Finding happiness before losing weight

saltandalex

I've lost over 70 pounds in the last 6 years, but I've never been overweight.

When I first lost weight I was 16 years old, weighing 130 lbs at 5'3. I knew to lose weight you needed to move more and eat less, but after internalizing it too much I developed and eating disorder and got down to 100 pounds in 5 months.
I maintained my weight for about 2 years, before gaining it all back... Then losing 20. Then gaining it back again. Then losing 20 once more.

The articles I read that suggested a lifestyle change rather than a diet neglected to mention the importance of mental health. If you struggle with Yo-Yo dieting, you may need to find happiness in life before attempting to lose weight.
When I got depressed, I turned to food for comfort and dismissed it as apathy.
I would think to myself, "what's another pint of Ben & Jerry's?" and remind myself that life is short while eating myself into a sugar coma.

If your diet is poor, ask yourself why you're eating that way. If you're secure enough in yourself that you don't care about what you look like, that's great... but if you're doing because you don't value your health or your life, then you need to work on two things: the first, eating healthier. It impacts your mental and physical well being. The second, appreciating your life. If you're eating out of boredom, ask yourself if eating is really the most fascinating thing you could be doing. I know when I was depressed, I felt as though it was the most rewarding.

Right now, I'm at 130 pounds. I don't like how I look but I'm recognizing before I start restricting calories or portion size I need to evaluate my mental well being and my reasons for wanting to lose weight. I need to change my outlook on life, myself, and my relationship to food before I try to lose weight again.

whoffmanz

Very healthy perspective.

N0703989

You make sense, no matter what your starting weight is