Back Again

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segoodenough
segoodenough Posts: 3 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Well I am back at it again after falling off the band wagon and not only gaining back all the weight I lost before but about 20 more pounds. So needless to say, I'm mad at myself and very down. But I know this community is the right group of like minded people to keep me motivated to get the job done.

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  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,605 Member
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    Welcome back!

    What will you do differently this time so you stick to it after you get to your weight loss goal? That's the only way - plan on how to manage maintenance.

    Motivation won't work long-term. You have to build habits that you will continue indefinitely. Motivation will lapse, and you need to stick to it even when you don't have it.

    What are some habits you're going to begin?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,853 Member
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    Good news, maybe: There's no wagon, so we can't fall off. There's just life, which is made up of time, and our choice is how to spend that time.

    Evidently, you've succeeded in losing weight before. What did you do then? What led to that not putting you on a path to long-term maintenance, i.e., where did things go wrong? Beating yourself up about it is IMO not that helpful. Instead, consider analyzing it: If that path didn't work for long term maintenance, what did you learn from it that will make this time different?

    To me, the whole process is like a fun, productive science fair experiment for grown-ups. Turning it into a melodrama about sin and expiation usually doesn't really lead anywhere (except maybe to a restrictive eating regimen and punitively intense exercise to "make up for it" . . . ugh).

    I'm a believer in finding a weight loss routine that is easier rather than faster, personalized to one's own preferences, strengths, challenges and lifestyle: Enjoyable new ways of eating; fun (or at least tolerable/practical) ways to move more, whether exercise or daily life. Finding and building sustainable new habits during weight loss is a help toward successful maintenance.

    If maintenance is where you had difficulty, maybe as you get close to goal weight, start reading posts in the "Goal: Maintaining Weight" part of the MFP Community. There as many ways of maintaining as there are people doing it. Learning how others do it can give you ideas to try, see if they suit you. Ideal is a new set of habits that can continue almost on autopilot when other parts of life get demanding . . . because - as you know - they will.

    I'm cheering for you to succeed, permanently this time!

  • stankyou
    stankyou Posts: 3 Member
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    I’ve been there. One thing I realize about myself is I need to weigh myself regularly once I reach my target. It’s very easy to put weight on without realizing it, weigh ins help recognize the trends before they get out of hand. Don’t beat yourself up. Recognize what happened and put some guard rails in your habits so you’ll recognize when this happens.

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