When I am Good…

SusanMunkner
SusanMunkner Posts: 5 Member
in Introduce Yourself
It seems as I am dieting it seems so easy, but when I am bad everything goes off the rails.

I lost 50 lbs in 2019…maintained for 5 mos. Now here I am back to lose it all again. Hopefully this time I exercise more diligence.

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,025 Member
    Here's a different thought: This is not about you being "good" or "bad". It's about particular methods/plans/approaches being "good" or "bad" for you as an individual, in context of your unique preferences, strengths, challenges, etc. You don't fail, as long as you don't give up. Some dumb diet plan or whatever failed you. It was bad for you as an individual. Throw it out.

    IMO, weight management (loss then maintenance) is about experimenting to find new routine habits that can continue long term (ideally permanently) to reach then stay at a healthy weight almost on autopilot when other parts of life get challenging (because they will).

    I think it's useful to think about how we can change our daily routine in pleasant (or at least tolerable) ways to consume fewer calories and move more (not just exercise but daily life movement, too).

    Many people come here to "lose weight fast", so adopt restrictive ways of eating with lots of rules; deny themselves treats and celebrations entirely; start an extreme (possibly punitively unpleasant) time-consuming, fatiguing new exercise routine; etc. All of that is optional. It also tends to be unsustainable. The pounds come back on, often with friends.

    Instead, I'd suggest finding small changes we can make in a positive direction, groove those in as standard habits. When one thing gets pretty automatic, tackle another. Just keep going. Some things that a person tries won't work well. That's not "a failure" or "being bad", it's just learning one more thing that doesn't work. Learning is good. Keep going, try some different tactic that aims toward the same target. Be persistent, patient . . . keep going. Not "on or off the diet", but finding new habits.

    It can be surprising where we end up, from a series of small changes in daily habits. I'm extremely surprised, still, to be in year 7+ at a healthy weight, after about 30 previous years of overweight/obesity. But I'm also surprised how much better my quality of life is now, vs. before.

    Wishing you success!

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