I am in month 10 of this project and I really feel it has been a good thing that I had to lose this much. I couldn't just "eat better" or "eat less", I had to actually pay close attention to what I have to do. As a result, I eat better nutritionally than I have my entire life and I have developed a very good exercise habit.

If I'd only had 25 lbs to lose, I'd have likely just "suffered through" exercise, but instead of figured out which activities I really enjoy enough to look forward to moving. I actually get cranky on the days I can't move. Never, ever thought I would be that person.

Same with eating better. If it had just been short term, I'd have just cut calories and toughed out hunger. Instead I figured out which foods would give me the most nutrition and satiety per calorie and build my meals around them.

I can't really envision me backsliding as I really, really like what I'm doing now and not just because of seeing results.

Now I do kind of wish I'd figured this all out sooner, but at age 50 I feel I'm setting myself up for really healthy older years. While other friends my age "know" they should be exercising and eating better for their health, it seems like the only ones really paying attention are those who've had to take off a considerable amount of weight.

That is a huge NSV !

How insightful.

I've actually given a lot of thought to this myself. I think I might be less inclined to cheat off of my plan and more inclined to do what is working to loose the weight because of having so much to loose. I needed to loose 170+ pounds. I still have 50ish to go. I know that when I was merely slightly overweight before and was fairly comfy in my own skin, I couldn't be bothered to try to change the way I was doing things.

Going out to eat with people that are trying to loose about 40-50 lbs, its easier for them to go ahead and have a little bit of whatever off of their own plan, but here I am making sure I'm only eating what I'm allowed.

I soo relate to your post! Congrats on how far you've come. :-)

I hear you Caryesings.

I often talk to people at work now who ask about weight loss, and they ask me for advice (LOL!?!?!?! Me???) But I often think about how it's hard for people who need to lose thirty or forty pounds. They want to know what made me so determined.

But, I feel like unfortunately, I had to get the point where I was losing genuine aspects of my quality of life before I really realized how important it was.

And now the difference is so MARKED that I know it's worth to stick with it, and I've had time to adjust.

I do not expect to start backsliding. More than 8 months in, this feels like a way of life.

I have to agree that my constant weight struggles have actually kept me exercising regularly for years while others around me might be thin, but not able to walk 3 miles if you paid them! How ironic is that.

I am the poster-child of why this has to be a way of life. I did everything right for 3 years and lost 87 lbs. Then I gave up for less than 2 years and gained it all back. I won't let that happen this time.

I am glad you managed to learn that without the confidence-killing regain. And TOTALLY congrats on the 72 you have lost.

At age 47, almost 48, this is a huge part of my motivation too. I've had more than my share of health issues, but none of them were weight related, and I think that was just pure luck because I have been heavy since I was a kid. Not always as heavy as when I started this, but I can't remember the last time I was just overweight per the BMI charts.

I know that as I was getting older, my luck was going to run out at some point, and I'd start having more consequences of my weight. As a late in life mom to a young child (he's 5), that was unacceptable. And on a lighter note, I've got a really high energy kid and I want to have a fighting chance of keeping up with him, at least for now! And I want to participate in activities together.

I do feel like the benefit is that I will be entering my 50s in a couple of years healthier and in better shape than I've been in decades. Well, really, more like better shape than I've EVER been!

And I definitely get what you are saying about the longer process being better in a way, to make sure these healthy habits are deeply instilled in me. I've accepted that my loss may not be quite as quick as I'd like it to be, but part of that is because I'm not pushing myself beyond what I can comfortably sustain. I don't need a short term fix to this, I need to change the way I live my life, so the rest of it can be long and healthy and happy!

What an interesting and motivating way to look at such a huge, seemingly insurmountable task! 100 lbs does feel like a huge amount (I guess because it is!), so I'm glad to have a more positive twist to put on the challenge!

Thanks!

What a great way of looking at things!!!

I do understand this, having been in the same boat.

But the thing is, many people DO feel this way (that there quality of life was greatly diminished, health on the line, etc) much earlier then what it took for me to feel this way. I've wondered about this before - cut off points. What makes some people take ACTION and make a lifestyle change at having to lose 50 lbs, 30 lbs or less, or at the other end of the spectrum - my case - 150 + lbs???

It's not something I dwell on all that often, but it has crossed my mind from time to time. I'm just grateful that my cut off point occurred when it did, not another 20, 30, 50 lbs or more from where it was...

I agree, and there really is no answer. Plus, ironically, it was not health but pure vanity that catapulted me into weight loss. I realized that I could not go where I wanted to go career-wise as a morbidly obese person. I thought my weight would make me fail, and I guess I finally found SOMETHING I wanted more than food.

It's only in retrospect that I wonder how I let myself live like that. I couldn't sit up in bed without rolling over on my side first. That's no way to live.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, as I get ever closer to goal, and have the prospect of maintenance before me. And while I can't say I'm glad I had so much weight to lose, the fact that I did, and that it's taken something like 17 or 18 months to get to this point, may well be setting me up for success in maintenance, because I have had SO LONG to establish the good habits and the way of life I'm going to need in order to maintain such a huge loss. Because, really, within a few months, so much of this stuff got hardwired.

PROFOUND......thanks for sharing!