I'm back...... Again

tessr
tessr Posts: 6 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi I'm Tre , 213lbs.
61 yo
Heaviest I have ever been...
Looking for the MAGIC BUTTON 🔘
I seem to loose momentum then deep dive into the pitty party ice cream bucket.

Replies

  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,532 Member
    edited April 2023
    Just turned 73. Been maintaining a 100 lb loss quite awhile now. I wouldn’t want to be carrying a lot of extra weight around now. Good news is you can fix this.

    I hang around this board to keep reminding myself that I’m in this for the rest of my life. Not much is different at goal weight as far as the process is concerned.

    This might surprise you but there really is a magic button, it’s your food diary. Keep it going no matter what. Log everything. No throwing up your hands and quitting just because you go over your number. Fact is it’s impossible to track for long without a mistake or misstep or even a face plant. We’re human. But keep the process going and you’ll never have to start over again.

    I get the idea from your post that you view weight loss in terms of doing without a lot of stuff. Maybe even suffering through it. I urge you to rethink. Spend some time thinking about what you like to eat. What can be modified to make it plan friendly? What can you fit in a plan in limited portions? What’s reserved for special occasions? What is a hopeless trigger food that needs to be avoided?

    Calculate a calorie target to maintain your current weight. What kind of menu can you plan to hit that number? Try it for a week logging everything. What’s it like living like that? Calculate a number to lose 1/2 lb per week. Try that. What’s it like living like that?
    Did you lose anything? Where can you cut a few more calories?

    Weight loss is mostly about problem solving and persistence. Solve enough problems long enough and we get to goal weight. Weight takes 2 things- a calorie deficit and living with it. People tend to go all in on the deficit and try to beat themselves into living with it. Generally doesn’t work.

    2 things to avoid. Obsessing over the time factor and suffering through it. There isn’t really anything to gain by trying to go faster. Lots of people come here and wreck perfectly good programs trying to lose ever faster. Not much changes at goal weight if you want to stay there. Faster gets you nothing except unhappy. Don’t suffer through your plan. It isn’t necessary. Uncomfortable yes. But suffering is the setup for quitting. The best plan is one we can actually live with. BTW I eat ice cream nearly every day. Good luck.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,176 Member
    Hi, Tre!

    Excellent advice above from 88olds - couldn't be better.

    I didn't lose as much as he did (only 50ish pounds) and haven't been in maintenance at a healthy weight as long (only 7-ish years), but I thought I'd come in with an endorsement of that mindset, if only because you and I have such similar starting points. I was 59 and class 1 obese when I got here, and am also female as it appears you are.

    He's right, IMO: Don't try to make weight loss fast. Try to find ways to make it as (relatively) easy, enjoyable (at least tolerable) and sustainable as possible. Weight management, for any of us with a long history of overweight/obesity (like my 30-ish years), is going to be a forever endeavor, a lifetime thing. I don't know about you, but I can't keep up white knuckled willpower or motivation every day for the rest of my life. Modified pretty-tolerable new habits stand a much better chance of success.

    Wishing you excellent results!

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