amynew4u wrote: »

Imagine yourself at your goal. What do you think will be different then? Are you thinking about physical, mental, emotional, or other kinds of differences from your life today?

If I'm honest, with more than 100# to lose, I can't quite imagine myself there yet. That's far away and smaller goals feel more attainable and keep me motivated. That said, offering a different perspective here feels at least somewhat important.

I know there will be great physical benefits. I am fortunate to not have any serious health issues, though I am certainly obese. I'm well aware of how much easier movement and certain parts of my life will be, but I've also not felt significantly limited by my weight in my life. I do look forward to having things be easier, lighter, less laborious and not having even a fleeting thought about whether I can handle a strenuous hike or adventure.

What has always troubled me is that so many other aspects of my life are terrific, in control, just as I have always wanted. Dream-like, really. So, this is my achilles heal, if you will. It makes it all the more difficult - why is it so hard to get this one thing right? It feels like a problem I will be so very proud to solve - for life. And it will be a personal achievement that will not be shared. It will be my win.

Finally, I've always been very careful to remind myself that there is very much that will remain the same. Emotionally, not much will change. Many of the personal challenges that exist in my life will still exist. Stress from being a working, entrepreneurial mom - that's not going to go away because I weigh less.

Hope some of this makes sense. I'm working to be realistic about this lifestyle change because taking it one day, one meal, one walk, one bite at a time is how I seem to be staying on track. Don't get me wrong, the result of changes thus far feels fab. This is going to be a long road for me - and then, maintenance.

@amynew4u. You have a great grasp of what is in store.

1. It is hard to imaging a goal so far away from present state.
2. A substantial amount will not change as you lose weight.
3. It is hard (and I'll explain why).

Why losing weight is hard.

1. There is SO MUCH conflicting advice.
2. There is SO MUCH incorrect or BAD advice.
3. What we have be taught about nutrition / weight / health for the last 50 years is being proven scientifically to be WRONG.
4. So many companies push "miracle pill" type solutions (but in the end all they want to do is lighten your purse/wallet/bank account).
5. There is no "one size fits all" to the losing weight problem.

Some misleading, wrong or half-truth advice is like:
Fat is bad. Too much protein is bad. Kale is a superfood. Sugar should be avoided, and artificial sweeteners are bad. You cannot lose weight without going to the gym or doing hard exercise. Eating more often uses more energy in the thermal eating effect. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. etc....

Much of the content in paragraph has been proven wrong to a lesser or greater extent.

So what, or who do you believe?

In short, your own experimentation on you.

YOU are a special snowflake. There is so much unique about you that no one solution will fit your exact case.

To find out what worked for me, I did A LOT or research on pubmed (public medical research results). This way I could learn how the body worked, how food was digested, how energy was stored, the likely problems that can occur as well as treatments and solutions.

One thing became clear. If I kept doing what I was doing, I'd keep having the same issues and remain the same weight (if not gain even more).

In short, go get where you are by the circumstances you are in and the choices you make.

In order to lose weight and keep it off, things had to change. PERMANENTLY.

You can lose weight with diet and extra effort, but if circumstances and choices do not change permanently, any progress from diet and exercise will be reversed in time. (ie. you will gain it all back). Need proof? Look at the "Biggest Loser" TV show contestants years after the season they were on. Quite a few had regained most of the weight they had lost. Only those who change their lifestyle seemed to keep the excess pounds away.

Next I started changing things. Changes that were sustainable to me. I had 2 main rules for a change:

1. It had to be simple, portable and essentially free (no ongoing costs, no subscriptions, no supplements, must be able to be followed irrespective of where I am or what I am doing, must be simple so I would not grow tired of it, avoid it, or work around it).
2. It was to be tested for two weeks on its own (this way I knew if there was a noticeable difference that the change was the reason).

So to lose weight:

1. Do your own research.
2. Make changes that are sustainable and proven to work for you.
3. Allow time for the changes to occur.

(Side note: My wife is currently losing weight and has the same issue of being unable to imagine being at goal as she has never been there in her adult life. It is exciting to share that journey with her.)

Username: inshapeCK
Week 2 December
Previous Weight: 143.6
Current Weight: 143.0

Name: grebber1
Week: 2
Previous weight: 307.2
This week: 306.8
Its not much but considering how bad I have been the last few weeks I'll take it with a smile. I feel I'm back on track now. It took awhile tho. Once I got the taste of the bad food it was like hell kicking the Habit again. I'm not saying it's as bad as being an alcoholic but I imagine the addiction kind of feels like this