>>>How much weight do you want to lose? 100+? 10? IMO there is a world of difference in trying to take off a few pounds vs. over 100.<<< (quote from Lori Bell on another thread)

Hi, Lori...I noticed your reply to somebody on another thread, and was curious about it myself.

You've successfully take off over 100lbs. I have over 100lbs to take off too, and am having quite the struggle to even make any progress.

In your opinion, what are the differences when one attempts to lose 100lbs, as opposed to losing just 10 or so pounds?

Thanks for coming into this thread.

Hi.

I think more than anything it's a matter of life and death. Being 10-50 pounds (or so) is hard on a person. It's hard on ones self esteem mostly, but more than likely it isn't going to kill you if you nip it in the bud. *Usually*, (not always, everyone is different) for a person to drop 10 pounds (or a bit more) a few simple lifestyle changes dramatically help. Things like moving more, cutting out that extra soda, and limiting happy hour with chips after work to one night a week (to name a few changes) almost aways result in dropping the weight. A person can lose 10 pounds in 1-2 months with a little dedication.

Being 100+ pounds overweight takes a huge toll on your heart, skin, lungs, joints, digestive issues etc. Morbid obesity is a life threatening disease, and dramatic measures need to be taken to ensure health and longevity. (So dramatic that some Doctors insist that life altering surgeries are the only fix.) Morbid obesity is deadly.

The awesome thing is though, a person 100+ pounds overweight can greatly improve their health starting with the same approach as the 10 pound overweight person. But often times a morbidly obese person also has food addictions to deal with, and eating disorders and a host of other problems that co-exist with the morbid obesity. Losing 100 pounds takes a lot of time, it takes day after day after day after week after week after month after month of perseverance and commitment. The pay off is awesome, but it's so hard, that many never make it. They die of heart attacks or diabetes or other obesity related illnesses before they ever commit.

THere is so much more I'd like to say, but I'm pretty certian I've said too much already .

Keep trying.

Lori, I think that is a terrific answer.

Great answer Lori. For me, I had a total of 133 pounds to lose. I now have about 56 pounds to go. It does take a lot of time, and instead of trying to sprint, I saw it as a marathon.

At the very beginning in 2007-2008, I would lose 10-20 pounds, and then gain it right back. In September of 2009, I finally got serious about this journey. I paced myself. I went from 268 to 245. Then I maintained and got comfortable with the whole lifestyle of "weight loss". I proved to myself it could be done with a little hard work. I then got back on the weight loss wagon after about a month and went from 245-215. I stopped and maintained, but this time I spent 2-3 weeks "resting" and maintaining. Holidays came around and I went back to about 225 pounds, and then had some crazy changes at work. I maintained 225 until around the end of March. Between April and now, I have been working hard to continue my journey. Last month I did have a "maintaining" month due to all the vacationing. I have my sights set on 179, and will determine if I'm ready to maintain for a week or two, or actually keep up the strength and keep going to the 160's!

Sorry for the length, but just wanted to back up Lori in the fact that it does take A LOT of time. There's so many changes going on at every stage in the journey..losing 25-30 pounds is a BIG deal. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Losing weight too fast and not cherishing each lesson learned, and admiring your accomplishments along the way will result in you having a harder time sticking with it. Sure, I can whine and pout that I'm still 60 pounds overweight, however I choose to see it as holy sh**, I've LOST 77 pounds already! I'm looking better, running 2-3 miles daily, and eating healthy. I can even have a portion controlled cheat meal once a week and not just give up b/c "oh well I blew it"! Simply because I'm enjoying and controlling this journey. The weight does NOT control me any longer!!

Great answers! I like the idea of maintaining at stages on the way down. The last time I was successful (2002-2004, 106lbs lost), I just plodded on down. Apart from occasional "Diets" for a week or two, just to maintain interest, I did it by eating less and walking more, and recording it all. However, it became so second nature that I didn't have to think about it at all any more. Unfortunately, I oh so gradually went, without thinking, to eating just a bit more of the wrong stuff and walking a bit less, and regained 89lbs.

I don't think I'm brave enough to pause and maintain on the way down but I wish I was, it's a great idea!

I'm not so sure I agree with this. First of all there's only so fast one can lose 100 + pounds (in my case it was 165 pounds). But I don't think speed or lack there of will determine whether or not you keep the weight off. I think it's all about ones WILLINGNESS to continue eating well and exercising. Period. One can't revert back to old habits. If you revert back to old habits, you WILL regain the weight. And any one can do that at any time regardless of how long or short one got the weight off in.

There is definitely more than one *correct* way to lose weight. Maintenance breaks are fine - if that's what you want. For me, that wouldn't have worked. Taking maintenance breaks would have been too close to reverting back to those old ways and would have caused weight gain and an "I'm giving up" attitude. The results would have been disastrous.

I think one of the biggest differences in having to lose 100+ pounds, other than those health (death) risks that Lori spoke of - is that it seems SO daunting and *impossible*. But it's not!!! It's not. You start working on those behaviors and you chip away and chip away at the pounds and before you know it, you are down 25 pounds, and 35 and 50. And provided you stay with your plan - given our high starting weights, it really doesn't take all THAT long. It took me 40 + years to get to be super morbidly obese, and under a year to get to a healthy weight. I think that's pretty spectacular.

Another factor of course, is that most likely there are more food issues at hand and they are most likely more *severe*. But again, that is not insurmountable. You don't have to be fat if you don't want to be. We ALL have the ability to lose the weight. We are all capable of it. It is within our hands. We have to recognize that. It is very empowering! Take that and run with it.

Losing weight and lots of it IS a doable thing. It is not some crazy, out of this world, hare-brained scheme. Since there are more *issues* at hand, I think larger steps have to be taken to combat them. It may take more to create an atmosphere for success - so be it. You just have to take those steps and of course be WILLING to take those steps. You also may be a little more *uncomfortable* (initially) than a lighter person. But that too passes very quickly, if you allow it to. The bad habits may be harder to break and it may be harder to establish the new healthy ones. That's why I believe it is more vital to set oneself up for success - food journaling (writing down every bite that goes into your mouth BEFORE you eat it), daily weighing, calorie counting, setting limits, boundaries, making rules, developing mantras (self-talk), menu planning, food preparation, creating a safe environment (NO junk in the house), taking food with you when venturing out, finding, developing skills to deal with holidays, stress, boredom, anger, joy, social situations, work environment etc.

Us larger folks just may have to be a little more creative. But hey, we're up for it - and capable of it. I will tell you this, having been so heavy, and now being trim - well I think the rewards are THAT much greater.

Just to add on to the wonderful posts above me--another different thing about losing over 100 lbs is that most dieting information is wrong. Its geared towards people who want to lose 10-50 lbs. Calorie counts, for example--if you are over 300 lbs, 1200 calories a day is VERY VERY different than if you are 180 lbs. Also, starting an exercise program at 300 lbs is very, very different than starting one at 180--my doctor told me to try for 30 minutes a day at least 3 days a week. I couldn't do 5 minutes! (I joke about couch-to-five-k: it took me six months to get to couch!).

What a great thread. I find myself agreeing with everyone even when they seemingly disagree. It takes some of us longer than others to lose this weight. In my eyes, Robin and Lori seems to have lost the weight quickly. They would probably disagree.

It has taken me 2 years to lose 100 pounds. I think that I know some of the reasons. Age might have played a part. Thyroid issues might have played a part. I am sure that calorie intake did play a part. I don't know what calorie count Robin started with. I do remember her saying that she bumped it down as she went.

If I remember correctly, Lori has written that she started at 1200 during the week with 1500 on the weekend. I have often thought that if I had started with that calorie level, I would have lost more at first and my overall loss would have been greater now. But then I question that because I had started 1200 calorie diets many times and lasted only a few days. I think that is because I was trying to eat 1200 calories of my old foods so my food volume was very low. I had to learn to love low calorie foods and I really believe that starting with 1800/day was right for me.

I have had unplanned maintenance breaks along the way. When my loss slowed I tried to look at that time as practicing maintenance.

IMHO, Robin has an important key right here. Losing large amounts of weight just can seem so impossible. But she is right, it is not. I urge anyone facing this challenge to not look at the big picture. Like Robin said, start working on behaviors. Change the behavior and the weight will come off!

IMHO, Lori Bell has another key - perseverance and commitment. I did not have perseverance and commitment in previous attempts but I do now. As my husband would say, "Cheryl has got her stubborn going."

Last thought and then I will shut up. You don't have to wait until you have lost 100+ pounds to reap the rewards. You will see a difference with every few pounds. It makes this process so exciting!

I loved your whole post, time2lose, along with everyone else's. This place really is SO amazing. I can't believe how thoughtful and insightful some of the stuff I read here is!

This sentence really resonates with me, because I have always focused on the SCALE, and then almost as an afterthought tried to get some behaviors going that would move the dang thing. This time, I have focused almost solely on the behaviors, in fact only weighing once a month just to track progress. I have a foolproof plan in place, and if I do it, eat with my health and nutrition needs in mind based on what I have planned, weight will come off. I simply love this focus, and in between weigh-ins, I am experiencing NSVs like crazy. Before I would have thought, okay, I lost 5 lbs, THEN start looking at my body to see where it might have come from. Now I am FEELING my body shrink, enjoying watching my clothes get looser, and now almost as an afterthought wondering what the scale might say next time about it.

I realize that my plan will need probably need some tweaking as I get closer to goal and I may need to weigh a little more often to see the results of the tweaks, but I will stay tuned to my body and see just how far I can take this thing!

Thank you, Lori, for taking the time to share--and thank you to all the other ladies who added their thoughts to this.

The thought of trying to lose even 100 pounds, let alone more than 100, IS daunting, but I suppose even one pound lost is better than one pound gained, and I should look at it that way. Sometimes it's hard to get up the motivation to even try again.

When I consider that I have to lose nearly 100 pounds just to get *under 200*, phew, it's overwhelming.

I urge you, urge you, URGE YOU to not focus on the numbers - but on the behaviors. Change your life. Change your relationship with food. Change your eating habits. Permanently. And than each and every excess pound on you WILL come off. It will have no choice but to come off. The amount of weight won't matter.

Motivation? Forget it. Commitment. Commitment. Commitment. Determination. Perseverance.

Stop dreading the changes that need to occur. Look forward to them. Get excited about them. Don't dread this journey. Embrace it. Allow yourself to fall in love with this healthy lifestyle, so that you will continue on - and again - that's how each and every excess pound will come of you - by continuing on.

As for getting down to goal - I PROMISE you, you will start reaping the rewards loooooong before you get to goal. Please, look at this as an adventure. ENJOY THE RIDE.

Others HAVE done this. MANY others. So why not you? Why not?

Love this thread!!!

I, for one, am GLAD it took me 2 years to lose this much! Sounds weird, my "old" me would have wanted it gone overnight, but losing 25 or 30 pounds and then LIVING with that loss for a few months to be sure I could maintain it really turned my mind around. I was able to have some breathing room, som "awareness room" i called it, where I could THINK about my life and what I wanted to achieve, WHY i got fat in the first place, what I could CHANGE and what could NOT change. Then lose another 30 or 40 and do the same thing over and over again. Working on the outside was secondary to the INSIDE work ~ on my soapbox again, but unless we address what lead to the enormous weight gains (let's face it, there's a big difference between people 20 pounds overweight, and those of us way over 100 pounds overweight) and deal with those issues, it'll all come back eventually. Those 'issues' aren't always horrible, painful things. Not everyone was abused or neglected or tormented as youngsters. I discovered I was a pampered spoiled brat LOL and I still am, I just spoil myself with awesome things that'll make me LIVE LONGER.

When I get overwhelmed, I shut down and want to go take a nap... obviously, that doesn't help anything! So, in just about every aspect of my life, I look at overwhelming things in little chunks. Too much work on my desk? I start with a small pile and get that done, then move to the next little pile. Whole house a disaster? I make a list and then focus on one room (or one PART of a room at a time). Now that I am trying to lose weight, I just can NOT focus on all of it at once. I can only focus on litte chunks at a time... even if they are only 5 lbs chucks.

your ticker says you are at 291 - so make your first goal to get into the 280's. 2 lbs and you're there and you can feel good about accomplishing goal #1. Then focus on 270 or even the low 280's. What ever you think will work for you.

Or start with a small goal like - cutting back on soda, for example. Stop drinking soda and see how that affects your weight. My first change was switching from white to wheat bread 9 years ago. When that was easy, I switched one snack a day to a piece of fruit. When that was easy, I moved to the next thing. Little changes add up.

Sometimes you read things and it's like 'Wow! That's just what I needed to hear'. You said it very well. Thank you.