Hola Chicas .. people may not remember me here, I spent almost a year here & a year away. I won't give a sob story about how I fell off the weight loss wagon & lost my way. There has been so many things & changes that have happened in my life. I did slip quite a bit , more than I can innocently speak for, but I did not completely throw my lifestyle change out of the window. Even when I was screwing up royally, I did still keep the habit of counting & working out, thankfully. I haven't had any GAIN in my absence of being on this very supportive positive board, but I have also Lost a lot of the focus I once had with setting goals, being accountable, etc.
Well I decided , what the heck .. a new year, a new have at it. I know it's the BIGGEST cliche to make your new Year's resolution to Lose weight buttt it's as good as ANY.. So here's my reintroduction. I'm back for the first time. I hope that I can keep my focus & remain as diligent as I once was on here & away. I know that I can do this; I've done it before with great results. The good news is at least I'm not starting this COLD TURKEY; I have been doing things to lead up to this healthier change which ultimately can make it easier for me to adapt.
I'm a prodigal son I hope you chicks re-welcome me with open wings.
A year away with no gain - or heck even coming back with a huge gain isn't shameworthy, it's praiseworthy.
Losing and maintaing weight loss is a very difficult task, and the vast majority of people (at least those with more than a couple dozen pounds to lose) don't succeed. So acknowledge that in the weight management, you're still "in the lead," not straggling behind.
Personally, I think we'd see a lot more success if we stopped treating obesity and weight gain as a moral failing or lack of character. We treat it as if excess weight is so shameful that we have to "hide" it from others rather than reach for support when we need it most.
I've been here virtually every day for the last year, and I still lost no weight this year. I'm a little embarassed to say that, but I'm not ashamed of it. It's been a tough year in many ways, but even if it hadn't been, it still isn't something to be ashamed of. I didn't slap a baby. I didn't kick a puppy. I didn't even "fail," because I'm doing far better than most people in my situation.
I know the weight loss odds. Do you know how rare it is for someone over 300 lbs to even maintain a 20 lb weight loss for a year? You're succeeding, not failing.
Ok, so we both could have had even greater success if we had done more in the past year, but that doesn't diminish what we did accomplish.
Who can't say they could have done more, if they'd put more effort into any of their goals, but life is always a juggling act. Shh.... stuff happens. Life happens.
It's not an excuse, it's a reality. And once I realized that. Once I decided that I didn't deserve the shame I was heaping on myself, I was able to keep my focus and do the one thing I've never, ever done before in all my 42 years of dieting and 47 years of life and that is "not gaining."
And it's the lack of shame that has largely been responsible for that success. When I was ashamed of weight loss failures (even the tiniest of them), I would try to "hide" my "sins." I would avoid the places and people who might see my failure.
I don't hide any more. I still make a lot of mistakes. I fall down alot. I fall and jump off plan a lot, but what I don't do any more is give up or hide. I'm not ashamed of my difficulties with weight management and hunger management.
It's taken me more than seven years to lose the weight I have. Most people would call that shameful results, but I'm not ashamed. I'm proud, because I know how few men and women of my current and former size can even lay claim to "not gaining" in the past seven years.
Be proud of what you have accomplished, because I suspect that for most of us (definitely for me), pride in our accomplishments is a greater motivator than shame in our failures.
A year away with no gain - or heck even coming back with a huge gain isn't shameworthy, it's praiseworthy.
Losing and maintaing weight loss is a very difficult task, and the vast majority of people (at least those with more than a couple dozen pounds to lose) don't succeed. So acknowledge that in the weight management, you're still "in the lead," not straggling behind.
Personally, I think we'd see a lot more success if we stopped treating obesity and weight gain as a moral failing or lack of character. We treat it as if excess weight is so shameful that we have to "hide" it from others rather than reach for support when we need it most.
I've been here virtually every day for the last year, and I still lost no weight this year. I'm a little embarassed to say that, but I'm not ashamed of it. It's been a tough year in many ways, but even if it hadn't been, it still isn't something to be ashamed of. I didn't slap a baby. I didn't kick a puppy. I didn't even "fail," because I'm doing far better than most people in my situation.
I know the weight loss odds. Do you know how rare it is for someone over 300 lbs to even maintain a 20 lb weight loss for a year? You're succeeding, not failing.
Ok, so we both could have had even greater success if we had done more in the past year, but that doesn't diminish what we did accomplish.
Who can't say they could have done more, if they'd put more effort into any of their goals, but life is always a juggling act. Shh.... stuff happens. Life happens.
It's not an excuse, it's a reality. And once I realized that. Once I decided that I didn't deserve the shame I was heaping on myself, I was able to keep my focus and do the one thing I've never, ever done before in all my 42 years of dieting and 47 years of life and that is "not gaining."
And it's the lack of shame that has largely been responsible for that success. When I was ashamed of weight loss failures (even the tiniest of them), I would try to "hide" my "sins." I would avoid the places and people who might see my failure.
I don't hide any more. I still make a lot of mistakes. I fall down alot. I fall and jump off plan a lot, but what I don't do any more is give up or hide. I'm not ashamed of my difficulties with weight management and hunger management.
It's taken me more than seven years to lose the weight I have. Most people would call that shameful results, but I'm not ashamed. I'm proud, because I know how few men and women of my current and former size can even lay claim to "not gaining" in the past seven years.
Be proud of what you have accomplished, because I suspect that for most of us (definitely for me), pride in our accomplishments is a greater motivator than shame in our failures.
I appreciate your post & trust me I understand. Thank you for your words of love & encouragement, it really means a lot to me. It's always uplifiting to connect with people who are in or who have been in the same struggle. Meeting & talking to people who know the challenges & can give support & encouragement through the struggle make it easier & worth while. We can do this
I love Kaplods' response! It's so true. That's partially why I am putting snippets of my journey in my siggie.
Welcome back! Your journey is your own, and we all have our struggles -- weight and otherwise. We should be coming together in love, not in judgment or condemnation and if anyone does judge or condemn you -- especially on a support website -- it says a heck of a lot more about them than it does about you.
Im Back .. Shamefully
buttt it's as good as ANY.. So here's my reintroduction. I'm back for the first time. 
