!!! it was bizarre, to read back when I first 'started' what I thought was the way to go LOL and how far I've come since then! My basic strategy at the beginning was to NEVER have anything slightly tempting in the house, my plan was to just avoid everything I liked til i was 'done' ha! I soon discovered that temptation is all around us, the only we CAN control is US -- now I have a 2 pound bag of M&M's under my desk and dont' even care! Therapy is a wonderful thing

WOW! What a great idea. I just looked at a post I did last year, here's an exerpt:

I'm in tears right now because I feel so utterly defeated about this whole thing right now. I know I need to lose weight -- words cannot describe how much worse I feel than at ~270lbs. My knees feel all tight, I'm practically hobbling around like an arthritic 80 year old woman. I can barely even bend over to tie my shoes! It just feels so overwhelming, and how can this time really be different when I've tried so many times before?? I have all the tools I need -- a gym, a great grasp on nutrition and healthy weight loss -- why can't I just jump in and HANDLE this burden that's been with me most of my life? In all other areas, I can and do HANDLE my problems. My weight continues to get the best of me after all these years, and I'm tired of feeling like I'm watching life go by and not LIVING it!

Now I'm almost in tears for that poor woman just wishing upon wish to be able to make it back down to 270 (I'm there!). The most touching thing to me was reading the responses. cfmama, if you read this thread, THANK YOU for your kindness and inspiration when I REALLY needed it.

I don't know why I never thought to look at this before, but I'm glad I waited till now. Boy, what a difference!

Yes, I do/have done this. It really helps, especially on days when you want to eat and eat.

Yup, I stalk the posts of people who have had huge success! It's very motivational and I like to see how they get through those tough spots. I also stalk myself sometimes, as weird as that sounds, just looking at posts from when I was doing a good job losing and struggling a lot less. Now every day is just a struggle...I like to be reminded of how I used to have the drive to get through the day.

I've done that on more than one occasion, and it's usually a motivator.

That said, there was someone whose posts I stumbled across that had done really well on her diet but still suffered from some serious body image/perception issues--reading it made me hurt for her. She wasn't happy heavy. She seemed almost more unhappy and negative at a normal weight. I don't know what happened to her after the loss, but I hope she found some semblance of happiness.

Yep, I read past posts from successful losers as well. I find it very motivational and it makes it more real. I feel like sometimes those who have lost a lot did so overnight, even though I know it isn't true. It just feels that way. So reading past struggles brings things back to reality.