Yes, I absolutely have this feeling.

I've been trying to lose weight for eleven years, I really think its ridiculous that I've been doing this so long and am still not at a happy weight.

In 2006 I lost 2 and a half stone (35lbs) and if I hadn't given up, if I'd kept plugging away, I could have gotten to my goal (which was only another 35lbs away at the time) by Christmas 2006 and been slim and healthy for the past 3 years!

But now I'm really working at it, and am determined to get it done.

Originally Posted by georgiad:
Yes, I absolutely have this feeling.

I've been trying to lose weight for eleven years, I really think its ridiculous that I've been doing this so long and am still not at a happy weight.

In 2006 I lost 2 and a half stone (35lbs) and if I hadn't given up, if I'd kept plugging away, I could have gotten to my goal (which was only another 35lbs away at the time) by Christmas 2006 and been slim and healthy for the past 3 years!

But now I'm really working at it, and am determined to get it done.

Georgia, I actually have had those feelings as well. A little over two years ago I decided to start trying to lose weight...joined a gym, tracked calories, etc. I would stop for a few months, start for a week or two, stop again and regain, start, stop until at last, 2 years went by. It frustrates me to think that if I had just stuck with it the first time around I would have met my goal twice by now.

It's just so frustrating! To think of all the upset, all the pain, all the struggle, all the things I've missed out on. I've not been able to have half the fun I should've had at uni as I could've had if I had even just stayed at the weight I was (153lbs, incidentally).

Originally Posted by Wannabeskinny:
Losing weight is a walk in the park (literally when you think about it) as long as your mind is centered and you can focus on that. Being overweight is emotional turmoil and one must be ready to climb out of it in order to do the easy part.

I love what you said here!

Of course, I regret having spent so much time being large, but I also have to accept that it was never the right time or concept. It`s not like I have not been trying. It`s just that I have not found a strategy which worked until recently. I did everything in my power but took a while to discover what works for me.

Don`t get too sad about not having done it sooner - and if you feel you do, just turn it round and think, I`m grateful that I`ve done it now and not waited for yet *another* 5 years...

This is actually one of the only regrets I have from my life. I definitely regret not starting sooner....or, I guess, not taking it more seriously earlier. I sometimes think about what I might have experienced if I had started this when I was younger.

Originally Posted by Fat Pants:
I haven't thought about renewing our vows (we've only been married for 2.5 years) but I have thought about doing a "trash the dress" photography session once I lose all the weight. Of course my size 20 wedding dress would be falling off me at that point. Maybe I could score a $99 gown in my size or something. Or maybe just another photography session with me and my husband, kind of like our engagement photo session (which I was also fat for). Hmmm.

What is "trash the dress" session?

What about having your original dress cut down to fit your teency body!

I've had my moments where I wish I just woulda known long ago how "simple" this is (not saying there isn't a lot of hard work but counting calories and exercise = simple concept, to me) but now I just try to focus more on my life today and not the past, it just brings me down.

Originally Posted by Wannabeskinny:
Losing weight is a walk in the park (literally when you think about it) as long as your mind is centered and you can focus on that. Being overweight is emotional turmoil and one must be ready to climb out of it in order to do the easy part.

well, for some people. I think some people just didn't know how to climb out, or even how they got there.

I also blame all the misinformation that's been out over the years. I have a few fad diet books and old magazines from the 70s and 80s, some have extreme low calorie, low carb then it went to no/low fat & high carbs, then back to low carb... at that time the internet wasn't the wealth of information it has today, so people followed what was available.

also the growth of fast food chains making it a daily thing instead of a once in awhile treat... food in general has become more and more centered in our cultures- we eat out more, holidays are centered almost all around unhealthy food, etc... For awhile transfats were pumped into our food (along with other unhealthy things), and I think most of us didn't know what they were till recently they were found to be causing so many health problems for people.

I think it's only recently more balanced diets, like The Zone, became popular. and it's more recently we understand the science of calorie counting, we now know eating 1000 calories isn't healthy and will hurt our weight loss, while 20 years ago 1000cals might have been considered a good amount for weight loss. We also have tons of tools online, books, Iphone apps, etc to help find calories in almost everything, while 20 years ago we were lucky to have the little calorie counting books with the calorie counts of just common foods.

in other words, I wish I KNEW then what I know now so could of started sooner!

Great string.

The thing I have come to realize is that all of my weight loss efforts over the years have taught me lessons that I never fully understood or synthesized until this time around. So, do I regret not doing it earlier? Sort of, but it was my earlier efforts that are making a difference now.

I have no regrets
I feel that the years I have spent overweight have made me the person who I am today. I have come out of all of this as a stronger (physically and emotionally), wiser and reflective person. I appreciate life, I appreciate health and I feel I can handle better what life throws at me than someone who has never struggled with something like obesity.

I'm happy with my life now and I know that if life didn't run its course the way it did then I wouldn't be where I am now. I also have the chance to inspire others with my success and commitment.

A few reasons why I don't regret what I had to go through:
1) I eat healthier and exercise more than my thin friends do and have become far more health conscious. If I had always been naturally thin I probably would have never learned what I needed to know about healthy eating and exercise.
2) I know that I can lose the 'babyweight' in the future because I've already learned the basics of how to lose weight.
3) I know that I have made a lifelong commitment to being healthy and I know what I have to do to stick to it.

The list goes on but those are my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by caliyah:
I have no regrets
I feel that the years I have spent overweight have made me the person who I am today. I have come out of all of this as a stronger (physically and emotionally), wiser and reflective person. I appreciate life, I appreciate health and I feel I can handle better what life throws at me than someone who has never struggled with something like obesity.

I'm happy with my life now and I know that if life didn't run its course the way it did then I wouldn't be where I am now. I also have the chance to inspire others with my success and commitment.

A few reasons why I don't regret what I had to go through:
1) I eat healthier and exercise more than my thin friends do and have become far more health conscious. If I had always been naturally thin I probably would have never learned what I needed to know about healthy eating and exercise.
2) I know that I can lose the 'babyweight' in the future because I've already learned the basics of how to lose weight.
3) I know that I have made a lifelong commitment to being healthy and I know what I have to do to stick to it.

The list goes on but those are my 2 cents.

That's a pretty interesting perspective and it's really awesome that you can see it that way!

I guess all I see are the things I missed out on by being obese: spending quality time with my husband doing physical activities like hiking or backpacking, not being social after work with my coworkers because I was embarrassed by my weight, feeling ashamed that I had let myself get that big so avoiding people I loved, hiding behind baggy clothes so no one would pay attention to me.

I realize now that those were my own choices to do those things. What makes me sad and regretful is selling myself short for all those years.