What has weight loss taught you about yourself/life?

In the confrontation between the river and the rock, the river always wins, not through strength, but by perseverance. Are you the river, or are you the rock?

I have learned that my mind is a very interesting place. I have learned that I often think I want things that I don't actually want. And I often think I don't want things that I actually do want. I have learned that cravings and feelings pass like the weather and it is necessary to make decisions independently of them. Weight loss is a physical journey, that has way more to do with my mind than I expected.

That I do best with extremes in most areas.
That I am an elitist a-hole.
That I can't help but mock failure (both my own, and that of others).
That my boss doesn't like me when I am cutting.
That I didn't have "a slow metabolism". I was just lazy as *kitten*.
That I rather enjoy walking 10-20 miles per day, so long as it's not on a damned treadmill.
That I still have a long way to go.

Losing has taught me that being smaller doesn't fix everything. You can still be insecure, feel out of place and be uncomfortable in your own skin. You can also choose to treat your body well, honor it, take care of it and feel amazing breaking through barriers you never thought possible. Not just fitness barriers either, although those are incredible in and of themselves, but boundaries in everyday life that were previously attributed to being fat but weren't, the weight was just a disguise to the real issue.
I have learned that food tastes better when it's a rare treat and savored. If you eat a doughnut every day it loses its specialness. If you have it twice a month it tastes better than it ever did before.
I have learned that I can say no today and yes tomorrow. Before if the question was about food it was always yes and now. It feels good to be control and say not now, and I'll enjoy that when I really want to and not because it's here now. If I wait a few days I enjoy it far more.
I have learned that people are very judgmental and will comment on your body, your food choices, even your clothing when you are smaller, whereas heavier it is a faux pas but thin apparently gives them a free pass because society deems it appropriate to do so. It's utter crap and sometimes makes me want to be big again to avoid it.
I have learned healthy is a mindset and it can change your life once you get past the starting line. Healthy doesn't go away in two weeks when your diet "ends", or once you completed a fitness goal, or can wear x size again. Healthy is an ongoing process of making choices you want to make that make you feel good, mentally and physically.

I learned that in a world of external and internal chaos ... schedules and pressures and deadlines and busyness and changes of plans etc. etc. etc + the hormonal chaos of being an older woman and health issues etc. etc. etc. ............. I have control over my weight.

Everything else might be out of control ... but I can still lose weight.

I've learned that nothing good has come out of being too permissive with myself.
I've learned that falling down really slows me down.
I've learned how to eat right by actually eating right. Today, not tomorrow. This meal, not the next one.
Good habits can't be cultivated if I continue to flirt with bad habits.
Good habits can only be cultivated by seizing every present moment to reinforce them.
Good habits take years to cultivate, and then must be loyally and faithfully guarded forever.

lilawolf wrote: »

That weight loss really isn't that hard if you put yourself in an upward cycle: I GET to eat this delicious treat which will fuel me so that I GET to go spar and feel bad *kitten* so that I GET to look awesome and strong..... rather than: Ugh, I HAVE to run on the dreadmill because I FAILED and ate that stupid treat...

Thanks for this great tip! I am now going to think up my own and change my way of thinking :-)

That everyone is an individual. What works for me won't necessarily work for someone else. There's no "universal" truths. That the stuff we spew out today will probably change in a few years and we'll be shouting out something different. That I am my own best advocate. Take all advice on board if you ask for it. Then weed out the noise. You know you best.

Love this thread! I have lost 66 pounds in half as many weeks and learned that this weight loss thing is much simpler than I ever would've thought. Not always easy, but definitely simple.

Some other things I learned:

• I love tennis! Who knew it wasn't just endlessly bending over to pick up balls you miss.
• Good shoes make all the difference and are worth the money.
• It is easy to incorporate more movement into my everyday routine. It's the little things, like offering to go get the mail or bring in the groceries that I used to avoid.
• It will take other people 50000 years to say anything about your weight loss, so you just have to focus on other ways to stay motivated.
• It's okay to listen to my body. If I go to the gym and I really don't feel like going on the treadmill, I focus on weights or use the jumprope (my new fave). If I really want to eat something, I get a small portion of it and eat it.
• I can make big, seemingly crazy goals and actually achieve them. Succeeding at weight loss has inspired me to make new goals, like running a marathon and hiking the Long Trail. It makes anything seem possible.

That my metabolism and thyroid were just fine, I was eating for 2-3 people!