Congrats on your amazing weightloss, so inspiring for me!!

Any time I lost weight in the past, I gained it back and then some.

This time is going to be different, my life literally depends on it.

That being said, I believe and am preparing for always looking over my shoulder for that 5-10lbs that sneaks up on me. I used to ignore it and then it would be 50lbs before I threw in the towel and gave up, stuffing myself into a worse depression. Not this time!! Nipping it in the bud every time, I don't care how exhausting it gets. It's more exhausting trying to lose weight.

THANK YOU EVERYONE....

This is why I love this site. Not only can you vent but you get GREAT advice.

1) Love the idea of a danger zone weight. I'll definitely keep that in mind.

2) I never thought that how not allowing myself to "not care" about my weight could actually benefit me.

3) BERRYBLONDE...You're right, this is disordered thinking. I've done a lot of work on changing the way I think about eating EVERYTHING. And now I realize I need to work on my disordered thinking on staying near goal weight. Thanks alot...

THANKS EVERYONE...By the way, the run was great. I finished just in time and just as the local High School track team hit the path. Getting passed by all of those teeny HS girls would have really ticked me off.....:)

5.05 miles behind me and the soup was great!!!! So was the greek yogurt!

I have been maintaining for a little over two years, and I can tell you that I think about my weight every day. I don't obsess over it... but it's there. If you aren't vigilant, you can backslide, and it's that awareness that helps to prevent that.

The way I managed my weight has been pretty simple. I set a "red line" weight. The second I start nearing that weight, I make a conscious effort to lose a few pounds and get away from it. It's a constant dance... I bounce around the same 5-10 lbs or so. I weigh myself every day... it has become part of my routine. It's how I keep myself in check.

I am not saying it won't be different for some people, but I am just saying that has been how it has been for me.

And CONGRATS!!! What an achievement! You must be so proud of how far you have come... it is truly amazing!

Congrats!:carrot:

I am maintaining now, but it took me a long time to figure this out. I could lose like no other, but maintaining, pfft, that was hard.

I am happy to say that I am now a maintainer! However, if I do not stay aware, it won't last.

The up side is, I figured out what works for me, and I'm comfortable with what I do.

JohnP is an IF guy, great, works for him. I'm a Weight Watcher person, that works for me. Plus a few other things. I weigh each morning, write it on a calendar above my scale. I track my food and exercise. At the end of the month, I take the calendar and my food journal and look at trends. If it's a bit up, I need to take action, If I'm where I'm comfy, I'm good.

Just for myself, I finally figured out, that this is not about failure, it's about feedback and listening to your body and your mind and learning from it.:D

BTW thinking about your weight is not always bad. There are days where I think about it and I am happy that I made it through the journey :) So it can be positive too.

Do you have a goal story and a before and after pic.? We would all love to read your amazing story and it might help you to read it, too.

With me it goes in waves. Right now I'm super-focused (like I always am when I'm on a mission to lose). The longest I've maintained is a year. Then, I fall off the wagon--usually after a holiday or something. I get so angry with myself. I figure one of these years it's going to take. I know myself and know I will have to watch the scale daily and not allow a gain of say, 3 lbs. For me, it will be a "forever" thing.

I think the issue for many of us is self-trust---or lack thereof. Read your post and you'll see that you're writing as if you do not have control of the process, almost as if some outside force will put the weight on you. But that cannot happen. You are the one who lost it, and you are the one who can keep it off. You do have control over your weight.

I know what you mean, though. The longer I am at this, the more I trust myself not to regain. I used to panic when I overate and I would automatically think, "Oh, there goes my self-control! I'm going to regain all the weight I lost!" But after several times of getting back on track and catching any small gains, I have begun to trust myself more.

It will take some time, and it wouldn't hurt to use some positive self-talk. When you get those feelings of panic, just remind yourself that you are ultimately in control of the food you put into your mouth. No one will force-feed you. You are in control.