How many times did you start over?

Sooooamy times, really focusing this time on the metal part to hold myself accountable. Journaling every day, having ajug for daily water, a check off list of workouts. I want this time to be the real time. Add me anyone who wants to share support 💕

More than I can count.
My first weight loss attempt was when I was 15, and I lost 40 lbs. I would generally have some degree of success...but I would always gain the weight back and sometimes a little bit more over the years, because I was just so focused on losing weight but had no idea how to make the lifestyle changes to sustain it.

14 years later I think this time I finally got it right, lol.

"starting over" is all a mental thing. I too have been on MANY "diets", programs, etc. and have fought my ups and downs. I have learned this last year you really never "start over". Starting over is a term, to me, that seems to state that you have lost ALL knowledge, info, direction, etc. of anything you have ever done/learned. You make poor choices that get you back to the start line, but you never lose your knowledge of how to move forward. You just need to start reapplying that knowledge and make the choice to stick to it, and take steps forward every day no matter how small.

Losing weight may seem to have a lot to do with exercise, eating right, etc. but no matter what plan, program, diet you choose to follow, if your mind is not right you will forever be caught in the loop of lose and gain. I have found many ways to "get right" with myself and every day I am still learning more.

Everything is a choice and taking responsibility for poor choices/decisions when it comes to weight loss is HUGE too. So many people (I myself was one of them) blame other people, situations, experiences, etc for their weight gain, emotional eating, and lack of exercise. But nothing in your life dictates what goes into your mouth when you are eating. Only YOU can make that choice. I have become more self aware of my choices and my responsibility to ME for what I eat and when. My feelings are just that, feelings. Sometimes they suck and sometimes they are great. I cannot let that rule over my CHOICES to show up for myself no matter the good or bad in my day. The cheesecake never makes *kitten* days better...LOL

So I am hoping with the "getting right with me" and showing up for myself every day, this will be the last time I have to re-lose any weight ever again. I am meeting myself where I am at and making small changes that I can do the rest of my life to keep this off, also journaling and working on the mental side of myself will help in more ways than just weight loss.

To many times, and now I need to get it together.

I've started over many times before I learned that I didn't have to eat "healthy" and that weight loss wasn't as complicated as the diet industry would have me believe. It isn't easy but it is simple - eat less than you burn and you will lose weight either by eating a little less than you need, burning a little more than you do normally or a combination of the two.

What I've learned that's helped me stick to nearly 2 years of logging now:

• I need to eat far more than the "average" female and thus 1200 calories is not suitable for me, I don't need to starve to lose weight, see below infographic.
• I don't have to cut foods I enjoy out of my diet or live on "diet food" It's all about moderation.
• You don't have to exercise to lose weight (although it is good for your health) MFP's calorie allowance only accounts for your non-exercise activity - so your calorie goal does not factor in exercise.
• It's totally normal for my weight to fluctuate day-to-day and it's actually helpful for me to weigh daily to understand and track my trend - I used to weigh weekly and I wouldn't know that the 5lbs gained from one week to the next was just a result of a higher sodium meal or being dehydrated.
• I understand the reasons that I overeat now, I don't eat perfectly all the time, I don't always stay under my goal but that's ok, it's what I do 90% of the time that matters, not the other 10%.

This is my first time losing this weight, so 0 but I did gain 4 labs & lost 2 so far. after several months of maintenance, I just got more of an appetite. What I did hear about from the show on Netflix called " Ask the Doctor" is one of the episodes are about weight loss & according to the research they say once you lose weight, your hormones kick in & it makes you have more of an appetite. I found this to be true for me. That's why they said, a small percentage of ppl keep it off for good, but we're all going to be that small percentage!!

ArmyDaughter1996 wrote: »

Ive started over trying to lose weight and getting healthier so many times I lost count and I'm so dicouraged I will never succeed. So how many times did you start over your journey before anything stuck and you were able to lose the needed weight? How much did you lose?

Everyday! Everyday is a new day. Every moment. Getting healthy and losing weight is a major change for me because I use food to replace what I feel is missing in my life, or to comfort me when I feel down or stressed and so on. This helps me a lot..


https://youtu.be/bc_-b47jo40

Too many times, over too many decades. But in looking back there was only twice before that I really lost substantial weight. And then failed to keep it off once I lost it.

This journey and lifestyle change has been different than both of the successful ones.

[/list]One it has lasted longer I have now started in my 7th month of my lifestyle change
I am being active exercising in one fashion or another 6 days a week for 40 minutes or more at moderate or higher intensity. I started out 7 months ago doing no exercise that started after I started losing some of the weight.

I weigh every single food item before I eat it

I prepare snacks for the week on Sundays so they are right there to grab, such as nuts, or popped popcorn so I know the exact calories and carbs, protein, and fat

I often pre-log items for certain meals and snacks at beginning of day
I learned on MFP about the beauty of banking a certain number of calories and or carbs, so on Sundays for me, I can have a bit more of everything and it all works and makes me say hey this is so easy.


I can do this forever no doubt about it, and it is working and easy. Not hard at all.

In general, more times than I can count. But ACTUALLY try, REALLY try, maybe 2 or 3. My HW is 173lb. I've dropped down to 150ish previously, and am currently (AGAIN) going from 173lb to 150ish. Today I'm 153.4lb. My ultimate goal is 135ish I think, but I won't know until I get there. I'm usually pretty satisfied around 145-150. From there it's just a struggle to not treat myself "for doing so well" and end up gaining it all back a third time. Take it one day at a time, one pound at a time and soon you realize you're far from your start weight/date. I feel like, for me anyway, there had to be something that finally "clicked" in me. No matter how hard you try, you have to actually be ready for it and the challenges you'll face.

Well, losing weight has been my New Year's resolution for 15 years. I've only really tried 4 times, all of the other times I would quit within 1-3 weeks. Out of my 4 real attempts, I had success 2 times. My first success was with Atkins, I lost about 40lbs. I put the weight back on once I started eating my favorite foods. My other success was tracking calories and working out, I lost 60lbs. I gained all the weight back with my 2nd (very difficult) pregnancy. Since then I gained 40lbs in about 4 yrs, sedentary lifestyle, overindulging food, high-stress job, etc.

The two failures were because I was trying to restrict too many foods and I had unrealistic goals, but those two failures also helped me learn what works for me and how to adjust for my schedules/routines.

This time I found a middle ground. I enjoy and track what I eat, I don't feel deprived. I work out often and LOVE my workouts. I am losing weight slowly and steadily and I am not letting myself feel defeated when the scale doesn't move as quickly as I'd like. I work with mini-goals and I track my success in ways other than the scale.