Hello 2befree - and welcome to the group. I think you'll find some inspiration here.

I started WW at Thanksgiving and have lost 52 lbs. in that time. I'm very happy with myself and this time is the best I've ever done. The last time I weighed my current weight was approximately 1989. I have never had poor health, thank the Dear Lord, but it was time to do something before that happened. My sister and nephew are both diabetic and I didn't want that to happen to me. I started an At Work program with WW and paid for 2 sessions of meetings and now I'm continuing on without the meetings and I'm still doing just fine. I have my mind made up and feel so much better that there isn't even a choice for me. I'm going to do this - I am exactly half way to goal and I have no intentions of quitting now. Every month gets better and better.

I haven't been perfect on the WW plan but I have totally changed my way of eating and cooking. I cook way healthier than I used to for myself and for my husband. He still is a total junk food junkie and what he eats on his own is not my problem - it's not my day to babysit him. Most people are surprised when they hear that I'm older than my husband.

I guess it all boils down to what you are willing to do to achieve your goal. I'm not a believer in willpower - some days I have better days than others but they are only temporary and I've always been able to keep forging ahead. I used to be a size 22W and now I'm wearing a 16 regular and it sure does feel good to go into a dressing room and be able to wear cute clothes that look nice instead of buying things that "just work." These little victories and the comments from others keep me going and I am so much happier knowing I can do this.

Have a lot of talks with yourself - even if you have to say them out loud. Tell yourself you are worth it and I'm only sorry that I didn't develop the attitude I have now many, many years ago. Just never stop trying and some day, it will all work in your favor.

Good luck and keep us posted as to how you are doing.

DNR

Hi 2befree, You've gotten a TON of great advice. I was nodding my head in agreement with each post I read.

Something else I wanted to add: SELF-DISCIPLINE! I think people stop working their plans when they lose motivation. It becomes too easy to rationalize falling back into old behaviors.

I would say that achieving your professional status required some discipline on your part. I would say you likely hit a point in your postgrad studies when you did not feel like getting up to go to class, you did not feel like writing a thesis, you did not feel like listening to what some whacked out professor was ranting (no offense you you or Wyellen!)

What if you stopped doing what you were supposed to do because you didn't feel like it?

You wouldn't be a professor. You wouldn't be self-fulfilled in a career that has great meaning and that can support your precious children and offer tenure.

We have discipline in so many aspects of our lives. But when it comes to our health we listen to our inner-toddlers and pitch a mental fit because we don't feel like exercising. We want that 2000 calorie dessert and we deserve it!

Tough hooey! Exercise anyway. Stay on plan anyway (BTW, my plan is calorie awareness! So I do eat some stuff that other people wouldn't). Don't rely on motivation. Use some of that self-discipline! Do you expect more from your children and your students than from yourself?

The theme that pops out to me from all of these posts is that it seems like people have accepted that "this is the way it's going to be." My husband and I have been on South Beach for 4 weeks and we don't look at it as a "diet" anymore. This is just how we're going to eat! I have lost 14lbs and he has lost an amazing 27lbs! I got to the point of being so sick of the way my life was headed....sick of being fat....sick of being sick....and really sick of people asking me if I was going to have gastric bypass surgery (not that there's anything wrong with that!). I just knew it wasn't for me. So, hubby and I decided that we were going to change. We weren't going to "try" we were going to do it. No other option. And we've embraced it....we feel better....have much more energy...and are shrinking! The trade-off between the donut at work and all the benefits we've seen just simply isn't worth it! I've noticed I have more of a "long-term" mentality now, which is really nice. I think one thing that has really helped us is that South Beach doesn't feel like a "diet." We're just eating good, healthy stuff! So sorry for rambling, but I hope this helps! And good luck on your journey!

I'm not trying to knock what anyone else is doing - I am deeply sorry if that is how it came across. All I was saying was that for me, the weight needs to move now. Being pre-diabetic, having high cholesterol and triglycerides, and gaining 100lbs in 2 yrs, all at the age of 24 is not good in the least. All of these problems can be corrected without medications, but the longer I stayed at my high weight, the less likely they were to change (or at least to stay higher longer and impact my health even more). In one month, all of my values are now NORMAL! YAY! This wouldn't be the case if I had only dropped maybe 5lbs. At some point, in the next few months when I start adding food back, I am sure I will go to the 1-2lbs a week, and that is great. I don't expect to drop 150lbs on this, but I can get a good start. Also, the break from food is helping me focus on changing the behaviors/emotions behind the binge eating. Basically, I am too young to be in this position, and for me, something drastic had to be done to get the ball rolling.
Everyone of you guys who are losing weight are doing a great job - no matter what method you use; I am proud of all of you, and I do hope that all of your changes work for you.

Amanda -- Thanks for the clarification. I've read your posts before and you've never come across as trying to slam anyone! And you didn't here either! I just wasn't clear on what you were saying... I get what you mean. Congrats on your progress. Although you're losing quickly, from what you've said here and other places, I believe Optifast would never have never been a good choice for me, but I applaud your decision to take back your life. I know from reading before you started that this wasn't a decision you made lightly, and you seem to be approaching this all very sensibly.

I hope it didn't sound like I was trying to slam you...

Not at all! No worries

*as a side note, sometimes I feel crazy for doing optifast (this holiday weekend was hard LOL) It just goes day by day...I can't think of the fast for the long-term (but certainly I see myself eating healthy for the long-term). At this point, I believe this is the hardest thing I have ever done. Nothing else that I tried worked - I had to have all my choices in food taken away to get anywhere with weight loss. I hope that others have a better time with their journey and don't need to take such drastic action.

I've stuck with my healthy lifestyle for almost 2 and a half years now. It still amazes me to be able to say that! I am not sure I would have believed that I could do it, but now I can see that it was actually SO easy.

I simply reached a point where I said "It's not an option Zelma". I had never had any bad medical results, but with Type 2 diabetes rampant in the family and other medical problems just waiting around the corner as I started into my 40s, I was a time bomb just waiting to go off. I had only been married to my second husband for 3 and a half years and couldn't see myself being around for the 40 or more years that we had originally planned upon to spend together. So one day I just decided that I had to change... and INSTANTLY! There was none of this "I'll start tomorrow" or "I'll start after the next shop". For me it had to be a then and there decision. From that day on we didn't bring junk food into the house. We gradually made other changes, but from that day on really I was making better choices with what I was eating and I made a conscious effort to 'move' more. Healthy eating and exercise are now such an ingrained part of my life that I find myself craving fruit and vegetables and missing exercising if I can't manage it for some reason or other.

I wish I knew what actually triggered that initial emotion in me. I truly don't know what worked that day, where nothing had worked (long-term) before. I just think that you KNOW somehow that this is the time. From the first day I started this I have not looked back. I have not thought that I couldn't do it and I have not thought that I would not keep the weight off. Well... not seriously. When the scales creep up now and then I sometimes have a teensy bit of fear, but I understand that it is unrealistic, because I have totally changed my way of life now and I can see absolutely NO reason to revert to my old ways. So, there is no real reason for the weight to go back on. That is a very reassuring feeling.

I truly hope that you have found the 'something' that is needed to succeed with this. It is such an incredibly wonderful feeling to take back control of your life. I honestly feel as though I have saved my life and been given a second chance. And I am grasping life with both hands and having a ball!

Good luck on your own journey!

Zelma

Zelma -- Every time I hear your story I want to cheer! Such a transformation! You are one of the people who make me believe I can do this for the long term!!!!!