It reminds me of the bible verse in which (I think it's Paul) bemoans the fact that he does not do the good he wants to do, and finds himself doing the bad he doesn't want to do (forgive the leeway with the extreme paraphasing here).

Regardless of religious beliefs, I think it illustrates how long humanity has had these struggles between desire and action. And the struggle has been a lot longer than the few thousand years documented in the Old and New Testaments.

Originally Posted by JulieJ08:
Oh gosh, that is the most fascinating thing to me. I mean, I never lacked for knowing what to do and why. Sure, I keep learning. But I have always had what I *needed.* But why did I wake up one day, and bam, no more doubt? It was done before I even started. I just knew this was the time.

This is my experience as well. So odd. Because I had ZERO doubts that I would get it done this time. Zero. So odd. I simply can't explain it. It was a blessing. A true blessing. I am sure of it.

Originally Posted by Schumeany:
She, however, is a Devon Rex and weighs about 5 lbs.

I was going to comment on this. You have my favorite cat! I've always wanted a Devon Rex. Have you posted pics of her here?

Wow, you leave your computer for a couple days and such interesting things happen! This is a great discussion! Though I'm late to the party I have - as usual - to put my opinion in. :)

My OB/GYN, a tall, naturally thin woman told me - without asking any of my weight loss/gain history - that all I had to do to lose weight was "cut out a couple pieces of bread a day." She had no idea - and still doesn't - what sort of eating I do, or exercise. She once handed me a bunch of papers saying "here's what you need to do to lose weight." Reprints from a bunch of articles, many contradictory. Grrrr. And then when I did lost, no one word! No recognition that I'd done anything. And to digress, since I'm about to turn 64, she sends me a letter letting me know that on the day that I turn 65, she will no longer see me as a patient because I am eligible for medicare and she doesn't see medicare patients. Mind you, I'll still be working and covered by my employer's insurance. Double grrr! I'm shopping for a new OB/GYN.....

And as for starting slowly, remember a year or more ago when the government stated that we all needed to do 60-90 minutes of exercise 5 or 6 days a week? I know people, and we probably all do, who threw up their hands and stopped doing what exercise they were doing because they "couldn't do that much exercise." There was no "ease into it" built into the government's recommendation (which, you'll notice Midwife, is contradictory to your "too much exercise" advice from RealAge :lol: ).

I know from my own many tries at losing weight that I could not change everything in my life at once. Every time I tried to change my eating, my thinking, and my exercise levels, I lasted about 10 days. When I finally found my time, or click, or whatever you want to call it, I realized that if I eased into it, changed one aspect and when I was good with that, added another. I lost 30 lbs before I ever added deliberate exercise, but by then I was comfortable with my food changes, they were part of my life. I was ready to add another change.

And for all of you trying to help your cats lose weight, you have my sympathy. Dogs are easier. For one thing, most dogs eat when you feed them, as opposed to cats (or at least most of the ones I've had) eat a little now, a little later, grazing all day. The cats I have now - 2 siamese - are both normal weight. One is 18 months old, the other 11. The younger one is responsible for the older one getting more exercise. She pushes the older cat to play with her, and often the game is chase - from one end of the house to the other, up the stairs, down the stairs, over the furniture.

Anyway, thanks for the interesting, thought provoking reading. You all have great insight into this journey we're on. I'm so happy to have a place to discuss all this stuff - as opposed to real life where most people don't want to hear it.

Originally Posted by :
This is my experience as well. So odd. Because I had ZERO doubts that I would get it done this time. Zero. So odd. I simply can't explain it.

Same here. I've always known. I've always done the research and looked things up and loved to cook and ... been interested in nutrition and all of that.

But 18 months or so ago it just ... happened. I started doing it. And I kept doing it. And then I got better at it. I don't know what switch flipped, but it did, and I'm awfully glad.

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Originally Posted by rockinrobin:
This is my experience as well. So odd. Because I had ZERO doubts that I would get it done this time. Zero. So odd. I simply can't explain it. It was a blessing. A true blessing. I am sure of it.

Same for me, I had zero doubts this time. I have described it a few times as best as I can put it into words - I was electrified with purpose.

What a great thread :) I have agreed with so much of what you guys have written!

I agree that weight loss is both simple and complex. I have often said that losing this weight was the easiest and the hardest thing I have ever done - at the same time.

I think almost everyone knows that an apple is a good snack. It's actually having a nice, crisp, fresh apple handy when you need a snack that's the tricky part (in my experience). Simple...yet hard.

I've been kinda absent from the boards (and my strict maintenance lifestyle) since my step dad died before Thanksgiving. I just got back from another trip to Texas (helloooo pralines) and my frig/cupboards are stocked with my "usuals" - it's back to normal eating-wise around here. My jeans still fit :)

PS - I am a 90% whole grain/brown rice person. I always try to do the best I can - if a "healthier" choice is available, I go for it. If not, well, a little white rice in a california roll is not why I was an overweight person.

I nominate this as the best thread for 2008...and 2009! heh :)

OK, I'll amend what I said to be that many people know or have the ability to learn but choose not to.

Add me to the list of those who had an "a-ha" moment when it comes to weight loss, and suddenly things just seemed to fall into place. I finally "got" that if I wanted to lose weight, I had to change my habits. I always think of what Einstein said (I don't know the exact quote so I'm not even going to try) about doing the exact same thing every day and expecting different results.

I also "got" that exercise was going to be hard, but I had to keep at it (I'd give up in the past) and it would get easier in time...which then meant that it was time to find something more challenging! I don't get to the point that I feel like I'm having a heart attack, but I do realize that I have to get out of the comfort zone and challenge my body.

I also "got" that I was going to have to change my eating habits, while still allowing myself treats. People ask me all the time how I lost weight, and I do mention that I allow treats once in a while, and stress that a treat is not an every day thing.

I think most people logically know that to lose weight you need to consume less calories and exercise more, but it is hard to put into practice. People sometimes "want" to believe things and convince themselves that something can be true, which is the reason that easy weight loss "solutions" sell so well. I was talking to a co-worker of mine who was going on and on about how she couldn't lose weight, so I tried gently telling her that a lot of the snacks she chooses are high in calories. She mentioned that she doesn't eat like that at home. :?: I wondered what difference it made where you ate it, the main thing is that you ate it. I'm not talking about someone who treats herself occasionally to this snack food, but someone who eats it (and other high-calorie snacks) quite often. To me that's like someone only counting the beers they drink at a bar during the course of an evening, and discounting the ones they drink at home beforehand before getting behind the wheel of car. What difference does it make if you drank ten beers at one, two, or three different places in one evening?

I try to keep my mouth shut about weight loss at work. I know a lot of people say they want to lose weight, but for some reason or other, may not be ready to try. I'm not being insulting to anyone...I was 35 when I had this "a-ha" moment, so I was like this too. I tried to lose weight before, but for some reason, I was able to stick to this new way of life a lot longer than in the past (almost two years now) and I don't feel like I'm on a diet, I just feel like I'm living life differently. And as far as "enjoying life" too much to give up foods they like, I used to think like this too...but life is so much more enjoyable now, because unlike three years ago, food isn't the only thing in life that gives me pleasure.

I lost +-50 pounds a little over ten years ago, and maintained the same Size I currently am (Size 4) for the four years prior to my first child being born...but it was a lot harder work last time, because I did not have as much great information as I had this time around...no 3FC. I ate way too few calories, worked out too hard, got too thin for a while, my skin was bad, I got anemic, my nutrition was pretty bad, etc. While I got better at the eating and I learned to regulate my exercise better and allowed myself to go from a Size 0/2 with 17% body fat to a Size 4 with a little over 19% body fat, so that, for most of the maintenance period, I was fairly healthy, the "loss" part of the process was pretty much **** on earth.

So for the last few years, I kept remembering that process and thinking there was NO FREAKIN' WAY that with three small children now, and a lot more responsibilities than I had back then, that I could work out two hours a day and eat 1200 calories or less and deal with feeling tired all the time and having bad skin, etc. -- I just couldn't face it. So I did pretty much nothing about it...and then one day a lightening bolt hit me, and I suddenly said, well then DON'T work out two hours a day and don't only eat 1200 calories...work out MORE than you do now and eat A LOT less (Hey, my mantra is back...eat less, move more :))...and so I started by walking and journaling my food, and in my first month I lost only 3 pounds, but I lost, and then I spent the next month pushing WAY to hard, because that is who I am I think, and I lost 15 pounds, but it sucked rocks and I almost quit, but the next month I found my happy medium and a couple of weeks later I found 3FC...and here I am.

It was a journey, and I guess I did "know" what to do before I started it, but it didn't mean I really knew. To really know, I apparently had to walk the path for a while first...and my previous experience made it really hard to get on the path in the first place. And we ALL have past experiences, dieting myths we believe and previous failed diets, etc. but you have to give that history up, or put it behind you at least, or I don't think success is possible.

Edit: Recidivist -- I just noticed your post about my Devon. I'll see if I can dig up some pictures of her to post.

Originally Posted by ennay:

"eat food, not too much, mostly plants"

People actually *say* this?! :crazy:

I love the devon rex!! they are beautiful! I have 3 sphynx cats. Also known as hairless cats. they are WONDERFUL!! i have a pic on my profile and some on my blog. two are a healthy weight, but one has some over eating issues ;)
I think this thread should be given the best thread award!! I dont have much to add that hasn't already been said. Just that i am thankful every day that i finally "got it" and i also JUST KNOW somehow that i will reach my goal this year, no if, ands or buts about it. And I cant explain how or why. Just glad that it happened. Thank you all for such wonderful insight.

This is such a great thread because it's one of my biggest gripes.

I have a good friend who's got everything under control. She has no problem with will power, she has complete self-motivation to do anything she wants and totally doesn't understand what it's like to not be able to get myself out of bed in the morning sometimes. She has no idea what it's like to be completely depressed (clinically). I mentioned the other day that I'm trying to lose weight and her response was to tell me to eat more natural foods because all that work makes me want to cook smaller amounts. And when I told her I wanted to work out more she said "30 minutes a day, 3 days a week" and when told her I know what I'm supposed to do for exercise her response was "then do it"... I couldn't even respond.

Some of us have very basic, huge obstacles to overcome. Depression is a huge obstacle to losing weight and being healthy. It's a long road to a lifestyle change, it's not like I can just get up one morning and completely overhaul my life in one fell swoop. Yea, we know what we're supposed to do to lose weight - we all get weight loss tips shoved down our throats every. single. day. It's like, you're not telling me anything I didn't already know.

Originally Posted by TheMrs:
People actually *say* this?! :crazy:

Re: Eat food, mostly plants, not too much -

You probably need a little context if you've never heard it before. The "Eat food" part has to do with avoiding processed, convenience foods and "food products" - like artificial sweeteners, things like the margarine that was all the rage before trans fats were outed, nonfat everything with the fat replaced by sugar and weird thickeners, and so on. In other words, just eat "real" food, stuff your great-great grandmother would have recognized not been mystified by.

"mostly plants" and "not too much" are probably more self-explanatory.

Originally Posted by :
Re: Eat food, mostly plants, not too much -

You probably need a little context if you've never heard it before.

Also, one of the lead in sentences to Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food. :) It's been quoted a lot in a lot of news stories, magazines, reviews, etc. So it's not just a random saying ... it actually has a literary context that it's drawn from.

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Originally Posted by :
And when I told her I wanted to work out more she said "30 minutes a day, 3 days a week" and when told her I know what I'm supposed to do for exercise her response was "then do it"... I couldn't even respond.

Some of us have very basic, huge obstacles to overcome. Depression is a huge obstacle to losing weight and being healthy. [...] It's like, you're not telling me anything I didn't already know.

I totally understand and sympathize with this, but I also want to point it out from the other side. My husband is clinically depressed and has been most of his adult life. He takes meds for it, but as I'm sure you know, there are still obstacles to face.

After a while, though, as the person on the other end, it's gets really frustrating and tiring and ultimately annoying hearing your friend or spouse say "I want to work out more" or "I want to lose weight" and KNOW that they know what they should be doing and yet they're not doing it. After a while there truly is nothing else you can say to them except ... well, then just do it.

And yeah, it might come across a little .. harsh maybe? But I suspect there might be an element of frustration there on the other end. I know when I say things like that, it's almost always borne from months (or even years) of listening to my husband talk and talk and talk about doing something but never doing it. And finally it's just "do it or don't do it but for god's sake shut up about it." ;)

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