My Aha moment was when I started to seriously look into lapband surgery. I did a lot of research and finally took a little quiz on the lapband website to test if you were ready or not. When I read that you had to be ready to only eat 1/4 cup of food at a sitting and I took out 1/4 cup and looked at it, I decided that weight loss surgery was no longer an option for me.

Once I had taken away my back up plan it motivated me to start making life changes. I started slowly just focusing on learning appropriate portion sizes. Then I taught myself to only eat when hungry by asking myself every time I went to eat if I was hungry or if it was something else. After 2 weeks of pretty rigorous monitoring and self-checking I learned to be more attuned to my body and relearned what hunger is.

After that had been going well (I wasn't weighing at all, didn't even have a scale) and my clothes seemed slightly looser I was encouraged and kept looking for new things to change. I found 3FC and someone mentioned the Daily Plate. I started using it to track my food and plugged in my stats and let it tell me how many calories to eat.

By tracking my foods I've found foods that are worth spending calories on and foods that aren't. It's a lot about personal preference. I like bulk so I eat apples now instead of chips or crackers, spinach salads instead of hamburgers, etc. I look at my calories as my daily budget. Daily Plate gives me my budget and I spend it any way I want.

Anyhow the biggest trigger for me was standing in my kitchen staring at a 1/4 cup and thinking "I don't WANT to live on that much food!"

This was my Ah-ha moment too.

Like most people I started slow. Just by walking and then I calorie counting and so on and so on.

Just take it one step at a time, if you have a bad day. It was just a day dont let it ruin your week.

And Congrats on 26 lbs that is something to be really proud of!

The final straw for me was seeing myself in a picture from last xmas eve. I didn't see myself getting that big and it disgusted me. I starting the very next day in small steps but I allowed myself ice cream one more time and a few small treats. After losing 20 lbs., I started to allow myself small treats. My key to maintenance is not depriving myself of anything. If I want ice cream, I have it but not every night... maybe once every couple of weeks. If I want french fries, I have them but not everyday... maybe once every couple of weeks.

You will eventually find your niche again BUT be proud of what you have accomplished so far...26 pounds is AWESOME!! Remember, maintain is half the battle... if you are maintaing your lose... KUDOS TO YOU!!

Thank you all,



Susan: I should be more specific, sorry. Those 23 lbs were lost awhile back. I've been this weight for well over a year or so now. So it's been getting back to losing that's not been working.

I have PCOS and have read lowering carbs can help. I need to come up with a good menu/plan. AND stop the excuses. It has been a constant issue in my mind and that seems to be a good thing. I know I need to DO something and not just want to wake up thin. I need to get to work.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Andrea

What was the final straw that put you there?
When my mom died when i was 30 weeks pregnant at the age of 52 from a heart attack it was a slap in the face. I still didnt do much about it but since having my son it has motivated me no end. I want to live to see my child grow up and have grandkids. Women in my family die young from heart related things and I hope to not be one of them

What kept you going after several days of doing this and not seeing immediate results? When did you have an ah-ha moment that got you through the beginning to push through?

Knowing that I didnt gain this overnight and sure as heck wont loose it over night. I set myself mini goals every 3 months so Im motivated to reach those goals. For me it helps to break it into smaller increments.

Did you go for it all at once, diet and exercise? Did you ease into it, losing some weight with calorie control and then add exercise?

I joined a gym Oct 15th. 5 days later I started calorie counting. Now its like second nature to me. I go to the gym 4-5 days per week and write down everything that goes into my mouth. So far its working great for me!

You have to find something to be your motivator. A person, a pair of pants something so when you start feeling like you cant you can call them or look at the pants or whatever and remember why your doing this in the first place.

Good luck!

Hey there,

I am new to posting and all and I tried to read through your profile and messages to see how many calories you were consuming a day? Is it not enough? I have been using the Fit Day guidelines and that seems to help. I also try to fit in some kind of small indulgence per day. I have been testing it so far this week and it has helped.

Plus if you do exercise, meaning if you have time for it. You are permitted to consume those in addition to what you are allowed to consume each day I believe.