last year i joined 3fc becos my son was getting married and i was so proud of the massive effort and the great results i had,but we travelled to poland for the wedding and i hate half of the country. the wedding was almost a year ago and i have not managed to get back on track, so not only did i gain the weight i lost but i've managed to find a lot more pounds to keep them company.for the best part of twenty years i've been dieting and hungery.so why do i keep punishing my body by losing weight and then putting it back on??? ineed motivation and all the support i can get,i have arthritis and am really feeling it these days, so i a woman on a new mission,my son graduates in august and i would love to be 2 dress sizes smaller so here we go again

Ann, it seems to me that losing the weight for an event, like your one son's wedding and now your other son's graduation, isn't working for you. Because the event comes, and when it passes, all **** breaks loose. I think you need to find longer-term motivation, something that will stick with you day in and day out, without leaving you. You touched on it in your other post, maybe it's your soon-to-be grandchild and wanting to be a fitter, healthier grandmother so you can enjoy your time with him.

I suggest that you find an eating plan and an exercise plan that you can stick with in the long term, and then start taking baby steps to adopting a new lifestyle. The rewards may come more slowly, but hopefully will be longer lasting.

Good luck to you!

I totally agree that the weight loss shouldn't be just for an event, although it is a good place to start. I want to lose weight to look better in my clothes, but my bigger goal is to feel better because this added weight is causing more pain in my hips (osteoarthritis).

Hi Ann, i agree with Heidi and Iyv too, but if you've got the motivation right now for whatever reason, use it.
You can think about the longer term motivation later.

Good luck with this being your last ever diet!

I can't speak for everyone, but I've found in the past that two things were a great help in keeping good eating habits.

1) Not treating myself to trouble foods at all or if I had some only a bite or two and not often. If I'm not comfortable taking one bite and throwing the rest away for fear of wasting it I'm too attached to it. I get a strong addiction to processed carbs, but if I haven't eaten them for a week or so I do stop craving them. Treating myself at a special occasion reintroduces the addiction and I have to withstand serious cravings again. I just have to accept there are certain foods I can not eat.

2) I do much better eating right if I'm exercising regularly. I crave food when I'm feeling depleted of physical or emotional energy, but exercise does a much better job at fixing both.

The best motivation I've found for keeping going is how good I feel and the physical goals I find myself accomplishing. It's a wonderful feeling when you keep active and discover you can do more today than you could a week ago. It's something more powerful than a number on a scale.

I agree with other posters about finding some meaningful long-term reasons to keep the weight off, and using whatever motivation you have to do the "right thing" right now. In addition, through Weight Watchers, I learned many strategies for making better choices even when I'm not dieting (e.g., even the unhealthiest restaurant meal is better if you eat only 1/2 of the starch and the protein components, but eat all of the vegetable). I think that, if you haven't already done a plan like WW in the past (and maybe even if you have), joining one for at least a few months can teach you a lot about strategies for long-term food control.

Don't create a goal "to be down 2 dress sizes by son's graduation" because you will meet that goal and stop. You need to work "through the goal." Example: I will be down 2 dress sizes by son's graduation and then continue to eat healthy afterwards to lose 10 lbs by October."

Constantly setting goals for yourself is a good thing.

I concur.....and have some things to add/ask

Why do you really want to lose weight? I imagine it really is not to look better for a one day event. In fact I bet it is not even just so other people notice you look better.

To make this work I feel my motivation needs to be for my health and my happiness......never for anyone else, and the LOOKS of it all is just an added bonus.

I have tried to lose for a function, lose for an outfit, lose for a holiday........but those are not life long motivators, hense the reason I did not make changes to my lifestyle that will benifit my health for the rest of my life......and thats why I am right back where I started.