finally, something that works for me

My doctor suggested (strongly) that I use MFP at my last visit to him. He heard of MFP from another male patient who has much in common with me, and had lost 17 pounds in a few months using MFP. He checked it out and felt that it made sense, and would not only help with weight-loss, but in learning the how-and-why things work/don't work. He didn't ask me to do anything other than to log my food intake and exercise activity as completely as possible and learn from what I see. And, that is exactly what I did - and slowly adjusted my day-to-day behavior based on being brutally honest in logging my food.

By not trying to set the world on fire, thinking in terms of losing X number of pounds in a short time etc., but just logging and learning - I have found that I not only have been able to succeed, but change my view of what success is. I am happiest that I consider doing ANYTHING every day for several weeks a success. I was so happy to see after finishing the day yesterday that I had logged in for 45 days in a row. I have seen slow weight loss (slow in terms of what I might have expected if I was "dieting"), with nothing except learning and adjusting as I go. I now find it so easy to think about what I am going to eat when I have to eat out (which is a lot), and make sensible choices that don't make me feel deprived. In fact, I actually get excited about what I am going to have - knowing that I can eat healthily and happily in any situation. I have fun trying new things, figuring out substitutions and discovering new things to eat - and enjoying doing little things to increase my activity level.

While I have not obscessed on the scale, I have only weighed myself when I felt "different". When the scale doesn't reward me, I haven't worried - knowing I could look at my history to see if I've done something that might account for no loss - and I only "check in" when I see the inevitable loss. I now am able to see that my seemingly small losses really build - and can look at the long term.

Thank you MFP - and thanks to all who contribute their experiences and to my favorite message board - the Recipes forum.