Having an internal debate

Aesop101

So I thought I'd make it an external debate and see what spills out.

Everyone has noticed I've lost weight. Just Saturday I picked up a lady friend and she said I see you're still losing. Then added I have friend who lost a 100 lbs. and then gained it back. Uhg! I hear those comments quite a bit these days. You see them on the boards as well. There's truth in those words though. I've lost 40 lbs. 3 times in my life and then gained it back. I chalked it up to not learning anything.

It does seem that once you gain a huge amount of weight it comes back on fast. I know I've seen my weight swing 9 lbs. in one week, gained 6 and lost 9.

So the question I'm debating is will I maintain my discipline after I reach my goal weight or will I convert back to my poor ways? There's quite a bit of work in this journey. It would be sad not to follow through. What will I do when I get a job, will I make the fast food choice or continue planning? Will I make excuses to eat when I'm not hungry or go for convenience instead of nutrition?

The reason I gained weight was because I was glutenous. I still have a visual of that in my head. I just don't want to be that guy again. I still remember my belly touching the steering wheel and almost passing out to tie my shoes. Then being down to only 2 shirts I could wear. I always hope I remember those. Heck I may post those on my fridge.

Just the thought of gaining that weight back scares the crap out of me. Yet I and you have all seen it done.

sunkisses

Don't you owe it to yourself to maintain self-discipline? I say this often on here, but I'll say it again 'cause most people really and truly don't realize it. You must work out your inside as well as your outside. Deal with the issues that have caused you to allow yourself to gain it all back. It's important. Good luck.

H_Factor

this is why the mental part of this is so very important. once you lose motivation, things become more difficult. I've been on the weight gain/loss roller coaster before and I think that my mindset was wrong in the past. In the past, it was about achieving a number on the scale...about losing weight. So when I approached that "goal weight", I lost motivation to stay on task. I wanted to reward myself and reward myself I did. So, this time around, my goal is living a healthy lifestyle...being fit and healthy. its a goal I can strive to achieve everyday, and yet not something where I will ever reach an end point. Although I have a "goal weight" in mind, my larger goal is being healthy and fit. I feel better when I'm healthy and fit and I hope this motivation will stick around for my lifetime.

Hearts_2015

Your start date is April of this year, you're just a kid on MFP...you'll get stronger and your mind will see the success and it will spill over into the future. It's up to each of us to make permanent changes in our lives to break habits, whatever they may be. Think positive, lose the fear and all the negatives around you of stories shared and you will DO THIS!

You CAN be successful and keep the weight off IF you make it a healthy lifestyle change and not a diet. Yes, some do gain back some or all of the weight they lose but there's something different happening in my life this time, I've dropped over 90 lbs. since starting and kept it off and doing it much more slowly and wisely this time. This is the FIRST time I've done it wisely and not been in such a hurry, it's made all the difference in the world in how my body has dropped the inches this time. My positive attitude in seeing that I am a success, all in all, a very different out look than in the past.

Consider this your first time at working to change your life for the better, the past is in the past, only this time matters. Kick out those doubts or you WILL put the weight back on.

Keep it positive, what a world of difference that makes!:flowerforyou:

ETA: Honestly? I never even consider the weight coming back on because as the person above me shared, it's mental!! None of this is truly about food, but about the choices we make in our lives. As soon as we really really understand that it's then that our mind set is changed.

ritajean3

I can't speak from personal experience because I haven't been obese so I have no idea about the on again off again weight. But I find that generally after I change my lifestyle for 3months or so it becomes the norm. Remember to be super positive about all your achievements because they are little steps on the way to something big! If you decide to post old pics on the fridge why don't you put some positive ones next to them like where you want to be when you are done (mountain climbing, six pack ect) and everyday tell yourself you CAN get there!

Best of luck!