Is the damage already done?

I think we all wonder this sometimes (I know I do!), but ultimately, it doesn't matter. Maybe you (or I) have done damage and maybe we haven't, but if we don't change our habits, it is guaranteed that we will. But, we can prevent future damage and improve any previous damages by the changes we make now.
[Also, for a bit of perspective, it's worth noting that every decision we make, weight-related or not, affects our life quality and health. Our lives are the sum of so many little things. No sense in getting hung up on the past, just try to shoot for improvements in the future.]

Hi everyone,

I have started losing weight. I am pretty young. I have been fat for most of my life. I have lost 20 lbs but been in a rut. I worry that the damage is already done (not to say that I shouldn't lose the weight). I am upset because I feel like being fat for most of my childhood has already taken to toll on my body. I worry that it's too late. That I can't be healthy like people I know. Almost, like a smoker or maybe alcoholic? Even though I " quit" i still did the damage. Is this true? I have 80-100 lbs to lose. I've only lost twenty. I just would like to know if I've done the damage and really messed up my life ( irreversible damage). I don't have any diseases. But I didn't eat well. I'm 220 lbs now.

I'm 62, and, like you, have had weight problems all my life. The only time the scales said I was at a healthy weight, I was NOT healthy due to very poor eating habits and a cigarette smoking habit. My weight really went up when I quit smoking around 25 years ago, but I wouldn't go back to smoking for anything.

You will have ups and downs with the scale...look at how much you've accomplished...20 pounds is nothing to laugh at. Give yourself time and be consistent in weighing and logging your food along with doing whatever exercise you can do comfortably. Don't forget that how your clothes fit is also an indicator of how you are doing. A pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same but have very different volumes. Google "visual: pound of fat v pound of muscle" without the quotes. You might be making a lot of progress but just don't see in with the scale.

Those of us who have battled weight problems for most of our lives may be destined to always fight that battle to one degree or another but the long term health benefits are worth it. When I went in for my semi-annual checkup (yeah, I'm at THAT age), my doctor was thrilled to see I'd lost a few pounds compared to my previous checkup. He doesn't have a weight goal for me...just to keep doing what I'm doing and see him again in September.

Ho my you are so young and getting it together now---good for you---no damage is not too late-- you can and will and are doing it now--good for you!,Time is going to go by and if you do this you will succeed there isn't any other way it can be! Keep logging food move more and don't watch scale too closely it will slow at times and even stall- but if you are moving watching the I ntake you will only succeed! Can't wait to see your progress you've already done well-- keep going don't wait till you are "old" LOL like me at 51 yrs old trying to get it together- do it now! Good for you. And by the way I do see progress Keep going!