I meant to say:

Gina B, your post is so informative and excellent. I love your approach.

D

I lost 200 pounds and maintained it for 24 years. I gained 30 pounds when my metabolism went south and I developed Hashimoto's Thyroditis. I've been working on getting that off and it's coming slowly.

The biggest fallacy I see perpetuated time and again in these posts is WW advocates eating anything you want withing your points. WRONG WRONG WRONG. WW advocates a healthy eating plan within your points as laid out in the week 6 booklet "The Right Mix."

I have worked with a nutritionist and been eating more protein and fewer carbs. I have a little protein or fat with each of my 5 small meals/snacks per day.

Does it get easier - maybe I'm more aware but I don't crave the "BAD" stuff and find myself wanting to snack on veggies rather than chocolate. I still journal every bite I take before I eat it, even if I'm having a bad day. Once or twice a month I weigh everything for a day or two to make sure my portion sizes are creeping up. Obesity is like a disease - you have to fight it constantly. Even thin people don't eat everything as much as they want. Watch how the eat...a bite and then they leave the rest.

My doctor told me to never to more exercise than I was willing to do the rest of my life - I walk 20 minutes 7 days a week. It works. Excessive exercise cannot be maintained forever.

Diamonda - to your point about all or nothing - I completely agree. My most frequent cause of failure has been the all or nothing approach, so that I am either on, or OFF in a big way, the diet. WW is a slow process, but you can afford to have off days and then get back at it. One of the things that one of the WW leaders said that really stuck with me was "If you break one glass in your cupboard, do you feel you have to go back and break them all?" Yet this has constantly been my weightloss downfall - failing for one or two days and then feeling I should give up - it's hopeless. I'm hoping to hang on to this thought this time so that if I want to enjoy dinner out or a snack or whatever, it doesn't mean I should give up entirely.

Oh, shoot. I just deleted what I had written! Well anyway, I had to jump in even though I haven't lost 100 pounds yet. I've a ways to go to reach my goal of 160 pounds total, but I have my eyes on the prize, I will get there, and I am dedicated to staying there forever. This thread has been an inspiration.

I keep nodding my head in agreement. YES, you need to lose weight in a way that you can sustain it for life. YES, you have to pick yourself up and get back on after you've gone off program -- no matter what!

I have approached this process this time around as a total experiment -- seeing what works for me, and what doesn't, giving myself room to make mistakes. This is key. I also have break days, where I am not quite so careful about what I do. As I go along, I find that even on those days I don't go as overboard as I used to. It does slow things down a little, but if that's what it takes to be able to accomplish this, then let it take two or three years! (Though, I think if I continue on as I have, I can do this in a year and a few months.)

I've only been at this for just over four months, but even that is amazing to me. I can truly say that I don't want to go back to my old ways, that eating well has gotten easier, that I enjoy exercise. I have heard the stories of people losing lots of weight and then gaining it all back (I've done a few times myself!), but I just have a gut feeling that that will not happen to me this time. I know that it will never be easy and that I will always have to work at it, but that is OK with me. I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment.

Kudos to all of you for your achievements and dedication. I hope to join you in the 100+ club in a few more months! Thanks for the inspiration. BRAVO!

Good morning all! I can't believe I haven't found this thread before this morning!
Here's my story. I am 40 years old and for the first time in my life, I am living a healthy, thin lifestyle. I had lost 125 pounds on WW after my daughter was born 10 years ago and maintained it for about 30 seconds. Seriously, I think there's a pair of pants that fit one day, went in the wash, and then I never was able to get them on again (and I don't even use the dryer!!). After ballooning once again up to 250 pounds, I had a long talk with myself at the end of 2000. I thought about what worked for me with WW (being accountable) and what didn't (not enough protein) and I developed my own eating plan. I was immediately successful and lost 50 pounds within 6 months. But, that's when the fun started. That's when I started walking every morning. It's been almost 2 years since I started walking and I have mainted my 103 pound weight loss for 6 months--SOMETHING I HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE!!
I treat my body so much differently than I used to. My husband laughs at me when I say "this body doesn't eat that", but it works for me.
I need to give my husband a lot of credit. He has loved me at every weight and always tells me that "It's only a number. It's how you feel that counts." He is so supportive and even though I didn't do it for him, I couldn't have done it without him.
While reading all these posts, I sat here shaking my head up and down. I was a sneaky eater, a binge eater, and over eater, you name it. I don't know what exactly clicked in my head, but I have had a lot of motivators along the way. I am an 8th grade teacher and three years ago, out of 16 girls in my class, 4 of them were over 200 pounds. That made me so sad. I always knew I had a moral obligation to be a healthy mom, but I decided I needed to be a healthy role model for my students.
I absolutely LOVE being a size 8. I have to admit I look alot better with clothes on than without, but I will still wear the two piece bathing suit my husband gave me for my 40th birthday. My motto has become "40 and fabulous!"
I am loving being fit. Someone commented to me the other day that I am always bending down to pick up things that others have dropped. I thought in my head how great it was to be ABLE to bend down! I have started to run a little bit and now I know what they mean when they talk about the 'runner's high'. I feel wonderfully healthy after a run! I also started doing karate aerobics and have recently been putting a lot of effort into my abs. My husband said I shouldn't go through any metal detectors because I have abs of steel!!
Maintenance is a lot harder than I ever thought it was. Perhaps that explains why I was never successful in the past! My key is to eat a low fat, high fiber diet and rely on the "PANTS O METER". The scale is not a friend of mine. Like others who have posted here, the scale tends to make me play nasty mind games with myself. I know my weight fluctuates within 5 pounds and if I feel it's up, I concentrate on eating "cleanly" for a few days and it goes right back down.
One thing I have done is talk to a lot of thin people about how they maintain their weight. Most times, I am shocked at how hard they work at it--I always assumed they were blessed by a higher God than I was!
I do eat whatever I want for dinner once a week. This week, it'll be a steak. But, I always order my dressing on the side and push the bread basket out of my reach. I also eat dessert every night. It might just be a rice cake or two, but I do allow myself a WW frozen treat if I want it. It really helps me to have that 150 or so calorie treat to look forward to.
Lastly, the health benefits!! I saw my regular doctor for the first time a few months ago. He was floored! He took the time to go through my chart with me and show me how many health issues I have eliminated just by loosing the weight. I had been to him for migraines, chest pain, acid relflux, leg pain and all those issues WERE GONE! What better gift to give myself.
Ladies (and gentlemen), if I can do this, anyone can. Sit down with yourself and have an honest talk about how to make it work. The only one that can do it is you.

Hello all!

I'm using my first post to say thanks to all of you for this thread. I have 140 pounds to lose so your posts really hit home with me. I was starting tomorrow anyway, but your experiences and stories give me a lot of hope. I figure I'll take what's worked best in all the other things I've tried, pitch the rest . . . and keep a sense of humor about it all.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration and hope. You all should have a mutual admiration club because you've done such terrific things!

Tryin'Hard -- what a great post!! I've still got such a ways to go to get to my goal but I'm already wondering how I'm going to maintain it. I've lost the weight before but it has crept back up several times in a matter of a year or so after I "stopped" the diet. I've been wondering what the calorie intake needs to be to maintain a 130 lb body?

One thing that I'm doing differently this time is writing everything down -- what I eat, how many calories, etc. I average my daily calories weekly and it's been around 1300 or so. I've been losing about 2 lbs. a week. I exercise 20 mins. on the treadmil 4 days a week and then do weights for 45 mins. 2 times a week. I figure I'm burning about 250 cals. a day with exercise.

Some of the immediate benefits I've noticed have been; No more heartburn---and I do mean it was becoming a BIG problem!! I have also brought my blood pressure down and should be off medication in a few months. I haven't had my blood work done again but it should be better. I don't have nearly as many headaches. I sleep much better. I have so much more energy during the day.

I think I'm going to have to keep up with the journaling after I reach my goal weight. If I know how much I'm exercising and how many calories I'm taking in (on average), then it follows that I should be able to find the approximate balance that allows me to maintain my weight loss. I sure do hope so...and I really do hope I don't have to eat less than 1200 cals. a day for the rest of my life. Something like 1500 - 1700 would be more like it. I'm 5'4" and 40 years old.

Do you mind sharing what your average cal. intake is? Also, I believe you are MUCH more active than I am. I wish I could do the running but I just can't...I'll walk as fast as I can though and then go over and do the solo-flex. The weights have been more of a struggle but 2 times a week is not too much to ask.

Thanks so much for sharing your success.

K.C.--thanks for responding to my post!
I eat about 1400 cal a day, but on my splurge day, it may be up to about 1700 - 1800. I am 5 ft 7 and wear a size eight.
Although I don't journal, I do plan my dinners for a week at a time. This really helps me have variety and prevents us from having pasta every night! My breakfasts and lunches are usually the same, so dinner is VERY important to me!
I am so glad you are benefitting health-wise from your weight loss journey! When I think that I used to plan my trips upstairs because it took so much energy, it makes me sick!
Continue your good work! You can do it!

*lol* I've only lost a little bit but I've been working out regularly, and the combination has made it so that I can now just bounce up and down the stairs a zillion times a day again. I *love* that.

Good for you, Raven Toy! You are on the right track!!

Tryin'Hard -- thanks for sharing the info. concerning your current calorie intake. I just had no clue what the "maintenance" would be like. Maybe it won't be too long till I get that stage!!