ATTENTION: successful weight loss people!

Goatgirl8

I have been fat my whole life. I was a chubby baby, a chunky toddler, a fat school girl and an obese adult. All my life I have read success stories about people who worked hard and got the weight off. You know how it is, we hear these stories everywhere; magazines, weight loss programs, talk shows, weight loss books–miraculous success stories about regular people who were just sick and tired of being overweight.

As I observed these stories I always wished I could be one of those people. It's all ever wanted–to be thin, all I ever think about, dream about, fantasize about. But despite all the aspirations, somewhere in the back of my mind, I didn't really believe I would ever be successful–that I would NEVER be thin. That probably stems from all the "diet" failures. After 40 years of diets with no lasting results your mind just tend to wrap itself around the fact that it was NEVER really possible.

But recently, very recently in fact, I finally felt IT. That switch–that trigger–that overwhelming sense in the deepest core of my soul that told me, "This time it's going to happen. You're going to be successful this time." It's a sensation that I have never experienced before. And I wonder, is that the same experience all you successful weight loss people had? Did you know when you started this journey that this time was different? And maybe that's just it. I've always heard it said that once you make up your mind that you really want it and being fat isn't working for you anymore, that you can do anything.

In a few months, look for my before and after pictures on this chat forum. Because THIS TIME it's going to happen for me too.

Lyssa62

woot that's the way to go get em'!!! I've made a lifestyle change this time around instead of just putting another band aid on the weight issues!! Feels good doesn't it!!!

30Purple

I'm here for the updates! Wahoo! you can do it!

Goatgirl8

Girrlll.. It feels sooooo good!

stephanie1133

I think the trick is to keep making that decision every single day. And to realize that 1 (or 15) bad days doesn't ruin anything. It's commitment! And you've taken the biggest step. . . the first one! Congratulations on deciding to take control and change your life!

monicalord

That's the attitude!! You got this!

paulywoo

What a great attitude! I know exactly what you're saying because I have said the same thing. Something inside just clicks and you know this is the beginning of the end of being fat. I look forward to seeing those before and after pictures. Good luck in your journey

zachatta

Hey I know your frustrations.

You can friend me if you want, and I can try and help as much as possible.

It is a long road ahead, and only time and consistency will get you what you want

Good luck!

happypath101

Yup! And, I've been in maintenance for about six years. Every time I gain a little weight and I start focussing on taking it off again, it takes a ittle time to ramp back into that weight loss mode. Each time I do, I recognize a moment where I'm "in the groove" and I know it's coming off.

karenbethrn

I totally KNOW what you mean! I don't know what happened this time. I just started on mfp almost 2 weeks ago and when I did I just knew it is gonna happen. My husband just looked at me funny in the beginning. I mean business. I know it will be a long road but im so ready to make it happen! All the other times, I'd start, know I could lose a few pounds and fall right back off the wagon. Hubby is my weakness as he likes to make me feel better with food. Let me tell you, it feels SO GOOD to be able to tell him no to comfort food! I did have a bad day yesterday but I made this pact with myself knowing that slip-ups are not gonna make me quit. The next day is a new day and thats that. Changes are in my future. GOOD ONES!

Here's to being healthy! I can't wait to see your after pictures!

irisheyez718

Great attitude! You've come to the right place, that's for sure!

lasooch

I started changing my lifestyle gradually. First I discarded all sweetened drinks (drinking only water and occasionally alcohol). Then I started to move a little. Then I started to move MORE (I did 3000 km on my bike this year, which is quite a lot for an amateur, I guess). Recently I started really counting calories, cause it's getting cold and I won't be able to bike anymore.

The "THIS IS IT, IT'S GONNA HAPPEN" didn't kick in until I got into biking really seriously. I had a few weeks when I was biking 3 times a week, doing 80-100 km every time.

Don't buy into fad diets. That **** doesn't work. Just count your calories and track your macros - and do cardio. Just keep a deficit. Around 500 kcal of deficit is perfect.

Signed, recovering fattie (progressed from 108 kg to 95 kg so far, 184 cm tall).

HypersonicFitNess

Awesome! I have to say I fought the diet yo-yo almost my entire life...it wasn't until I was almost 38 that I realized if I didn't figure it out and take control then...what would happen after 40?????

I took CONTROL, I became obsessed with being healthy even....It became the most important thing in my life (okay other things were important, but...you know what I mean).

I lost 35 lbs in 6 months and kept it off over 4 years, yes I put a little bit of it back on last year, but there were A LOT of extenuating circumstances...son leaves home, we sold our house, I quit my job, we moved to another state, I got a new job, we decided to build a house, our lease was up before our house was finished, we were in a hotel for a few months, did I mention I changed jobs again? and was left stranded working everyday from the hotel (and I don't mean a nice 4 or 5 star hotel with gym and pool...it had neither; it was a rat hole), our cat of 20 years died....need I go on? :happy: I survived.....

Anyway, we're settled in the new house now and the weight is coming back off...only 4 lbs to go; I have no intention of allowing it to come back either. :noway:

butterflylady86

Positive attitudes make weight loss success. Keep up the good work. You can do this. Bless you

jmc0806

Pretty much happened to me the same way. I was on the verge of having to go up another size in my shirts right around Christmas so I decided it was time to readjust my life and diet, so I set my new years resolution to lose 100lbs. At the time I never actually figured I'd accomplish that since in the past I never followed through but seeing the weight keep coming off, it kept making me want to lose more and more and earlier this month I actually hit 100lbs and it was the best feeling ever, and made me want to keep going

jerseygirlmaggie

I have been fat my whole life. I was a chubby baby, a chunky toddler, a fat school girl and an obese adult. All my life I have read success stories about people who worked hard and got the weight off. You know how it is, we hear these stories everywhere; magazines, weight loss programs, talk shows, weight loss books–miraculous success stories about regular people who were just sick and tired of being overweight.

As I observed these stories I always wished I could be one of those people. It's all ever wanted–to be thin, all I ever think about, dream about, fantasize about. But despite all the aspirations, somewhere in the back of my mind, I didn't really believe I would ever be successful–that I would NEVER be thin. That probably stems from all the "diet" failures. After 40 years of diets with no lasting results your mind just tend to wrap itself around the fact that it was NEVER really possible.

But recently, very recently in fact, I finally felt IT. That switch–that trigger–that overwhelming sense in the deepest core of my soul that told me, "This time it's going to happen. You're going to be successful this time." It's a sensation that I have never experienced before. And I wonder, is that the same experience all you successful weight loss people had? Did you know when you started this journey that this time was different? And maybe that's just it. I've always heard it said that once you make up your mind that you really want it and being fat isn't working for you anymore, that you can do anything.

In a few months, look for my before and after pictures on this chat forum. Because THIS TIME it's going to happen for me too.

Wow!! I could have written this myself. It happened for me 1 week before I turned 45. Can't wait to see your before and after!!

We're gonna finish this...

recee96

Oh yes..I totally can relate! It "clicked" for me back in 2006 when I said...enough is enough. I was going to a birthday dinner and I was squeezing into a tight skirt that was too small. I looked at the pics from that party and said...I need to do this for me. So I got serious and lost 65 pounds. Since then, I've gained some of it back...but I'm back at it again to get to goal weight...no matter what! And I know you will do the same.

I don't quote celebrities too often, but Oprah made a statement that stuck with me for years. Losing weight is a choice. When you decide that you had enough, and choose to lose weight...no matter what...then you will lose weight!

Best wishes and feel free to add me...I too will be on this journey with you Cheers to healthy living!

buckeye86

That is what happened to me, too. I've been up and down (while still overweight/obese) since I was a kid. This time just felt different. The most I'd lost before is 35 lbs, and I definitely gained more than that back. Not gaining just feels easier now. It's a mental thing and always was. The failed attempts in the past are just because we weren't ready. I weigh less now than I ever thought I'd even want to.

brendacooks

You know, I've been trying to figure out why the click happened this time - haven't quite figured it out but something really is different now. I too was obese for a long, long time - and now I'm not! I have been at this weight loss thing for a year and I still have a ways to go but I have really changed - and not just on the outside. I do sometimes feel discouraged because I am impatient to be at my goal weight but I have never once - NOT EVEN ONCE- considered giving up and going back to my old ways. I have a new life - a life that is about being healthy and I really, really like it.You can change your life. If I can, anyone can!


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KeegansMomma

I'm currently on my journey to the lifestyle change. And my trigger really clicked the end of July when we lost a very dear great uncle (on my mom's side) at 58 years old due to cancer that they caught WAY too late. That got me thinking that I need to change myself...change my life. I have an (almost) 5 year old son. He is and will be my only child. And I want to be here to see him graduate high school, graduate college, get married, and have kids of his own. The only thing I really need to do in this journey is go see my doctor, update my family history with him (losing this uncle to cancer reminded me that my great aunt on my mom's side battled breast cancer about 15 years ago and is alive today thank goodness), and actually have all the tests done he wanted done a couple years ago (blood draws to test glucose, cholesterol, etc).

Feel free to add me as a friend!

lasooch

Wow, buckeye86, those are some great progress pictures. Congratulations!

Also, I don't mean to discourage any of you, it's just something I've noticed - all of you seem much older than me (I'm 21). It makes me so glad that I made this decision now and now 20 years later.

Never too late, though!

MissCarter79

I totally KNOW what you mean! I don't know what happened this time. I just started on mfp almost 2 weeks ago and when I did I just knew it is gonna happen. My husband just looked at me funny in the beginning. I mean business. I know it will be a long road but im so ready to make it happen! All the other times, I'd start, know I could lose a few pounds and fall right back off the wagon. Hubby is my weakness as he likes to make me feel better with food. Let me tell you, it feels SO GOOD to be able to tell him no to comfort food! I did have a bad day yesterday but I made this pact with myself knowing that slip-ups are not gonna make me quit. The next day is a new day and thats that. Changes are in my future. GOOD ONES!

Here's to being healthy! I can't wait to see your after pictures!

My husband does the same thing with food. He always loved bringing me my favorite fast food when I was feeling bad!

Graceious1

That is a wonderful way to look at it Goatgirl. You have a wonderful spirit.

amez1974

It sounds like you are ready to lose the extra weight once and for all!

My aha moment was when I realized that although I was always "dieting" I weighed as much as I had when I gave birth to my third child seven years earlier!! That kept me motivated, then the results kept me motivated. Some days/weeks it is a struggle, but I have come to far to give up now.

Make sure you take "during" pictures too. I have taken pictures at various stages of my own weight loss and putting them next to my original pics is so motivating!

Good luck!

Danayle

I still have a long way to go, but I knew it was working when I started logging my food and not cheating by leaving foods out that I didn't want to log. I knew it was working when I started to lose weight. I also knew it would work better from having support on here and being more realistic instead of so strict like I had been before and why I had given up before.

GwennyH

You're describing EXACTLY what happened to me... I've only lost 13 lbs (of 40+) so far, but I know it will work this time. Determination... I never had that part of it before, I do now... I can see it, visualize it, but most importantly, I believe it: I CAN be thin too if I just keep putting the work in. This is my time!

x_JT_x

Looking forward to seeing that followup post here in a few months. You go girl!!!

jerseygirlmaggie

Wow, buckeye86, those are some great progress pictures. Congratulations!

Also, I don't mean to discourage any of you, it's just something I've noticed - all of you seem much older than me (I'm 21). It makes me so glad that I made this decision now and now 20 years later.

Never too late, though!

Not discouraging, just late to the party!!! You know that expression "If I knew then what I know now"....

I can see where I could have made a huge difference in getting fit in high school alone. I could have walked the 3 miles between school and home every afternoon (instead of taking the bus home) and would likely have been fit by the time I graduated! Can you imagine what a difference 3 miles a day, 5 days a week for 4 years would have done for me? It just seemed soooooo far back then. How dumb was I?

You are SMART taking care of this issue now. Good luck on your journey to fitness!

Edited to add: In HS I only needed to lose about 35 lbs so I know I would have totally been fit in 4 years!!!

vvanm

I was a yo-yo dieter and would go years at the perfect weight before life would derail me. I have two older 200 lb sisters and it seemed inevitable that I too would not age gracefully. However, there just got to be too many reasons why I refused to accept that. The reasons were both big and frivolous, but they added up and in 2004 I dug in for the long haul and now have lost 75 lbs. Every day when I was tempted to go over calories I would remind myself that I did not have any descretionary calories until I was at goal weight. I would tell myself that when reached goal I could eat the dessert/splurge at that time. That thought stopped me in my tracks every day. I took it slow and steady and vowed to be more stubborn than my food craving brain. One reward was seeing myself in my daughter's wedding pictures, looking my best! You can do this, I can already tell by your attitude!

Goatgirl8

Wow, if you can get through all that and still keep going... that says everything!

briannadunn

You can do it!!! I would say something real inspiring right now and try to say some motivating words but you don't need them. You are ready. I feel the same way right now and I have been doing this since the beginning of this year. I am now down 24 pounds. Slow and steady wins the race. One of the biggest things that I keep in mind is to change one little thing at a time, drink more water and when you got that, move onto calories intake, and then move onto exercise, little moves at a time in time make huge leaps. I took a step back and looked at my plan after I plateaued after reaching 242 and not nursing anymore. One step is the start of a million.