Mental Aspect of Weight Loss as Motivation

tinamarie6624

I wanted to address what I think is the most import aspect of weight loss. In my experience, I have had to keep my mind focused on what I want the most when it comes to my weight loss journey. I call it getting my head on straight and that about sums it up for me personally. I have been a yo-yo dieter, an emotional eater and I seriously thought at 49 years old that I was too old and too fat to do anything about my appalling situation.

The truth is that I was at the lowest and worst time in my entire life. I was fatter than I had ever been before and when my family would try to get me to do anything about my weight and/or health I would do the get out hand gesture followed by the rolling of my eyes.

I don't know if I can pinpoint a time where I thought, "I need to lose weight", but on January 2, 2016 I decided I was going to try to eat better. That was all and it was that simple. I started working on my diet and about a week later a friend told me about the app “My Fitness Pal” and I've been logging faithfully ever since then.

When I stepped on the scale for the first time in dozens of years, I found I was 378 Lbs. I was pushing 400 and I was in the midst of a depression I didn't even know existed with massive back issues (I could hardly get out of bed my back hurt so bad) and high blood pressure.

I lost some weight and I started to feel better about myself but at some point, I did a little math as I thought about the journey I was just beginning. I completely freaked myself out because I suddenly thought it would be about 2 or 2 1/2 years before I could eat anything I liked again. I started to panic and I felt like I was suddenly on the edge of a precipice and ready to fall. I told myself to breath deep and I calmed myself down a little bit. Internally I made a deal with myself that if I wanted something to eat, I would eat it and deal with the consequences the next day. If I wanted to eat pizza or have a nice steak dinner whatever I felt I needed to eat, I would as I was giving myself that latitude. I knew in my head that my journey might take a little longer but I would eventually achieve my goal. For some reason that helped to get my head on straight and I haven’t looked back since.

I have found through this endeavor that I have tell myself everyday that I am doing a great job. I remind myself of how far I've come and what I can look forward to. The worse days through this entire process are those when I feel that I haven't made any progress and its those days that I need the reminders even worse of how I am doing the right thing with my healthier eating and the exercise program I have implemented. I try to remind myself where I came from and how much has changed in my life. I have to continue to keep my head on straight to continue the process. When I have "bad days" and feel that I haven't done as well as I should, those are also the days when I need more encouragement from myself than ever. I have found that my mental state can see me through any problems that arise in my life and I find I can mostly sustain the momentum that I have found during this process.

I cherish all of my My Fitness Pal friends with their positive attitudes and complete understanding of my situation. I find that I like to give back to anyone who needs help from me as I know where a lot of you are coming from.

I have lost 190 Lbs since January 2, 2016 and am currently at 188 Lbs - that is less than half of my original body weight. I am half of the woman I used to be and that's a joyous fact in my life. I have 73 Lbs to lose to get to my ultimate goal and I know that I will complete my mission!

The first photo was taken prior to December 2015, the 2nd was taken on 3/25/17 and 8 Lbs heavier and the 3rd was taken last Saturday at Six Flags. I am now in a size 14 jeans and in a large shirt. I was about 5x-6x in skirts and I never wore jeans when I was that heavy so I have no idea what jean size I would have been.




I hope this helps and remember that I am more than willing to help anyone who needs it.

Tina Marie

birdtobe

Thanks for your perspective and great advice. 190 pounds is an amazing loss in a year and a half!

tabletop_joe

Thank you for sharing your story and congratulations on coming so far. I agree that setting the stage mentally is the hardest and most important factor. I hope you had a wonderful time at 6 Flags!

mcmasters06

Wow I hope in a yr and half I can post like this. Ty and congrats good luck keep up what you've been doing.

HealthierRayne

This is truly fabulous! Your hard work is paying off big time!

88olds

Thank you. You are doing a great job. Weight loss is liberation.

Nyxxess

Your story is so inspiring! And I agree the mental and the emotion part of losing weight is the hardest part. I know when my motivation wavers, that's where I struggle the most. Thank you for sharing your journey. Its stories like yours that keep me fighting.