So what makes this time different?

mandeenicoleb

What makes the difference is when you decide that it is no longer for a superficial reason. Most people want a number on the scale or to look better. Study after study show that people who do it for that reason tend to start getting comfortable as they get close and fall offt the wagon. Then they start to think it is a plataeu when the truth is they forgot what got them where they are. The only time it changes is when you finally make the decision to make a true life style change.

With that said there are those who are self punishing and are capable of keeping it up for vanity reasons, if you ask me those folks are just plain crazy. I keep going not becasue I want to lose weight or because I want to look better, it is because I enjoy working out and I like how I feel when I am done. I have accepted that I have a little flab left around the mid section, but I am in great shape and I could care less about that little flab. It is not affecting my health and it is not keeping me from any physical activity whatsoever. So why should I obsess over it?

I'd be lying if I said vanity didn't play a part, but also my boyfriend and I always talk about how happy I am when I'm working out and eating right. I had moments where I felt like I was falling into a depression (not because of weight issues, but just feeling down and overwhelmed by work, school, and life) but working out seems to be the best way to deal. I've never taken medication nor do I plan to because exercise and a healthy diet has always been enough to get me back to my happy optimistic self.

So I guess what I'm saying is, it's true!

Athena53

I stumbled onto the idea of 5:2 fasting before I even knew someone write a book about it and I stuck with it because it just felt right. I didn't feel bloated all the time. I didn't weigh myself; I rarely do because I just get crazed over day-to-day fluctuations. Over the long run, though, my clothes started getting loose and people started to notice.

The other thing was that I got talked into a sprint triathlon a few years ago and kicked up my workouts a notch because I wanted to survive it. I've done at least one every year since!

I think I've finally hit a plateau but since it's less than I weighed when I graduated from HS 40+ years ago, I'm happy with it.

cjgarcia86

I kept having to buy clothes, because my weight would fluctuate. I wore nothing but sweatpants for two months. I am 26, and I figured if I dont feel good about myself now, I probably never will! I didnt want to live that way anymore.

lacquer_head

I always knew I was big and have made several weak attempts at losing some weight. I would generally give up after a couple days or weeks. I saw a picture of myself sitting on a boat and thought "Holy crap! Am I that big?!" At that moment it was like a light flipped on in my head. It was time to make some moves before there were some serious consequences.

TedStout

Christmas...50 years old, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, tired, etc. Got on the scale New Years...almost 200 lbs (I am 5' 7" and was a Marine for 20 years, always in good shape). Size 36 waist. I HAD ENOUGH.

Today, 30 waist pants. Blood pressure AWESOME. Cholesterol AWESOME. Eating great, feel great. Best weight I have been at my entire adult life, really.

So this time is different because I don't have a whole lot more chances if I screw this up. And I just feel too darned good.

ncmedic201

This time I know that if I don't continue to eat healthy, my blood pressure will go back up and that gives me terrible headaches! I did great earlier this year, lowered my BP and came off all 3 of my meds for it. Now, I am starting to eat bad again and my BP is up and the headaches have returned.

djeffreys10

I actually followed proper nutrition this time, and stuck it out long enough to see results. That made it an obsession. As such, it is now a way of life.

alisonlynn1976

A little over a year ago, I got a job that allows me to have some disposable income for the first time in a long time, I wanted to be able to purchase designer clothes, and I couldn't because I was too big to fit into them. That motivated me enough to really do a lifestyle change. In the past, I've gone on low calorie diets to lose weight, and they work, but I've always quit after losing 15 pounds or so because being hungry all the time put me in a bad mood and it just wasn't worth it. Now that I'm doing this the right way, it's easy. I've lost 28 pounds so far, and that's the most I've lost at a time, ever. I just know I'm going to follow all the way through with this. I feel better than I've felt in years.

cwolfman13

Actually, this was my first real attempt. I used to be an athlete and a former Marine. I've been fit and trim most of my life...just let myself go the last 10 years or so. My decision is based on my health and my doctor telling me I needed to make some changes pronto if I wanted to hang around to watch my kids grow up.

I dropped my 35-40 Lbs pretty easy and have completely changed the way I eat. That's not to say that I don't indulge from time to time, but overall my diet is all about lots of veg and fruit, lean proteins and healthy fats. I don't eat at restaurants often...maybe once or twice per week and I make most of my food from scratch...I can't be 100% clean, but when I eat processed it's minimally so. I've found that eating a lot of whole foods has made weight loss pretty effortless. To boot, I've completely reversed all of my bad blood work and I'm more fit than I've been in years.

I've been maintaining for the last couple of months as I had reached my goal of 19/20% BF but have recently decided to cut another 5%. This is pure vanity and a desire to get my athletic body back. I'm going really slow with about 1/2 Lb per week cut. I figure I'll drop 10 Lbs and that 5% by October/November.

Tiff050709

I guess what changed is that instead of wanting to lose weight to look good to other people, I decided I wanted to lose weight and be healthy for myself, first and foremost. I do want to lose it to be a good role model for my kids, especially my daughters.
I have no health problems, but I don't want any. I see my mother and grandmother, who are both overweight, and I don't want that to be me in 20+ years. I feel like I have not really been living my life for awhile now and I want to reclaim it.

BreeFeelinFree

I wanna be a hot Mom and Wife oh and live a long life

JasonT1973

I want to be my old self again... Fearless in crowds, not winded after stairs and I want to fall back in love with being outdoors instead of dreading it. Renn Faire, amusement parks, boardwalks, and I have a future goal of doing a castle tour in Ireland / Scottland

thistimewillbedifferent

Given my user name, I feel compelled to answer this question!

For me, the difference is that I finally really, truly, genuinely made my health my number one priority. In the past, I always said I wanted to lose weight, but my actions didn't reflect my alleged intentions.

When I began to commit to my health at the beginning of this year, the first thing I did was to sit down and map out what elements in my life were hindering me from focusing on my health. I eliminated as many of those elements as possible, making room for things like advance food prep and working out, and each morning when I wake up, I say to myself "I take my health seriously and make conscious choices to protect and enhance it."

And then, most importantly, I ensure that -- for the most part -- my choices reflect that.

I'm not anywhere near perfect when it comes to my choices, but I'm light years ahead of where I was last year.

KristenRidl

I had a dream (actually, it was more a nightmare) the night before I officially decided to change my life for the better. In my dream, I was attempting (very unsuccessfully) to run. It was uncomfortable, frightening, and near impossible. Plus, I was larger in my dream than in real life... It was like a glimpse into my future. The following morning, I recounted the dream to my sister, and we popped in Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred then and there. (Of course I had purchased the DVD several months prior to this, without ever opening the case.) This was around September 12, 2012. Nearly 9 months later, and I have dropped almost 65 pounds!! I workout 4-6 times/week, and feel stronger than I ever have before. I am so happy now, and so thankful that I have created this new life for myself!!

beepaz

25 years of being overweight and obese, i dont want to add another 5 years of burden to my body. i want to be good to my body and be healthy, and feel GOOD! i dont want to be 30 and still be obese, i dont want to put on any more weight, i dont want to stress my body any more!

ikudbne12

Diagnosed with MS. Talk about motivating!!

A_Fit_Mom

I have the right mindset now. It is a lifestyle change not a quick fix. I also know we will not have any more kids, so now I have a lot more motivation knowing all my hard work won't be undone at a later time.

fitelisa

It finally hit me when I kept going to the hospital for different medical reasons and each one the cause of it was being overweight. So I knew I had to do something especially with the last time I went to the doctor that they put me on a strict low sodium diet. But really I began to think about how single I am in my 40s already, not married, no children and I need to do something about my weight so I can feel good to find someone in my life its never too late. But this time I really felt the calling for weight loss due to health and being still single. It came to a point I was constantly switching friends cus this one found someone that one got married. Its different this time around I have taken it seriously.

ZumbaFreak2329

I am tired of being fat! I have been trying for a really long time and I think finding MFP is the best thing that happened to me!!! I get so motivated and I actually feel supported!!!! MFP is changing my life!!!!! I know it's up to me if I wanna change and I'm doing it for me!! TIME FOR A CHANGE!!!! (: Add me peoplee!!!(:

auteurfille22

This might sound very weird, but I think it really was MFP itself. I, like millions of others, resolved at the end of 2012 that come January 1st, I would lose weight. I had bought a notebook, and I told myself I would write down everything that I ate every day. I thought that psychologically, if I saw just how much I was eating, I would eat less. Well that's not really what happened. I forgot about the notebook, and even when I remembered I couldn't be bothered to write in it. Then I had exams for school and didn't think about it at all. That brought me to the beginning of February. On February 9, I found the notebook once again. I had just gotten my new IPhone 5 and I was looking for fun apps to download. It occurred to me - "Hey, what if I just downloaded a calorie counter? I could write down how many calories I was eating in this notebook too!" MFP was the first thing that came up, so I downloaded it. At first, I was going to delete it. I just wanted something that would tell me how many calories were in different foods, and this app was asking me about what my height and weight was and how many pounds a week I wanted to lose. I didn't want to join some sort of weight loss plan. But then, for some reason, I decided to just try it. And less than 24 hours, I was OBSESSED. I literally LOVED logging. It was so exciting to me to enter different meal ideas and see how I could make them fit my calorie goal. I loved seeing how my macros broke down. And it was actually something I could stick to, since I have my phone on me ALL the time, and the novelty of the new phone made me even more attached. And from that point forward, I made a commitment to losing weight. Now that the novelty has worn off and logging is not the exciting event it used to be, I'm motivated by the progress I've already made. I look at my body and I'm so proud of how far I've come that I can't even think of stopping. I honestly think I owe it all to MFP.