Starting to think I won't ever reach goal weight

I hear you - it is hard. After a lifetime of being overweight - losing and gaining about 14 years ago I finally had enough and lost over 350 lbs. I kept it off for about 7 years. I then lost my focus - I let life, stress and problems get in the way. I have always been an comfort eater. I gained back just about 200 of those very hard lost 350 lbs. About 12 weeks ago - I woke up. I am down 45 lbs. You can get the full story here. https://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/CharlesScott78/view/quest-for-fitness-again-974937

I think the key is, we have to keep a laser focus on one thing -- no matter what is going on in our lives, being healthy and fit will make it better. The most stress I have ever been under would have been easier to take not being overweight. The best times I ever had would have been even better if I was physically able to enjoy them to the fullest. I did not live in the gym to get fit and healthy - I just made eating and physical activity my focus.

For me, I have to log and focus on good habits constantly. Once I started thinking I had it all under control and I did not need to focus on it as much - I started losing weight. It really can get to be a cycle. The only way that I have found to break it is to just keep that focus no matter what.

I so know how you feel. I am 60 so for at least 37 of my 60 years I was not fit. I woke up everyone of those 12,045 days and said that is it, this is the day. The good news is that we can make that decision at anytime and start on the path to a more healthy life.

I sure do wish you all the best. If I can ever be of any assistance, please let me know.

Charles

Not exactly. Starting at 285 I lost about 70 lbs and then became stuck for years at around 215. My first goal was 204 lbs. But 215 was a huge improvement. At one point I had a medication related gain to about 235 but was back to 215 soon enough when I got off the meds.

I redoubled my fitness program. I had a personal trainer who came to house. He’d leave me on the floor. I lost 3 more lbs. Couldn’t get under 212 lbs. In desperation I joined Weight Watchers. That’s where I learned tracking. Tracking changed everything for me. I blew through the 204 lb goal to under 184 lbs. 184 was the highest acceptable WW goal at the time.

Then unlike nearly everyone I’ve ever met at WW I did something unusual. I did not quit. I changed nothing. Because the first thing I noticed at WW was the revolving door. I kept attending that same meeting for years until we retired and moved to FL.
I’ve sat in WW meetings with loads of people starting and stopping. Some losing 100 lbs or more only to regain it.

Question- how do you talk yourself into stopping your food diary? I think tracking was the key to everything for me. I made my WW goal and kept tracking for 5 years. Then WW change the program drastically and my tracking became sloppy because I confused the new numbers with the old. I eventually got to the point where I could maintain long periods of time without tracking. But have gone back a number of times. Now I use MFP when needed.

Advice- I’d go back and take a good hard look at how you get around to not tracking. Tracking works. You know this. If it works why don’t you do it? Do you have some hidden fear of success? Or is your program too aggressive to live with for long? Do you feel deprived a lot? Why? If so, are you actually doing without a lot of stuff or just trelling yourself that you are? Are you hungry a lot?

Try it again. This time when you start talking yourself out of keeping your diary, come back on this board and work it out. Friend me if you want. Weight loss takes mostly a lot of persistence. In the end I spent about as long losing 100 lbs as I did gaining it. You can do this if you refuse to quit.