What life lessons has losing weight taught you?

To be kind to myself, that many people are struggling as much or more than I am, question everything, what works for me may not be what works for someone else and I just need to do what works for me, and how much I enjoy feeling strong at any size.

that people can be real freakin' superficial

It has taught me to set long term goals and stick with it.

That our bodies are simple and yet incredibly complicated at the same time.

moderation, patience and setting goals that are intrinsically motivated. Figuring out what intrinsically motivates me has been a challenge alone, a very fulfilling one.

dfranch wrote: »

I always thought of weight loss as a temporary situation. I'd diet to lose weight then I could eat normally again. Not true. It is a lifetime commitment 1st to lose the weight then to maintain the weight loss.

This. And, if I have a bad day, I can just continue again tomorrow.

That I can say no, even to family and friends. It's making me stronger in general.

To be less judgy - you never know where people are in their life journey... and this isn’t just about weight loss. Someone acts like a jerk in public or a work environment? Maybe their spouse was recently diagnosed with cancer and they’re really struggling to cope with it. You never know what people are going through.

That we are stronger than we think.

That we are loved deeply by more people than we realize.

That it was easy for me to get used to how I felt when I was overweight/obese, and I couldn’t even envision or feel how it would be thin - despite getting there 4-6 times in my lifetime.

Thank all those other times I did Not need to be in a rush, nor limit myself to 1200 calories, nor limit fat...

That losing fast, unless one is lifting heavy, contributes to muscle loss, and a daily burn of fewer calories. I never thought I could lose 75 lbs walking daily & eating 2000-2100 calories at age 62. 5’8.5” over about 40 months.

That losing weight involves a lot of self-forgiveness & self-care/self-love/self-acceptance

That the things that made me stop losing in the past ended up not being so bad at goal weight: face looks great, skin is fine (not great) but certainly something I can handle now.

That in America, we are in a toxic food environment. I had to figure out how to see friends without food and train my family that I wouldn’t be eating in a restaurant, in part to control calories/track accurately & in part because I “register” what I’ve eaten much better when not eating in a Social situation.

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5) If you track it before you eat it you'll never be surprised and it's much easier to remain accountable.

I learned that my relationship with food was completely inappropriate.
I learned that my body was created to move and that food is just fuel. It isn’t comfort. It isn’t a stress reducer. It is fuel.
I learned to talk to myself the way I would talk to a loved one. I quit saying horrible mean hateful things to myself.
I learned that I have a large frame and to quit dieting down to the small frame numbers.
I finally embraced my inner gardener and started growing some of our own veggies.
I learned that my teenage daughter was watching me and how I viewed myself. She was looking for cues as to how she should talk to herself and form her own body image. I learned that I am incredibly strong and broke the chain in that my mother was bulemic and all the body issues she had would NOT be passed to my daughter as they were passed to me.
I learned my husband loves me at any size.

Weight loss has taught me that habits are literally everything. My satisfaction in life has everything to do with how my habits contribute to my feelings of being organized and in control.

- You need to be brutally honest with yourself. This is the first step. Immediately after, you need to say the words "...and I forgive myself".
- Self-compassion. Without this, you will fail.
- The weightloss journey is a lifestyle change. It's about changing and introducing new habits.
- Those closest to you may not ackowledge (ever!) the mini-goals, NSVs and milestones you achieve. Some will be negative or downright rude. Ignore them. In some cases, eliminate them from your life
- It's not a sprint. If you want to lose 100+lbs in 6 months, see point 1.
- Have fun. Try new exercises, new recipes, new physical challenges.
- Don't restrict or deny yourself. Why deny yourself of dessert, or a particular food? Fit it in!
- It's as much about learning about yourself as it is losing weight

Even when you've wanted to lose weight for years, you still have to adjust to being a smaller person. I still go to the plus size clothes section, I still turn my body for people to walk past me, I still walk the long way around because I don't think I can fit in a small aisle. The dramatic changes in my body, though welcomed, have still been a drastic change that I am having to adjust to in ways I couldn't imagine.