Why were you successful this time round?

Options
itstartswithastep
itstartswithastep Posts: 22
in Motivation and Support
I am having trouble losing weight. While I am down three pounds I am fluctuating and bad habits are creeping in again and I am worried I am just going to go back to being unhealthy. I have honestly tried so many times, and I am finding it hard when my family is not being very supportive. I don't really have anyone to talk to and I am just finding it overwhelming really. Ok so I was just going to ask how come this time round was the time you lost weight, I mean I know personally why I am failing (not logging in consistently, giving in to eating rubbish, working out three times a week when I should be nearer to 5) but its just like I wake up and eat two bowls of breakfast and toast and stuff like that. I really need a kick up the backside to get back into gear, I don't really know what this post is for I mean I guess I have just been really bad the last week and in need of support and any help from your experiences getting back into it after a rough time and how you coped at the start of losing weight? It's like I cannot go more than 2 weeks without just giving up. Thanks
«13

Replies

  • stresco
    stresco Posts: 354 Member
    Options
    Focus on my goals
    Inspiration from my girlfriend
    Support from my core network of friends and family
    Love of what I do (Again!)
    Being happy
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Options
    I don't have a "this time around"... I only have a now. I try to make the best decisions I can as often as I can. Sometimes that means I have a really good day. Some times it doesn't. But in the long run, my good days out number my bad days and my progress, while slow, is still progress.

    IMO, the drive and the dedication has to come from within. You can't rely on others to be helpful, supportive, etc. At some point the desire to be healthier. look better, and feel better has to outweigh the desire to eat like **** and be lazy. If it doesn't, you'll never see any meaningful, sustained progress.
  • helyg
    helyg Posts: 675 Member
    Options
    Because I really, really wanted it. I was fed up of being fat and unfit, and realised that only I could change that. So I did.
  • retiree2006
    retiree2006 Posts: 951 Member
    Options
    I took the extreme emotions out of it generally and just went about it reasonably. I used to cut out so many foods I loved, get discouraged if I didn't lose consistently, and had the mentality of "I'm done" when I reached my goal...thus going back to old habits.
  • Lyerin
    Lyerin Posts: 818 Member
    Options
    I don't have a "this time around"... I only have a now. I try to make the best decisions I can as often as I can. Sometimes that means I have a really good day. Some times it doesn't. But in the long run, my good days out number my bad days and my progress, while slow, is still progress.

    IMO, the drive and the dedication has to come from within. You can't rely on others to be helpful, supportive, etc. At some point the desire to be healthier. look better, and feel better has to outweigh the desire to eat like **** and be lazy. If it doesn't, you'll never see any meaningful, sustained progress.

    I totally agree.

    I feel so much better where I am now than where I was 31.2 pounds ago. If I focus on the fact that I've lost weight before and regained, what does it benefit me? I'm focusing on the fact that I'm doing really, really well right now and am really committed. It helps me too that I've found a workout schedule that I totally love and boot camp classes that are really having a major impact.
  • A_Fit_Mom
    A_Fit_Mom Posts: 602 Member
    Options
    I have been really motivated and I know that it will take time. It isn't a quick fix. Luckily I have lost consistently, which motivates me even more.

    I lost some weight last year and was really motivated. Then after a vacation I stopped all together. I know to learn from my mistakes before. I treat it as a lifetime "diet". So I still have a sweet if I want it. Or if we go to dinner I will have a drink. I just know that I can't do it every day. It is all about moderation. I have lost 26 pounds since the beginning of march.
  • jakesfitness
    jakesfitness Posts: 123 Member
    Options
    I am having trouble losing weight. While I am down three pounds I am fluctuating and bad habits are creeping in again and I am worried I am just going to go back to being unhealthy. I have honestly tried so many times, and I am finding it hard when my family is not being very supportive. I don't really have anyone to talk to and I am just finding it overwhelming really. Ok so I was just going to ask how come this time round was the time you lost weight, I mean I know personally why I am failing (not logging in consistently, giving in to eating rubbish, working out three times a week when I should be nearer to 5) but its just like I wake up and eat two bowls of breakfast and toast and stuff like that. I really need a kick up the backside to get back into gear, I don't really know what this post is for I mean I guess I have just been really bad the last week and in need of support and any help from your experiences getting back into it after a rough time and how you coped at the start of losing weight? It's like I cannot go more than 2 weeks without just giving up. Thanks

    I had an awesome support team. joined a group that was doing the same program as me and logged workouts and nutrition everyday. we all kept each other on track. Besides that, i did whatever it took to stay focused and really though about what i was eating before i ate it.
  • w2bab
    w2bab Posts: 353 Member
    Options
    Because my husband is eating the same foods and working out with me every morning. Last year it was really hard when he was eating every unhealthy thing under the sun and I was trying to stick with the program. In January he found out he was diabetic and had high blood pressure, so he decided things had to change. It really helped me when he decided to get healthy. Since mid-January he has lost 86 lbs and is almost to his goal, and I have lost 62 lbs and have 31 more to go. Support is everything, wherever you can find it!
  • miadhail
    miadhail Posts: 383 Member
    Options
    My heart is in it this time. I am passionate about weight loss and don't just see it as numbers dropping from the scale, but I see the overall fitness I gained from it.

    I also feel so much better about myself, and after "forcing" myself to workout for about a month and diligently logging my food, it just becomes a habit, like brushing my teeth, so when I do fall off the wagon, I just feel disgusting (like not brushing your teeth for a week) and I just need to get back on it otherwise I'd have that nagging feeling in the depths of my mind.

    And not to mention that actual weightloss, definitely a motivation. I just do not want to return to where I was then.
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,212 Member
    Options
    Because I really, really wanted it. I was fed up of being fat and unfit, and realised that only I could change that. So I did.

    This! You have to do some soul searching and really assess if you're willing to make the necessary changes to lose weight and become healthier. It is a lot of hard work and dedication, but it doesn't have to be terrible either. A modest calorie deficit, more exercise, and a long term view will get you there.

    I also think maintenance needs a lot of thought and planning. Are you willing to make dietary and exercise changes permanent lifestyle changes? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to lose weight and not have a solid plan for maintaining that weight loss.
  • micheleld73
    micheleld73 Posts: 914 Member
    Options
    Once I got started and saw the results, I couldn't stop!! I've become addicted to being healthy!!
  • mmm_drop
    mmm_drop Posts: 1,126 Member
    Options
    I think it is because I am now of the mindset that this is my life now.

    I lost weight before, but I was really focused on how quickly it would happen and how good I would look afterwards. I got to my goal, actually, and then I thought, well I'm done. Guess what? Changing your eating habits isn't a short-term thing. It is a life-long thing. When I stopped watching what I ate and being active the weight slowly crept back up again.

    When I got to where I was unhappy and uncomfortable with myself again I decided to make a change. This time around is no longer a "this time around"; it is my life. I eat fairly healthy 80-90% of the time, but still have burgers, pizza, beer, etc...just not everyday all the time and in the mass quantities I used to consume before.

    Once you can decide this is your life and start making little changes towards your new life you will be set and nobody can stop you. While support from friends and family is awesome, it isn't necessary. This is about you!
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
    Options
    I don't have a "this time around"... I only have a now. I try to make the best decisions I can as often as I can. Sometimes that means I have a really good day. Some times it doesn't. But in the long run, my good days out number my bad days and my progress, while slow, is still progress.

    IMO, the drive and the dedication has to come from within. You can't rely on others to be helpful, supportive, etc. At some point the desire to be healthier. look better, and feel better has to outweigh the desire to eat like **** and be lazy. If it doesn't, you'll never see any meaningful, sustained progress.

    This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say, only much more eloquently put. In short, there's a motivation "switch" inside each of us, and only you have the power to turn yours on or off. I lost 82 lbs, got pregnant again, and am 3 weeks postpartum getting back to being healthy and active. I just don't want to be unhealthy ever again, and so I need eating well (with exceptions for reasonable indulgences) and fitness to be a part of my life.
  • fitandtrimforapp
    fitandtrimforapp Posts: 3
    Options
    Back in high school I lost 25 pounds when an endocrinologist told me that I was at risk for type 2 diabetes if I kept up my eating habits. It wasn't so much that I was bigger than average, but that I ate WAY too much sugar for my own good. And all that sugar wasn't too good for my teeth either! At first my motivation was that I did not want a diabetes diagnosis, but that only took me so far. It felt like my motivation was pushing me along, rather than pulling me towards being in better shape.

    I started dancing about a month into it and got hooked! I danced ballet, tap and jazz at a studio when I was little but never really fell in love with dance. I started belly dancing and hip hop when I was trying to lose weight and couldn't stop after that. I would drive home from school and immediately run upstairs to my room to start dancing! After that, I knew that I had to eat well so that I could fuel a long dance workout as well as not feel heavy or lethargic doing it.

    I went off to college two years ago and gained about 10 pounds of that back. My previous attempts at losing that college weight failed because all I could think was "why did this happen? I failed at keeping the weight off, what's going to stop it from coming back again?" But I changed that mentality. Instead, I think "I've done this before and I can do it again!" and before I even hit my goal weight, I'm already developing strategies to keep it off. I don't keep junk food around the house so I'm not even tempted out of boredom, but when I'm out with my friends I have no problem treating myself as long as it's done in moderation.

    The main thing is to find a reason to lose the weight that's important to you--not anyone else--like how great you feel when you can keep up with your favorite Tae-bo video (man I love Billy Blanks!). Relish the little things and find something you enjoy doing so that you'll love to keep doing it. Don't focus on past failures, just think towards the future. Hope this helps!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    Options
    focus on the process and focus on changing your habits...eating better and more nutritiously...getting your fitness on, etc. Focus on that rather than the arbitrary number on the scale an know that it takes time. Good Livin' isn't about today or tomorrow or next week or next month...it's about your life and how you're livin' your life overall; Good Livin' and the benefits thereof takes time.

    Focus on the results and you rarely see the change; focus on the change and you'll always see the results...that's good livin'
  • Jusjerzy
    Jusjerzy Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    focus on the process and focus on changing your habits...eating better and more nutritiously...getting your fitness on, etc. Focus on that rather than the arbitrary number on the scale an know that it takes time. Good Livin' isn't about today or tomorrow or next week or next month...it's about your life and how you're livin' your life overall; Good Livin' and the benefits thereof takes time.

    Focus on the results and you rarely see the change; focus on the change and you'll always see the results...that's good livin'

    Love this!
  • ahviendha
    ahviendha Posts: 1,291 Member
    Options
    I never had true weight loss failures before, because I never tried. Whining about my fatness, taking diet pills, and doing weird exercises from magazines for two days were never true attempts.

    The week of my 22nd birthday, I decided to take my life back. There was no option for failing, because I'm the kind of person when I make a decision, I stick to it, especially one as important as this.

    The small changes I made were sustainable, and I built upon those habits for months until I felt I could add another good habit, or remove another bad one.
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
    Options
    I don't have a "this time around"... I only have a now. I try to make the best decisions I can as often as I can. Sometimes that means I have a really good day. Some times it doesn't. But in the long run, my good days out number my bad days and my progress, while slow, is still progress.

    IMO, the drive and the dedication has to come from within. You can't rely on others to be helpful, supportive, etc. At some point the desire to be healthier. look better, and feel better has to outweigh the desire to eat like **** and be lazy. If it doesn't, you'll never see any meaningful, sustained progress.

    ^this, totally
  • LJGettinSexy
    LJGettinSexy Posts: 223 Member
    Options
    I think I'm more successful this time because I'm sick and tired of being overweight. I don't like looking at my big stomach, thighs, breasts and everything else that grows when you gain weight. I don't want to continue to gain so I talked to my doctor to find out if I was having medical issues. Of course I wasn't (because he ran all tests) and decided that if I wanted to look and feel better, I would have to lose weight. It does make a difference when you have a support group, even though I would be determined without one, however, when you can talk about it with someone that's going thru the same issues at the same time then it helps tremendously. Neither my family nor friends are on a weight loss journey and I'm disappointed that I can't share my experiences with them, but my co-workers and I are in this together and I love the support and the conversations we have. If you need support you can add me as a friend so we can communicate. I know I need all the help I can get and losing weight is not an easy task so I can sympathize with you. Good luck this time round.
  • aarar
    aarar Posts: 684 Member
    Options
    I stopped making it all about weight loss and focused more on being healthy and fit. Even when the scale isn't showing a loss, having the ability to go out and do a 3 hour run gives me all the motivation in the world to keep going.

Categories