Have you lost more than 80lbs and kept it off?

pecksun8

Anyone out there that has lost 80lbs or more and has kept it off? Please tell me how you kept yourself motivated? What was the defining moment of truth, that made you want to lose the weight?

pecksun8

Anyone out there that has lost 80lbs or more and has kept it off? Please tell me how you kept yourself motivated? What was the defining moment of truth, that made you want to lose the weight?

teetsel4

I hope its ok that I answer this, I haven't lost 80 or more, but I lost 75 (hope that counts) .

I'm sure the answer is different for everyone. But here goes my long winded answer.......

Most of my adult life I have been over weight. I tried everything, low carb, no carb, low fat, high protein, blah blah blah. However, with every "diet" I did learn something about nutrition and my body, so not a complete failure. Four years ago I started up Weight Watchers (again :ohwell: ) and did the Core diet, and for me it fit my lifestyle. However I would fall off the wagon and have the normal struggles we do with weight loss. Then my life took a drastic change, my husband of 12 years decided to up and go. It was a complete shock to me and anyone who knew us. Anyhow, a few months into our separation, I was having a real hard day, the kids were with him for the weekend and I was devastated and very lonely. What did I do? Of course I wanted to fill that hole in my heart with food, sushi to be exact, lol. Anyhow, my sushi place was closed so I headed off to Jack in the Box. On my way a little voice started talking to me (must have been those self-help books I had been reading). The voice told me that no one would love me unless I love myself first. It told me that I matter, and the best way to show someone who matters is to treat them with respect; I had not treated myself with any. So I turned around (literally) and never went back. Sure I have had splurges here and there, but not like the past when I would splurge for a month. Then feel bad that I did it again.

The voice was completely correct, I love myself first and people see that. My kids are so much happier now, my ex is kicking himself and want back, and to be honest, I have a lot of "interest" lately :blushing: . All very new to me and I am enjoying every bit of it. For Father’s day, it was my 37th B-day, so I took the kids and my ex on a hike with another family. I climbed to the top of this rock and waited for everyone to catch up. The last part of the hike, my friend and I ran the entire way back. I cannot tell you how good I felt about myself. That feeling is very addicting. It's been almost 3 years and yes I gained 10 lbs back, I am back on track and feeling better than before.

Wow, I knew it was going to be a long story, sorry. I hope that helps. I would wish you good luck, but it has nothing to do with luck, just love yourself silly!:flowerforyou:

overthehillsandfaraway

Anyone out there that has lost 80lbs or more and has kept it off? Please tell me how you kept yourself motivated? What was the defining moment of truth, that made you want to lose the weight?

I lost a total of 115lbs and joined this site because I gained 15lbs back (read my profile for details). It's easy to remain motivated when you're too embarassed to swim in a pool, can't walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded and seeing how much damage you do to your health physically and mentally. The defining moment was when I went to a physical and the doctor read back my results completely disgusted and dumbfounded at my weight and structure.

Yeah, I still have like a pair of my fat pants of size 44. Now I'm at 34 and that definitely keeps the motivation going on a daily basis.

pecksun8

Of course it's OK, congratulations! Anyone who has lost weight and kept it off is an inspiration! And congrats on getting your life back on track and headed in the direction that you want it to go in!

I guess I was looking for people who have lost what I need to lose, and see how they did it, or what worked best for them, and what their reasons may have been.

I do have one question, when you started working out, and when you changed your eating style, did you get a lot of headaches? I almost feel like my body is trying to hoodwink me. But, so far things are going well and I like being able to see how much I can lose, if I keep this up, on the main screen after you finish inputting all your information.

I had a defining moment after reading a book from the Biggest Loser, and I don't know why but this didn't occur to me until after I read this book, that once you reach your goal weight, you have to maintain that amount of calories to stay at that weight. It finally dawned on me that this is how you keep the weight off. I don't know why that never occured to me before? I guess everyone has a "Blonde" moment. But it all makes sense now and I feel like I can do this, this time.

Congrats and good luck to losing and keeping the weight off!

pecksun8

God! Congratulations on losing over 100lbs!

I do have to say that I didn't put my weight on until I was about 33 years old, and the good thing is, I never let it slow me down. I mean it did slow me down, but I never let it really get in the way of certain things. I still went swimming, biking, hiking, and climbing, but I couldn't do it like I used too, and that is what in a way made it worse.
It's the vicious circle thing, where I couldn't do the things I wanted to do, so I would get depressed and then eat, and then try to snap out of it, then get even more depressed and then lay around and not do anything and eat...and I feel like I have finally gotten ahold of that cycle and figured out why I was doing it and what I needed to do to get out of it.

I know that this is not going to be easy, but recently I have come to understand that it's not suppose to be easy and that nothing is easy. The things that are easy are what have brought me to this point and it's time to work hard to get to where I want to be. I think I am having some life changing moments in my life and it's time to change. Time to change my life, take it back, and start living it like I should have been.

Good for you for working hard and seeing it pay off! And thanks for staying on this site to help other people.

teetsel4

Of course it's OK, congratulations! Anyone who has lost weight and kept it off is an inspiration! And congrats on getting your life back on track and headed in the direction that you want it to go in!

I guess I was looking for people who have lost what I need to lose, and see how they did it, or what worked best for them, and what their reasons may have been.

I do have one question, when you started working out, and when you changed your eating style, did you get a lot of headaches? I almost feel like my body is trying to hoodwink me. But, so far things are going well and I like being able to see how much I can lose, if I keep this up, on the main screen after you finish inputting all your information.

I had a defining moment after reading a book from the Biggest Loser, and I don't know why but this didn't occur to me until after I read this book, that once you reach your goal weight, you have to maintain that amount of calories to stay at that weight. It finally dawned on me that this is how you keep the weight off. I don't know why that never occured to me before? I guess everyone has a "Blonde" moment. But it all makes sense now and I feel like I can do this, this time.

Congrats and good luck to losing and keeping the weight off!

Yes, my body yelled at me a lot in the beginning. But I knew it was trying to sabotage me. So unless it was screaming at me I ignored the knee pains, hunger pains, and headaches. However, to be successful, I set small goals. Like walk for 15 min, or cut out carbs at dinner and double up on veggies, or drink more water. Whatever the goal was, I set it achieved it, then added another step. It was a slow process, but I think that is was key to the weight staying off. Keep it easy, and slow.

And I have to laugh at your defining moment. I too had that moment when it occurred to me that when I reached my goal weight, I would have to still exercise 5 times a week, eat light and healthy all the time. It pissed me off when I realized it :laugh: . I was looking forward to going back to my old ways. But now since the shift in my thought process has happened, I can't imagine going back to the old ways, laying on the couch and eating junk food.:noway:

Anyhow, in short, I lost the weight by eating whole, unprocessed foods, low fat, and grains for one meal a day, lots of fruits and veggies, and lean meats, no soda (diet included). I started an exercise regiment and set very small goals. Hope that helps! :flowerforyou: