I thought that I would share a little about how my thoughts / psychology went when I managed to finally lose weight. I was successful in doing so in my twenties and that was a very long time ago – and the weight has stayed off, thankfully. Anyhow, I hope that this tale will be insightful and helpful to people.

Please note that I am relating my own experience and I am certainly not saying that any of this applies to anyone else.

I became overweight in my teenage years and I really liked myself less and less over time. I had developed quite a negative perception of myself by my mid-twenties. I was also fairly drained by the efforts I had made in order to lose weight.

I stood back and tried to look at my thoughts and actions from the outside. Very briefly, I noticed various patterns in my thoughts/behaviors:

- I would eat as a form of entertainment when I was bored, even if I was not healthy.
- The only reward that I ever gave myself was food.
- I would feel down about being overweight and I would eat to take my mind off it.
- I would eat so much that I would fall asleep and generally feel so tired that I would not make the effort to try to do any exercise.

Ultimately, I dealt with each of these issues

My main point is that I found it hugely important to find out where I was now, what I was doing and then tackle each issue. It’s a little like saying that you have to know where you are on the map before you can chart a course to your destination.

I hope that this is of some use to somebody somewhere.

John, that was a great post. I relate to those issues however I still don't stop the habits. I do know it's all in the mind. I do make an effort but fall into eating food that is not conducive to weight loss. I am going to keep trying because every day is a new day. Thanks again for sharing and congrats to you with all your success.

Keep at it, Tamry! It's always worth looking for healthy recipes and to spend just a little time on planning the week's meals ahead of time. Try to think of other rewards apart from food!