If you could give your "old self" some advice or encourageme

purplespeckle

I know for some of you it has been a long journey. At the beginning it's always the hardest. Do you remember how you felt at the beginning of your journey?

So...If you could give your "old self" some advice or encouragement...what would you say?

AmberElaine84

Great thread!

I would tell my old self to NOT lose hope! The first month was SO hard and I wanted to quit every day!

I would tell my old self that this is NOT just a diet, but a lifestyle change. And I did tell myself that..many, MANY times!

I would tell myself that losing weight and eating better would inspire other people to do the same, so please work hard so the efforts will pay off! SO many people wanted to know how I lost weight...it really is wonderful when you can inspire someone to become healthy!

I would tell myself that you WILL get to your goal..be patient and work hard!

hotpickles

I want to echo that as well - this is a LIFESTYLE change. I'm having a hard time adopting to that mindset, because I'm so used to overindulging whenever I get the chance.

L.

aigéan

I would tell my old self to STOP FREAKING EATING LIKE A FAT PIG.

TaraMaria

My two biggest pieces of advice:

Stop eating bad snacks. Its just silly. Don't eat said snacks before bed. Its even more silly.

And the most important. Love yourself. No matter what you weigh, its important to love the one you are with. Too often I would be filled with self loathing at what I would see in the mirror and get frustrated. I didn't give up, but it made the journey more difficult. You need to love yourself even though you may not see the person you always want to see looking back at you. You have a story to tell, and you are living your journey. I would have never told anyone else they looked fat or ugly if it were them standing there. I would have hugged them and told them THEY CAN DO THIS! ) So we need to love ourselves the same way! )

NoAdditives

The same thing I tell most people here: Give yourself a break! Don't feel bad about indulging every now and then, don't worry about one meal or even one day. It doesn't have much impact on your long term goals and it can help keep you sane! After all, this is a lifestyle change, not a way to lose weight quickly. And I highly doubt you're never going to drink a soda, eat some pizza, or have some cookies ever again. So take a day off, eat the foods you like, and enjoy them. Because you need to enjoy yourself as you make this journey, otherwise it will just be too darned hard!

suzi67

Give up all that sugar, drink lots of water, and for heaven's sake, take a before photo!

abyt42

Nobody need know....and be brutally honest.

lilRicki

I'd say "it's not that bad, and look at all the interesting things you've read in the past 3 months"..."just stop binging on junk food and you'll be fine"..."eat until you're full not until the plate is gone"..."you're going to be excited when your fiance tells you that your hips are more defined and that his new favorite spot is your waist"...

SouthernBell86

Hmm, you know I don't know that there really is anything I would tell my old self. I mean, before I started this I really just wasn't ready at all. I mean, I KNEW I needed to change the way I was eating and I knew it had to be a lifestyle change, but until the day I started it really just wasn't within me to do it.

I will say that the process I went through before starting was learning to accept and love myself in the state I was. I had done so many diets, lost the weight, gained it back and just never felt good about my body or about what I was doing, and I somehow realized that I was missing something, and that no diet would ever make me love my body. So I stopped dieting and just tried to stop gaining weight (which I did thankfully) and focused on accepting myself, fat or not. That process was much much harder than anything I have encountered dieting. Once I had gotten to the point where I said "You know what, I would like to be in better shape, but I am okay with myself no matter what I look like" it was like this huge burden was lifted and I was suddenly able to go forth into changing my lifestyle and I haven't looked back since.

So my best advice for dieting is to not start ANY diets until you are mentally and emotionally ready for it. Learn to accept yourself first, set a reasonable goal and then go after it. Otherwise you won't even realize when you have reached your goal. The best thing is that once you have accepted yourself you don't feel any pressure to do those crazy fast diets, you are happy to do what is healthiest and will last the longest!

Arynamber

I would tell my old self to STOP FREAKING EATING LIKE A FAT PIG.

ahahaha

atynk

I would tell myself its gonna take a LONG time, but take it a week at at time, b/c it will be worth it!

legend1973

On April 18th, 1991 I'd say "LOOK OUT FOR THAT BUS'!!!"

JennBennett410

OMG that last reply was fantastic!

I would tell my old self "You do have the time and you are worth this."

Ohh and I would also give my oldself the winning numbers to last month's mega millions

Manda1987

I know it looks like I'm at the beginning of my journey, but I'm really about 3 years in. I just haven't been all that successful up to this point XD

I would tell myself that no matter how much it seems like it works, starving myself will only hurt my chances in the long run. I'm still making up for the fact that I ate 500 calories or less per day for a month earlier this year, and it's really contributed to the total weight gain I've experienced over the last few years.

I would also tell myself that just because I eat less than my fiance doesn't mean I'm missing out! I really don't need that much food.

Now where's that time machine?

ironmule2042

I would go back only a couple of years ago to let myself know that my life was going to get better. I was very depressed back then. I was overweight & unhealthy and my fiance had just left me only weeks after Christmas... I was in pretty bad shape for a good long time after that. I'd just want to give myself encouragement so maybe that dark period of my life wouldn't have last quite so long.

ziggythecat

"You've got some trying times ahead but you'll be better off if you roll with the punches, no matter how bad it gets. If you hang onto some of this garbage, it will make things 10 times harder for you to deal with and recover from. Also realize that regardless, there are people who have it ALLOT worse than you ever will. Oh and QUIT SPENDING MONEY ON BULLS*&T!"

Knowing me, I still wouldn't listen though.

rmkorama

How far back do I get to go? I'd go back 15 years ago and say, "Here's how you do it. It's not easy, but it's simple, and it's worth it. Start now when you have far less weight to lose."

Shirley61

I am still on the journey and having trouble giving up the sugar.
I still indulge once in awhile but shouln't.
I would increase my water intake and exercise more.
Thanks for this thread it makes you really think what are we
really doing here. This is a great follow up.

Mirabilis

Lol I wouldn't believe me.

mamad122

I would tell myself to stick with it b/c it really will work! Give it my ALL every day. I'm still working on this. I'm starting to track my cals again today and have a bodybugg to track calories burned. I've done pretty well the last year but could have been here a long time ago if I would have been more diligent.