So I'm just going to cut to the chase.

Hi, I'm Penelope and I'm classified as morbidly obese. I'm 25, in college for my BA in Psychology, live with my boyfriend who is a stick-thin computer programmer.

I have a terrible diet, virtually no exercise, and I don't drink enough water.

Plans to fix this? I just quit smoking two weeks ago this coming up Sunday. I already bought a water filter and refillable water bottle that I've been carrying around the last two days, I start a yoga class on Monday at college, and I just bought a vegetarian cookbook to start cooking from.

*sigh*

I'm just depressed, guys. I really want this time to be THE ONE, you know? I keep getting pepped up, introducing myself, it's going to be AWESOME, etc etc...and then I fall off track, start smoking, eating junk food, go away for 6 months...and then I'm right back again.

You can only fail if you give up. Congratulations on coming back here and getting back on track.

Just a thought -
Could it be possible that you have unrealistic expectations? At the point where I am now, I can say this is awesome. At first, not so much. There are times when it is hard and I just have to hang on. It might help you to realize that while the results will be awesome, the process is just like any other long term endeavor. Getting your BA in Psychology is a good example. You have to take x number of classes, some interesting and fun, some not so much. You still take the ones that you don't enjoy, put in the work and finish the class. To lose weight, you have to make a similar commitment. Everyday do what you need to do.

You can do this!

I totally understand, but if you let yourself fall into negative thinking, you will prove yourself right! I've fallen off the wagon every time so far, but I truly believe this time IS the time. Every time I've fallen off the wagon in the past, I've learned a bit more about myself, and I've gotten a little more sick and tired of being unhealthy. We can seriously do this! Don't think about if this is going to be the time, don't think about "How long can I keep this up?" Just think about your next meal, your next snack, your next opportunity to take a walk, and make each choice the best one you can. And WHEN you inevitably slip up, don't give up for the rest of the day, week, month, year. Just get back to it, make the most good choices you can, and be as proud of the small changes as the huge weight losses! Before you know it, all those healthy choices will add up and we'll be SO PROUD!

Are you a vegetarian to begin with, or do you think you have to be to lose weight? Just curious. It's not necessary to give up animal foods to become healthy and lose weight... And it puts one more obstacle in your way, if you are accustomed to eating meat, chicken, fish, etc.

Jay

I agree Jay. Though I will say, I cook a LOT of vegan/vegetarian meals when I'm trying to lose weight since they tend to be naturally low in the naughties. But the stirfry I just made was originally vegan, and I added a few ounces of chicken to it. When trying to lose weight, I try to take the Asian approach and view meat as a seasoning, flavoring, etc, rather than an integral part of a meal. I find it helps me a lot in keeping fat and calories in check.

I was already becoming a vegetarian of my own accord before trying to lose weight this time. I noticed that meat, especially red meat, makes me feel sluggish and kind of gross for at least half a day after eating it. Fish I feel fine after eating, chicken depends on how it's made and how much. If it's a little chicken and as long as it's not fried, I'm okay. It's nothing political...just paying attention to how food makes my body feel.

And thanks, guys, for the support....I appreciate it!

Hi Penelope, and Welcome Back!!!

Congratulations on quitting smoking. That in itself is a huge boost to your health.

Find yourself a plan that you can stick to long term and just start following it every day. If you mess up one day, or have something not on your plan just start over. It's all about consistency, not perfection. I found that counting calories works for me, although I have also had success with Weight Watchers in the past (which is a simplified form of calorie counting). But, the thing is it needs to be something that fits your lifestyle and that you will be able to do long-term.

I wish you all the best.

Thank you for coming back!!!!

You don't have to be awesome. Perfect. stellar. You just have to be good enough. You have to be on plan and pick yourself UP when you are not. You have to believe that you are WORTH IT and that you are strong enough to do it. You are stronger than that bag of chips or brownie. You really really are. I never thought I was either... and I was waiting for it to be awesome. But what I "settled" for was... doing the same things day in and day out regardless of whether the scale went down or not.

Making good decisions day in and day out and riding the wave of weight loss is what lost me 175 pounds. It's what WILL LOSE ME the next 55 pounds.

Don't lose sight of your goal

HI penelope, I remember you! Glad to see you back I don't know what to say, WE can all talk til we're blue in the face, but unless there's something in YOU that's ready, there's no point. If you're doing things the same as always and expecting a different result, you don't need ME to point out how that's probably going to end LOL but it seems you have a different plan in place, and sticking around HERE is an awesome place to start! good luck Keep us posted on your progress.

Hi and welcome back to 3FC.

Good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

You know what? You only fail if you never come back. You're trying and that's worth more than not trying.

Have you taken a look at what didn't work before? Was it burn-out? Boredom? Over-perfection? Examining why we do things can help us figure out what behaviors we might need to modify in the future.

This is really to everyone who brought this up...

I think what happened last time is that I lost a lot of weight VERY quickly and I thought to myself, well that was awesome. Now I'll just take a small break and enjoy this new weight loss...and BOOM, it creeps up back and then I get depressed...horrible cycle. Last time, I think I lost 20 lbs in 3 weeks. That was just from working out 4 times a week, all cardio, for three weeks. I was completely sedentary before I started working out.

This time, I'm still going to be working out, but I'm going to take it a little easier and ease my way into it. Won't take a major "break" aka Eat-What-I-Want-And-Stop-Working-Out-Completely, and I'll just do little things one by one to start the process.

I think it's more about going slower this time than just head on.

Wow, yeah, I can totally imagine myself falling into that same trap. Thanks for sharing!