Are you confident that you are able to reach your weight loss goals and maintain it?

kickassbarbie

I am 99.9% confident I will hit my goals.

Why? Because I've done it before and have freakishly good weight control (8 years healthy! Whoop!) I always hit my weight/fitness and life goals eventually. The 0.1% is only because you never know what life will bring.
I'll hit my current goal slower than some since I don't so rapid weightloss (learnt my lesson on that one). But I'm getting there!

nyponbell

I am confident that I can reach my goal - eventually. But I'm not so confident in being able to maintain it (I do have an acceptable range in mind, as my ultimate goal weight is for a surgery and not one that I aim to maintain) unless I get through lingering food issues and actually go to the gym (which I enjoy, I just have to make myself go). I'm just not so confident that I will be able to reach even a part time goal within a deadline, because I've never done that in the past (it's like it works against me and I rebel with food). But now that I have the surgery as a carrot; knowing that I will be able to do it once I reach that particular weight, will hopefully be enough to make me want to "get over" a binge before it happens, just so it won't take me longer to reach my goal.

But yeah. I'm hesitatingly optimistic.

NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner

I've been down this weight loss road so many times. I was and I say was with my head held high an emotional eater. I would turn to food at the slightest upset.

Not any more. I am 2.5lb away from my initial target and 10lb away from my new aim. So I really want to say yes I'm confident I can both meet and maintain my goal but only time will tell.

I'm feeling positive now but think I may be a track for life girl as I'm not sure I can do it on my own just yet

taentea

I don't see the result I'm trying to get in my head to be honest. I've still got a long way to go and I've never been there, I don't really know how that version of me is supposed to look.

I don't really doubt that I'll get somewhere good though. Most of this confidence comes from understanding where my weaknesses are and knowing they will not be enough to stop me.

My main problem is lack of physical activity and while I'm going for long walks often these days and hoping to be able to do some exciting activities once I lose more weight, I know I can't count on increased activity being a part of my life all the time. I'm sedentary and my job will always require long hours of sitting in front of the computer. The climate of where I live is only inviting for outdoor activity maybe 3-4 months in a year and I'm too introverted and undisciplined for a gym. So I know I can't base my weight loss plans on any of that or I'd be in for a failure sooner or later. I'm apparently pretty good at staying under my calorie goal though. It's been over 2 months since I went over. And my goal is 1200 from the start, so I won't be facing having to lower it any time soon. So I have an eating plan that more or less guarantees the result and I have some extra activity I do when I feel like it as a bonus. It feels comfortable. If you told me I had to live like this for the rest of my life, I would not be too upset. So my chances to stick to it look pretty good to me at the moment.

999tigger

What an interesting question OP. I dont see many of those.

Am I confident: 95-98%. You cant become 100% confident because thats arrogant and the world might end, I get run over, theres a revolution or I drop dead, but as confident as I can be about anything. It seems illogical and such a waste of time to start soemthing importnat and no see it right through to the end. Not acceptable and as health was a driver for me its not something you want to end in failure.

I was 70% confident in the beginning, but it was different. getting results help, getting knowledge helps because you know what you are dealing with. Im 99% confident I cna get to grips with any situation and devise a solution because im a professional problem solver. At that stage im relying on my instincts and what I know about myself and how I respond to a situation. From a knowledge point of view I wouldnt start without getting an understanding of how and why. Preparation in all its formats is essential.

Once I understood then my plan was excellent, clear, simple, but flexible and responsive. My first attempt to lose weight add in the fact if I fix my mind on soemthing then I trust myself to have a massive serious go at it and am determined. Its a natural trai and im licky that I can focus and keep going , where there are obstacles I work out ways to deal with them rather than being deterred.

The plan should be one that suits you and besides he simple abcs of deiting then you should take good care of your own mental health, never beat up, dont demonise food, learn from failure, keep making better choices and keep going. the plan evolves just as my journey does, old tragets once passed lead to new ones. so I guess thats why its a lifestyle change. Losing weight can be quite empowering, so ive already got new tragets in place and a good handle on how to achieve them.

Start small, build on it and you will impress yourself on what you cna achieve, drive to attain, but dont lose perspective on what matters.

TimothyFish

I'm very confident that I'll reach my goal weight. I'm about six pounds away. According to skin fold calipers and also a little electronic decide the measure BF%, my body fat is 18%. So, I'm pretty much there, I just want to get down to a normal BMI. But I've never lacked confidence in my ability to lose the weight, even when I first started. With me, it was never a question of whether I could lose the weight, but would I do it. Once I committed to the goal, success was assured.

As for maintaining the weight, that's a little more difficult. I have no doubt that I'll maintain the weight for several months or years, but I've been this weight before and thought I would never see 270 again. But I did. While I know what my bad habits were that got me to 270 again, I don't know how they got started. As long as I'm aware of what I'm eating and my current weight, I do fine. But what I don't know is what happened so that I became unaware of what I was eating and my weight, so I don't know how to prevent that from happening again.

Glinda1971

Machka9 wrote: »

Seigla wrote: »

Are you?

What is the basis of your confidence and what is the basis of your doubt? For example, is your confidence (or doubt) based on solid evidence or are you fooling yourself?

What would help you to become more confident that you will reach your goals?

I am absolutely confident I will reach my weight loss goal.
Why?
Because I've done it before and I'm the type of person who sets a goal and does it.
I've also spent most of my life in the vicinity of my goal weight.
It also helps that I'm within about 0.3 grams of one of my second goal weight number ... and not far from my third goal weight number.

As for maintaining ... no, I won't ... not exactly. My weight fluctuates. It always has. Anywhere within my "normal" BMI range is all fair game. I only actively strive to lose weight when I find myself in the "overweight" range, and that has only ever happened 3 times in my life, and all 3 times, I've lost the weight and returned to "normal".


For me, the weight fluctuation depends on my activity level. I'm an avid cyclist and have been for about 25 years now, so in the spring, summer, and autumn I cycle a lot, and eat a lot, and will usually lose the weight. There were many years where I struggled to stay out of the "underweight" range because I was cycling so much, and doing so much other activity that I couldn't eat enough to maintain my weight within "normal".

The problem comes when I reduce my activity for one reason or another ... winter; injury or illness; going back to university while continuing to work ... I do reduce the amount I eat to compensate, but sometimes not quite enough. And that's when I gain the weight. Most years, I've increased my activity level again in early spring, before I reach the "overweight" range ... and next thing I know I'm eating half the grocery store trying to keep my weight up again.

But in recent years, my activity level hasn't been as high as it used to be, and although I have adjusted my eating, it wasn't quite enough. The encouraging thing was doing the math ...

I gained 15 kg in 4 years.
Using the calculation of 1 lb = 3500 calories
15 kg = 33 lb
33*3500 = 115500 calories ... extra calories
115500/4 years = 28875 extra calories per year
28875/365 days = 79 calories per day

So ... over the past 4 years, I averaged 79 extra calories per day.

I was really encouraged when I did that calculation ... it means that my estimate was really close and potentially quite manageable going forward.

What it means ... if I walk an extra 20-30 min/day, I'll burn those 79 cal. If I cycle an extra 3.75 km each day, I'll burn those 79 cal. A slightly smaller dinner portion could lop off 79 cal.

And if I happen to put on some weight over the next few years, it's easy enough to take it off again.

That's how I think about my gain this time. It took me 20 years to put on 80 extra lbs. That's only 36 extra per day.

I have a better mindset this time, there are days when I get busy and don't mind as well as I should, but I'm confident that within the next year I'll be at a normal weight or very close to it.

After that, well now I own a scale and I'll just have to keep monitoring and adjust if it starts to creep back up again.

I'm extremely confident that this, my third attempt at this journey, will be successful and I will maintain.

kjurassic

Not confident at all. Wish I was. But I've really never been a very confident person in any aspect of my life. It's getting harder and harder to do massive amounts of exercise to burn a few hundred calories and the constant gnawing hunger doesn't help! I feel myself weakening and I don't know what to do to turn it around.

juliebowman4

I am confident I can reach my goal.......
I am not so confident I can maintain it.

Counting calories/weighing foods/logging foods/reading labels is a lot of extra work.
I'm worried that once I reach my weight loss goal, I will become complacent and let all that slide.

wizzybeth

I am almost halfway to my goal and I'm 100% confident I will reach it. I have the tools and knowledge needed to get there. I am not sure if I will stay at that goal...I may want to be 5 lbs heavier or 10lbs lighter. I'll know when I get there.

I am going to maintain because I do not ever want to be overweight or obese again. Ever. I plan on weighing myself regularly to keep myself in check.

As my clothes become too big I get rid of them. I have vowed to never ever buy larger clothes again. If my clothes get too tight...time to lose.

I will succeed and stay successful. I hate the way I looked 4 month ago and while I look better now than then...I still don't like the way I look. I want the old pre 3 baby me.

Seigla

kjurassic wrote: »

Not confident at all. Wish I was. But I've really never been a very confident person in any aspect of my life. It's getting harder and harder to do massive amounts of exercise to burn a few hundred calories and the constant gnawing hunger doesn't help! I feel myself weakening and I don't know what to do to turn it around.

I can't give you specific advice, because I don't know you. In general, when trying to change something, I recommend to focus on truth, love and power (Steve Pavlina); truth - admitting what your real situation is; you do that, great, so that at least you don't fool yourself into saying that you are confident when you are not. Another part of truth is figuring out what confidence is, where confidence comes from (one of my reasons for starting this thread is to read about how this works for people) and how you can build it. Here's an interesting video that is also very informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeLpvgAVtU8.

Love: connecting to people, building a support network of people who can encourage you.

Power: trying new things, expanding your boundaries.

You have to figure out what works for you, but these basic principles may help you find the ingredients you need.

Cheers,
Seigla

Seigla

999tigger wrote: »

What an interesting question OP. I dont see many of those.

Am I confident: 95-98%. You cant become 100% confident because thats arrogant and the world might end, I get run over, theres a revolution or I drop dead, but as confident as I can be about anything. It seems illogical and such a waste of time to start soemthing importnat and no see it right through to the end. Not acceptable and as health was a driver for me its not something you want to end in failure.

I was 70% confident in the beginning, but it was different. getting results help, getting knowledge helps because you know what you are dealing with. Im 99% confident I cna get to grips with any situation and devise a solution because im a professional problem solver. At that stage im relying on my instincts and what I know about myself and how I respond to a situation. From a knowledge point of view I wouldnt start without getting an understanding of how and why. Preparation in all its formats is essential.

Once I understood then my plan was excellent, clear, simple, but flexible and responsive. My first attempt to lose weight add in the fact if I fix my mind on soemthing then I trust myself to have a massive serious go at it and am determined. Its a natural trai and im licky that I can focus and keep going , where there are obstacles I work out ways to deal with them rather than being deterred.

The plan should be one that suits you and besides he simple abcs of deiting then you should take good care of your own mental health, never beat up, dont demonise food, learn from failure, keep making better choices and keep going. the plan evolves just as my journey does, old tragets once passed lead to new ones. so I guess thats why its a lifestyle change. Losing weight can be quite empowering, so ive already got new tragets in place and a good handle on how to achieve them.

Start small, build on it and you will impress yourself on what you cna achieve, drive to attain, but dont lose perspective on what matters.

Thanks!

I think I agree that 100% confidence is not realistic, though you may surely feel like that. Indeed it's logical to continue to reach your goal if you see the benefits that you will get. Our health is one of the most important things that we have.

The phrase "you don't want to end it in failure" makes me think about what exactly is failure. I do think that if you make it halfway and hit some kind of plateau and fail to get past it that you have not ended in failure; your health probably already improved a lot. Success is something that comes gradually. However the success of reaching the goal weight is special (I imagine), but I think if you don't totally get there that it's important to celebrate what you've gained (in terms of health - and lost in terms of weight ). Otherwise it's easy to get frustrated, which can make you become fatalistic, gaining all your weight + more back (as often happens). That is failure (though you have to pick yourself up after this as well). Indeed, like you say, taking good care of our mental health is key.

Interesting that you mention that you have become more confident after you started! That happened to me too! Knowledge and results build confidence indeed!

joshuapowell1989

I am confident I can reach my target weight, because I'm dedicated to getting it done this time.
Also learning more about CICO means I can enjoy certain foods that I previously restricted aslong as it fits my deficit, which makes the whole process alot less demotivating.

I'm about 70/30 that I will maintain, as with anything new it will take some getting used to, but i'm hoping my logging experience with my weight loss with go in my favour and I won't find it too hard to do.

xLoveLikeWinterx

Yes, I am, because I've lost 160 lbs and maintained that loss for 7 years. I gained 40 of it back from pregnancy and I'm on my way to losing that now, where I'll keep it off again. 16 of that gone, 24 to go. It stinks, and it's taking me longer this time, but I'll eventually get there.

mbaker566

I'm confident about getting there. and since there are lifestyle changes in this process I hope to be able to maintain it but it's very hard to lose the weight. so I'm concerned about the maintence

pedidiva

Yes. I have incorporated Judith Beck's teachings. Her book, "The Diet Solution" deals with the psychology of weight loss and maintenance. Her second book, "The Diet Trap", deals with situations in which dieters fall victim to outside situations. i have also read the book, "Thin for Life". It is about people who have maintained their weight loss for some time. It is by Anne Fletcher.

I have come to realize that (for me) I will need to continue to count calories, use a food plan, exercise, and be vigilant. I have accepted that. YMMV.

Need2Exerc1se

Nope, not confident at all. I've never been this muscular before when trying to lose weight so I really don't know what my goal weight will be until I get there. I'm pretty confident that I will get to a happy place with weight, just not sure it will be as low as what I entered when I joined this site.

I'm not sure I'll maintain it though. All my life I've using periodic dieting to control weight. I'm not sure if I'll be able to maintain a steady weight or not. I am confident that I will not let it get this far out of control again. I don't ever want to have to lose 30 lbs again (Ugh!) But, I will not be surprised to find myself again trying to lose 10-15 lbs in 5 years or so.

sarahlifts

I sometimes doubt I will be able to hold on to this. Esp when I eat something I should not have, but then I do the math...and realize I will not gain a lb of fat from what I ate. Then I remember how much I LOVE lifting nothing can keep me from it. Then I remember success is rented, and the rent is due everyday.

I have to shake those thoughts from my head. I Love the life I'm living now. I love the confidence I have. I would never want to go back to dreading warm weather bc I have to shed my winter coat.

ElizabethKalmbach

I am confident that I can hit my weight loss goal and maintain weight there, until I encounter interesting behavior from my immune system.

I am confident that I can achieve this goal, because I manage to get back to my "normal" weight after resolving new issues. I've been through this three times now. I know how to lose weight. I my body maintains itself pretty well.

I am hopeful that now that I'm *aware* of how crazy my immune system is, that I'll catch new problems faster and hopefully get them fixed *before* my weight fluctuates 20-30 lbs in either direction. (Yes, I've accidentally lost weight, but not quite as often as I've gained it.) I feel like staying on MFP always, tracking my food and exercise will help me notice more quickly that something is up, than in the past when I've jumped off MFP as soon I was at the weight I wanted to be.