Why were you successful this time round?

I saw this quote on a friend's profile and it resinated with me...
"If you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done"

Because I enjoy eating regular kinds/amounts of food and I also discovered that I need to exercise to keep healthy AND sane, and neither of these facts are going to change over the course of my lifetime, so I may as well find my sweet spot and make it work. Which is what I have done through enough years of trial and error.

Also because I have finally accepted that I don't need to lose XXlbs. by XX.XX.20XX. When you toss out that nonsense then this whole journey becomes a lot easier on you and your body and mind in several ways.

I have tried more times than I can count over the last twenty years. I usually never made it more than a few days and to be honest I really had no higher expectations this time Around. What I did differently this time is I really thought and planned how I would do it. I thought about what would work best for me and what caused me to quit before. I hate to cook, so if I had to cook elaberate things I would give up. I apparently can't do low carb either lol. I set small goals and only worried about getting to there, when I was in the 260's I focused only on getting to the 250's for example. I also tell myself I will never consider this truly a success until the day I die at my goal weight. It is a life time change. And I tell myself I can't fail if I don't give up.

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.

And it is quoted yet again. Do you notice a trend between her and the people who quoted her? We all have trackers and lots of progress. We are putting it out there and being accountable. Almost any diet plan will work if you make a very serious decision to stick to it. Wanting it is not enough. You have to commit to doing it; not trying to - doing it!

What helped me is I looked again at my goals. I needed to lose close to 100 pounds. For me setting that goal was so unobtainable. I then set smaller goals. Even if your goal is to move more and eat less for today or this week, Days turn into weeks , weeks turn into months and I am 80+ down. If I mess up for a day rather than giving up and going back to my old habits tomorrow is another day and strive to do better. After a while you will see results. After you see some results it snowballs into more motivation. If I miss a day of exercise that’s okay but I try to never miss 2 in a row. I also do what works for me through trial and error. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on here, I’m not one of those. There are a lot of opinionated people on here and I may be one of those. I don’t put much thought into” you have to do this or you can’t do that”. I read it all but in the end I do what works for me and I’m sure some would say you can’t do that :-).. Take it all in, sort it out and bottom line do what works for you and if one day you fail don’t give up try again the next. The other thing I did was take a good look at the stuff going on wrong in my head that caused me to overeat to begin with and ended up in a happier place..

Because for the first time I know what I'm doing and I feel confident.

Its not working for you because either:

1. You have not written down all of the reasons why you HATE being overweight...and I mean, dig down to your core and come up with the dark, ugly truths about what it is you HATE about being overweight and unhealthy.

OR

2. You have taken the time to be honest with yourself, written down the deep-in-your-gut things you don't like about being overweight, and they just aren't all that horrible for you.

I believe, if you really know what it is that you HATE about your current lifestyle....and you dig out the things that gnaw at you and read that list every day and every time you are struggling....you will find a way to get healthy. But some folks are okay with being unhealthy and overweight and just don't hate it enough. Until you hate it enough, the journey to good health is going to be more challenging.

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 think because it's about being healthier, it's me focusing on what I want to add to my life, rather than subtract.

I'm making small changes that I can live with the rest of my life. I still eat fast food that fits within my calorie goals. I don't have some crazy workout routine, I just walk everyday. I love dancing, so I'll probably get a Zumba dvd, that sounds like fun!

Find healthy things that you love.

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

What I have done is to go lower carbs (70-100 grams seems to be the "sweet spot" for losing body fat--I NEVER go above 150 grams). Like many, many [formerly] obese (I am now officially only "overweight" and I hope to get to "normal" within the next year) women, my body simply doesn't do well when carbohydrates make up more than about 20% of my calories. I eat more carbs on my heavier exercise days, but I still like to keep it below 100 grams. I have entirely eliminated sugar as I believe it invites binge eating (and it is empty calories anyway).

I increased my protein quite a bit over what I have eaten in the past. I am using stevia-sweetened whey protein in shakes--usually only one a day for lunch or dinner. I put in 3-6-9 oil and avocado, to make sure I get "good fats". I also make sure that I eat a bit of full-fat yogurt to make sure that my gut bacteria stay healthy. I usually use some kind of berry to make it more interesting and I often use a "green's" powder as well. It is a pretty yummy form of nourishment and it makes you feel GREAT! One of the biggest mistakes I made in the past was to only pay attention to trying to get my calories as low as possible, ignoring nutrition. I lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time but was malnourished when I was done and couldn't seem to stop myself from eating (I also ended my diets with some kind of health crisis on several occasions). It guaranteed that I would regain the weight--plus some, because low-calorie quick weight-loss diets reduced my muscles to junk status.

On the exercise end, I do a bit of calorie-burning every day, but I limit true cardio to less than two hours a week (and I try to include intervals for CVD health). I generally stick pretty rigidly to my calorie goals but if I am hungry and want to eat more (and I rarely do because I don't eat empty calories) then I exercise so that I can. I LIFT WEIGHTS and find that it does a LOT to burn off body fat and that it helps with appetite as well. I was at my granddaughter's kindergarten graduation at her school today and they were serving cake. I could have had a piece if I had wanted because I could just burn it off later in my exercise session. But I didn't because I am trying to improve my health with everything I am doing, and there is NOTHING in a piece of cake that will contribute to that goal (sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oil in the icing and likely GMO wheat and more sugar in the cake). It might "taste" good to my eyes and deceived tongue, but the rest of my body would be going "yuck-pooey". . :-) Once you turn down cake, cookie, pie, etc., a few times, your family and friends learn not to offer it to you anymore. If you do it though, you've got to be prepared for semi-hostile responses from them for a while, such as: "Oh, come on---you've lost a lot of weight. Surely, you can have one piece of cake?!" "What--are you trying to make me feel guilty??" Let it roll off your back. You are the only one who has a right to decide what you put in your mouth. Good luck. Friend me if you want to see what I eat.