All of us here have lost -- or are in the process of losing -- the weight for the LAST time. We're not going to put it back on; the days of yo-yo'ing are over. We're at goal or getting close and we're going to stay here for the rest of our lives. Right?

But I'm guessing that every one of us has gone on diets before. Probably mutiple diets and lost lots of pounds and put lots more back on. At least I did -- for most of my life I rode that diet rollercoaster up and down, up and down

So I'm curious -- what made it different this time for you? What made it work this time? How was this time different from all the other diets in the past? And most important: what are you doing to make sure it continues to work for the rest of your life?

RIGHT!!!

For me, it was a tangible goal - which I think I wanted due to the classic upcoming "mid-life crisis" - and that goal was to learn to ride a motorcycle .

It was in the depths of another cold, long Vermont winter, and I had time to reflect on where I had been in my life; and what I had wanted to do, but hadn't. I had found a website with information on obtaining motorcycle endorsements in this state; however we don't get Spring until at least April, so I knew I had a few months to get started.

I wanted strength and stamina; and I also wanted to look at least OK on it. Feeling so self-conscious all my life about my appearance, I knew that a woman on a bike attracts attention, and I wanted to feel confident. I loved the idea of a woman conquering something that is traditionally male-oriented (the rebelling feminist in me, lol).

I had my husband's full support (he has ridden since a teenager) and I thought that we would probably buy a small, beat-up used bike as my first; imagine my surprise when he said "why not?" to a brand new bike , which we picked up for my Mother's Day 2002 present.

I literally used that bike as my focal point - I would keep my helmet where I could see it while I exercised - and when I knew I was going out for another practice session, I would eat very lightly, as when I'm full that makes me dozey-feeling. Then when I came back, I was so excited that I just wasn't thinking about snacking.

For me, keeping occupied is also key. Having an interest/hobby that you love to do will keep your interest and activity. Sometimes working full-time and taking care of one's family just doesn't satisfy what our inner soul wants. My family now sees me as just all-around happy with life now, as opposed to being quiet, no activity, depressed often.

Keeping up with exercise, specifically weight-bearing workouts, has made the difference THIS time in keeping the weight off. Because I am seeing muscle definition that I have NEVER had, and know it is due to the exercise.

And I have admit that I like that aspect of feeling confident enough to wear spicier outfits to rallies and meets The brotherhood of bikers will do anything to help one another, but are also known for their love of an in-shape female form and I like to work towards that appreciation

When I first started dieting in July 2001, I had now idea where it would take me, whether I would be successful, or whether it would be the last time. I just knew I really felt terrible physically even tho I was still active and able to hike, ski, swim, jogged, etc. I felt self-conscious, and for the first time ever was afraid for my future health. I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy, and was into the "time window" that my doctor had predicted would tell me whether or not diabetes would be in my future. For the first time in my diet history, I changed the way I ate consistently. I read labels, got all the "white stuff" out of my diet, cut added sugars completely. And it worked. I was the most amazed person of all. I also found 3FC and a huge on-line support community.

One of the biggest changes for me was to change my outlook towards food. I was the family and community baker. I have an album of cake and torte pictures- beautiful creations of chocolate and sugar. I know I can't use food as either a creative or emotional outlet anymore. Much to my family's and neighbors' disappointment, I've completely quit baking except for immediate family birthdays. I'm now the crudite queen. I know I'll never stop missing the comfort foods or occaisionally falling back on them, but I know how to pull myself back into clean eating now.

I also have another tool in my arsenal which I never properly used before: weightlifting. I always exercised, but often to the point of futility.
As VermontMom said:

Keeping up with exercise, specifically weight-bearing workouts, has made the difference THIS time in keeping the weight off. Because I am seeing muscle definition that I have NEVER had, and know it is due to the exercise.

I'm not naive enough to say I'll never gain back 5 pounds- it's already happened and I've taken it off, gained 3, taken it off, gained.... But at this point I know how much healthier and happier I am in my changed body, that I can't envision letting myself get back to where I was 2 1/2 years ago. I like the way I look in size 4-6, like the way I feel when I'm strong, and like the way I feel when I'm eating healthy foods. A day or tow of poor food choices makes me feel so ill both mentally and phsyically, that I look forward to eating clean again.

I can't emphasize enough the effects of a fantastic support system, both in the cyber-world and in real life. My husband and extended family have been 100% supportive. Meeting friends here and on other boards, then sometimes meeting them for real, has helped both in the losing phase, but more importantly, in the maintenance phase. Special thanks to Meg and Karen , LWL, a fantastic gym and trainer , and Debelli and the Sugarbusters board from which I've been awol for the last year.

I can't say it's "the last time" as this is the first time in my life I have ever been on a structured diet. For most of my adult life I've been in the 130 -150 range. (When I was a freshman in college, my weight was about 165, but it fell to 120 the first semester, as I was eating in the dorm cafeteria, open just three times a day, and the food was terrible.)

But it started to climb a few years ago, and I did nothing about it. Didn't even think about it much, really, I was so preoccupied with career, money, building projects, life. Lots and lots of stress, mostly self-imposed. I would just eat whatever was easy, whatever was there, fast food, convenience food, and pay no attention at all. Cruisin' for a bruisin' as they say.

And then it happened: MY HAIR FELL OUT. We are not talking about a little thinning, I mean "Male Pattern Baldness!" Three and four inches of scalp showing, with nothing on it. I mean bald like an egg! AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! PANIC!!!!!!!

Well, that got my attention, lol! I had just been completely neglecting my body, not giving it good proper nutrition at all. Not just eating too much, but not eating enough vegetables, fruits, protein, etc. So I guess it was my body's last ditch attempt at telling me something was drastically wrong.

I went to the doctor, and all my numbers were bad: 244 cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood sugar, blood pressure climbing. I realized I had to reverse all the years of "deferred maintenance" and take care of myself, or I would die young, of stroke and/or heart disease and/or diabetes, like virtually every other adult member of my family.

So, since I didn't "listen to my body" it had to scream to get me to pay attention. But I hear it now, oh boy, do I ever, lol! In that sense, it's "never again" will I take my health for granted. It's funny, but I wouldn't treat a dog the way I treated my own body. I wouldn't treat a friend the way I've treated myself. Never again.

Great thread, Meg. I think the reason this time is different from all other times is that I’ve accepted the reality of balances. What I mean by that is that in the past I would be so focused on the goal that I wouldn’t think beyond that. I’d be willing to tow even the most stringent line to get to my goal, without even considering whether I could continue that way for the rest of my life. Now, I realize that my eating, indeed my happiness, is all about maintaining a balance. Two things finally sunk in: 1) I would never be happy being fat; 2) I would never be happy giving up all the foods I love. For years I vacillated between these two realities, never reconciling them. This time, I’ve reconciled them. I realize that to stay thin, my eating cannot be unrestrained. I realize that to stay thin, I cannot give up everything I love to eat (otherwise, I’ll rebel and eat everything in sight). So, now I eat some of what I want and can still lose weight (I have about 10 lbs. to go, but have maintained an approx. 30 lb. weight loss for about 1 ½ years).

Also, I think my palate has changed. I now actually LIKE a lot of those healthy foods that I used to force myself to eat. I like fruits and veggies. I like whole wheat breads. Liking these foods makes it easier for me to eat the right things most of the time (if not all of the time).

Another thing that has changed is my attitude toward exercise. Although I’ll never be the type of person to jump out of bed at 5:15 a.m. and bounce to the gym with a grin on my face, I have learned to enjoy exercise while I’m doing it. Now I view it as not only just a weight loss tool but also a tool for relieving stress. I feel SO much calmer and more refreshed after I’ve worked up a good sweat during a workout and that motivates me to continue almost as much as the weight loss does.

Finally, something I’d heard a million times before finally sunk in (sometimes it takes me a while, but I do get it!): 1) It’s consistency not perfection that helps us achieve long term success. This really helps me to put things in perspective when I’ve had a day or a week when I overeat and am lazy about my exercise. I realize that I’ll be fine as long as I don’t quit.

Well, I am a classic yo-yo dieter. I have done slimfast (worked!), Diet tv dinners (worked!) Diet pills (Never recommend them!). South beach diet (worked but I would get a stand still unless I broke it up with some carbs.)


What got me is the comments I got from my co-worker. Rude comments. It is either I am too fat or too thin. And believe me, she says them in not so nice words.
I have fluctuated from 128 lbs to 97 lbs. and I am 5'4".

I blame my eating habits on depression. That is why I went so low and high with my weight.

I am not sure how much I weigh now. I know that an adult size 2 is too big on me so I have to wear junior sizes. Currently, I am wearing jeans from the junior dept. in a size 5 (which are getting big on me so I have to pull out my junior size 3 soon. )

What is going to keep me at a lower weight? The fact that I hate the feeling of when my clothes start to not fit and I don't want to have to go through that feeling again.
I have the will power when I want to do something. That is why I have no problem losing weight. I just got to stay focused to keep it off.

This is going to be the one and only time that I try to lose weight.

I was always skinny growing up, from a combination of staying active, eating healthfully at home, and having a fairly decent metabolism. When I went away to college, I was a lot less active and made poor food choices away from my mother's watchful eye. I gained 50 pounds in college but didn't really think about what I was doing to my body. I lost 15 pounds without trying by spending the summer after college in Europe. It still didn't click that the active life I had led in Europe was what I needed to be doing all the time.

I became even less active when I started working full time. My job was stressful and I ate to make myself feel better. This resulted in a 45 pound weight gain over 3 years. Finally a comment from a family member opened my eyes to how I looked and what I was doing to myself. I started keeping track of every bite that went into my mouth and made exercise a part of my weekly routine.

I know these habits will stick because I have taught myself how to take care of my adult body. I can't eat junk food with impunity any more but I've discovered a million healthy foods that I didn't eat when I was younger. I exercise in ways that I enjoy and keep trying out new healthy recipes. Changing the way I live my life has been fun so far and I try to keep it fun so I can stick with it.

The added incentive of being able to walk into any store and pull a size 4 off the rack, knowing that it will fit, doesn't hurt either. When I started trying to get in shape, I just wanted to be a size 8. I will never be 110 pounds like I was in high school again (too thin), but I'm healthy and fit and I think I look good (most days).

Wow. Good question! I'm one of those people that tried every easy out possible. Crash diets, starvation diets, cigarettes and alcohol diets, pills pills pills. The one thing I didnt try is making good food choice and getting exercise. It was too much work. There were too many conflicting statements. No one would do it with me. It was too late. I had a billion excuses.

I don't know what changed. Maybe I was just tired of being miserable. I started researching different eating plans and nutritional theories. And one day I was at the grocery store and a switch just flipped. I put back all the chips, soda, and crap I was buying and loaded up on veggies and meats instead. That was it.

There are several reasons why this is it for me. Most importantly, this stopped being a diet a long time ago. This is just my life now. I like what I eat and don't miss much of what I don't eat anymore. I love the way I feel and I love being able to do things I could never do before. I have gained a level of confidence that allows me to shape my own life as opposed to just letting life happen to me. This comes not from being thinner, but from proving to myself that I am in control. It's nice

I'll confess, though, that even if I didn't feel all the things I stated above, I still couldn't go back. I react differently to foods now. If I have a glass of regular full-sugar soda, I will be throwing up for hours. My body won't take it. If I have a burger with a regular bun on it, my head hurts and my body aches. My body's become a picky and sensitive thing. Whole grains are fine. Fruits are fine. White flour or refined sugar? Worse than any hangover I've ever had.

I never really did much as far as trying to lose weight before. My main strategy was to convince someone else to be responsible for it - I'd tell friends to make me go to the gym, or keep me from eating stuff I shouldn't. Basically, I wanted a drill sergeant, because I was too lazy or felt I lacked the will power to do it on my own.

Then, something just clicked. I decided I was going to do it - I decided how I was going to do it, I decided on my goal, and I decided on a deadline (which has kind of fallen by the wayside, but it helped me to get started). I finally realized it was up to me, and after I started seeing results, I knew I really could do it.

I think the acceptance of responsibility and the belief that it could be done were the keys for me.

Thanks for starting this thread. It's inspirational for those of us who have not met goal yet.

I have not quite reached maintainer level yet but I know this is a life long commitment to my children and myself. I have lost 81 pounds so far with about 40 to go. (Once there I will decide if I need to go lower). I really have never dieted before, in high school I lost about 20 pounds my senior year but that was the extent of it. I just allowed myself to become fatter and fatter. I guess what finally opened my eyes was during my last pregnancy I had gestational diabetes and that scared me then on top of that my uncle past away from a heart attack 1 week before my daughter was born. That scared me because I always looked at him as the healthy one but he passed away at 49. I say I looked at him as the healthy on because my dad passed away from his heart attack at 42, my aunt was 48, my grandfather was 44, and my grandmother was 52 all of heart attacks all on my dads side of the family. My father did not get to raise my brother and I will do everything in my power to make sure that somebody else does not raise my babies. I also wanted to learn to cook healthier so that my children hopefully will never have to go through this. My cooking has completely changed I don’t think there is one meal that I use to cook then that
I still cook now. I have also learned the huge importance of exercise, I actually belong to a gym and I love it, never did I think that would happen. So I know that this is a life long commitment. Thanks for letting me babble even though I am not quite maintaing yet.