Ali had you tried to lose weight before your big success ? Did you feel any different throughout your last journey from the previous ones, what did you do different from the times before, if there were any

Personally for about the last 14 years I have attempted to lose weight, lost some and then given up or got complacent and ended up weighing more in the long run.

But since I joined WW and got serious again last October I feel different, from any time when I was trying to lose before. It's hard to put my finger on how I feel different. But I have never felt like this before. I am more determined, quietly determined and I am making changes to my lifestyle. Instead of just eating what I need to, in order to lose weight. I am at the stage where I don't care how long it takes me, I can just feel that I am doing it right this time and I will get there.

Do any of you think that the way to succeed with losing weight is a state of mind ? Can anybody relate to this 'different' feeling or am I losing my marbles once and for all.

Carol..i most certainly do agree that it is a state of mind if you doubt that you can do it then you won't do it...i feel exactly the same as you do now..i'm not eating rabbit food and resenting it i'm eating anything i want (in moderation) and accounting for everything I was watching a program called "Taking it Off" this morning it follows a group of dieter's and it showed one really overweight girl at the gym with her trainer whining about how she did'nt have time to exercise..her trainer was trying to make her see that she was looking for an "out" instead of trying to compromise and find a way to incorporate exercise into her lifestyle she was using her lifestyle to find a way out of exercising. Its obvious that this woman will not reach her goals..in the last series they had one just like her too..there is always the go-getter who achieves and there is always the complacent one who just sits back and waits for 'it' to happen..she is one of those and it never will never happen for her...she just does'nt want it enough.

Hi smiling sal, my name is Flo and I am from Canada. I have been lurking around in this site for a few days now but have not posted because I was trying to figure out where I belong. You and teel and cal(and all the rest sound just my kind of fun. Just talk about everything and anything, so I hope you don"t mind if I jump aboard. I think one of the reasons this site seems comfortable to me is that I am married to an irishman , whose mom however is from scotland. I also have a daughter in New Westminster in b.c. As for your poser...it sounds like going to ww has changed things for you. I myself have never belonged to a group before but if I paid my money I would sure get out there and show up. For me age has alot to do with it. You just get to that point in life where it is important. I only really go by one rule. I never ever eat after 3 pm. except on sundays. And then not after supper. This winter I got off the beaten track but started again 2 weeks ago and dropped 10 pounds. Well I better not keep rambling on or you will all think I am a chatterbox....bye for now

Hi Flo nice to meet you - we are a bunch of chatterboxes.

How do you manage with no eating after 3pm, I would be sleep walking around 3am to raid the fridge every night. I am an evening muncher so guess that explains it.

Thanks for the reply carol. What I do is start slow. Say your last munch out is 10pm. Try making it 9pm for as long as you feel comfy, then 8pm and so on. You just get used to it. And you know you have that one day a week to look foward to. Almost feels like a cheet day to me. Before 3 I eat what i want, when I want (within reason). There have been days when I am busy and not paying attention to time and It's already after 3, and I hadn't eaten by big meal. That's @#! But then in the morning you feel so much lighter that it was worth it. I just tell myself I can have whatever I want the next day. Someone told me about this a few years ago and it has worked for me since then. Well except for the problem I had with trying new meds this winter. I was telling Teel that I have a major back problem and decided to take one more shot at medication. They didn"t do anything for my back but sure put on the weight. 30 pounds. I envy you guys talking about excersice. I played soccer in the women's and the university grad leagues for years and coached a men's team to boot. I was the oldest female still playing at 43. That was 51/2 yrs ago. Now all I can do is walk.Sometimes life can be so crewl eh? Oh well no point stewing...........Ihave to say sorry to cat, I accidently called her cal in my previous post....I promise never to do that again cheers , flo

Personally something snapped inside my head last October (not sure what). I decided on calorie counting as neither hubby or me were working so I had no money for slimming clubs. We had a room meet in Feb this year and I made the mistake of saying I would take time out of the diet whilst we were away. Six weeks later and I still hadn't got back to the diet. Six weeks ago (with hubby now in gainful employment) I joined slimming world (1. it was the cheapest around and 2. I had heard good things about it (plenty of peeps had told me bad things about weight watchers)). I only stayed with slimming world for four weeks, I lost 1lb and gained 2lb by following the diet. But I left because of the consultants non helpful attitude. Then a fortnight ago I joined weight watchers (hmmm wish I hadn't listened to all the bad things that had been said). As of this moment I have had only one weigh-in and I have lost 1.5lb. The diet is much easier, in fact I am as enthusiastic about this as I was counting calories. This week I am experimenting and eating the bonus points I earn. Thought it easier to try it myself than ask around. And I will see how it goes at my second weigh-in this week.

Guess we snapped at the same time Leigh.

I'm finding it hard that my friends who are over weight are struggling to lose at the moment, both want to, but maybe not enough. I am so focused at the moment and am making small changes to lots of different bits of my life, hair, attitude, etc. My 2 best friends, are very supportive but I feel I am boring them to tears, talking about my weight, the new recipes I've tried. How I went off plan here, but caught back up here. What I'm going to try next, how much I've lost, how I can see my next half stone goal, how it's close enough to touch. I feel the conversations we have always end up at weight - it is a common theme between the 3 of us.

basically I think to my 2 best friends I am a diet bore.

Good luck with the WW. I think a lot of it is to do with the leader. I first went to WW about 3 years ago and hated the woman. Then I rejoined last year and met Gail and find it a lot better. Is definately down to personalilties.

Flo - can see the benefits of being lighter in the morning. But I think I'm too fickle and would end up eating too much until 3 and then still nibbling in the evening. If we were all the same it would be boring.

I totally agree that the key to success all depends on your state of mind. For years I have battled with my weight, trying just about every diet and slimming club, only to come out of it weighing even heavier!! I'd start off feeling motivated during the first week or two, then my willpower would just dissolve and I'd end up having a binge and giving up. However, I have recently started 'dieting' again and for some reason, this time I feel totally different ... I just know that this time I'm going to succeed. My whole attitude towards food has changed, I am not treating it as the enemy and I am not depriving myself of anything, just being sensible, eating more healthily and making sure that I write everything down that passes my lips ... and if I slip up I'm not going on a binge, I'll just carry on the next day. I definitely think it's something to do with my state of mind right now ... why it has happened now, I haven't got a clue ... just hope it continues!! Good Luck to you other girls out there fighting the same battle ... WE CAN ALL DO IT!!

Nichola

hi Nicola, that was well said. Have you ever been to fitday? It is on on-line place (totally free ) where you punch in your food , vitamins and any excersize you do for the day. It figures out excately how many calaories and fat you had and also tells you where you are burning your calories off. Not a place for the faint of heart I sure had a rude awakening as to what I was doing. You get to keep your own ongoing daily logs with your own password. cheers flo

Hi Flo and Nichola great to have you here

Flo you must be very disciplined to follow the rule of "no eating" after 3pm did it make a big difference to your weightloss? and are you ravenous for breakfast when you wake up? i'm like Carol its a little too early for me.

Nichola..i too journal everything i eat..it is all too easy to 'forget' about the odd thing if you don't...it makes it easier for me to stay on track too sometimes if i want some icecream or chocolate i take a look at my journal to see if i can "afford" it..if not i'll have something else less fattening and save it for another day.

Hi everyone..welcome to Nicola and hi again to Flo ....Flo, don't ever worry about being a chatterbox...your post was quite short in contrast to some, let me assure you!!

Back to SmilingSals original post, yes I DO think weightloss is a state of mind...I don't understand why!!I have tried to lose weight before a few years ago and lost 18lb, but put that and more on soon after This time I KNEW it was a life and death situation when I got a virus that attacked my heart and now I have only 26% function and the optimum treatment is a heart transplant....but I was way overweight and had to lose 21 lb to even be considered for the non-active transplant list.So I knew I HAD to do it. I could not attend a class so with a dieticians support, cut out fats so no cheese, butter or marg, more fruit and more veg. It has taken forever!.Well I started this path in June 2001....and I have suddenly got to the place where if I put on 1/2 lb I don't get in a panic about it but know that it is going to come off again.I think with me I know it is going to be slow and even more slow but in the end I WILL GET THERE! My thinking seems to have changed as well. In times past if I had a really off plan meal full of fat and carbs, I would think oh well I've blown it now, may as well have chocolate and nuts and...and....but now I think no, get back on track NOW!!One meal does not ruin a diet plan just as one raindrop does not flood the earth.......ooops sorry! Don't know where that thought came from!!!

I'm not where I want to be yet, but at least I have started and got round the first couple of bends in the road!!

Cor..I think I'll go now....and Flo! You thought you could rabbit on....!!!!

Love from Teel

Teel I love that "one raindrop doesn't flood the earth" anology - am going to impress people with that from now on.

I too have passed a couple of bends but I can't see the end of the road yet - but I will

Nice to know I not the only one feeling like this

Sorry to take so long to reply to this post Carol I don't know how I missed it

For as long as I can remember I have been on a diet...My first recollection of actually standing on a set of scales was when I was 15 years old and I joined a slimming club with my mum...I weighed 15 stone 5lbs
Every single time I started a diet I thought that was it and I would reach my goal, but something always went wrong and I ended up giving up and weighing more than I did when I started.
I can't honestly say that this time I felt any different when I started this diet either, The only thing I would say felt any different was the fact that I am now a mother and that had to have been a big influence...I was watching what my son was doing without because of my weight and I didn't want him growing up with his friends calling him because of me...we all know how cruel kids can be . I also knew the way I was going I was killing myself and I want to be around to see my son and his kids grow. I am sure there are other reasons but none that specifically make me think that was the one thing that made me succeed this time

Ali

Kinda blows my feelign different this time round theory.

I am making changes to my life this time round rather than just watching what I eat, am very determined this time round too

I am going to do it I am I am I am

No I don't think it does Carol...Maybe before I just never actually noticed how I really felt...maybe it is just that as we get older we can look at things in a different light...take the whole dieting saga in particular, if your anything like me, I went on a diet and that was it...I was on a diet, I couldn't have this and I couldn't have that....this time although I said I never felt any different, I did realise I was making changes it was just a mnatter of sticking with thoise changes long enough for them to become the normal habit...You definitely will do it this time Carol, I know you will

Ali