[Doomkitty]

That's just a discussion on semantics. For me, restarting means setting new goals and focusing. To me, even having a bad day is irrelevant. Now, having an entire bad summer? In saying I'm restarting, I'm forgiving myself.

[alaskanlaughter]

i am definitely focused on re-starting since the school year started...i had a rough summer with too much junk food around, stressed like crazy, short on sleep etc....i stayed with my workout routine all summer and tried my best to stick to a calorie limit but it was really hard...with the school year comes more routine in my life, less access to junk foods, and i really started to re-focus on what i need to be doing

[Doomkitty]

I wanted to add some more detail to my response now that I have the time as I feel my point/goal has been twisted a little bit.

Originally Posted by kaplods

Maybe so, but I think the "restart" mentality contributes more to weight problems than it helps.

You are assuming this based on your own interpretation of my use of the word "restart". As I explained in my previous post, I use it to indicate forgiveness, not procrastination, which should be obvious from my opening post in which I stated that I was restarting today. Whatever word I use, if it works for me, that should be good enough. If I decide at 10:00pm Sunday night that I want to do better starting Monday morning, that's a perfectly healthy goal to set.

At least that's been my experience. For me, weight loss has been like climbing a steep and cragged mountain. Almost every time I slipped, I would hurl myself over the cliff - often to the very bottom to satisfy my need to "start fresh."

I haven't hurled myself off a single cliff in 2+ years. I've started and stopped, never gaining more than 5 pounds during an off-period, sometimes continuing to lose a pound per month, data that a friend of mine recorded and sent to me last month. I was surprised to see a steady drop, even during "down" periods.

There are even socially endorsed rules for the starting fresh points.

Never heard of this so it's a little irrelevant to me but maybe it is helpful to someone else.

The very title of the thread reflects this restart timetable, or one similar. It's not yet Winter. In fact Autumn started only two days ago. Why wait until Winter to restart?

Actually, you missed where I said I restarted today. My title reflects my location, nothing more. It may be fairly nice where you are, I don't know, but where I am, it's cold. I'm already pulling out my thickest jacket and considering buying a hat, scarf, and gloves. I'm also shopping for gym memberships because, realistically, it's already cold enough to turn me off of exercising. To me, it's already winter weather-wise.

Considering the rest is following that same thread of procrastination, I won't quote it but will say that you went really far off of my use of the word "restart" and mention of "winter". Maybe if you lived here you'd get the winter thing, it's freezing. But whatever word the women here use to help them get going, that's great for them and I don't see a need to assume that any of us have a negative mentality.

[kelijpa]

AlaskanLaughter - I find it much harder to stick to my program during the summer, lots of fairs, festivals and such, looking forward to routine as well. Have managed to maintain through the summer so counting that a win.

Best to all

[Elladorine]

Reading the title of this thread kind of resonated with me. I plan on my own restart early next year!

Having already lost over 100 pounds but becoming complacent with my goals, I eventually started to revert back to really bad habits and gained significantly for the first time in nearly 10 years. I managed to get a hold of my senses though, and did an official "reboot" in March of 2012. And it was the best decision I ever made! With the additional weight I lost throughout the year, I sported a total loss of 150 pounds and am currently smaller than I was in high school.

I still have a ways to go though, and I'm currently pregnant so I've had to put my weight loss efforts on hold. However, I'm doing my best to continue eating healthy, even though I have to add more calories in for baby growing. I'm working hard to continue the mindset of healthy eating and plan to get back to a calorie deficit once it's time to do so early next year.

Good luck to you! I think making a serious commitment to a new start is a great idea.