2 years of maintenance - 130+ pounds lost

KerryITD

wow--great post and JUST what I needed to read today!

mandi_manson

I feel the exact same way as you! I'm not on a diet I'm making healthier choices. I can eat and drink anything I want I just don't have to eat massive amounts of it. Thanks so much for posting all of this and congratulations. I'm at 279 down from 303 very early in my weight loss I still have a 100 more pounds to lose. Thanks for the encouragement.

plushieboo

Thank you for sharing your story! Truly amazing!! Enjoyed reading your blog!

EdieSwa

Thank you. I love the sense of joy in your journey - very inspiring!!

RosemaryBronte

The most inspiring but also practical and workable thing I've read.

healthydawn

Thank you for sharing this. It's everything I needed to hear. I'm so glad you didn't need to "go off a diet". It's really all about changing habits. THANK YOU!

CanuckLove

So many amazing things to learn here. Thank you so much for posting this! A true inspiration

Ani2bfit

Thank you for sharing this. I have to go back and read them again and take notes. Lots of good information. Thank u so much!

aanelson72

Thank you! Very inspiring!

KrystinaMTL

OK. You said it all.. Can I give you a hug ? You are so generous. I don,t know what else to say. You inspire me. See you in a year

tottie_07

"Don't do anything to lose weight that you don't want to do forever." Wise words to live by. Congrats to you on your success!!

piggysmalls333

You are amazing and should be very proud of yourself. Everything you said makes sense and thank you for taking the time to write it all down and share with others needing inspiration and hope that change is possible!

KrystinaMTL

tottie_07 wrote: »

"Don't do anything to lose weight that you don't want to do forever." Wise words to live by. Congrats to you on your success!!

Totally struck a nerve with me too.
Call it a A-HA moment

AngelinaB_

"My advice to you is to start living like the person you want to be and let the rest fall into place.

In other words, don't do anything to lose weight that you don't want to do forever. I'm not here to cast judgment on low carb, low fat, Paleo, etc - fine. If it works for you, that's fantastic.

But you don't need to go on a macronutrient-banning fad diet in order to lose weight. I'm living proof. The way I ate and exercised was so sustainable that I wasn't excited to "go off my diet" once I reached goal weight. There was nothing to go off of, and the weight loss phase was not miserable. I ate plenty, moved the right amount, and felt so amazing I didn't want to go back to my old ways. All I did was eat a little more to erase my deficit.

And that's it. The transition to maintenance was seamless. And frankly, I found it pretty easy.

It's okay to like food.

I see it here a lot. The idea that only weak people need a "cheat" day and that food is fuel and nothing more and that we need to break our emotional connection to it in order to lose weight."

THAT and love yourself at any size. Excellent read, the best I have found in MFP so far. And well explained why this is it. I have to say it does click in different people differently, and that is ok, figuring out by yourself , not Oprah, not weight watchers, nobody, but yourself, what works sustainable for the rest of your life.

Thanks Shannon. You still around?

Steph1015

Thank you for sharing!

ShannonMpls

AngelinaB_ wrote: »

Thanks Shannon. You still around?

Yep! Not quite as active here, but working very hard to maintain my habits after a work transition!

AuntieGinge

This is my favourite success story, I will be referring back to it regularly!
Well done, I look forward to reading through the links x

SinomenJen

Hi, you may not know this, but you wrote this for me! Thank-you!

cmteach4

Terrific writing and great insights! I have been trying to do just what you talked about! So far so good -- I have lost 68 pounds in 1 year and 8 mos. so it has been slow and comfortable. I have about 6 pounds left for my doctor's goal and plan on just adding back some calories for maintenance and continuing on as I have been. I am so much more active and able to move so much better and am stronger now at 64 than I have been in decades! Congratulations to you and thanks for putting into words what I am hoping to achieve for my habits and healthy lifestyle! You are amazing and inspiring!

aud82

Amazing!!

ShannonMpls

JenCOPD wrote: »

Hi, you may not know this, but you wrote this for me! Thank-you!

I am happy to know this now

MurphmomSparkles

You're a great writer!

Courtney4805

Really glad I stumbled onto your post. Thank you.

lululapagaille

Amazing post, thank you so so much

snowflake954

Another bump--for a great post!

poppysierra

Thanks for bumping this. What a fabulous post/article. So beautifully written, I could hear you as I read it. I too lived in Minnesota (loved it). Now in Cambridge, England - bit different outside but the same issues inside. I spent years thinking I couldn't eat this, that or the other. I now have a much better relationship with food, eating truffles last night but logging them and still under my goal due to exercise. I exercise for three reasons; first is for mental well being, second is for the joy of being able to move under my own steam and feel free and the third is so that I can eat something delicious without feeling I have to deprive myself! Please add me as a friend

fitoverfortymom

This post should be required reading for every new MFP member.

aliciamariaq

fitoverfortymom wrote: »

This post should be required reading for every new MFP member.

Agreed. This is one of the first posts I read when I first joined and it was really so motiviational. It made everything so clear and it was a joy to read.

rach021979

Thank you so much for posting. Self love now, wow..so important.

LINIA

Congrats on your loss- you deserve all the best - great tips here for many ppl to read, adapt and use!