What was your biggest mindset shift to make you successful?

PNQueenKong

AnnPT77

Deciding I wasn't going to do anything to lose weight that I wasn't willing to continue forever to stay at a healthy weight, other than a sensibly moderate calorie deficit to get me to that good weight.

That put my focus on experimenting to find new, relatively happy - at least tolerable/practical - eating and activity habits. They needed to be habits I could follow routinely almost on autopilot permanently when other parts of life got complicated . . . which always happens, sooner or later.

It meant I couldn't skip all social events with food traditions attached, needed to figure out how to handle celebrations, had to determine how to fit in some treats now and then, how to eat at restaurants and while traveling, and more. I wasn't willing to give up those things forever.

It was like a fun, productive science fair experiment for grown-ups. It was a very different mindset from treating weight loss as a quick project with an end date, after which things would "go back to normal".

All I needed to do when I got to goal weight was add back in some calories to stabilize my new weight, and continue living just as I'd been living for the year it took to lose the weight I wanted to lose, in my case about 50 pounds, starting from just over the line into class 1 obese.

That was 9+ years ago, and I've been at a healthy weight since, admittedly with some small ups and downs in there, but all in the same jeans size. That came after about 30 years of being overweight/obese. So far, so good!

ddsb1111

What is yours? Let’s focus on what you need.

barabaradem

That mindset’s smart, focusing on what actually works long-term instead of quick fixes. Thanks for sharing your experience, it’s really encouraging.

Alatariel75

I stopped looking for motivation and seeing weight loss as something 'extra' and optional, and put it in the same basket as going to work, cleaning the bathroom, scooping the kitty litter etc etc. It's not an optional extra to get dropped when I get busy, or tired or CBF, it's a necessary part of my life if I want to have a happy existence.