Lately I've been struggling a lot with thinking "why didn't I just deal with this back in high school, when I only had to lose 10 lbs! It would have been so much easier!" "why didn't I do this back in college, when I only had to lose 30-40 lbs!" etc.

I know I really just need to focus on NOW. There's nothing I can do about the past, I can only do something about now, but I'm still looking back and getting mad at myself for not taking control 20, 30, 40 pounds ago. I need to slap myself back to the present.

Ever have these thoughts about the past? What do you do to move on and focus on the future?

It drives me crazy when I look back. In high school I thought I was a whale when I weighed 145 lbs. Nowadays I think 184 is fabulous! It's so easy to get caught up in those "why didn't I" thoughts, but I try not to think about it too much because it tends to be discouraging for me. I try to focus on the here & now. Knowing I have so much weight to lose (well not so much anymore, lol) can be daunting, so I focus on my mini-goals and losing that next pound instead of the 'big picture.'

This is why I have a sign on my bedroom door that says No more "If Onlys" I think all the time " If only I never gave up cross country in high school" or " if only I never let myself give up on my weight loss efforts when I first tried, I would be at goal by now." I don't want to look back in the future at this time frame and say the same thing. I want to be closer and closer to reaching my goal.

Oh yes......I think this a lot! Why did I spend so many years being miserable and depressed over my weight? Why did I go to so many events, feeling uncomfortable with the way I looked? So much agony in dressing rooms, trying to find something decent to wear. It's sad. But the past is the past. And maybe, if I hadn't gone through all that, I wouldn't be as determined as I am now. I am NOT allowing myself to go back to that. NO WAY!

I've been lucky enough to travel quite a bit. One of the highlights of my life has been standing at the top of the Eiffel tower. The sad part? I'm HUGE! I just absolutely detest the pictures of it. This awesome memory is totally clouded by how horrible I look in all the photos. Why did I not do this sooner???

All I can do now is focus on the future. I spent so much energy in the past worrying about my heavy weight. If I'd just have channeled that into being healthier, I could've done this much much sooner.

So yes, I have regrets about not doing this earlier in life. But I'm so proud of what I've been able to accomplish.

I have thought about it- and most of it was cuz honestly I just didn't know how to do it and stick to it. To me a diet was starving yourself or taking diet pills- life change?! RIGHT... The term never occurred to me.

Better late than never I guess.

oh, always. My best friend and I have this conversation all the time "Why didn't we stop eating too much fast food and start working out?!"
But the answer is that I don't think I was ready to lose weight. If I was, I would have done it. I'm following my mom's old WW plan that had just been sitting around for years; clearly, the tools I needed were waiting for me.
So despite the fact that the number is larger than I may like, I needed to wait until the right time in my life to take the challenge on.

I have thought about it MANY times. But I try not to dwell on the past, so I think about it every now and then briefly and then I move on. What's done is done. I find any time spent on thinking like that is highly wasted and unproductive time. I'd much rather spend my time be productive and taking action and since I have done so - enjoying my life -which I didn't for many years because I didn't do this sooner!!

Though I regret not doing it any earlier, I'm sure as heck thrilled that I didn't do it any later.

Why yes you do. Because before you know it, you may be wishing you'd done something NOW, because NOW will be gone, well tomorrow. So start doing something TODAY. Stop those regrets in their tracks. You can't change your past, you can only change your future - you do that by taking ACTION right this very minute.

Don't waste another precious second of your life settling for an inferior existence, for second best, not when first best is well within your reach.

Stop hoping, dreaming, wishing, longing, wondering and pondering & START making plans to get the job done - today.

Yes and no for me.

No, because I HAVE been trying to do this all along, except for the many times I gave up because I made it too hard.

Yes, I regret not having discovered calorie counting sooner. I do not have to exercise like a madwoman, eat restrictive diets or give up during a plateau. THIS I wish I had discovered sooner. I CAN eat whatever I want in moderation with portion control and still not feel hungry. I CAN exercise to my heart's content and if it gets too hard, it's ok to back down without stopping completely. I CAN get through a plateau!! I just did. My first ever.

ALL THE TIME. I've even had emotional melt downs over it. I know that is why I'm not always so chipper and nice when I read threads about binges, cheats and falling off wagons for weeks at a time. It's not because I think people should be perfect, it's because I know how good freedom feels and I think every one should feel as good as I do now. I just don't get it...and then I stop and think about how long I wallowed in misery.

I realize that each person has to decide for themselves when it's really time to get off their butts and get healthy. There is no magic button...but sometimes I try to find (other peoples), by pushing them all.

I only think about it on days that end in "Y". But I think it is therapeutic to find out why things are different now. If we can identify our state of mind that has prevented success in the past, we can train ourselves to avoid those same negative thought patterns in the future. Its basic addiction counseling MO, not wallowing in the past.

*sigh* yes, all the time. I should have started back in High School when I was still 180. Things would have been easier starting then instead of waiting until the freshmen 40 hit me. I am paying for it now.

I do to an extent. I maintained my weight without even trying up until recently. I never weighed myself, and I did feel I was too large, but somehow I maintained. I didn't eat great, but I guess I was active enough to counteract it. I'd say I was around 165 for all of highschool and most of college. Last year, I stopped maintaining and started gaining. I'd say I put on 15-20lbs over the year. So I do think I nipped it in the bud. I got serious about losing before I let my weight get out of control. And I am proud of myself for this.

I do think "why didn't I do this sooner" because I'm loving life so much more now that I'm thinner and healthier. I'm a happier person. I used to think weight loss was a miserable impossible task, and I was doomed to hate my overweight body for my whole life. I have finally recognized that I can change my body. I'm smaller than I ever have been (seriously, smaller than I was in middle school), and I am thinking "Why didn't I do this sooner" because I missed out on so much because of body issues. I was so self conscious that I could never enjoy life. I didn't even go to prom because I didn't want to try on dresses. I missed out on a lot of joy from junior high on....and to think, it only took 4 months to turn it all around. Why didn't I spend four months losing weight years ago?

Such great realizations that you've brought out here.

I used to think weight loss (and maintenance) was indeed some kind of horrible prison sentence. But in actuality it's being overweight that was the prison sentence for me.

I also believed that I would just have to be "stuck" with this grotesque body and be miserable. But no, I ALWAYS had the power to change it. If I didn't want that body - I DIDN'T HAVE TO HAVE IT.

I guess I'm the only one who doesn't think this way which is odd because I'm 40 and have been overweight since middle school. I think it is because I know the rest of my life is going to be so much better. Here is to the next 40 years!

Exactly. It's so strange, but there really is a time and a place for everything. I wasnt able to lose weight in highschool, no matter how hard I tried. It just became so much easier now, during college. I dont have an explanation for why, but I'm running with it.