I was in another forum yesterday when I saw this quote from Meg:

she is speaking of the folks over in the maintainers forum. It really got me thinking. Her words ring true. So many times, we go on our plans only to "off" them later and return to our "normal" eating patterns. We need to wake up and realize that whatever method we use to lose the weight needs to become our "normal" eating pattern in order to keep the weight off. Even when we lose the weight, we will still have to do this every day. Sometimes it just doesn't seem fair that we have to weigh, measure and log everything while other people just get to do as they please. But we are not like everyone else. Never will be.

thoughts????

Thanks for bringing this over to us Sandi. It's a good point you make. It's not about being on plan until we get to a goal. Once we get there, we'll have to figure out what we can eat to keep us there, not losing or gaining. I think that's the part of the journey that scares me most. Though it shouldn't I guess, as I've been doing a good job of maintaining since early April, not really trying to lose, not journaling, not measuring, splurging more than I should.

Sandi-- That point is so right on. I think that unless a person makes a total commitment to make this a lifestyle change the weight will no doubt creep back. Believe me I know.. I think I have tried just about every single fad diet out there. Yeah, it worked for a little then I went right back to poor eating habits. I even admitted that I didn't want to or wasn't ready for dieting but did it because I felt I had to.. I didn't want to. I had such a negative attitude in the past and I fully believe that drags a person down right into depression then into comfort eating. I can't even attempt to explain what happened in my head this time. Something just clicked and I knew this is what I wanted to do. Unbeliveably-- I don't dream of the day when I can pig out again like I did while on the fads. They way I ate before totally disgusts me. I don't deny that it is hard to always eat the right thing but its our health were dealing with and even more than being thin, its about being healthy and having the opportunity to live a long healthy life!

My plan has become such a habit that I don't even feel like I am on a weight reduction plan. I almost feel guilty for losing weight and living a normal (or what has become my normal) eating lifestyle and still enjoying my food!

Sandi, I think the WW plan is awesome and really does teach you to make better choices etc. Thanks for bringing up this subject!

It's two years this very day since I joined WW. I was 265.2 lbs. and very unhappy about that. I wasn't thinking on that day about a total lifestyle change - I just knew I HAD to do something to stop punishing my body. My health and confidence were suffering badly. WW offered me a plan I decided I could handle.

I journaled religiously, exercised fiendishly, and diligently stayed on plan (even on my daughter's wedding day). The weight seemed to melt off - I lost consistently EVERY single week for 5 months straight. I was very satisfied with the results - *poof* 50lbs. were gone just like that. I became so used to my routine that I thought I'd have no problem sticking to it for the rest of my life.

Then the plateaus began to hit - oh yes, I still lost, but instead of 3-5 pounds every week it became 1/2-1lb. and I felt disappointment. Still, 14 months into the program I'd lost over 100lbs. I felt great, was performing feats like climbing the tallest freestanding structure in the world, and my confidence had soared to the point that I thought I looked pretty darn good for an old broad.

Then I stopped losing. I increased the exercise - didn't help. I reduced my "points" - nada. I had a 15 week frustrating plateau where I even gained a couple of pounds. I was over 30lbs. from goal and thoroughly pissed off. I felt my body was exacting some sort of revenge on me and I became disheartened. I lapsed. I'd seen it happen with other people at my WW group and swore it could never happen to me, but instead of disappearing like many of them did, I kept going week after week, and even though I might not always have been adhering to plan I was always conscious of what I was eating. During this difficult time I gained back about 15lbs., but I'm back on track now.

I know it's not going to be as easy as two years ago, but I also know I can do it and that without a doubt I WILL do it. In the scheme of things this has been a blip on the radar and I'm sure there'll be other blips - after all, I intend to live another 30 years or so and I'm realistic enough to know all won't be smooth sailing - nothing in life ever is.

I hope nobody found this post discouraging - in fact, I hope the opposite is true. I know there are people out there having tremendous success and they may never experience a plateau or fall off the wagon, but if it does happen, I guess I want to prepare them for it and implore them not to lose faith and give up.

I totally agree that this journey must be a lifestyle change, rather than a "diet" that ends once you reach goal. Statistics show that the vast majority of people who lose a significant amount of weight gain it back - that might not be what people want to hear, but it's fact and the only ones who can change that reality is us. By keeping ourselves informed and contributing to forums such as this, we can keep focused and beat the odds. It'll take determination, but we've got the power to do it.

So, after all this, to answer the question of my plan for life (as it relates to weight issues)....hmm, to attain an acceptable BMI rating, to keep improving my fitness and health level, to always be conscious of what I eat, and to never be fat again.

I've been thinking about this a lot. Apart from in my (long gone) youth, I've never been a one for diets - I am totally suspicious of the entire, profit-motivated diet industry. So in all of the changes that I've made in my lifestyle I've made a deal with myself that I will only do them if I think that they are sustainable for life - otherwise I really don't see the point. So, I agree with Gretchen - the way I eat and exercise now is just what I do, its pretty much 'normal'.....and I feel great on it. I've deliberately stopped journalling, and I don't do too much measuring or weighing, because I don't want to be doing that for the rest of my life - sure, I might use those tools when I feel I need them, but I don't want that to be the way I live. The other thing I've been thinking about a lot recently is the meaningless of the scale 'goal'.....I mean sure, its a guide, but its not like suddenly one day, when I hit that particular number, my life is going to change suddenly! So while I have a good deal more to lose, I'm curious to see how much difference it will really make in my life - I already have a lot more energy, confidence, and health.......

In researching weight loss when I got started in March, I read somewhere that the method you select to lose the weight should be the means by which you intend to keep it off. That really struck a chord with me, and fell right in line with my desire to change my behaviors and choices with an eye to my overall health, not just the immediate goal of weight loss. I wanted to do it right, and live a healthy life, not just drop some pounds on a diet. The changes that I've made are going to be permanent ones; I don't feel in any way restricted or limited by how I eat now. I enjoy all of my healthy food and portions, and I also still get to enjoy occasional treats when I want to....the difference there is that I'm very conscious of what I do and I'm completely in control of it. I own all of my decisions and am very comfortable living with them, and my behaviors don't compromise my goals at all.

I feel so grateful to have arrived at this point. I've never really tried to lose weight before, so I don't have any real basis for comparison, but I feel like everything has just "clicked" in terms of my making permanent behavioral changes in the name of good health.

I don't really look at it like that. I view this period in my life as one that is really positive, and full of growth and opportunity. I really mean it when I say that I'd rather have to be hyper-vigilant about my nutrition, if the alternative is to just do whatever I please and be thin but still have no clue about my health and how to improve it. There are plenty of slender, supposedly "fit" people who are unhealthy and don't have any awareness whatsoever about the effect on their health of what they do or do not put in their mouths.

I suspect, when I think about the reaction of some to Gretchen's notorious "positive" thread, that not everyone will agree with me here -- and that's O. K. -- but I truly feel like I've been given an opportunity to sort of more capably OWN my body, unlike those who haven't been forced to educate themselves by some health-related reason, like excess weight.

That's honestly how I feel about it......I am just fine with my life as it is now. More than fine, I am happier than I've been in a really long time! I referred in that other thread to not feeling like a victim because I eat cottage cheese and turkey (or something like that) and it's kind of the "fairness" issue that I was sort of referring to. I don't see any of this as a negative -- quite the opposite! I seriously don't want you to feel like I'm coming after you or discounting what you're saying, Sandi. I respect your viewpoint and truly think you're just great...I'm not trying to reopen any can of worms.......I guess I just look at it differently.

Well, there's my 2 cents, from my heart. Sent with a smile and a

Hey Sister Sandi and all — did I hear my name being mentioned? (y’all don’t know it, but Sandi’s my twin sister separated at birth ) — since you were quoting me, I wanted to throw my two cents in because I agree, this is SOOOOO important and something I didn’t really think about enough before I got to goal. The reality is that a day for me now (two years out from goal) looks just like a day when I was losing. I still do as much exercise, I still plan and journal, I still eat the same foods and weigh and measure — you guys know, all the stuff we do to lose. That’s why I always say that maintenance looks a lot like losing.

Back in my many years of diet failures, I’d go on a new diet, all gung-ho. I was determined that I’d be PERFECT this time, gosh darn it, and I’d get my calendar out and plan out how long it would take me to reach my goal. I’d even write it in, like my body was going to read my date book and cooperate by dropping two pounds a week, right on schedule! But the worst thing was — I’d lie in bed at night and fantasize about what I’d eat when I got to goal. All the treats that I was giving up. Visions of hot fudge sundaes and pizzas and chocolate chip cookies dancing through my brain. Somehow I had it in my head that once I got to a “normal” size, I could go right back to eating the way I had been and everything would be OK — I’d magically stay slim.

OK, all of you are savvy enough to know how well this worked out, right? End result? Years of my weight yo-yo’ing up and down, which screwed up my metabolism and altered my body composition so that it was a truly horrendous 57% fat when I started losing weight for the LAST time. This time I got smart — I reached my goal and got up the next day and did exactly what I had done the day before. No pizzas, cookies and hot fudge sundaes. Same thing the next day and the next and so on, for more than two years now.

Sandi’s so right — you have to find a plan you can live with for the rest of your life because, trust me, you WILL be doing it for the rest of your life. One thing we’ve found over in the Maintainers Forum is that successful losers come up with their own plans to fit their own lifestyles. Very few of the Maintainers followed any particular book or diet plan. Instead they took the foods that they like to eat and put them together with exercise that they enjoy and that fits their lifestyles and came up with their own customized plans. And they followed their plans to reach their goals and they’re still — every last one of them — doing the same thing today in order to maintain.

Yeah, Sandi’s right — it’s not fair. But — it’s totally worth it!

Hey Jill! Thanks for that encouragement! I have no doubt in my mind that I will plateau. I have prepared myself for those times. I appreciate your encouragement on that subject because I can definitely see how one would just throw the towel in and give up! You are a huge success story and I so admire you for that... I printed off your response for motivation... Not only do I like to try and motivate, I LOVE to be motivated by others!

Sarah-- I swear we have the same brain.

Meg- I couldn't agree with you more.. I've done the fads I've done the visualization of food. I have changed my eating habits and am totally disgusted with the thought of greesy fatty food that will kill my heart. I have made a binder-- my own plan, I even titled the book "You can do it" Weighloss plan! In it, my eating-lifestyle bible filled with great recipes, journal pages, measurement pages, inspirational pieces etc. Its the best plan I ever went on and I do not feel like I am on a diet anymore! You are so inspirational as are some of the others in your group- I check it out for inspiration every now and again. I have to say I am pretty partial to you and Jack though.. I used to live in the South Hills area.. Please keep your motivation and wisdom coming our way. It is so greatly appreciated.
Thank YOU!

Too cool, Gretchen! A former South Hills person! Jack's from Canonsburg and I live in Mt. Lebanon. We hang out at the Ballys by Village Square Mall. Where are you now?

I'm out in Harrisburg/Hershey Area now. I lived actually in Peters Twp. McMcurray right along 19. Moved here 4 years ago because of my hubby. I miss Pittsburgh.. No one understands us out here!

Wow, Gretchen, I live in the Baltimore area, and I've been up to Harrisburg recruiting twice in the last 3 weeks! And my partner is entertaining a job offer in the York area -- which represents less of a commute than she has now within Maryland! Wacky. I found the people there to be very friendly.

Sarah- You're a recruiter? Cool.. I am in HR myself. I worked for a recruiter a few years back then on to HR/Operations.. Now I am working for a hospice program doing coordination and regional training programs.. York is less than an hour from me! We actually live in Lebanon county which is pretty darn near close to the border of MD. I have a few freinds in york too.. I am traveling to Allentown each day at this point focusing on getting that expansion program up and running then back to the Harrisburg office toward the end of the year!! Cool.. Well, you know when your in Harrisburg next time we've got to catch up for lunch (healthy of course!)~!

Thanks for posting this Sandi. I think it's very true that I will always have to be careful about what I eat. I mean, if I didn't have to be careful, I probably would never have ended up in the situation that I am in!

Meg - thanks for your post and thanks for dropping by from Maintainer's. I periodically lurk in the Maintainer's Forum because I feel encouraged by seeing the people who have successfully lost and maintained a 100+ lb loss (which is what I am just starting to do this month - the road seems endless at the moment). I get a lot of motivation from the fact that there are a bunch of you ou there. I'm also so glad that I visited the Maintainer's Forum because I got a lot of information about things like loose skin, weight-lifting and on-going issues that maintainer's face. I'm happy that I learned about these things before hand so that I know what to expect and what realistic expectations are, so that I don't face unexpected disappointment.

The way that I'm trying to lose weight is my way of changing my life, in terms of eating habits and exercise. I know so much more about food now than I ever did before. The words protein, fat, carbohydrate, etc. all *mean* something to me now and I can recognize how each of them helps me and makes me feel when I eat. Before, I never gave a second thought to what I was eating. The extent of my nutritional knowledge consisted of knowing that fruits and vegetables were good for you. How lame is that? I can't believe I knew nothing more than that. Unfortunately, this kind of knowledge is something that you have to seek out to learn. Obviously what I learned in high school health class wasn't sufficient for me, and that's probably the last time I ever had a class on health. A shame, really.