Another thread got me thinking about this. It's not about 'Why do i want to lose weght?" I've been wanting to for years. I've been over weight and obese for years.

This time is different because:

1. I'm exercising consistently and longer.

2. Replacing my over eating with healthy or healthier habits.

3.Portion control.

4. Owning up to my problem of overeating and binging. Dealing with it. Identifying my 'triggers' and preventing them.

5. Public. Everyone knows i'm losing weight.

6. Accountable. Check in groups/challenges with real people.

7. Online support. No one understands better than 3FC. It really matters to have friends that really 'get' it.

i dont know if i will be successful or not....just know i'm better at losing weight than maintaining.....this time last year i weight 169 lbs....and well, in 2007 i weighed 322lbs.....and well, you can clearly see my ticker....i don't know what my problem is, but i am working on figuring it out...i am not worried about taking the weight off, for me, that part is easy, the hard part for me is thinking i deserve it.
so this time i'm just going to try and remember how crappy 300 lbs feels, and this time i'm going to try and take it off, and keep it off for my health.....we will see

I have the education now... If you understand how the body works it's really hard to feed it stuff is doesn't need. The more aware you are of the chemical reactions and processes that occur within cells, the more apt you are to want to help that process. Health starts not just with your body but with each organ, each system, each cell.

Wow. I like these responses so far. They definitely give one pause for thought.

I've always preceded this kind of response with a "Well, I don't know if this time I'll be successful, but..."

Well now, I can honestly say, Heck yeah! I am successful! And I will continue to be successful! And here's why!

1. I made a commitment to be on plan for one full year no matter what. This is the NUMBER ONE key to my success. I safe guarded myself against giving up. Even better, when all kinds of people on 3FC are watching you to see if it works you really want to make it work.

2. I weigh daily. This is going to be a part of my success in maintenance. I know me. I can not bury my head in the sand if I have to face that number every day.

3. Like Zombie said, I am educated now about the foods I put in my mouth and it has become a hobby. I improve on my healthy intake every day and I enjoy it more and more.

4. Like Piper, I remember what it's like to be at my heaviest. I remember vividly and I remember every day. The smallest, most ridiculous things bring me absolute joy. I take time daily to revel in these joys. Today I have marveled at how easily I cross my legs and I remember back to the days when I had to hold my breath, bend over to grab the cuff of my pants and hoist one leg up over the other and that was just to cross them "like a man". Then I had to hold my foot up there or prop it up against something. Now I just cross them like a lady and I even fit under a table with them crossed. Today I marveled at how slim my thighs are becoming while I did a wall sit. Yesterday I was thrilled to be able to pull my legs in comfortably in a chair in a waiting room while other women had to sit properly. This is a "me" thing. I'm one to always have my legs pulled in, or sit on my feet. I kick my shoes off and sit like that wherever and whenever I can. But it gotten so I couldn't curl up that way and I wanted to.

birth control that stabilizes and reduces crazy monthly hunger

realizing low-carb can be healthy, and is healthy for me

daily weigh-ins without guilt or apology

taking punishment, blame and shame out of the weight-loss process

realizing that "staying the same" is nearly as good as a loss instead of feeling as if it were as bad as a gain

only making changes I"m willing to do indefinitely

being willing to change plans if what I'm doing isn't working (without feeling I'm entitiled to take a "break" from good habits before starting the revised plan).

"Unlearning" the counterproductive behaviors and beliefs associated with dieting and weight loss. Just because "everyone does it," doesn't mean I have to or should.

1. Portion and time control. I eat by the clock, and I portion all my food accordingly. I restrict myself almost nothing. If I have enough calories left over for it, I can have it. If not, I can always have it tomorrow.
2. Calorie counting. Without it, I'd be nowhere.
3. This website.
4. Daily weigh ins, so I can see what my body does naturally, and how it reacts to certain foods and certain amounts.
5. A much better understanding of how weightloss is achieved.
6. Because I don't want to spend my 20s the same way I spent my teens, alone and fat and inside on he weekends.

Great Thread!

Doing my diet as an everyday thing and not as something "special or temporary"

Not getting bent out of shape if I have no control over my food for one meal (relatives, restauants...)

Counting all calories and carbs whether high or low and understanding my needs change from day to day.

Challenging myself to think beyond my own little box of pre-conceived ideas about what it means to diet by making it more about monitoring my eating and food selections than it is about restrictions.

Most of all, I am successful because I want to be. I can remember at my heaviest weight I would whine and moan about how I had no control over my eating and couldn't lose weight no matter how hard I tried. The reality was my "tries" were whimpy attempts and my desire to eat was stronger than my desire to succeed was. I wonder why I ever believed that....I have been able to lose weight and control my eating for over a year now.

Great thread!

I'll succeed this time for one simple reason.

I'm doing this as a lifestyle change. Not a diet. I'm doign it for my health, my children's health, and my husband's health. The weight coming off is an added, exciting benefit. There are so many health problems in my family (and with my husband) that I saw a very bleak life for my children. I changed for them, and because DH wouldn't do it on his own. And once I changed, I realized that *I* deserve to be healthy too.

One word: Tracking.

I've lost weight before. A lot of times actually- but I've never consistently tracked my progress like I am now. I know exactly what I've eaten and when I've worked out and how much I weigh. That's what makes this time different.

I will succeed this time because:

* I have accepted that I had to change even though I was uncomfortable doing so.

* I have accepted that some of my old favorites, sugar and high carb cause me to crave them, so I have to avoid them or pay the consequences.

* I have accepted that my intuitive eating button just simply does not work. I will always have to monitor my food intake.

* I have accepted that walking from the couch to the kitchen is really not exercise and now I do real exercise.


On the positive side, I will succeed this time, also, because:

* I learned that the change was not as terrible as I always thought that it would be.

* I learned that there are healthy foods that I enjoy that can replace my old favorites.

* I have learned that keeping a food journal is really not that difficult and time consuming.

* I have learned that exercise is not that bad and can even be fun at times.

* I have learned that I don't have to be perfect. Being persistent is more important.

I will also succeed this time because I love the results that I see:

* playing on the floor with my grandchildren

* going shopping for hours for much smaller clothes

* sleeping better at night

* having much less pain

* feeling better about myself

* socializing more

* being a happier person

I have a better support system in place, both in spirit here and through technology with my online calorie counter.

I have eliminated the person in my life who sabotaged me constantly.

I no longer have to cook for a notoriously picky eater that lives on potatoes, ketchup and fast food.

I have found my stride with exercise. I like to run and I like to go to Zumba. I would honestly be unhappy to go without either one for more than 3 days.

I never want to see an obese BMI for myself ever again.

I can go a day or two without soda, a can of soda is now a filling treat to be indulged in.

This time is different because I have lost weight without a crazy crash diet. Because I feel incredible and am only 1 size from my goal size and 15 pounds from goal weight. And this time I feel confident that I can do this forever and be perfectly happily living like this (advantage to taking months to lose 15 pounds?h

I am hoping i will be successful this time and my reasons are mainly because im changing other areas of my life to.

1. Im focousing in more counting points
2. I have made a gym in my house
3. I am exercising aprox 3 times per week
4. I am starting my own business
5. I am learning to drive

Just all these litte factors should come together and create my new life style and in turn i will lose weight at a steady healthy pace and keep it off, i just feel like im achieving in other areas so eventually i will achieve weightloss

so many of these are true for me too. i weigh daily. it's not a big deal if i go up or down slightly (well down is relative lol. new numbers is always fun.) tracking for sure, but telling real people about it is key. i hate telling my friends i didn't work out. I don't just forget about exercising anymore.

i was already eating pretty healthy, but i'm learning more and more about improving. i've never had success like this before. i'm getting rid of all my fat clothes. there's no turning back now!

This time it's a permanent change because:

1) I've finally learned so much about nutrition and the human body that I understand why I'm doing what I'm doing and why it works (and I will continue to learn!)

2) I've accepted that in order to be thinner, I needed to make changes in my life. I couldn't be thin and still eat as much as I was eating before, it was impossible. Being a little hungry isn't the end of the world, cooking isn't the end of the world, denying myself a piece of cake every day isn't the end of the world.

3) Habits, healthy habits, are so important to keep things going even when I'm tired or cranky or upset.

4) Learning to say no to friends and loved one that want to express their love through food. It's hard. I sometimes can't say no, but I have grown strong enough to let the junk spoil or throw it away.

5) My exercise comes ahead of my social schedule! In fact, I'm working to make physical activities part of my social life, instead of food.