What life lessons has losing weight taught you?

Discipline
Patience
Dedication
Self Control

must_deflate wrote: »

That getting older does not necessary equate to getting fatter.

This too!

Going slowly--really slowly--works for me. For the first year in a decade or more, I lost weight and then kept it off. I didn't worry about losing during the winter months--I aimed at maintaining the weight I was. It worked pretty well, in part b/c I had better habits from the weight-loss months. Go, me.

Figure out why you failed (to lose or maintain) in the past and make a plan so it doesn't happen again.

That I had a scarcity mentality (programming from childhood) and that it would take time to undo that. And to be gracious to myself while I worked to undo and temper it.

That I don't have to clean my plate. If I'm full, I can stop. Anyway it's not like I can actually send the food to dying children in Africa. My dog will eat it and be perfectly happy.

That I don't have to be perfect ALL THE TIME. That I have to be good enough most of the time and the weight will come off slowly and naturally.

That it will take time for my health markers (BP, cholesterol, triglycerides) to improve. And that I'll have to work at those for the rest of my life, due to genetics.

That most of the time 2-3 bites of something will satisfy. They say after 2-3 bites the craving is gone and the bites after that are just trying to repeat the pleasure of the first few bites, though, of course, it cannot really be recreated like this.

That I don't have to eat what my husband cooks. He's a good cook and great griller, but his diet is soaked with saturated fat, high calorie, high sugar, high sodium options. He burns off all his calories at his job and his health markers are good, so he can do that. I don't work them off and my health markers aren't so good, so I can't. And furthermore, I don't want to eat all that all the time. Fish and avocado and cucumber and peaches and oatmeal are pretty damn good. So I'll taste what he makes (have one hot dog, no bun) and then go fill up on salad.

I used to tell my kids that when a problem comes about, use it as a challenge. Be a detective. Try to make it a fun adventure. Figure out the goal, what it takes to get there, possible interferences and possible solutions to those interferences, use any failed scenarios as a tool to achieve success. Trial and error are great resources. Problem solving can be self-motivating and fun. Try not to dread it, enjoy the process along with the results. Now it's my time to listen to myself. I've learned that failed attempts do not make me a failure. Even great men/women in history had failed attempts on their roads to success. I can get there by picking up one foot at a time to reach my destination.

I am responsible for my own actions and whether or not I reach my goals. I can blame my setbacks on everyone and everything else, but at the end of the day no one has control over the decisions that I make. I am the one who chooses to accept a temptation or to not do something I should.

A big lesson was that losing weight doesn't fix everything. I am still the same person on the inside.

peachvine29 wrote: »

I wanna know! I think it will be healthy for us to think about what positive lessons being overweight and trying to lose weight has taught us.

So, what has this journey taught you?

Calories are like money. Be mindful where you spend them, they go fast!