How did I get to 347lbs? Day One.

bosanka

Hi there and welcome
I have joined this website - yesterday - I'm a returning user- was here but left for few reasons.
Anyways- my wake up call was at 285 - that's " what i saw on the scale " it could have easily been more than that- but close to the 300 lbs .. ! At age of 23-24.
So - i started little by little.. now i'm at 236. And the good part is- i finally am capable of keeping it off- did it for 3 years straight- same weight. That is a huge step for me. Since i'm a " chronic - yo-yo- dieter and I used to be 6 years bolimic- started at 15- and " kind of stopped " at 22- but not " completely" i had set backs now and than and had to do it sometimes.

The point is- it is not always " what we are eating " it is mostly what is eating us ?

Like you said it yourself - you are a good starter- cleaning the food etc. But later you start slacking- that's because most p eople had into the " weight loss " without a game plan. Most of us get into this whit a huge load of a sudden motivation- that motivation can last few days- few weeks- and what will be plan B- once the motivation fades ?
What are your " safet steps " once you don't feel like doing it ? This is the kind of things we all have to figure out.
Why do i eat ? What do I eat?
We have to figure out our " patterns " because we all have them but not all of us are aware until we start to write things down and maybe in few monhts we can se a repetitive pattern . That is a huge help- once we discover that.

I don't want to be a " smarta.. " i'm sorry if i come across like that- but i'm trying to give you some heads up how to prevent getting off the wagon - completely - once you lose your motivation , because motivation- comes and goes, but " discipline and a game plan" stay. We can't relay on motivation- it's to short and we have a long way ahead of us - there's no way motivation can last that long !

So start thinking now " what will i do " how will i keep myself from " b inging - falling off the wagon etc once i feel depressed or don't see any results in a long time ?

Have your support system planned out.
Get always something " new " to keep you going- it doesn't have to be anything major or expensive, but small things keep me motivated and " fresh " - maybe a new workout dvd, new workout shoes ? maybe a heart rate monitor down the road, new workout music that you can download on your ipod ? .. new challange ? reward your self every now and than for accomplishments you have achieved- anything but food rewards, maybe " smaller size clothes ? I found it depressing not to fit in smaller sizes even though i felt smaller- but than i reward myself with new shoes ? make up ? a nice book..
Plan a " day off " from everything and everyone- just yourself- do what you mostly would like to do or love to do . Maybe a hot bath tub with a nice cappucino ( will not kill you every now and than - it's a " reward .. that you have been loking forward to .. for a whole .. week / month ? .. " .. listen to relaxing music, read a nice book while in the hot tub.. and just think of all the good things you did so far, and how good you have been.

Major problem with us that have this " negative and low self esteem " is.. that we call us " bad " or not worthy etc. Once you " slip" have a.. " big meal " way over you calorie limit - don't call yourself " bad " not even in your thoughts, see it as a opportunity to learn .. to see what you got from it, were you really satisfied ? was it worth it ? make this kind of " notes " in your memory - for next time, than you will remember ' oh it wasn't really worth the calories last time " .. so it might help you in future..

And - we know that you have not been always this size- I like to say " every big person had to start small " .. so we all been " small " at a point in our life.. but for various reasons- we are what we are now.

Food addiction- should be recognized just as " drug addiction " or alcohol / smoking, because it is an addiction !
And i think it is worst than any of the above. why ?
Well - drugs , alcohol and cigarettes are not " neccecity " for life. You don't need them to survive. And they are not everywhere available - all the time, they are not pushed at you at every gathering you go to, they are not at kid's birthday parties, atmovies, at .. they are not served and put on every freaking comercial on tv..
But food is . Every comercial. Every gathering. You are surrounded by it. Everyone is " doing it " ( eating ) .. and you can't be like the alcoholics - saying " oh .. for 10 years i didn't have a drop " .. or the drug -addicts " i'm clean " ... how you gonna do that with the food ? If you are a recovering alcohol addict- y ou can't even be in the same room as the alcohol.. but if you are a food addict- you can't say " oh ..didn't have a piece in years " .. but- even though you are an addict you have to eat.. just have to be able to " stop " .. so it's is the worst kind of addiction.. because it's in my opinion hardest to recover from - if ever possible. ? Maybe maintain it and control it- but i think every " obese- food addicted pe rson " like myself knows how easy it is to fall back into the old steps .

I'm sorry - i don't want to kill you with all my tips at once.. but since i have been doing " diets " all my life- and " healthy lifestyle " for the past 3-4 years i do have a tip or two to share if you like me to

I'm here if you need any help