I personally have never actually made it all the way to goal. I may have been between 10-20 pounds away and I have several reasons why I didn't make it. SO this morning while getting ready for work I saw my silhouette in mirror because it was dark. And for once it actually look like a normal body and not one with excessive rolls and lumps and bumps. Mind you I do have these things, it was just the way I was caught in the mirror. At that moment I knew I couldn't stop and I have to keep going and truly work on being fit for life. I had hope of one day not being fat.

That is when I got to thinking....why did I never reach goal the other two or three times I did so well.

Reasons;

Ran out of money for the program (diet and physical)

I got comfortable after losing 20 or so pounds and I didn't keep working thererore slowly gaining it back

Lastly the diet was so ridiculous that I couldn't maintain it in a normal life


Solutions;

As far as exercise goes do things that keep me fit that doesn't require paying for a bootcamp or gym or jazzercise and instead use those types of classes for temporary options for when I get bored with my every day routine

Keep pushing past my confort zone. Remember why I am doing this and reminding myself of where I have come from

Make sure I am eating healthy and getting into a new lifestyle and not being on a STRICT diet. If my eating plan does not allow for flexibility then it needs modofications.


Now all three of these problems did not occur each time I attempted to lose weight but one or the other has happened. THe longest I have ever been able to maintain my WL is when I keep up my exercise so that is KEY for me! I am going to do these this time just gotta be proactive instead of reactive!

Anyway this waaaay long and if you are still reading thanks. What I want you to do is list the reason why you have never reached your goal or how you gained the weight back and then solutions to reach it this time or to not gain it back. I am really interested in your responses.

Awesome post

For me, I have made it to goal weight in the past, and even stayed there for a year or so, but I always end up back to where I started (or higher )I think that the reasons for this are either:

1. I lost the weight unhealthily, so it was not something I could really keep up in the long run.

2. I lost the weight without trying, therefore I was not prepared to maintain it. I have problems w/ my thyroid, so sometimes it will just go berserk, and I will shed pounds left and right cuz my metabolism is so amped up, while eating pizza and beer every day lol. (Man... those were good times LOL )

I think the solution for me is to 1. Go about this healthily and gradually, by making better overall decisions about my food and exercise, and 2. realize that if I want to maintain my weight, I have to keep putting in the time and effort. I don't get to stop eating well and exercising just because I saw that magic number on the scale!

I have totally done that before ....the magic number....or at least one that is good enough!

ARG!! I so just wrote out this detailed response and I flipping hit the wrong button and deleted everything. I was trying to be cool like you and do it on my BB. I'm so lacking in your skills lol. I have to go back to work but I'll write it again after school!

Great Thread!

I was at 150- 15 pounds from goal. My reason for stopping

1. Met my husband and got cozy- hanging out with him was way more appealing than going to the gym

2. Quit being a personal trainer- not enough money- and started working where people bring in crap food all day long, instead of healthy snacks.

3. Got lazy- when it gets down to it, it was easier to sit at home on the couch, eating take out with my husband

Solutions
1. Realizing I'm not doing my husband or myself any good by being unhealthy. Yes, spending time with him is lovely, but an hour away isn't so bad and I'm a better person to be around when I feel good about myself.

2. Realizing that just because a brownie is at the office doesn't mean I have to eat it.

3. Working out maybe not be easy, but neither is being fat so I should chose the workout

Great thread!

My closest to goal was when I was 170 (10 lbs away).

Reasons why I never reached goal:
- I wasn't actually trying to lose weight. Just stress and nerves that made it almost impossible to eat.
- Consistent exercise was too much work. (lazy)
- Believed in quick fixes, fads, and gimmicks rather than the tried and true excercise + eating right

Solutions:
- More knowledge about food. Looking at what calories and nutrients the body needs to run the most efficiently and effectively no matter what stresses are going on in life. No more easy way out with sodium packed pre-made foods and scary diet techniques.
- At least 30 minutes of some form of exercise or activity every day.
- Improving the mental side of it all. Appreciate what I have accomplished, feel good about myself along the way, and truly get my head around the fact that this is a lifetime commitment. Losing weight isn't what you "can't eat", it's about the foods that make you feel the best about yourself.

This time is the one! I will succeed. I can feel it!

Great question!

The first time I got to goal, I don't know, I just wasn't in a good place somehow and being thinner wasn't the cure-all for my life I'd expected it to be. That was around 1983.

The last time I got to 16lbs off goal, got to 136 from 242. Life was a lot better then, so frankly being thinner was the only icing my cake needed. I think part of the problem was that I lost most of the weight just by portion control and walking. That was in October 2004. I went on holiday with my long-term platonic friend and it was wonderful, for the first time in my life, literally, I felt free, free from worrying about aeroplane seats, people looking at the fat chic etc etc etc.

Now, you'd think that was a life-style change that was sustainable in perpetuity, wouldn't you? but in fact because it had become so automatic to eat small portions, in my head it was 'eating what I like'. I didn't gorge on holiday but I didn't count either calories or portions. I was a few pounds up when I came back but everything still fit. And then one day they didn't. Honestly, it seemed as gradual as that, no gradual realization, just one day I was so fat I might as well eat a bit more. Oh, I will try and not do that again!

Solution:
This is why I keep asking questions about body function and nutrition and how fat is lost. I am calorie counting and trying make myself understand the weightloss process, and deliberately making myself stick to a plan, so that in the future I'll know what plan to stick to.

That's so funny. LOL

I am glad you ladies are responding because reading your posts are so insightful and I don't feel like the only who hasn't finished the race.

why not before: lost 20 some pounds without exercising. without really learning about eating healthy. went back to college and figured i could eat whatever i wanted and gained all 20 back up to 185 and then some...up to 195

2nd try: WW definitely worked. went from 190 to 179 and then fell off due to a bad break up. stopped working out stopped caring about myself and ate horribly to feel better about what was going on in my personal life. didnt realize i would gain all the weight back in 5 months plus ten pounds to 213 or so.


why it will work now:

i have learned so much through research and from this website. i know how exercise and food works and what it does to your body. i want to be a healthy example for my nieces. i am committed to my health not just a number or a dress. i will NEVER let anyone else stop me from reaching my goals and taking care of myself. EVER!
this is the time when it will last.

I got so close... 4 lbs from my first goal. I never made it probably because I began to feel so good. I got so many compliments. Because I had better self confidence I had a better social life which included going out to eat and drinking, and new boys who didn't want to work out and rather wanted to eat take out and watch a movie. I didn't have the will power at that time to say no to delicious food. I felt resentful that I had done all that work and I still couldn't eat and play like a "normal" person.

I don't have any solutions yet. I just gotta not do that. Exercise is key for me too... I find it much easier to maintain when I'm working out no matter what i'm eating.

For me I didn't believe in myself. I would see thinner women and the pretty clothes and see people being active and confident. (It isn't much fun to go for a hike when you are worried how chunky your legs appear in hiking boots and the sweat is beading on your forehead from being out of shape.) I would tell myself I was big-boned or that the weight charts were ridiculous. I wouldn't really make a goal either. I would also engage in behavior that was external by nature. I lost a few pounds because I had a walking group but then the group fell apart. I was reliant on external factors to make it happen.

This time it is all about me. I don't wait on anyone to exercise with me. I don't wait until my hubby is town. I don't do xyz instead of doing for me. My exercise, proper nutrition and sleep all come before anyone or anything in my life. I guess on some level I wouldn't allow myself to live that way before--in fact, I would have been embarrassed to admit it. I would receive birthday money and come home with packages for my children. LOL, I don't have that issue anymore.

I feel much more balanced living my life this way. I feel like I have reached a place of contentment. So much has just kind of fallen into place since I started taking care of me.

[QUOTE= My exercise, proper nutrition and sleep all come before anyone or anything in my life. I guess on some level I wouldn't allow myself to live that way before--in fact, I would have been embarrassed to admit it. I would receive birthday money and come home with packages for my children. LOL, I don't have that issue anymore. QUOTE]

Oh- This is SO me- I don't have children, but I used to put everyone else's needs before mine. My husband, my family, my friends, even my cat I always went out when they wanted to, or met up around their schedules. Now I know I have to put myself first, or else I'm not as fun to be around

I'm so grateful to have this lesson under my belt before we start having kiddos

I totally relied on external factors (walking buddy) up until recently when I realized this is for me!!! I was embarassed to be selfish for myself also. But now I am not and I am realizing I am no good to others if I myself is unhealthy (physically and metally)

Tigar - Heck yea. Getting comfortable is definitely a problem for me. Getting compliments and hanging out more. I have balance that life and incorporate being healthy 90 percent of the time. And I wil!!!

Bejewel - Oh baby, I absolutely love love love your new pic!

I've never been close to goal, because I've never tried. I always felt my weight wasn't really a problem, that I didn't care. I was the smart, funny nice, fat girl and all those other pluses made up for the minus.

I will succeed because I can't kid myself into believing that I don't care anymore. I want to be healthy, I want to be gorgeous. I won't turn back. I'm committed to the exercise and the healthy eating. It's something I've been doing for almost a year now, and I feel that I can continue this for the rest of my life.

1.) I've never had a goal, so I could never work for something. I did great working out, but when I stopped I didn't care.

2.) I had 2 jobs and worked from 6am - 10pm. This creates no sleep, bad eating habits, and absolutely no exercise. My 2nd job was costco, so pizza for dinner just about ALWAYS!

3.) I've always let other people get in my way, mostly my boyfriends. If they are healthy concious, why should I be? If they drink beer all day, why can't I? If they don't go to school, why do I, or it's ok for me to ditch!


Not anymore! My boyfriend was already on WW when we started talking...He is going through a divorce, and it sounds silly, but both us were going through BAD break ups and we just took a chance on each other. BEST thing evar, we're approaching a year, the divorce isn't final but it will be soon! Anyway, i was working out, but didn't really have a goal, he showed me this site, and i was like Brilliant, how cool is this. I knew I should set goals, but never did, I've been eating healthy for years now, but I always indulged too! I'm making 130 my goal for July 3rd weigh-in, only because I weigh-in on Friday's. On July 8th, we fly to ClearwaterBeach, FL for one of his friends weddings and I will be at goal and WILL be on that beach with no shame, and possibly even not wear shorts, I've pretty much never done that! Then when I get back, it will be less than month before i turn 30, and I will be a healthy 30 year old, and will be that way forEVAR!