Hey Northern -
When I was losing weight - i was doing it the way you described - kind of slowly - not beating myself up. Then that somehow spiraled out of control.

I think at some point I just get tired of reasoning with myself about NOT eating what you want to eat. At least I think that must have been what happened to me. I just got tired of having to think about it all the time. Having too many desires/etc. And so, though I still don't eat 3000 cals a day - I def eat about at my maintance/above (having gained a few pounds). But this then of course led to my now "guilty" thoughts. I think it's a thought that goes something like this "B, you lost 40 pounds in xyz days and now it is way more months than xyz - why didn't you stick with it...you'd be skinny by now" ok bygones be bygones. Time to join the challenges and be something sexy for halloween ;)

Yeah, I can certainly understand that. And you think about people who can eat whatever they want and not gain weight, and it seems so unfair. When I get into that mode of thinking, I try to tell myself "Ok, you're cursed with a crappy metabolism and a tendency to gain weight. Big deal. It's something you can control. At least you don't have ... (insert X, Y or Z here.)"

And you definitely can NOT get into the whole "oh, I'd be skinny by now if I had stuck with it" routine. I wish I had done this 10 years ago (well, actually I wish I wouldn't have let it get out of control in the first place...but that doesn't help me now either.) Instead, think "I'm going to start today. And 9 months from now I will be SO gald I did!"

Bida, I once went 14 weeks with no weight loss. I now consider it maintenance.
I was very busy doing other things and did not take the time to track what I ate. And I only gained 2 pounds during that time.
So it turned out O.K.

Now I list everything I eat on LoseIt.com. I like all the charts and other things they offer.
And it's all free.
My weight loss is sooo very slow. About 1 pound/week.

:snail:. . .:snail:. . .:snail:. . .:snail:. . .:snail:. . .:snail:

And I come here for support and challenges.
There is a 100 day challenge that just started. Maybe that one would help you stay on track.

:hug:

When you get to a plateau, think of it as a landing on the stairway to your goal.
And maintenance is a lifelong plateau,
so a bit of "rehearsal" for maintenance isn't the worst thing in the world.

OMG, I just realized how old the original post is, and now I feel dumb.

People will probably be glad you added to the thread, D. There is a lesson in every thread, no matter how old it is :hug: