Over and over again

avjets

Hello All,
I am once again starting a weight loss journey. Was doing great a few years ago and then slid. Was doing well last year and then new job, house etc and I am back where I started, not an excuse just the truth. I am about to turn 44 in a few weeks and embarking on a new journey starting this weekend I am calling "Mission 45". The mission is by the time I turn 45 I want to be down 35 lbs. Current stats 5'8" 217 lbs. In the past I have tried to do 1.5 lbs lost per week and was successful but not at maintenance. I would really like to make this the lasting, lifelong journey and do this at a more realistic pace for my lifestyle. I am active and workout 5-6 times a week.

Any advice, wise sayings, kick in the pants, you would like to offer would be extremely appreciated.

Thank you and the best to you and your personal journey!!

Sean

M30834134

I think most of us can relate. I've done a couple of "diets" to lose weight. Only after I realized that it was not a "diet" that I needed but permanent changes to my life which I have to sustain, the path became clear. I know now that I cannot go back to "eating as before" because that "eating as before" got me overweight. Again and again.

Now it's very clear for me that I need to log until whenever - no end date - in order to stay in the greatest shape of my life. I'm hoping that some time in the feature I will finally train my body and my mind to properly assess food portions, but it's not on my priority list. If it happens it happens - I'll be happy.

My last weight loss I started at my heaviest 230 (6', 44 y.o.) and planned 200 as my goal because I thought I was "big boned" and there was no way in hell I could be, as BMI tables suggest, 184 (normal BMI). Well, I am in the normal range of BMI, and not surprisingly - I'm not "big boned"

My opinion is that, if you remove the time constraint from this journey and go about it the healthy way - the process will be easy. You will not freak out if you don't lose any pounds one week, or lose less than you expected - it will happen when it happens - the rest of your life is ahead of you.

Choose a healthy weight loss rate, read a lot, ask questions, log honestly and consistently - and reaching your goal is simply inevitable. There is no other way.

I wish you success.

H34v3nlySinsx3

Glad to hear you have a great goal! It's definitely possible, I've lost my 34lbs in a year!

Definitely work on maintaining your weight once you've reached your goal remember, it's a life style change... Not a diet

Good luck to you!

robmcleod613

Routine. It takes 21 days to establish a new habit. Get into yours!

The thing about establishing a healthy routine is that you can and will go about it on autopilot even if you do not want to.

Work it.

eugenia94102

I'll add to the good advice you've received here to say this: rename your mission to "Mission 85". Make a lifelong commitment to control your food intake. Best of luck.

Sued0nim

Do something you can stick to for life

Have your eye in how you will maintain rather than a goal scale weight

avjets

Thanks all

rtp_slg52181

I found monthly naked pics at maintenance helped me visually keep myself in check and knowing the pic was coming helped me to stay active and keep my indulgences in check.

AmyMgetsfit

I too am starting up again after gaining some back do to illness, injury and lack of motivation. Luckily I didn't gain it all back, so I am not starting completely over. I am going about it very slow this time. Instead of trying to pull in the big numbers like The Biggest Loser, my goal is about a lb a week. If I lose more, great, if I don't that's fine. Instead of weighing myself every morning like I did in the past, I weigh once a week and record once a month. I am looking at this as more of a lifestyle change and not instant gratification. Also at my age it is harder for the skin to keep up during fast big losses. I don't want baggy skin, so I figure going at a slower pace should help with that too. Also I am not going to deprive myself of an indulgence once in awhile or on special occasions. That would be a sure way for me to fail, if I was too strict.

sijomial

As you seem to be good at weight loss but unsuccessful at weight maintenance perhaps consider a different approach? Set your calorie goal to maintain at your goal weight.

Your rate of loss would naturally taper off as you got close to goal (not a bad thing anyway) but there's no transition to maintenance and the habits you need to maintain are already ingrained.

Alan Aragon and Lou Schuler wrote a book about the approach.