Living The Lifestyle, Thursday , August 6, 2020

MASSRUNNER_FRANK

We meet here to explore, share, celebrate and (sometimes) agonize over how we do (or don't) incorporate weight loss guidelines into our daily lives. "It's a lifestyle, not a diet" is easily and often said, but sometimes not so simply put into practice.

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion.

Monday - 88olds (George)
Tuesday - whathapnd (Emmie)
Wednesday - misterhub (Greg)
Thursday - MASSRUNNER_FRANK
Friday - imastar2 (Derrick)


On Monday, George posted the topic of Hope and weight loss which prompted responses of Faith as well.

Today, I posit, Love as the Topic.

What is have you learned to love about the Plan or your participation with it?
What surprised you in that process either about yourself or the Plan?
Like love in general, how has it changed over time with the Plan?

MASSRUNNER_FRANK

Hope this isn’t too touchy freely for a topic. Not meant as such.
I will get back with my response to this later and perhaps Eve to yesterday’s thread.
Hopefully not at 9 p.m. tonight.
Ugh.

88olds

Sometimes I look back and try to figure out the reason for my initial WW enthusiasm. Was it just because it worked? When I stated men and women were assigned the same number of points. It was height and weight, no other adjustment except activity. So the resulting calorie deficit was fairly aggressive. If I stuck to the numbers I was going to lose. And I did.

But pretty soon I found that I kinda liked the point counting thing. All of it. The research, planning, number crunching, all of it. It was like a puzzle game. A couple of times I took my WW calculator into the supermarket and just walked the aisles looking for things I might fit into my plan. A couple of times I encountered other shoppers doing the same. I even told a couple of. friends that I considered WW my new hobby. Pretty soon I was the person at my meeting rattling off the points for various foods. I tracked every week that I was not on vacation for over 5 years. Even after it wasn’t fun or even interesting anymore it remained a habit and was very easy. I had no issue maintaining when I was tracking. Still don’t when I do it.

I post on the Motivation & Support board. Lots of newbies there. Kinda surprised I haven’t been flamed for this but a couple of times I’ve noted-

Motivation in weight loss is sort of like falling in love. You have to find a reason and a way to keep going after the initial buzz wears off.

podkey

I too liked the point counting thing when I started. I joined "by accident" just following some friends on a Saturday morning bike ride where they asked if they could stop in this rural satellite location to weigh in. I thought WW is sensible, shrugged and joined up. I found the small numbers to be manageable. After losing weight and settling down I morphed more into the core/sft way of doing WW. For me my "reason" if you want to call it that is really habit.
I wasn't wildly in love with WW or any other plan but followed along without the highs and lows of excitable programs.

podkey

Oh and as they say I truly am not in love with brushing my teeth and find it annoying that I have to do it daily

imastar2

@MASSRUNNER_FRANK you hang in there. This to shall pass we gotta take care of business it's just plain understood.

This is a interesting topic. My feeling about Love in this context sorta goes along with self esteem, self worth. In my opinion: I need to love myself in a way that I want the best for me.
I want to love this journey I'm on and I want stay in love with the process and the journey.

I originally loved the WW point system but as time went on and they made change after change till it just wasn't in my opinion a viable option the last year or two. I finally dropped WW at the end of 2019 and totally changed over to MFP and tracking kcals exclusively daily.

In this situation I found that I also need to be in love with my journey and the process which I feel I am. As I write this post I've been eating the wrong things plus too much as well. Already gained 4 lbs so lesson here? I can't let up not one little bit.

Tracking days August Yes 5 /No 0😀
SW/CW/GW 8/5/20 kcal 2165
400.8/ 303.2/185 [+ 1.6 lbs]☹🤔 WI Daily
Total Loss 97.6 lbs
May 8th start (310.8/Lose 10 lb Challenge current <stat> - 7.6 lbs loss

linmueller

I love this topic 🤣. It gets me thinking in a positive way instead of negative. This is especially relevant since I realized that when I make food choices, it's more looking for food that won't damage my plan instead of foods that will benefit my body. This WW topic made me realize, I've still got some mental work to do! So, back to the questions ...

💙 What have you learned to love about the Plan or your participation with it?

I 💙 how my body feels when I'm not stuffed and bloated! When my belly isn't in the way all the time!
I 💙 how much easier it is to get up from a chair, to just move, when I'm getting more and hourly steps (unlike the first months of covid).
I 💙 how empowered and disciplined I feel when I'm checking off my healthy habits 'to do' list.

😳What surprised you in that process either about yourself or the Plan?

After doing WW successfully and easily for a few years, then being derailed by illness and struggling for a few years to get back in the groove, I'm pleasantly shocked 😳 that it is once again, pretty easy. Just completing Wk 7 OP!

I'm surprised 😳 by how much I enjoy moving, eating well, finding new recipes, and checking off my 'list', and by the satisfaction I feel. And again, how empowered I feel being in control.

Like love in general, how has it changed over time with the Plan?

Touched on that in the 2nd question ... I wish there was a switch I could throw to get on track, but grateful I'm in the sweet spot right now

I thought I'd worked thru all the mental stuff last time, but I did not even come close to being done. The current plan and workshops are helping me to really dig deep. It's good!

I've also developed a great love for the 💜 plan! I'd dabbled in simply filling years ago, but now I'm all in. I love having so few points to track!

linmueller

I answered the question before I read any other responses. I can be so easily led to a way of looking at something, and I really wanted to flush this one out on my own.

Just want to say, @88olds , I really love your falling in love analogy! Great stuff!

And @imastar2 , I asked in another thread if you knew why you were going in the wrong direction, and I see you do. That's half the battle. Now you just need to STOP IT! You got this! I know you can do it! Let's see those numbers turn back down! 💪💪💪. And I agree with you about the changing programs! I loved points plus, and did not have long term success on any of the following ... Until now (if 7 weeks can be called long term 🤷). Purple is awesome for me. It allows for lots of healthy food, minimal indulgences, and I don't have to track as much. Win win for me! I hope tracking in MFP works for you!

MASSRUNNER_FRANK

I already confessed that the thread Monday was my inspiration for the LTL today, but also this passage of wisdom- Now abides these three things: Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is Love.

I sincerely believe that while not impossible to stay with anything for the long haul without loving it, it surely makes the doing less of a hardship, and even a joy.

So, in response to the questions posed-

What have you learned to love about the Plan or your participation with it?
I learned to love the process of tracking. It was completely new to me as I just ate or drank whatever I wanted with abandon previously and little by little my weight showed it. Tracking seemed to be a perfect fit for my habitual mindset. Something that grew on me the more often I participated. I love it to this day.

What surprised you in that process either about yourself or the Plan?
I think I was shocked that the Plan changed on a yearly basis. Just like love. It was unnerving as I settled in nicely with P+ and just couldn’t make the adjustment to another Plan, falling hard off the trail and regaining all the weight I had lost plus 20 pounds. Not good for a short man like me. I also flirted with Intuitive Maintenance for a bit. She was thrilling at first. So different. So free. So easy. In no time I regretted that decision but thought I could make better choices and lose all the weight. Wrong. So knowing my mindset and personality and taking the road MORE traveled, I returned tail between my legs to WW and found it to be a safe Plan and a good fit for me once more.

Like love in general, how has it changed over time with the Plan?
You’ve got to work at love to keep it fresh and interesting. While tracking will Likely always be my first love and reason for success in relationship to the Plan, I am enjoying learning new recipes, new foods, new ways of coping with stressors. I am enjoying a couple of FB groups related to weight loss and WW. I am enjoying sharing the foundational principles I learned years ago from the GoaD message board and from many of you. So these activities are keeping this relationship with weight loss fresh for me and definitely different this time around. And finally, working from home has given me the freedom to break the chains of the oars and do some cooking during the day, or preparing a fresh salad, or healthy snack rather than relying on a vending machine or leftovers. Lots of change, and yet not totally unwelcome.

MASSRUNNER_FRANK

@linmueller, I LOVE your 💙 bullet points. So empowering!

misterhub

My sense of love relative to my healthy life journey is that I love how much knowledge and factual information I have gained over the years. I don't always make the best use of it, but I have learned so much since I first joined WW. Although I don't do actual WW any more, the information that has become part of my life is ingrained at this point. I love that.