Why the fight?

minimyzeme

Is weight management a "fight" for you? How much energy do you put into resistance vs. making it a journey of a positive outcome you're willing to "sacrifice" some foods or drink for in order to get to a better place? Does this type of perspective (either way) make any difference in your journey?

Jerdtrmndone

Is weight management a "fight" for you? Yes

How much energy do you put into resistance vs. making it a journey of a positive outcome you're willing to "sacrifice" some foods or drink for in order to get to a better place?

I try not to resist in making my journey positive sometimes it is inevitable. Yes I could give up certain foods or drinks but then I would not be living a lifestyle it would be a diet. I do things mostly in moderation.

Does this type of perspective (either way) make any difference in your journey?

When I do resist I gain. I have a fine line with weight loss that it doesn't take much to put me into a gain and hard for me to lose. I am trying as hard as I can but still live a life of happiness. I have 50lbs. to lose but things no matter what I try just aren't working.

podkey

My "fight" is more of an acceptance of where I am today. I try not to think of it as a sacrifice, but I did have a nightmare last night that involved a very small pizza oven swelling up to the point of bursting from the pressure. Reminded me of the Harry Potter scene where Marge Dursley filled up like a balloon and floated to the ceiling. Oh my.,

88olds

I got in a fight, well, argument on the Motivation board for saying suffering was optional.

Always looking for the path of least resistance. The easy road. Problem solving. Trying to live within some reasonable limits.

I feel more like I’m stumbling around in the dark rather than fighting.

countcurt

All of the above?


Mostly it’s not a fight. I understand the ‘rules of engagement’ and they’re usually very manageable.

Occasionally, my needs and wants are out of sync with each other. Those are the times when the struggle is real.

Like George, I’ve encountered some interesting stuff on that Motivation board. I have posited that there is almost certainly going to be some feeling of deprivation involved and there’s nothing wrong with a little deprivation. The idea alone was not well received by some.

Interestingly, I spent many years as part of the resistance. Mostly I resisted reality. And- spoiler alert- I spent many years getting nowhere. Go figure.

gadgetgirlIL

Every once in a while I have a dream of the type that @podkey mentioned! Then I wake up and realize that my habits are working well enough to keep me pretty weight stable in spite of some days of overeating due to stress.

The harder fight for me was back in 2006 when I had to give up gluten, dairy, and soy. The feelings of deprivation were very strong and it took a few years to accept the sacrifice I needed to make to stop having gut pain. Every once in a while rear that feeling of deprivation raises its ugly head. Mostly in social/travel situations where getting gut-friendly food is a challenge.

But after 12 years of eating in a different manner than my peers, I've adapted. For example, I'm heading up to Wisconsin for a weekend of cycling later today. My cooler will have pre-made items that I can heat up in the microwave in my hotel room for my breakfasts and dinners. I'm not really a foodie so eating the same basic items isn't an issue for me. If the opportunity presents itself to get a real breakfast at a local diner (omelet and hash browns) then I will certainly jump on that.

minimyzeme

While I found excuse after excuse not to start the weight loss process, somehow when I finally made that transition, I settled in for the long-haul. I give a lot of credit to having read the GOAD archives back when we were part of the WW Community Boards. The straight talk and simple realities of this journey helped me to understand this was all about tradeoffs. While indulgences were included, clearly I couldn't keep eating and drinking as I had been and accomplish what I wanted to accomplish.

I think early on I made a deliberate decision that this was not going to be a fight for me. When I wanted it, I wanted the weight off. After "thinking about losing weight" for so long, turning the corner, enrolling in WW and finding both real-life and online communities gave me perspective and all kinds of examples of helpful (even if not-so-helpful) approaches.

My anecdotal observations in the meeting room is that those who fight the process the hardest seem to have the most difficulty losing the weight. True or not, I decided not to fight. I was reminded of a karate class I took decades ago where I was instructed to use the power and energy of my opponent against them. Somehow, I incorporated that concept into my weight loss strategy. I also chose to employ my "90% rule"--figuring it would take me longer to lose but ultimately reduce the fight that might come from feeling like the sacrifices were too great (ya know, from fewer donuts or whatever).

Taking the fight out of weight loss has been and continues to be helpful in managing my weight "long-term"--although I don't really feel like it's been long enough to call it that yet.