Self-reflection time-why have you not succeeded in the past?
eannamfp
Posts: 6 Member
One thing I think is really obvious about our gorl is that she is not great at self-reflection when it comes to diets. She doesn’t spend a lot of time talking about WHY she failed past diets, instead she usually just says she “failed” or blames the diet in some way.
I thought it might be productive for us to talk about why we have not succeeded at past weight loss, and how we can avoid those pitfalls in the future.
I’ll go first: I think in the past I tried to dive in to too much restriction all at once. This inevitably led to binging and weight gain. I was also prone to a mentality where any small mistake made me feel like I’d failed the whole day, so I might as well just eat whatever I wanted.
This time around I’m starting out with a more moderate goal of losing 1.5 lbs/week, and I’m also focusing more on weekly calorie goals as opposed to daily ones, to prevent me obsessing about one day where I go over my goals.
I thought it might be productive for us to talk about why we have not succeeded at past weight loss, and how we can avoid those pitfalls in the future.
I’ll go first: I think in the past I tried to dive in to too much restriction all at once. This inevitably led to binging and weight gain. I was also prone to a mentality where any small mistake made me feel like I’d failed the whole day, so I might as well just eat whatever I wanted.
This time around I’m starting out with a more moderate goal of losing 1.5 lbs/week, and I’m also focusing more on weekly calorie goals as opposed to daily ones, to prevent me obsessing about one day where I go over my goals.
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In 2014 I lost 40 lbs in about 3 months, I went from 310 to 270 and was feeling great. This was because my doctor said I had high blood pressure and it scared the *kitten* out of me, so I started watching my sodium intake. About half way through that time frame I started the process of buying a house. Found one I loved, put in an offer, then everything went wrong. Inspection came back with some repairs to be done, the guy did them himself and made everything worse. The bank wouldn't loan on it now and I lost all my savings. Looking back I could have sued him for my losses but I didnt know that at the time. I had already out in notice to my apartment I was moving. I had 2 weeks to find a place to live, with no money for deposits. The stress triggered my depression and I quit watching what I ate. The next 2 years were bad. Then I moved to a different state. Again, stress. Now 2 years after that I just bought a house and my life is finally settling and calming down. But I've gained 100 lbs in the past 4 years. Sort of a "89 elbees situation type deal". Lost 40, gained 100. I just need to remember my eating and health is #1 priority.1
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Much like our gorl, I once lost about 80elbees. I gained back 100lbs over 5 years.
In the past, I lost weight solely for vanity reasons and did it in a very restrictive and unsustainable way. I was losing up to 12lbs a week, and was losing a lot of hair too. It was very unhealthy.
Fast forward 7 years, and I've gained it all back (and then some) and I also have some health issues. Its not weight related, thankfully, but I know my health will be greatly improved if I lose weight.
In addition to that I'm also trying really hard to improve my relationship with food, my self esteem, etc. I found weighing myself daily really toxic, so I dont do it. Every Friday I weigh myself, and that's it.0 -
Well, I know for me it is snacking. I only have about 25 lbs that I want to lose, but I have been trying to lose that same 25 lbs for nearly 10 years. I am really good at maintaining my weight (for example, I am only up 2 lbs from 2016. I know this because that was the last time I logged into myfitnesspal - I only logged back in to join this group/challenge).
I am constantly thinking about food and "trying" to lose weight which is why I think I have been able to maintain so well, but I am not doing what I need to do to actually lose the 25 lbs I want.
For example, there is a snack drawer here at work that is free and stocked by a lady here (who is very overweight). If I want to go and talk to this lady, I felt obligated to take a snack, and before I knew it, I going over there multiple times a day to snack.
In the Reddit room, I joined the 100-day challenge and my goal was to not eat between meals. Basically, I think that if I could cut down on this eating between meals, I would realistically be eating about 300+ calories less each day, which would likely lead to the weight loss that I want.0
