Living the Lifestyle: Wednesday, 11/20/2024

misterhub

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 - crewahl (Charlie)
Tuesday – Wildcard
Wednesday-misterhub (Greg)
Thursday -imastar2 (Derrick)
Friday - Wildcard

Today's Topic: Insights

What is the biggest insight you've ever had that HELPED you improve your lifestyle, health, and weight loss efforts?

imastar2

Getting on my bi/pap machine therapy in 2010. Life and health changing.

Al_Howard

Insight??? Well, at 335# my PCP said, "Al, you did it! you're now a diabetic."
I said, "Oh Shoot" and started a weight loss plan.
Eventually went back to WW, and now flirting with goal @20#.

Brian_19

Two important insights:

(a): I realized in my mid 40s that I could not run the way I did when I was 20+ years younger, and - once I accepted this and set my sights appropriately - running was actually very enjoyable again.

(b): I realized on the cusp of turning 60 that insight (a) needs to be revisited frequently.

Flintwinch

The biggest game changer for my health and lifestyle was quitting drinking several decades ago.

Philtex

If I think about all I have learned about weight loss, the real key was something I learned when I first found GOAD. I learned that diets don't work if you just complete the diet and go back to what you were doing before. The insight is to think of weight management as a lifetime commitment. That seems obvious to me now, but it was quite a revelation at the time.

steve0mania

Biggest insight initially was that I could bring my own lunch to work rather than eating in the cafeteria. That was the first step towards properly controlling my intake.

crewahl

I haven’t responded because I can’t think of any epiphany or “aha!” moment where things crystallized for me. There’s no point where I had a blinding flash of insight or had a U-turn in my direction. My motivation to start WW at the end of 2007 was a bit of a walk-up, but that’s not the question.

I’m reminded that shortly after I hit goal, my Meeting Leader (back when we called them that) asked me during a meeting whether it was a big change losing weight. I responded without thinking “no - but it was a lot of little ones!” I think that’s largely the answer to this question.

The one possible thing that might qualify as “biggest insight” was Covid. I’d been drifting, and I was about 89# over my goal weight. It became apparent early in the pandemic that the disease was claiming the elderly, the infirm, and the overweight. I couldn’t do anything about my age, but I could do something about the other two. I’m that exception that lost weight - and in fact got back to goal - during, and largely because of Covid. Between February 2020 and November 2022 I lost the 89#, and since then I’ve weighed in “free” every month so far.