Hello everybody,im new to this site.It was recommended by a friend.I would like to introduce myself,and tell you a little about me.My name is Kim,i am 45.Four years ago,weighing 260 pounds i found the atkins WOL,lost 120 pounds,got down to a size6/8.This past year i have gained back 80 pounds of that very hard earned weight loss
Two weeks ago i finally decided i had had enough once again.I have lost 15 pounds in this 2 week period and intend to get all the way back to my goal weight of 140,if it kills me!!!!
My question is,are there any others of you on this board that have lost a large amount of weight only to gain it back?What plan did you use,how are you going about losing it this time around.TIA for all your advice.Im looking forward to getting to know you all.I havent had much of a chance to look the board over yet,but i intend to ASAP.Nice to meet you all~KIM
Well, I lost 30 pounds and to me that was a huge amount...and gained half of it back. I'm just starting fresh and working on getting back to being healthy. Try, try again...and one day at a time!!
Kim, I've lost enough weight to make many people over and over again in my lifetime.
I started Atkins in November 2000 and went from 390 to 230. Then I quit and went to Weight Watchers instead. I gained 50 lbs back and got back up to 280. Then I started again in May and I'm back down to 248. My weight has fluctuated so much over the past 20 years, it's not even funny.
This time, I'm not looking at it as a destination, but a journey instead. I'm in the mode of I have to do this for the rest of my life, not just until I lose the weight. When I get to goal, I'm not done and can just sit back and rest on my laurels. Getting to a specific weight is not the goal - being healthy and learning a lifetime of good eating habits is.
Thanks everyone,i love reading about everybody else,how they lost,gained,relost.What it takes to maintain.I managed to maintain my 120 pound weight loss for almost 2 years.It was a constant struggle.Once i cheated i had a hard hard time getting back ont rack.I hated the deprivation factor.And i would binge.
This time i intend to be much more carefull.Im not sure exactly what i intend to do different but one thing is for sure.I will exercise EVERY day,no matter what,and more on the days that i overeat.For me,that will be key.
I have this all or nothing mentality.If i screw up and over eat or eat stuff i shouldnt,i give up ont he exercsie as well.No more of that!I have to do just as you stated(Susan hockeyfan)make permanant changes.I know i will have bad days,but i have learned alot this past 4 years.And the one thing i know for sure above ALL else is...i like being skinny..i like wearing size 6's...i HSATE being big and i hate plus size clothes.
I'm mostly a lurker here and through that I have found some great recipes and great advice. In 2000 I went on Atkins and was 10-15 lbs. from goal and found out I was pregnant. Of course I gained everything back plus some. Last year I went on Weight Watchers core program and lost about 50 but was always thinking about food and what I couldn't have and went off the program and gained everything back. So here I am again. I really feel better doing LC and I am going to have to realize that this way of eating is not temporary--it will have to be for a lifetime. The only thing I am doing different this time is trying new recipes and the new products (or "new to me") like carbquick. Things like that make me think I can do this long-term. It is not a temporary fix. I will have to make this work for me for a lifetime.
Kim, what I'm going to do different is to be good to myself. To love myself at every weight, to set small goals for losing, and to celebrate success wherever I find it, even if it is only in not gaining back what I lost.
You might want to aim to lose it a little more slowly this time. I know you are like a rocket when it comes to what you want! Maybe going down a little at a time will make you feel less deprived, and will get you used to maintainance before you get there.
I think the positive feedback we get from losing the weight (from ourselves, our family and friends) is wonderful, but then you get there and what are you going to do for an encore? Somehow the "thrill" is gone. Just keeping that number from rising out of control isn't as exciting as the losing was.
Plus it is too easy to ignore the process. I for one am planning to weigh every day for the rest of my life. If I gain more than 5 pounds I'm going back on plan from wherever I am.
For me what is different this time is that I want the whole thing to be fun, and to stay fun. It didn't before. I found that I was hating myself all the time because I couldn't do better or be better at it. When the fun of it is gone, it is hard to stay on track.
That is why I gave up and started eating "normally" again. At first that eating higher carb foods, just didn't feel right. I remember that. It was like "what are you doing, you aren't supposed to eat this way!" I ignored that voice. I won't ignore it this time. This is meant to be forever. It will be.
The other thing I'm going to spend some time doing is making new associations in my mind. For me chocolate has always been something I look at with pleasant associations. Just seeing certain kinds of chocolate has made my mind get a pleasurable sensation as though I were already eating it. Just recently I decided that has to GO. Chocolate is what got me to nearly 300 pounds, from a slim and lovely teenager. (yes it took years, slow poison). To me chocolate is now something I associate with bulging fat tummies.
Introduction&Question
~KIM
