Over 100 down and it's still a struggle every day (very long)

ElizabethAN2017

Thank you. Very encouraging and inspiring ☺️

snowflake930

One of the best posts on MFP that I have ever read.
There is so much in your story that mirrors my own. 4 years on MFP. 160 pounds lost. Maintenance over 2 years. A struggle every day. My work biometric screening passed all bio markers for the first time this past fall. There is no room for complacency in this daily struggle for me. It is not something that you accomplish and then never think about it again. It truly is something I will always struggle with.

Your message will be an inspiration to so many! Thanks for posting this. Continued success to you!

Adphillips9

Thanks for posting this! I'm sitting here with a non moving scale (likely due to a weekend of not staying in my limits), and reading your post is keeping my motivation going today.

laurie62ann

Congrats on your weight loss and maintenance!

Your post was like you read my mind and put in on MFP. I too cycle on/off with exercise and eating well. I've maintained for two years and been struggling for the last two years to move past 170. My goal is 155ish. The most frustrating part is I know how to do all the right things to make the weight come off, but for some reason right now I can't seem to motivate myself to do these things!

I wish you the best in moving forward on that last 20 pounds!

jatdh1753

Great post - thank you for sharing.

adpage444

Thank you so very much for your honesty. I am inspired. I know I can do this.

jmb6739

This is just perfect Thank you for sharing!

alias1001

Wonderful post! Congratulations on all you have achieved!

elinor32

Thank you for this post. So, so much.

I loved this part of your post most of all:

"I get bored with the gym. I get bored walking the same trails. Some days I just want to sit at home in front of the TV and do nothing! I exercise in cycles. Some times I'm great at it and other times I'm not and that's OK. It took me a while, but I learned that exercise and weight loss are not conjoined. I now exercise for fitness and eat for weight loss. I do feel better - healthier, happier and more motivated - when I exercise, so I do try to exercise more often than I don't.

Plateaus are hard and frustrating and I hit them often. I'm in one now! I can go MONTHS at the same weight and I want to scream at the scale and throw it across the room every morning it doesn't move but giving up and going back to my old habits would not solve a thing so I suck it up and keep plugging on."

Thank you for giving me exactly what I needed to hear today. You can definitely hit your goals - but you didn't need me to say it ! I'm rooting for you.

NikiChicken

Wow. Thank you all so much for your support and kind words! I am overwhelmed! As I said yesterday, I started this post because *I* needed to say the words and hear them myself. I never expected the reaction I've received. Honestly, I didn't think anyone would read the post because it was so long! I am truly touched.

NikiChicken

Armagan123 wrote: »

Congratulations on your fantastic success!
I have one question, you sound as if tracking your food intake is easy, even on your vacations you mention you keep on tracking. To me that is the hardest part, at home I try to do my best to weigh my food, but still on a busy morning or a tired me at dinner easily gives up. How do you manage, just eyeballing or a very strict scale usage?

This could be a post all on its own! I'll try to answer this briefly though.

Tracking my food is easy *now*. It wasn't when I first started, but that is/was the one thing that I have always been good about and I would say that is probably the single most important reason for my success so far.

When I first started, I didn't have a tablet or smart phone, so I had to actually log into my computer to track anything. The work week was fairly easy because I was always near a computer, but on weekends, I had to make a "date" with my computer at least once a day and usually more, to track my food. Then on vacations, I didn't track at all. I finally bought a smart phone and someone gave me a tablet as a birthday present and since getting those, I haven't missed a single day and I track almost everything I eat before I eat it. I don't wait until the end of the day to try and remember everything I ate that day. If I do that, I miss things.

In the beginning I pre-tracked every meal. I wouldn't eat a single thing unless it was already tracked. When going out to a restaurant, I knew where I was going before getting there and I would research online to find the best options for the calories I wanted to spend and then I pre-tracked the meal and ordered exactly that when I got to the restaurant - I didn't even open the menu! I also entered all my favorite restaurant items into the "my foods" section of my tracker so I don't have to look them up every time I go to a restaurant. Now, I know all the restaurants near me and what the menus offer and can choose from the menu when I get there. I still track it before I eat it though! I usually pull out my phone and track between ordering and when the food is served.

At home, I use a food scale and I log before I eat. Without weighing my food I get myself into trouble. If I try to eyeball a portion, It's double or triple what it really should be. My food scale sits on my counter always. My recipes have all been input into MFP over time. They take a little bit of effort to input in the beginning, but once they are there, they are there forever.

When I go to someone's house for a meal or party, I track before or while I am eating. This is the only time I eyeball portions and guestimate. Sometimes I'll ask for the recipe in order to better guestimate what I am eating. I've been tracking so long that all my friends and relatives understand what I am doing when I pull out my phone, but have seen my success and understand why. It also only takes just a few minutes at the very most.

Hope that helps!

Armagan123

Thank you so much for your detailed answer

NikiChicken

kar328 wrote: »

Wow, so great to hear someone just like me. First, congrats on your loss and persistence. You look great.

I'm on day 1179 (3 years, 3ish months) of doing this, my highest weight loss is 111.8 lbs (although up 2-3 at the moment). My goal is 12.2 more from that lowest, which would give me a 50% loss. Everything you said is true, it's long, it's frustrating and if you told me I'd still be at it, at this point in time, I'd have laughed. But - it's so worth it. The physical changes - 3X to S (and even XS scrubs). I recently bought a pair of size 4 jeans. I was 22/24 when I started. I can't stop rubbing the bony parts I suddenly have, collarbones, shoulders, hips, it's weird and good at the same time. My posture has improved, I'm not hunching over with all that fat on my belly. And more importantly, the inner changes, more self-confidence and for probably the first time in my life, I like myself. I can look in the mirror without flinching, I watch myself in gym classes (and get mildly annoyed when the instructor walks by and blocks it). I'm more physical than I ever was in my adult life.

Great post, you said it all - it's a little scary that you're in my head

I think you are a little in my head as well! I have gone from a size 24 to a 10 and I love my collarbones, shoulders and hips as well! Also, like you, the inner changes are even more profound with a whole lot more self-confidence (I even willing presented a 20-minute leadership lecture to a roomful of people 2 weeks ago!). I also, like myself for a change!

silvestrea

This post is perfect. Thank you for sharing your journey with us!

forruths

What a fabulous post! You have put into words the day to day struggle that so many of us have. I'm learning so much on MFP and your post says it all. Thank you.

sanfromny

This post was excellent! Not knocking any one else's successes but so many times you hear about how someone lost 100 is 6 months or 9 months. Sometimes it's discouraging and makes you wonder "what's wrong with me?" How come I'm not losing like that?

This was so encouraging to let people know that this is a process, this a lifestyle, that this goes on forever through all the bumps, ups and downs! Slow and steady wins the race everyday of the week and twice on Sundays!

This should be a feature article for MFP. Thank you so, so, so much for sharing. I don't think you really have any real idea how inspiring this is.

Enjoy your holidays, enjoy your success. Congrats! A job very well done!

stephyc2016

This is great! Thank you so much for the post it was motivational and you have done such an amazing job over the four years! Your proof that it's a steady process and to take your time there is no need to rush. It took years to gain what we have and we shouldn't expect it to just melt off in a month or two.

Thank you again and cheers to your success!