Living The Lifestyle - - Monday, June 25, 2018

whathapnd
whathapnd Posts: 1,322 Member
edited November 27 in Social Groups
We meet here to explore, share, celebrate, and (sometimes) agonize over how we do (or don’t) incorporate weight loss guidelines into our daily lives. “ It’s a lifestyle, not a diet" is easily and often said, but sometimes not so simply put into practice.

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Thread starters for June are:

Monday - whathapnd (Emmie)
Tuesday - calvin2008brian (Brian)
Wednesday - minimyzeme (Kim)
Thursday - 88olds (George)
Friday - Al_Howard

Today's Topic: Becoming Aware That You Don't/Didn't Know Something

There's the old saying that, "We don't know what we don't know." How has this phrase come up during your quest for lower weight/better health? What were you most surprised to know you didn't know - - whether about yourself or about the process of losing weight/obtaining better health or something else.

Bonus Question: Can you drive a stick shift car?

Replies

  • gadgetgirlIL
    gadgetgirlIL Posts: 1,381 Member
    Bonus question: yes and 2 of our 3 vehicles are stick shift!
  • Calvin2008Brian
    Calvin2008Brian Posts: 1,024 Member
    Bonus question: yes, although I haven't owned one for almost 4 years.
  • Calvin2008Brian
    Calvin2008Brian Posts: 1,024 Member
    I refer to the phenomenon you described as "compounded ignorance." Tough question for this crowd, I'll guess, because we've all "been there, done that" when it comes to weight loss.

    I'll say this: (a) there are certainly things I don't know about nutrition and weight loss, (b) I tend to think those things are fine points and details that don't matter, (c) no matter what, in the long term, it's caloric deficit that matters, and (d) there aren't any shortcuts.
  • Calvin2008Brian
    Calvin2008Brian Posts: 1,024 Member
    As for what I didn't know, or underappreciated, the easy example is how hard it is to lose weight and how easy it is to put it back on.
  • Jerdtrmndone
    Jerdtrmndone Posts: 5,868 Member
    As for what I didn't know, or underappreciated, the easy example is how hard it is to lose weight and how easy it is to put it back on.

    Isn't that the truth!
  • Jerdtrmndone
    Jerdtrmndone Posts: 5,868 Member
    WW. showed me how to eat healthy and the proper amount of food to lose.
  • gadgetgirlIL
    gadgetgirlIL Posts: 1,381 Member
    I finally came up with an answer for the first part of the question. Prior to WW at Work, I had no idea just how many people struggled with their relationship with food. I thought I suffered from terminal uniqueness. To learn that so many people shared my struggles was truly eye opening.
  • Al_Howard
    Al_Howard Posts: 8,823 Member
    Bonus question: I'm not sure. Haven't driven one since 1968.
  • whathapnd
    whathapnd Posts: 1,322 Member
    What I had no idea of was just how unstructured my life was when it came to food and how imposing just a little in the right areas could make a dramatic difference. I wasn't someone who was shoving my face with food all the time. I just over-ate frequently enough to put on 40lbs. We eat/ate a lot of take-out, and I never used to think about how many calories I was eating or what I was getting from it nutritionally. Now, i cook a lot more often and/or we have simple ingredients on-hand that can be cobbled together to make a meal.

    I've always bern someone who thought she hated more rather than less structure, but I now understand that I need and appreciate structure more than I rrealized. For me, a lot of good things have come from that realization/admittance. I suspect there's even more to come if I do the work to figure out where more structure is needed and implement same.

    Bonus Question: I cannot drive a stick.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,538 Member
    I’m struck by this. You know I read Motivation & Support, but I’ve seen this phrase on GOAD and heard it at my meeting- “I know what I have to do.” I think this is generally shorthand for “I know I have to beat myself into submission.”

    I think I was lucky to have heard this early on in my WW career. It was all rolled into what I saw as the WW revolving door. Plus, I had lost 70lbs on my own. Pretty good. But all my knowledge had not been able to move me more than a couple of ticks below 215lbs, or keep me there. I’d been stuck there for years.

    So when I heard a returning Lifetimer say “I know what I have to do.” I thought, wait. What if this person knows nothing? What if what they think they know is wrong and that’s how they regained?

    It was a short step to the realization that what I knew about getting from 285lbs down to 215 was useless information when it came to getting from 215 to 204, my actually meaningless first goal. I, in fact, did not know what I had to do. At that point I drank the WW Kool-Aid.

    Main thing I didn’t know was the effectiveness of tracking. Nor did I know how long the tracking learning curve would be. Accepting that I did not know opened my mind. A big help. Maybe key.

    Bonus- last time I had to, I could still drive a stick shift.
  • countcurt
    countcurt Posts: 593 Member
    I didn't know that boredom was a form of emotion. At least in terms of emotional eating.

    I don't stress eat. But, boredom? Wow. You betcha. It was really eye opening to learn this.
  • minimyzeme
    minimyzeme Posts: 2,708 Member
    I didn't know I'd have the stick-to-it to stick to it since 2014. Not a world's record by any stretch but longer than I expected to when I started and thought I'd just get to where I wanted to be, call it good, then go back to my previous life.

    In the last two days, one acquaintance asked me if I was a runner and another asked whether I play tennis. I have to chuckle at the ironies of both inquiries!

    Bonus: Yes, my Mom insisted we know how to drive a stick shift. I learned on old Volkswagen Beetles. Those were the days...
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