[Wheresmychin]

I have been a yo- yo dieter for many years and always seem to be obsessed with my diet for the first few weeks (which I call the honeymoon phase) but then I always seem to sabotage myself and fall completely off the wagon.

How do I ensure that I persevere this time around?

[mirax3]

Tell yourself that this is not just a diet but a commitment to a new lifestyle. Think about the fact that adopting this new, healthy lifestyle could increase your longevity and quality of life. If you have children or family, remind yourself that you are also doing this for them as you want them to see you at your best.

Bottom line is that if you think of this as just a diet you are bound to fail. I learned that the hard way but I have since adopted a healthy lifestyle that I love and will never give up!

Good luck, you got this!

[LaurieDawn]

I'm actually working on figuring that out for myself. Don't know if I've found the solution, but here are the things that I am trying to tell myself that are helping right now. (I'm about week 6.)

1. I'm not a fat person who diets sometimes. I am a thin person who keeps making choices that make me fat. I don't need to change myself. I need to be true to myself.

2. I don't have to be perfect. Ever. But I like to see the scale move downward. And I know that if I commit to weighing each week, I will be motivated to watch that scale move. 249 is exciting for me, but not where I want to end up.

3. I love being fit. And I don't need to be skinny to be fit. I love being in control of my food, and I am not in control when I do not have a specific plan.

Good luck! My long-term goal is to hang around here and make progress. I'm hoping that will be more productive than saying I want to lose 100 pounds in a year. I can make sure I show up tomorrow. I cannot guarantee anything that will happen in a year.

[Jackie W]

I agree with mirax. It helps me to think of it as a lifestyle change.

[Meka150]

For me it has to be a lifestle change i never lasted on a diet for more than a couple weeks. Because I denied myself of everything. This time I have a plan but I allow myself to have a couple treat days a month. And its not a cheat day its treat meal. Just because i have one meal doesn't mean i should use that as an excuse to go totally off plan. I'm 4 months in and down close to 50lbs. I've seen so many changes in myself and I'm excited about continuing to see more.

[westcoast rosa]

I have been viewing it as a lifestyle change as well and noting how amazing I feel when I treat my body well.

I found an activity that I love to do and can easily measure my progress (running) and to stay motivated I have registered for an 8k in October. After that, I plan to keep registering for races so I am working toward a healthy goal, not just a number on a scale.

You can do it!!

[kaplods]

I'm also a "honeymooner," though I call it "Weight loss Attention Deficit Disorder."

I've learned to use this tendency to my advantage - or at least minimize the damage of this tendency, by keeping my weight loss plan flexible and interesting.

In essence, when I start to get bored, I add some new element to my weight loss plan, or even revamp my plan altogether.

To some degree I've done this all of my life, except I would always give myself a "vacation period" between plans. And I'd gain weight during that vacation period, so I wasn't just always starting a new diet plan, I was "starting over" because of that "vacation" period.

So now I just don't give myself vacations between plans. When I get tired of one plan, I'll tweak it, or even revamp it entirely.

For consistency, any way of eating that I want to try, I convert into an 1800 calorie exchange plan.

During the 105 lb weight loss, I have changed or tweaked my eating and exercise plan dozens of times. I've taken my inspiration for food choices from a dozen plans or more - Atkins, South Beach, Neanderthin, Primal Blueprint, Volumetrics, The Zone, The Duke Diet, old Weight Watcher's plans...

I also give myself incentives for meeting weight loss goals (I don't do time-based goals though because I always find those unbearably frustrating, especially if I don't lose quite what I'd planned for. If I miss my weight loss deadline by just a few days or pounds, I see the huge failure not the partial success).

Right now, for every five pouns I lose, I add a bead or charm for a "weight loss" bracelet (a cheapy version of the Pandora jewelry, I get the beads at Michael's or JoAnn Fabric).

I've also considered copying a trick I saw someone talk about here. Using two glass bowls or jars filled with small pretty stones. Each stone represents one pound and one jar contains the stones representing pounds that I've lost, and the other jar containing stones representing pounds left to lose. When you lose a pound you move a stone from the "to lose" jar and move it to the "have lost" jar. If you gain a pound, you do the reverse.

I find it very helpful to make weight loss "tangible" and interesting. Joining TOPS (take off pounds sensibly) has been very helpful as well, not only for the support, but also for seeing that almost everyone else who's trying to lose weight is having mostly the same struggles. If I gain or don't lose one week or several, I'm not "doomed to fail." Some of the most successful people I've seen at my meetings have had ups and downs and slow and not-so-slow patches. The 1 lb every week losses are mostly myth. Most folks see a lot more ups and downs as they get to goal. Seeing this (not just knowing about it) really helps me stay focused...

... but when I get bored (and I always do) I think up some way to make it interesting.