You just do.

About 9 months ago, I started my quest to lose about 260 or so pounds. I started at 478. In 5 months, I peeled off 95 pounds down to 383. Then "life" happened. The "what" is not important. The result is. Over the past 4 months, I have hutz-putzed around, sometimes logging food, sometimes not. Sometimes exercising, sometimes not. Re-establishing old, familiar, detrimental pathways. Allowing a piece of dutch apple crumb pie with warm caramel ganache and homemade vanilla bean ice cream to comfort and soothe my jangled nerves instead of dealing with the problems that caused the anxiety in the first place. The result was a gain of 10 pounds.

I am not writing this for sympathy or support. I am writing this because I know that one of you needs to read what I am about to say. One of you has fought the good fight for hours, days, weeks, months or years, and has lost 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 or more pounds. One of you has slipped in recent days or weeks for reasons known only to you. One of you has either faced, or will face a scale that screams a number at you that you promised yourself you would never see again. You feel like a failure. You feel like you have let your fellow MFPers, your friends, your loved ones, and yourself down. You feel your clothes fitting a little tighter, and are paralyzed by the thought of having to buy new "fat clothes." You know you need to "start again," but you don't know how. This post, my friend, is written for YOU.

Why am *I* writing this post? I do not write as a PhD in nutrition or dietetics. I do not write this post as a psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor or physician. I am none of those things. I write this post solely as a fellow traveler who has sometimes faced, sometimes ignored a lifelong problem with excess fat. I am merely one who walks the same path as you do. Toward the same goal that you seek. With the same thoughts, fears, shames, anxieties and desires for a better life that you experience. I do not know if I will reach that promised land. Or whether you will. But I know that we will walk that path together, trying as best possible to keep one another pointed toward the land of Goal, off on the distant horizon.

So, what's the plan, Stan? I don't know about yours, but mine is simple:

1. Forgive myself for gaining back the pounds that I have. Guilt is like a sack of rocks. You can choose to carry it with you and it will make your task more difficult. Or you can set it down by the side of the road and continue your journey without it. I choose the latter.

2. Eat filling foods with fiber, complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. Wean myself down from 80% processed foods to about 20%. Most of time, weight loss is not about the foods you deprive yourself of. It results from the foods you do eat not providing enough vitamins and nutrition your body needs. That's why your body keeps asking for more food.

3. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. And lots of it. Did I mention drink water?

4. Schedule exercise and treat that block of time like a business appointment. No excuses. Plan it. Execute it.

5. Don't have the same expectations of being able to exercise as long or as fast as I did when I was exercising every day. Just accept that every step I take or climb, is another step away from sedentary and another step toward fit.

6. When I exercise, I will not look miles down the road and say, "I can't do it." I will focus on the next several steps and say, "I can do this." And if I do that enough times, I will have made it miles down the road.

7. When I eat, I will start each meal with water and a filling, low calorie food. I will eat slowly so that my brain has a chance to catch up with my stomach and realize that, "yes, I did get enough to eat."

8. I will not give up desserts or "fattening foods." I will continue to eat them, but in much smaller portions.

9. I will not look at my allotment of calories for the day and panic as it dwindles. I will be a mature adult. When my calories are gone for the day, I will either "man up" and stop eating, or I will exercise more to earn more calories.

10. I will get enough rest each day so that my body does not try to replace energy from rest with energy from food.

11. If I have a "cheat day" or "cheat meal" I will record it, accept the consequences and move on. You know what you eventually call someone who stays on track eating wise 90% of the time? Really good looking!

That's it. No magic. No potions. No easy way. When you're in your car and you have a flat tire, do you get out and flatten the other three? No. You replace it and go on. You just do.

Scott R. in Houston, Tx.