Is it a journey, a lifestyle change, or just using common sense?

I mean, I never required any motivation to lose my weight or stay on track. My success is based on habits.

It really depends on your starting point, doesn't it?

When I was 280lbs I used to dip my chips in tartar sauce and ketchup--both at the same time-- during my once, or twice, a week all-you-can-eat fish and chips dinners!

Everyone knows that we are overweight because we've been putting in more calories than we've been putting out! Sure. But that's been going on for years. How do we change it?

The why's and how's and the changes to make, I think those are very much a process, a journey towards a lifestyle change : - )

New habits and outlooks have to be developed. New coping mechanisms have to be learned. Family, friends, relationships sometimes need to change. Health needs to become a priority.

Would "dieting" by not eating chips with mayo have made a difference if I had continued going for AYCE fish and chips and not even walking 500 steps on several days each month?

MaggotPig wrote: »

I think it's all of the above really.

I can only speak from my experience of having to lose a lot (around 50% of my start body weight), but to lose weight successfully, you have to want to do it. Like really want to. The rest then follows. Some people just aren't at that stage yet no matter how much they complain about being overweight.

This is what rang true to me. I knew I was overweight for a long time, but it's only this recent attempt that I am really truly interested in doing something about it. You have to want to, and be ready to.

atypicalsmith wrote: »

A journey sounds very cumbersome, as does a lifestyle change. I know someone who dips her French fries in mayonnaise and can't figure out why she is overweight. My theory is that everyone knows why they are overweight but can't own up to it. Including ME.

Does it matter what you call it? Whatever works for you!

A lifestyle change implies it's going to last. A journey usually has an end point.

Nothing wrong with fries or mayonnaise, so long as you're not eating too many, and all the time! I have fish 'n' chips on the seafront occasionally, with ketchup. I had an ice cream the other day. I still lose weight.

Yes, you have to be motivated, and it has to come from you. No-one else can motivate you.

Calling it a journey implies that there is an end point. If you want to remain at a healthy weight and fit it is a lifestyle change that should last forever. Of course at the start you are more focused but as the years go by you gradually incorporate those changes into your daily routine and it becomes your life. For example, I used to eat the snacks we get at work ( cakes, chocs etc). The first time I tried to lose weight I cut third out and replaced them with fruit. Now, years later, I still never eat workplace food- it's just me. I don't really think about it, it's just who I am.

I think that although a lot of the time it is common sense there are other non rational things that come in to play. Most people know what they should or shouldn't do but still we make bad choices even though we know they are not good for us. Eating can often give us instant gratification and food is everywhere and readily available (for majority of the population). So it is very easy to turn to food for comfort even if the feeling is fleeting.
I have never really been overweight so I haven't found it as much of a struggle to lose a few kgs as others on mfp have experienced (my adult weight has fluctuated between 47 and 53kg). However I have a problem with impulse buying and spending small amounts of money on unnecessary things which add up really fast. In some ways I liken this to weight management. I know my triggers for spending, I know I need to set a budget and stick to it, I know what common tools can help me achieve my goal but yet I have not been successful in breaking this habit. I think a lot of people have their weaknesses (and strengths) and unless there is a really strong motivator internally to make that change then it won't happen. So in summary it is a journey to a new lifestyle and using common sense can help you get there if you are truly ready and want to make the change.

For me it's been 80% mindset, 20% calories and math. Everything fell into place after I figured that out, and it's still true now that I'm in maintenance. So, if I had to put a label this whole thing it would be weight loss/maintenance is a mind game that you have to win.

And fries and mayo are a lovely combination btw

atypicalsmith wrote: »

A journey sounds very cumbersome, as does a lifestyle change. I know someone who dips her French fries in mayonnaise and can't figure out why she is overweight. My theory is that everyone knows why they are overweight but can't own up to it. Including ME.

I think that's somewhat accurate but you get to call it whatever you want.

I thought I knew why I was fat and I made a concerted effort to exercise and eat healthy foods. Nope. Nada.
It wasn't till I started logging on MFP that I realized that it was the portions of the food hurting me!

I was eating carrots and hummus for a snack, but is eat 400kcal of it! So while reasons might seem obvious in retrospect it sometimes takes awhile to get there.

I think of what I'm doing right now as a slight course correction.

I've been slender, even underweight, most of my life. I've also been very, very active for much of my life.

However, in the past 4 years, I've been less active. I adjusted my diet to match my lack of activity, and it took me 4 years to put on 15 kg, so I was pretty close ... but just off a bit.

So ... just fixing the 15 kg and making a slight readjustment ... a dietary tweak ... a course correction.

It's a journey learning to adapt to a new lifestyle of using common sense?

bluworld wrote: »

If weight loss were common sense, then no one would be over weight.

Common sense simply isn't, though.

The terminology is like Catholic vs Anglican thelogical debate. In the end, it's all the same thing.


I'm an atheist, so, I just call it diet and exercise.

I don't like the word "journey" unless one is talking about a spiritual journey, or if it applies to someone who is seriously overweight or obese who is making major changes. For those people it is often a journey toward health and sometimes even self-discovery and identity as they become used to their new body size and shape (the same might apply for people recovering from ED who are restoring a healthy relationship with food). For those who just have 10-20 lbs. to lose or just want to reshape our bodies, calling weight loss a "journey" trivializes the experience of those who have experienced serious impact due to issues with food. I don't mind the term lifestyle change because even for those of us who don't have much to lose or are of normal weight, we are changing our lifestyle if we are choosing to watch both the quantity and content of what we eat. I would say it's more complex than just "common sense." CICO can be called "common sense," but an overall healthy diet is much more than just CICO.