Happy New Year!! And good luck this year!!!

panda4153

There are many who will use the new year to set new health and weight loss goals for themselves. Yes, I know many fall off the wagon quickly but there are also so many who it will stick with and who are making choices to change their lives and their health!’ I wish everyone good luck in your journey. You can absolutely do this. The journey looks differ for everyone so don’t compare yourself and don’t let anyone make you feel bad for doing something good for yourself!! Also don’t let missteps stop your progress.

I’ve been on this journey for over 10 years, I will never not have to log my food. I have a big appetite, so for me logging and weighing is imperative. I’ve lost a lot of weight, over 50 pounds since my heaviest and kept most of it off. I fluctuate and there have been periods of time where I backslid. However I get up every day and make good intentions and goals for myself. I am so much further then if I gave up when I made less then stellar diet choices. It’s not an all or nothing game. Progress over perfection!! This year my goal is to finally reach my goal weight of 145 pounds. I’ve gotten close, but never quite there. This year I continue my journey. Love to everyone else continuing or starting with me!!

Sinisterbarbie1

Thanks for starting this optimistic and inspirational thread, @panda4153 ! I will join you with those same good wishes to people starting out.

I lost past any goal I set for myself (79 lbs total - a bit over 40 prior to joining mfp and 38 since) over the span of a couple of years and have been in the process of maintaining and actually trying to gain a little back since this summer. My weight gain came in part from health challenges and medication and being forced into bedrest (i couldn’t actually walk for a time) so this is to say that you can lose even with little exercise (I started mostly with physical therapy at first and I exercise now mostly only if I find it fun, otherwise I sit on the couch with my cat in my lap). Though I used to be a hiker and runner - i just cant do that now like i used to

Everyone needs to find what works for them, and reading these boards and hearing a variety of experiences and participating with my own was very helpful to me — both to keep confirming my own commitment to myself, and reminding myself what works and what doesn’t for me, while hearing tips from others. I ultimately did not set a big final goal but took the approach of setting smaller manageable goals with timeframes and specific plans for achieving them. If I had thought I would ultimately lose nearly 80 lbs I would have been overwhelmed and I would have given up. That goal is so far beyond any realistic goal I could have imagined and tackled there would not have been a way to start. But 10 or 15 lbs in 3 months? That I could do. Especially when I did it by tracking food accurately (weighing on a digital scale ) daily, and committing to some doable small form of motion (physical therapy, aqua aerobics, a youtube dance video, a walk). Everyone’s experience is different! Good luck in 2023!