We're all on the journey but I wonder what everyone's destination is??? When will you say "I'm successful" at this?

Is it a specific goal weight?
Is it a fitness goal?
is it a clothing goal?
Is it being able to eat ONE of something and not the whole thing?
Is it having snacks/treats in the house and you don't even notice?
Is it after having maintained for X months/years?

I hope some people respond, I'm really curious to know the answer for different people.

It is finding my will power again.

I am successful each week that I keep it to 1800-2000 calories per day and clock 3-4 workouts per week at 30 min a pop.

I think I will be done losing when I am closer to 160-165. That's where I'm aiming for now to keep me moving in the direction I want but I know there will be a fine tuning place in the journey. 165 might not be the final destination after all, but I know it will be over THERE that way in 100+ and not over here in 200+!

A.

I am successful when I eat healthfully and am accountable for my calories in a food log. Living a healthy, normal lifestyle is also success to me. Right now that success looks like maintenance, other times it looks like losing, but all of it speaks to a lifetime plan of health and happiness with my eating and activity. Moderation, moderation, moderation, and very slow but never yo-yoing movement down the scale.

For me, it's kind of a two-part thing, since I have two big problems: my obesity, and my binge eating. When I reach a healthy weight for me, which I am hoping is around 148ish, I will feel I succeeded in the fight against the weight. But I won't feel confident of success about the binge problem until I can honestly say, and mean it, "I am never going to binge again." Not sure if that will ever happen but perhaps.

Success for me is making better choices. IF/WHEN I slip I get right back on plan. Success is knowing if I choose to stay on MY plan the weight/inches will have no choice but to go away. Success is how I feel right now. I am actually starting to feel great after one more day on plan. Success is realizing that this isn't really THAT hard IF/WHEN I stay on plan.

I haven't been this small since high school so now every lbs.(every oz.) counts BIG TIME! I now can't wait to see where the next lb. come off.

Success for me is -

Each time I turn down one of the foods I use to love dearly.

Each time I finish a workout.

Each time I look at myself and don't cry or cringe.

What a great question, and some really interesting responses.

For me, it's a combination of the things you listed in varying degrees.

It IS a specific goal weight/fitness goal/clothing goal/staying on plan goal. All of those are broken into mini goals which I consider part of the crazy ride down to 150 lbs or whatever I ultimately decide is right for me.

Right now we do have snacks/treats in the house at all times, because my boyfriend works for a major snack food distributor and he's a muncher, so we have a pantry filled with cookies, crackers, and other things. And for the most part I do ignore that stuff now, and stick with the occasional 100 calorie pack or high fiber bar. I haven't asked him to stop bringing stuff home, because that's not really my trigger. (I shan't think of the ramifications if he worked for a CHEESE COMPANY though. Holy crap. I'd have to move.)

Is it being able to eat ONE of something and not the whole thing?
I think a variation of this is actually my ultimate goal. I want to have evolved into a girl who can eat healthily and within her proper calorie range, but still be able to go out for a cocktail and snack night with her friends and not stress about every single drink or every little bite of appetizer because she has the confidence that her eating and exercise habits are under control enough to allow her the occasional indulgence.

I guess I'm hoping that when I reach the end of this long and winding road I'll just be able to live normally, although that's sort of a relative term.

Keeping up with the hundreds of little daily choices that help me maintain my weight loss. From ordering the tall latte at Starbucks (not the venti) to taking the stairs at work, to packing my lunch every day, for putting the chip basket on the other side of the table at Chevy's and not having a single one.

Dripping water can wear away a mountain. It's the little things the big things that make it work.

For me, I am already successful! I have lost more weight at one time than I have ever lost before.

I will again be successful once my one year anniversary rolls around with me having been on plan every day. That's a major goal I have for myself and it's well within my reach, only 5 months away now.

I am successful in fitness every day. I will feel successful when school rolls around again and I can say I got up at 5:00 every morning to go to the gym even though I didn't have to get up at all!!

Being successful to me is making good choices on a daily basis and seeing the results of those choices. Being able to tell my self no and sticking with it. Going to bed even when my body is telling me to get one more snack even though all my calories are spent.

My biggest success is learning that even if I have a day, ok, even a week, off plan, that doesn't mean I'm a failure and I might as well just go back to all my old habits. Nope, I can just make a better choice the next time and get right back on plan. This is HUGE for me because I'd start off ok, but as soon as I wasn't perfect, I'd give up entirely. Well, I'm not going to be perfect, but I can just keep going no matter what.

Also, although I have a goal in mind in terms of weight/clothing size, I plan to calorie count and make time for physical activity for the rest of my life, so I don't focus too much on the end result. This is all about the journey and knowing that every single day, I have the opportunity to make good choices that will bring me to and keep me at a healthy weight and lifestyle.

I will say that I feel successful so far. I have successfully maintained a 150+ lb weight loss for almost 3 years.

I am not aiming for a specific goal weight but I'd love to hit 200 lbs lost. My goals are really to be fit, active and to do things I could've never done 100 lbs or more ago. I really want to try rock climbing (despite the fact that I'm afraid of heights), I'd like to hike Machu Picchu, I'd like to be able to run a 5k no problem, etc.

If I could wear a size 8, I think that would be amazing as I've never worn single digit sizes although I'd be happy with 10 or 12.

Once I get to a place where I decide to settle in, success would be to maintain that for the rest of my life.

Success to me, at its most fundamental, is staying sober from sugar. Everything I do in addition to that...well, all that stuff makes me feel Superwoman-successful!

I do like meeting my own fitness and weight-loss goals, but yeah...at the most basic, when I'm off of sugar, I'm successful.