Living The Lifestyle, Monday, 2/27/17

88olds

Everyone says it, but just how do you do it? How do you take the guidelines of the WW program and turn them into a lifestyle you can live every day...from now on? That is what we are here to explore. Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Newbie? Join in! Veteran? Join in! Your thoughts may be just what someone else needs to hear.

Monday --88olds (George)
Tuesday --Rachel0778 (Rachel)
Wednesday -- misterhub (Greg)
Thursday --Imastar2 (Derrick)
Friday -- whathapnd (Emmie)

Today's Topic: What You Had When You Got Here

We all didn't start out from the same place. Let's look at the positives. What good habits or tendencies or traits did you bring with you that have helped you in pursuing weight loss?

88olds

I can think of 3 things.

When I started was already eating oatmeal.

I was exercising regularly. However, I quickly figured out that the level of my exercise was considerably less than intense. Also, the methods to calculate intensity were, at that time, inexact. So I gave up the idea to trading exercise for more food.

I'm a creature of habit. I got to 285 lbs by way of a set of bad habits. I seem to be just as comfortable now with my better habits.

Rachel0778

I didn't have great habits yet, but I'm tenacious so I don't give up.

I also have a perfectionist tendency so I had to get everything right, which means I usually have awesome logging streaks. It also means I can get obsessive which isn't great for my mental health.

myallforjcbill

I think being goal oriented helped me be a bit more relentless. I too can get a bit obsessive as a result and shows in tracking etc which brings its own problems and frustrations.

DavidKuhnsSr

I benefited in two areas, I think.

First, I spent 24 years in the Army. Discipline was not hard for me. Really, staying OP is just a matter of discipline.

Second, I used to drink - a lot. I quit drinking 34 years ago. Compared to that, managing my eating was/is nothing.

Al_Howard

When I started this time around, I was scares sh!tless when diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Now that my weight is down considerably, and my A1c is "normal", the impetus has decreased, and, seemingly, so is my dedication to adhering to Plan.
Working on it, with some success, again.

misterhub

I research well and absorb information quickly and thoroughly when I choose to do so. So, I was able to learn about nutrition in a thorough way, which has stuck with me through the years - whether I apply it or not.

gadgetgirlIL

I've always enjoyed exercising. But going up the big hills in Wisconsin on my bike are much easier when I'm not lugging so much body weight.

I've never minded tracking. I'm detail orientated. The apps we have today make it so much easier than decades ago when it was calorie counter books and a steno pad.

leeless511

I knew and liked to cook.
I knew and liked healthy foods.
I liked being outside and active.
I was at a healthy weight more years in my life than not, thus I knew the lifestyle.

Even with all that...it was still overwhelming to start WW and I had plenty of false starts, but I know those items listed helped over time.

Now that I am at goal and maintaining it is not like before, because I now have structure and a method to get back on track if I start gaining for some reason. Today, I react my weight going up or my eating being more liberal much quicker than when I was younger. Back then it took 10-20 pounds to say...get back on track.

mcbluesky

Always enjoyed exercise and working out. Also, knew what I should be eating, and what quantity I should be eating. What I did not have was the discipline, consistency, and accountability I needed to be successful. WW has provided a basis for all three.

imastar2

1. I brought with me a determination to do something about my weight due to a wake up call with my sleep study. I was going to be checking out of here if I didn't do something.

2. I had been down this path a few months prior with WW and lost but weight came back b/c of my OSA.

3. It was already greatly helpful for me to be able to track and understand the system.

4. I had success with WW just prior to coming back lost 88 lb so I knew I could work the plan.

countcurt

I exercised, although I did that when I was overweight/obese, so I'm not sure that helped with weight loss.

I love many (or most) fruits and vegetables. So incorporating them more aggressively into an eating plan wasn't that difficult.

I like to cook. And to experiment with cooking. So the added attention to caloric value and nutritional value created a new challenge with cooking.

goldenfrisbee

No good habits to speak of and low willpower. So I'm trying to just look at one day at a time.

Jimb376mfp

@88olds Good LTL Topic!

Made me think.
1. Sticktoittiveness If that's a thing?
I always showed up for work, 42 years of Federal Civil Service. Seldom took a day off, good work ethics. I have same attitude about attending weekly WW meeting.
2. Always "wanted" to be able to go to gym to workout. Had the desire but never the inner drive to just Do It! Remembered how football practice was enjoyable back in HS. Had good memories of when I was at a weight and could do things.
3. My DW is an excellent role model. She lost 100# in her twenties and was a WW ML, she became a Jazzercise instructor in her thirties and has increased her activity level in her mid sixties to include biking, jogging. Jazzercise, and still works FT going to work at 6:00 AM! I admire her and know she is far outpacing me but I'm trying to do more just by seeing what she does.

minimyzeme

First, I wanted to lose weight. When I actually joined (as opposed to the year or two before when I thought about it), I was committed to following through. Not to getting to goal, but to changing what I was doing with food.

Second, I was both ignorant and realistic where I needed to be. I honestly didn't know how much I needed to lose. My doc encouraged me to lose five pounds because he knew (and told me) I could. With a goal like five pounds, why not, right? Once I joined I really didn't know or care for at least a few weeks how much I needed to lose, whether it was 5 or 80. It didn't matter to me because I was going to lose it the same way in either case. 80 was obviously going to take me longer though...

I accept tradeoffs. I knew on Day 1 and I know today I can't eat like I did and take / keep the weight off. Simple as that. Not saying it's simple , just that I at least got the basics figured out.

As a bit of a researcher, I had the good fortune to stumble onto GOAD right after I signed up online. I read a few threads on some of the other boards but GOAD struck my core. Just what I needed so I read a lot of the archived threads. Certain themes and realities started to emerge for me and they were very insightful. I felt well-informed from the get-go.

podkey

•Good nutrition in childhood and not overweight.
•Enjoyment of outdoors and activity
•Persistence
•Learn to cook for myself from young age and cooked for myself one whole summer as a teenager on a paleontology expedition armed with a cast iron skillet. Yes I ate a lot of steak and rice.and peas but learned cooking and was young and active enough to burn it off.
•As a scientist/laboŕatorian at med school I have plenty of knowledge about health and nutrition. I don't obsess about micronutrients but have a decent knoledge of it. I also have a reliable cràp detector regarding fads
•Learned to keep it simple when busy.

Yes I ate too much pizza and beer at times in college and had no real plan. It doesn't take a lot of extra food/ treats/ beverages without a plan to creep up to obesity. My good traits kept it slow enough that I didn't get much over the line of clinically obese. I was 50 to 80 LB too heavy .

WW gave me an organized plan to get portions and decadent choices in better control. No way am I "mr perfect" but the habits help a lot. I sometimes feel I "fumbled the ball" ( weak football analogy) 50 times while losing weight but picked the ball back up 51 times. Maybe I was of an age and mindset to stumble along using WW. I love tasty foods and culinary delights but don't mind còoking and eating simple foods either. Too tired and lazy to cook fancy tonight (often)?? I also am too lazy and impatient to drive to a "fast food" joint and waste time standing in line to get "stuff".