[Aclai4067]

Elladorine- Those 220s are a b****, aren't they? That seems to be where I always lose it as well. I'm trying not to focus that far ahead right now. One mini-goal at a time. But it definitely crosses my mind often: "will I be able to beat the 220s this time around?"

[QuilterInVA]

If you think you won't reach your goal and/or be able to maintain it, you won't. You set yourself up for failure when you do that. Maintenance is just a continuation of the lifestyle/eating changes you made to lose weight with added calories of nutritious food. If you embrace change and see it as a good thing leading to reaching your goals, it becomes a lot easier.

[Desiderata]

GG - I really relate to an undercurrent in your post, about not trusting yourself to get below a certain weight. When I started again last year, I didn't even really pick a goal weight. It seemed too abstract, too unreal. It's not just that I couldn't imagine myself at a lower weight than I'd been since childhood - it's that there was a very real trust deficit in myself.

I never did figure out how to overcome it, except to believe that the longer I stay at a low weight, the more I'll see it's true -- I really can weigh less. I've learned, and I've got a ton of knowledge and experience now. I can trust myself. If you can throw yourself into the WL and just trust that the perspective will come, I think it's OK that you can't fully see yourself at goal yet. Don't try. Just do what you know you need to do.

Of course, I haven't made it to goal yet either, so what do I know. I got burnt out, took a 6 month diet break, and now can't seem to muster the will to get back on. But the fact that I'm still in the 140s (err, these days, just barely) has been incredible for making me believe in myself. And I realized there is no real end goal to be sprinting towards. I want to go lower still, but it's OK if it's not right now -- the effort never ends.

Edit - after posting, I remembered that today's the day, and you probably have other things on your mind! Hope your delivery goes smoothly and that you have as easy a recovery as possible! Good luck!

[kaplods]

I've learned to focus on and celebrate my successes, even when the success is not gaining today.

I used to see a lot more failure than success and it was so discouraging that I would give up (which is the only true failure).

I stumble a lot, but I keep reminding myself that stumbling and even falling flat is only failure if I don't pick myself up.

When I start to worry that I won't reach my ultimate goal, I remind myself that I don't need to worry about the ultimate destination, I just need to work on the next footstep, and do I want that one step to be closer or further from my ultimate goal.

If you've got "the map" and are on the path that will get you there, you only have to consider the next step.

Celebrate the successes, no matter how small and celebrate the journey and each of steps you have taken.

Whether or not you ever get to a specific destination isn't as important as making progress, even if the progress is standing still rather than backsliding. Even backsliding can be success if you're able so slow the fall in comparison to your old pattern.

I recently regained some weight, but I gained slower and stopped myself sooner than I would have in the past (when a gain would have inspired me to say "screw it" and I'd have rapidly gained it back only to start over heavier than I started).

Saying, "I failed, but it could be worse," is better than saying "I failed again. I'll never succeed," but it's even better to say, "I have succeeded in preventing the situation from being worse, and today I will succeed in making the situation better - I will move in the direction I want to go."

[runningfromfat]

You know, I felt the same way for awhile. We're the same height and my original goal was 140lbs. However, I got to 156lbs and I couldn't even lose that last pound to make it into the "healthy" category. That being said with weight training I was really happy with my body, I wore the type of clothes I wanted and at some point I just realized I was at goal.

Sure, maybe I could have pushed myself over my comfort zone to get to 140lbs but after already losing 80lbs and being able to maintain 156lbs, what was the point? Besides throughout most of my college years I was around 155lbs without any effort so it seems to be a happy weight for my body.

Like you I'm looking to lose the baby weight, so I have around 30lbs to get back to my pre-pregnancy body. For some reason I keep hoping to see at least 155lbs on the scale but my life isn't over if I never see it. Nobody knows what that scale says unless I tell them and I was surprised to hear from so many women that I was "really thin" prepregnancy. I never mentally put myself in that category but even though the scale might not put me in the healthy category I was healthy by ever medical test so I just need to move past the lower number..

ETA: and I absolutely DON'T see that as failing at weight loss (or what you've done as failing either!!). Be happy with 160lbs! There are so many women who would love to be that weight at your height. Why not work on body recomposition more once you get there than worry about the number?