As much as I love 3fc the join date on the top of my picture off to the right makes me think WAY too much. I am having kind of a crappy morning and am sitting here going through all the threads. And there I see, Date Joined January 2011.

TWO YEARS AGO. I am doing fine with losing today. I started WW and I am having weekly successes with that... but jeez. What I could have done in 2 years. Two years ago, I am sure I felt that same way I do now. Motivated, eating right, focused on my self. What happened? I can remember the reasons I started, they are the same. But I can't remember why I stopped and that scares me. I don't want to stop. Will I get to a point, around 240 (I can feel it), where that is good enough? GAH! I need to write my future self a letter.

Sorry for the rant, but man.... How can the years just slip away like that? How can I make sure I don't let it happen again?!

I remember when I finally got the 100 lbs off after 20 years of failed attempts. The starting point didn't really feel any different. I'd always started with determination and enthusiasm. But this time I finally created a plan for myself that I could stick with and stick I did. All I can recommend is that if you get burnt out on your current plan, re-evaluate and adjust, don't throw in the towel. I haven't lost any of the last 20 lbs in more than 2 years now, but because I haven't stopped trying, the 100 lbs is still gone.

Good luck to you.

Smashlers, I've gone through that exact through process. I also joined in 2011. Had a great 6 month run and lost more than I ever had before - 65 lbs. But then I allowed myself a little break and that little break turned into over a year and gaining back all but a few of those 65 lbs.

I think for me, one of the biggest things that will be different is that I am going to keep coming here and posting. I hope and plan to not fall off track again. But if I do, I think keeping myself accountable here will be a big factor in getting me back on track, sooner rather than later. I also plan to officially "practice maintenance" if I get to a point where I need a break, rather than just throwing in the towel and going back to all my old ways.

The way I look at it, I could beat myself up for wasting those 14 months and if I had stayed on track, I'd be where I wanted to be, and well into learning to live as a maintainer. But I'd rather try and look at the time as a learning opportunity and help me figure out how to make this time be THE time.

And caryesings, I loved hearing that the time it worked was not so different from the other times. One thing I've learned and am trying to give myself credit for is that I am pretty good at losing weight. I used to tell myself I was bad at losing but at least I maintained my (too high) weight. But the truth was the opposite - I am good at losing as long as I keep my focus, and when I lose that focus, I gain, not maintain. So now I can relax a little bit about losing, in the sense of knowing I just have to do what I know how to do, and I can focus on sticking with it, since that is my missing piece.

You're not alone. I've been trying one diet plan after another for the last 30 years. I've lost and gained back my body weight several times. Two years ago I lost 50 pounds which still left me morbidly obese, but I decided that if I just lost 50 pounds a year, I'd be in good shape in two years. So, here it is two years later and I started at the highest weight I've ever been.

What's different this time? First of all, I gave up on all of the diet plans and just figured out what worked for me. Second, I finally recognize the binging/cheating/emotional eating/etc. signs and am developing ways to deal with them. Third, I seem to really want this this time -- kind of like at 63 this is my last chance to get healthy and be able to enjoy doing the activities that I haven't been able to do for years.

And while you've been on 3FC for 2 years, it's the best thing I've ever done for myself. Hope you can get the same lift each day that it gives me.

careysings: You are an inspiration. Thanks for the advice.

April Snow: practicing maintenance even if you haven't reached the ultimate goal. That is an amazing concept that I have never even thought of!! You have given me something to think about, for sure. The idea of maintenance is something that is completely unknown to me... I have always had the idea that I was either losing or gaining... never just maintaining.

Betsy: I was JUST talking to a co-worker about this. The plan has to work for you and it cannot be a "diet" its got to be a total new way of looking at life and eating. You sound totally pumped, and I am sure you are doing great.

Thanks for the responses. This is such an amazing community of people.

Please don't be discouraged! Look at MY join date... and I was on the server before this one, when they reset our join dates. I've lost 30 pounds, regained it, lost 50, regained 20, bounced up and down and all over.

But each time I get enthusiast and determined again, THIS is the forum I return to. I've been on lots of boards over the years. But 3FC is my "home" for weight loss.

I've never found another group so supportive and encouraging (and ready to give you a kick in the behind if you need it!) and who KNOW what it's like to be so heavy and to have the issues the morbidly obese face when trying to lose and maintain that loss.

We keep learning. I'm still learning and I'll probably be forever learning what works and what doesn't. Every time I have a relapse of bad eating habits (seems I've kept the physical exercise part of easily enough now), I try to figure out why. I come here, I blog, I keep an App on my phone. And while I might stop posting here and on my blog and even registering on the phone, I still try to figure out why? This time it was that I was just too overwhelmed. I had way too many things up in the air and I dropped time gobblers (blog, this forum) and then my eating deteriorated with adding more carbs as my sleep started to get bad. Once I start eating simple carbs, it snowballs as it wants me to eat more, but at the same time it makes me feel so lethargic.

So... another lesson for the lesson book - MUST get good sleep and prioritize it AND I must stay away from simple carbs period.

Next time (and there will be a next time, who am I kidding), hopefully I'll learn before packing on 30 pounds and will lessen the damage to eventually just GET IT.

I want to respond but I'm not sure if its gonna sound harsh. I try to always be nice and supportive, so I'm trying my best to word this correctly.

You have discovered something that is invaluable. Time will pass anyways. I was just thinking of this the other day. Irregardless if you are actively gaining or losing, this year will pass, so I've decided to make this year count. October 28, 2013 will be here in 8ish months, why not make the most of it???

(I hope that makes sense, it was kind of an epiphany for me lol)

We're all different, but I think some things apply to most of us. Use the knowledge that 2 years passed quickly to motivate you! Let's just call what we do to lose weight a diet. If you had stayed on the diet for the last 2 years, you'd be at goal by now most likely, at the rate of a pound a week. Looking at it that way - looking back - it seems almost easy. Now put that knowledge to use. If it's easy as you look back, let it be easy going forward and since time is going to pass anyway, just do it!

Analyze it a little further. Do you think your life was better in the 2 years that just passed while you were not dieting? Or worse? Or the same? How about while you were dieting? In the big picture, I think most of us would agree it's essentially the same. So just stay on the diet in that case. Life, day by day, is the same. In the long run, however, I think we agree it's better at a lower weight.

Maintaining and dieting are pretty much the same. I consider maintenance "dieting with an attitude." First we have to realize that super sizing things, eating way too many carbs, eating way too much sugar, etc, is not good for us and can NEVER be part of a steady diet. Once we get that - really get it - we begin the lifestyle change. Maintaining - even at a high weight - is certainly better than gaining. But maintaining a healthy weight is the best thing we can do for ourselves. In maintenance, I eat the same healthy meals I ate while dieting, but allow a few more snacks or occasional days where I eat more. Holidays, parties, etc. Occasional. Like my thin friends who were never fat do.

Another thing, weigh yourself at least once a week - religiously. If I gain more than 5 pounds back, it's time to put on the brakes. Like sooner than immediately. And don't keep any fat clothes. Not even a size to big. It's like giving yourself permission to relapse. As soon as you by the next smaller size, get rid of the bigger ones. Buying smaller clothes is fun and justifiable. Buying bigger ones is neither.

I see you have posted 145 times in 2 years. That's about 1.5 posts a week. Try coming in here more often. Of course, I'm sure you posted often for a time and then not so often. But try coming in to post once a day and see how that helps. I think it helps us stay in tune with what we're trying to do.

Good luck.

Lin

I have the same guilt and I've been a member here since 2007 (I think).