Discussion: Diet vs Lifestyle

24

Replies

  • real_change
    real_change Posts: 53 Member
    @novusdies and @dhiammarath Breakfast! Such a struggle. I do need to eat breakfast but it takes like 2 hours before I can handle real food in my stomach after I wake up. Which makes it hard to do and leave for work on time. It’s also a struggle because I’m trying to eat when I’m actually hungry and stop when I’m just full (not overfull, my norm). I don’t feel normal hunger in the mornings, I just get nauseous from an empty stomach. So it’s really hard to know when to stop eating since it’s hard to tell if I’m actually full.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    @dhiammarath - I have a similar approach to what might or might not apply to me. My way of eating is based on elements from a few planned diets, lifestyles, and even a diabetic diet (I am moderate carb). I like looking at other diets and ways of eating and see what "speaks" to me. I will never be a full-time vegetarian but I do like having meatless days regularly and replacing some of my meat with pb sources. I don't do it for health or calorie control I do it because I enjoy it. I am nutritionally minded but I fully understand that the majority of what I need from food is energy so in my mind everything is healthy in some regard. I am moderate carb because I have reactive hypoglycemia and it is easier to manage.

    I leave my diary closed because I don't want anyone seeing that I lost a lot of weight and thinking they need to mimic how I eat. I found my easiest path forward (for now) through some trial and error. A lot of people would look at the amount of seafood I eat and run the other way!



  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    @novusdies and @dhiammarath Breakfast! Such a struggle. I do need to eat breakfast but it takes like 2 hours before I can handle real food in my stomach after I wake up. Which makes it hard to do and leave for work on time. It’s also a struggle because I’m trying to eat when I’m actually hungry and stop when I’m just full (not overfull, my norm). I don’t feel normal hunger in the mornings, I just get nauseous from an empty stomach. So it’s really hard to know when to stop eating since it’s hard to tell if I’m actually full.

    @real_change

    I keep a jar of pickled ginger (like they serve at sushi joints) in my fridge and I find 6 pieces or so to be quite effective at alleviating mild nausea. If you really don't want to eat breakfast you could give it or any of the normal recommendations for morning sickness a try. I like the pickled sushi because it is fast and easy (and I like it in salad dressings) but ginger tea would probably be even better.
  • real_change
    real_change Posts: 53 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    @novusdies and @dhiammarath Breakfast! Such a struggle. I do need to eat breakfast but it takes like 2 hours before I can handle real food in my stomach after I wake up. Which makes it hard to do and leave for work on time. It’s also a struggle because I’m trying to eat when I’m actually hungry and stop when I’m just full (not overfull, my norm). I don’t feel normal hunger in the mornings, I just get nauseous from an empty stomach. So it’s really hard to know when to stop eating since it’s hard to tell if I’m actually full.

    @real_change

    I keep a jar of pickled ginger (like they serve at sushi joints) in my fridge and I find 6 pieces or so to be quite effective at alleviating mild nausea. If you really don't want to eat breakfast you could give it or any of the normal recommendations for morning sickness a try. I like the pickled sushi because it is fast and easy (and I like it in salad dressings) but ginger tea would probably be even better.

    @NovusDies I’m going to give that a try!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    There are so many good posts here that I wanted it back at the beginning of the page!....I really want this to be my life style and not a quick fix diet!
  • Satisfiedwithbetter
    Satisfiedwithbetter Posts: 970 Member
    I agree, this is a great discussion. I was on a diet when I gained all my weight, I just didn’t pay attention to what it was, or even care for all that matters. A diet is just the food you eat. I get to decide. Some foods make me feel better than others. Some foods make me hungry. Some foods make me sluggish. I want to stop focusing on food, and start focusing on living my best life. I want to eat foods when I’m hungry and it incidental to my life, not all encompassing....
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    edited January 2020
    I've heard it said that it takes "28 days to form a new habit". Personally, I find this to be bologna because even now, 3 years into this lifestyle change effort, its extremely easy to slip back into old habits. But I have seen where some things have changed. I do find that I'm more mindful now of what I grab to snack on; since I have a lot of calorie values memorized, I often compare calories of various things on the spot to decide whether something is really worth it or not. I find that some things that I would have grabbed in the past don't really interest me any more, and even if it does, I can limit how much, such as when someone brings donuts into the office. 9 times out of 10, I won't even be interested, but on the 10th time when I do find I really want one, I'll take a knife, cut it into 4ths or even 5ths, and be satisfied. But these more permanent changes took way more than 28 days to entrench themselves in my life!

    I know that getting those short term changes to become permanent are what become those lifestyle changes I need.

    There's another thread around by Aaron _K123 on willpower

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10613774/the-importance-of-willpower-for-weight-loss/p1

    His opening statements, I think, are a good read and tie into the lifestyle change topic. For me, being able to make a lifestyle change stick means finding ways to work within my limited self control and willpower, and learning to compromise with myself, and that is not an easy thing to do for me! I get pressure from so many sources about what healthy is supposed to be that the guilt that is stirred up when I don't meet those ideals overshadows the successful changes I have made. Things like "you should be working out" and "you can't be healthy if your BMI is over 25" or "you eat too much fast food"; those extremes make it hard for me to see the positive changes I have made in my lifestyle, such as losing 100 lbs which is obviously a positive impact on my health, learning to automatically make heatlhier choices at those fast food restaurants, such as skipping fries, taking condiments off, etc.

    The only way for this to work and be lasting is to find a balance point that I can be at peace with between what I can realistically will power myself to and what my brain and heart has been told I'm supposed to be.

    And that in and of itself is a lifestyle change as well!

  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    I have also heard of the 28 day habit rule. I would have to look at the basis for it but I imagine that is only going to be true for new habits not habits that are replacing old ones that have had years of reinforcement.

    I am opposed to a willpower based system. They have always failed for me simply because I am fighting myself. If I am at the end of the day and out of calories and I see a bowl of ice cream that I really want to eat I can, at any point, have as much willpower in favor of eating it as opposed. If I compromise and put off eating the ice cream until my calorie budge allows it then there is no fight. Then I only need enough willpower to engage in delayed gratification.

    Aaron's premise comes from some studies on how to best manage our mental resources I think. The concept is that if you waste too much time on unimportant tasks and decisions like what to wear and what to eat it is a continual drain on mental resources and you may hit diminishing returns too fast on something more important. If I need to spend a day studying material to prepare for a certification or re-certification test I plan as much of my day the night before as possible.

    Balance is probably the most important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. In this context a healthy lifestyle has nothing to do with actually getting healthier. It is about balancing all the things in your life so that priorities are met. It takes trial and error to figure it out. Back to getting healthier... any effort to lose weight and improve fitness has to fit. More exercise is good until it is too much and I do not have time for other tasks or just quality time with my wife. Eating highly nutritious food is good until I spend too many calories on it and ignore cravings until they burst the dam.

    My life requires a weight loss plan that allows me to keep living my life. This will definitely mean that some days I have to sacrifice a little weight loss and eat more food for any number of reasons. One of those could be a family get together where it might be rude to fret over calories when someone has spent a lot of time preparing a meal. In those cases I have to balance myself between being mindful and potentially being rude. I do not have to eat seconds of everything or have a huge piece of pie for dessert to participate. I can exercise a little portion control and still be part of the gathering.

    This is why I think highly of the 80/20 mindset. I have to always remember that I will meet all my goals as long as I am working at them most of the time. I can make them fit in my life if I remember that some of the time other things may be healthier. If denying myself treats makes me want to abandon my efforts to lose weight then eating treats is healthier than not eating them.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,454 Member
    @bmeadows380

    Something that helped get me away from fast food fries- going in and getting a look at the deep fryer. Just watching that grease bubbling away, especially the pee color, really put me off. A similar idea got me away from donuts- fried wads of goo.

    Near the end of losing mode I ate a lot of lunches at McDs. The salads were better then. Funny it took a while to convince them at my regular stop that I really did want grilled chicken on my salad and it was coming back if it was fried.

    The friers are in the same spot in every McDs, on the left where you can get a good look at them. Give it a try.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    88olds wrote: »
    @bmeadows380

    Something that helped get me away from fast food fries- going in and getting a look at the deep fryer. Just watching that grease bubbling away, especially the pee color, really put me off. A similar idea got me away from donuts- fried wads of goo.

    Near the end of losing mode I ate a lot of lunches at McDs. The salads were better then. Funny it took a while to convince them at my regular stop that I really did want grilled chicken on my salad and it was coming back if it was fried.

    The friers are in the same spot in every McDs, on the left where you can get a good look at them. Give it a try.


    Interesting. I should be put off. I worked in a fast food restaurant as a teen. I made countless pounds of fries. I watched the oil turn dark during use and I drained and cleaned it many times. The sludge in the bottom was very unappealing. The oil would also take on flavors from other things that were cooked in it like breaded fish.

    I still eat them though. Not very often but I guess even knowing all I know I still want them on occasion.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    88olds wrote: »
    @bmeadows380

    Something that helped get me away from fast food fries- going in and getting a look at the deep fryer. Just watching that grease bubbling away, especially the pee color, really put me off. A similar idea got me away from donuts- fried wads of goo.

    Near the end of losing mode I ate a lot of lunches at McDs. The salads were better then. Funny it took a while to convince them at my regular stop that I really did want grilled chicken on my salad and it was coming back if it was fried.

    The friers are in the same spot in every McDs, on the left where you can get a good look at them. Give it a try.

    well, while the grease's color is off-putting, I also have to think that at the temps that oil is kept at to fry those potatoes, nothing is going to survive! lol

    I really don't crave french fries, though, and when I do, I just get a happy meal and get the kids size fry there, or if I'm out with someone else, I'll just snag a couple of theirs.

    McD's did have really good salads there for a while! Now, though, they've only got those two available, though I can at lest get them grilled. Now I end up at Wendy's more often than not because they've got great salads in two sizes, and they let you customize everything, especially when you order online, so I can a decent sized salad and get alot of calories off of it, too. And Wendy's small chili is only 160 calories and is pretty filling and I don't mind it without crackers. Arby's is my big weakness, but I stick with turkey 99% of the time usually get either their turkey salad sans cheese and sometimes the bacon, the turkey club without the sauce or cheese and sometimes no bacon, or the turkey sliders without cheese and somtimes only half the bun.

    The local Arby's especially knows me - I can walk in and they'll have it rung up before I get to the counter, and I'll have the cost out before they say a word lol But if something is on it I don't want, it gets sent back, especially my teas - I don't like ice in my drinks, and if they give me ice, it goes back!

    The local McD's, however, are hopeless at getting customizations right. Last week I ordered a egg mcmuffin without butter or cheese or the egg (I just wanted the muffin and the Canadian bacon), but when i did it through the app, it marked it plain. When I opened the wrapper, all I had was a plain muffin with nothing else! *roll eyes* it was too far to take back, so I just discounted my calories and ate it as it was. and that's not the first time they've mess it up.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    I have also heard of the 28 day habit rule. I would have to look at the basis for it but I imagine that is only going to be true for new habits not habits that are replacing old ones that have had years of reinforcement.

    I am opposed to a willpower based system. They have always failed for me simply because I am fighting myself. If I am at the end of the day and out of calories and I see a bowl of ice cream that I really want to eat I can, at any point, have as much willpower in favor of eating it as opposed. If I compromise and put off eating the ice cream until my calorie budge allows it then there is no fight. Then I only need enough willpower to engage in delayed gratification.

    Aaron's premise comes from some studies on how to best manage our mental resources I think. The concept is that if you waste too much time on unimportant tasks and decisions like what to wear and what to eat it is a continual drain on mental resources and you may hit diminishing returns too fast on something more important. If I need to spend a day studying material to prepare for a certification or re-certification test I plan as much of my day the night before as possible.

    Balance is probably the most important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. In this context a healthy lifestyle has nothing to do with actually getting healthier. It is about balancing all the things in your life so that priorities are met. It takes trial and error to figure it out. Back to getting healthier... any effort to lose weight and improve fitness has to fit. More exercise is good until it is too much and I do not have time for other tasks or just quality time with my wife. Eating highly nutritious food is good until I spend too many calories on it and ignore cravings until they burst the dam.

    My life requires a weight loss plan that allows me to keep living my life. This will definitely mean that some days I have to sacrifice a little weight loss and eat more food for any number of reasons. One of those could be a family get together where it might be rude to fret over calories when someone has spent a lot of time preparing a meal. In those cases I have to balance myself between being mindful and potentially being rude. I do not have to eat seconds of everything or have a huge piece of pie for dessert to participate. I can exercise a little portion control and still be part of the gathering.

    This is why I think highly of the 80/20 mindset. I have to always remember that I will meet all my goals as long as I am working at them most of the time. I can make them fit in my life if I remember that some of the time other things may be healthier. If denying myself treats makes me want to abandon my efforts to lose weight then eating treats is healthier than not eating them.

    What I came away with from the willpower article is that its a resource we have that gets used up (think mana in a magic style RPG game lol) and so we need to pick and choose our battles to use it wisely. I can relate to that because I do seem to have much more self control in the morning when I'm fresh, than in the evenings. When I lose it, it's going to be in the evenings 9 times out of 10. By evening, I'm tired, I've spent the day doing things I had to not because I wanted to or even enjoyed them, so my willpower reserves are low and I tend to give in. When I realize this about myself, I learn to work with it and compensate, such as delaying or even skipping breakfast, keeping lunch to a minimum and saving as many calories as I can for the evening. I don't bother trying to join a gym because I detest regulated exercise with a passion and I know that I'm not going to win that battle for very long. I do everything the night before because I am not a morning person, so trying to get up early to do something like exercise isn't going to work.

    I agree about the concept of the 80/20 - constantly depriving yourself or saying never will eventually back-fire for most people.

    The area that is my biggest trouble spot and where I'm still working is self-forgiveness and setting unattainable goals - or better yet, having my head move the goal posts every time I get close! Learning to give myself permission for that 20% of the time isn't easy!
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    I have also heard of the 28 day habit rule. I would have to look at the basis for it but I imagine that is only going to be true for new habits not habits that are replacing old ones that have had years of reinforcement.

    I am opposed to a willpower based system. They have always failed for me simply because I am fighting myself. If I am at the end of the day and out of calories and I see a bowl of ice cream that I really want to eat I can, at any point, have as much willpower in favor of eating it as opposed. If I compromise and put off eating the ice cream until my calorie budge allows it then there is no fight. Then I only need enough willpower to engage in delayed gratification.

    Aaron's premise comes from some studies on how to best manage our mental resources I think. The concept is that if you waste too much time on unimportant tasks and decisions like what to wear and what to eat it is a continual drain on mental resources and you may hit diminishing returns too fast on something more important. If I need to spend a day studying material to prepare for a certification or re-certification test I plan as much of my day the night before as possible.

    Balance is probably the most important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. In this context a healthy lifestyle has nothing to do with actually getting healthier. It is about balancing all the things in your life so that priorities are met. It takes trial and error to figure it out. Back to getting healthier... any effort to lose weight and improve fitness has to fit. More exercise is good until it is too much and I do not have time for other tasks or just quality time with my wife. Eating highly nutritious food is good until I spend too many calories on it and ignore cravings until they burst the dam.

    My life requires a weight loss plan that allows me to keep living my life. This will definitely mean that some days I have to sacrifice a little weight loss and eat more food for any number of reasons. One of those could be a family get together where it might be rude to fret over calories when someone has spent a lot of time preparing a meal. In those cases I have to balance myself between being mindful and potentially being rude. I do not have to eat seconds of everything or have a huge piece of pie for dessert to participate. I can exercise a little portion control and still be part of the gathering.

    This is why I think highly of the 80/20 mindset. I have to always remember that I will meet all my goals as long as I am working at them most of the time. I can make them fit in my life if I remember that some of the time other things may be healthier. If denying myself treats makes me want to abandon my efforts to lose weight then eating treats is healthier than not eating them.

    What I came away with from the willpower article is that its a resource we have that gets used up (think mana in a magic style RPG game lol) and so we need to pick and choose our battles to use it wisely. I can relate to that because I do seem to have much more self control in the morning when I'm fresh, than in the evenings. When I lose it, it's going to be in the evenings 9 times out of 10. By evening, I'm tired, I've spent the day doing things I had to not because I wanted to or even enjoyed them, so my willpower reserves are low and I tend to give in. When I realize this about myself, I learn to work with it and compensate, such as delaying or even skipping breakfast, keeping lunch to a minimum and saving as many calories as I can for the evening. I don't bother trying to join a gym because I detest regulated exercise with a passion and I know that I'm not going to win that battle for very long. I do everything the night before because I am not a morning person, so trying to get up early to do something like exercise isn't going to work.

    I agree about the concept of the 80/20 - constantly depriving yourself or saying never will eventually back-fire for most people.

    The area that is my biggest trouble spot and where I'm still working is self-forgiveness and setting unattainable goals - or better yet, having my head move the goal posts every time I get close! Learning to give myself permission for that 20% of the time isn't easy!

    I was just pointing out that willpower may be like all mental resources. It is also one of the reasons I do not allow myself to dwell on weight loss. No good can come from it. I can only accomplish what is right in front of me which is being in a calorie deficit today. In the past I would let it consume parts of my day and it wore me down much faster.

    I found I do better with very vague master goals. I have too much of a "rip the band aid off" personality and if I set a goal to be 200 pounds I would want to get there as quickly as possible. If my goal is to be a healthier weight I can accomplish it today if I stay in a deficit because even losing a fraction of a pound today means I am technically at a healthier weight.

    Temporary specific goals like getting a certain number of steps in a day has to be viewable from where I am currently. If I can hit 18k steps in a day without feeling poorly it stands to reason I can set a goal to hit 20k. Averaging 20k or even 18k steps is not possible for me but I can hit it on occasion and pass by the goal.

    For me the 20 percent is a requirement. I need it for success so I have made it a rule. I do not look at it as something I need permission to do but as something I must do. That distinction works for me. I do not have a set formula for how to follow it. I assume if I am having treats and I eat a bunch of things I don't normally eat on vacations and whatnot I am doing what I am supposed to do.

    As I have said many times once you solve or mostly solve being hungry all day while being in a deficit most of the rest of the struggle happens between the ears. There are no universal answers that will work for everyone. What I do for me may, in part, work for someone else or it may not. I doubt seriously that all my ideas, systems, and coping mechanisms would work for much of anyone. Shoot, it doesn't even work for me 100 percent of the time.

  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »

    As I have said many times once you solve or mostly solve being hungry all day while being in a deficit most of the rest of the struggle happens between the ears.....Shoot, it doesn't even work for me 100 percent of the time.

    That is the biggest truth in my efforts! It took a very long time before I started being able to distinguish between mental hunger and stomach hunger, and even knowing the difference doesn't make it any easier to resist. And my brain can be sneaky - it'll change up its tactics if I learn to resist it in one way.

    NovusDies wrote: »
    There are no universal answers that will work for everyone. What I do for me may, in part, work for someone else or it may not. I doubt seriously that all my ideas, systems, and coping mechanisms would work for much of anyone. Shoot, it doesn't even work for me 100 percent of the time.

    I really appreciate the honesty there! I am glad you put your ideas out as they may help me with things I'm struggling with, while at the same time, you present them as just that - ideas, take them or leave them. One of the things about these diet trends, like Keto, low carb in general, IF, whole foods, no sugar, whatever, is the inherent superiority and judgmental that seems to be built into them. There's this whole "if you don't do it this way, then you aren't doing it the best way" or "you can't be healthy unless you eat this way" mentality that is implied in many versions of the diets, and heaven forbid you point out that there isn't any magic that any one particular way of eating and that its still the calorie deficit that is important; use whatever method works for you to achieve it and maintain it! I suppose its human nature to set up standards to judge each other by and to evaluate ourselves against, but that doesn't mean that its a beneficial impulse. So I appreciate the posters who can be easy going and balanced in their responses and don't find a need to defend their opinions or attack another for differing with them!
  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 850 Member
    Lots of interesting thoughts and comments in this thread. My journey as I call it that has no end, but will have different roads for the rest of my life is ongoing.
    I do not refer to it as a "Diet" because to me that word is something I am the total mistress of total failure at for decades. So I refuse to use it under any circumstance any more.
    When really pushed I say that I am in a lifesyle change as it relates to food.

    Major behavior modifaction. The habit thing from a book I was reading stated 21 days, and 60 more days of practicing it daily for it to really truly take. But I also have read and totally get how easy it can be to fall back in those old easy habits that I personally do not want to go back to ever. A couple of really helfpul habits that I have picked up. I log daily everything I put in my mouth, even when I eat something unplanned. I also weigh my food, I put recipes together so I know what I am eating.

    As a type 2 diabetic for 20 years, and yes Insulin is part of my life. I finally ACCEPTED for me that as part of my journey, not only to lose weight. I needed to change what I ate. Not just portion size and so on. Because yes I could lose weight that way. But that would not let me conquor or get ahead of the diabetes, which to me has always been part of the deal in my mind. I felt like I was in mourning for quite some time. I did not go happily away from white and brown sugar and white and whole wheat flour. But I finally was willing to admit to myself, what I had to change to be successful really successful and for me it was about the healthy part that goes along with the losing weight.

    I have always had, a big sweet tooth. So I have learned over time to bake and cook with alternate flours and sugars. That do not make the blood glucose go wild. So I am someone who makes sure I work that into my food calories. I eat low carb, no not keto but around 65 per day. Do I sometimes fall a bit off the wagon, um that would be yes. But not often, and for me the big aha, it happens much less frequently, and does not last for days. People ask what is the most important part, I say with no hestitation what so ever. The mind, the mind has to be ready to take it on. When I started this up I literally made a list of pros VS cons for losing weight. And decided yes the pros had it. But admitted it was going to be a bumpy journey, and I at times would have issues. But the key was to keep on going. So for me it is journey and a eating lifestyle change, big behavior modification. And what works for me, may work for no one else. As each person has to come to their own conclusion of what makes them tick, and what they are willing to do.

  • papayahed
    papayahed Posts: 407 Member
    oh gosh, this thread is timely. I've been going along just fine (for the most part) keeping my calories in check but now I've increased exercise and I'm trying to eat back half those calories and it's a total mind screw. I've just spent 6 months cutting calories and now I have to think about adding back. I'm actually considering adding a free treats back which is completely scary. I have a plan, I have a goal, my mindset is right but I'm finding myself freak out over gummy bears. weird.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    papayahed wrote: »
    oh gosh, this thread is timely. I've been going along just fine (for the most part) keeping my calories in check but now I've increased exercise and I'm trying to eat back half those calories and it's a total mind screw. I've just spent 6 months cutting calories and now I have to think about adding back. I'm actually considering adding a free treats back which is completely scary. I have a plan, I have a goal, my mindset is right but I'm finding myself freak out over gummy bears. weird.

    @papayahed Check out the general discussion thread at the top. I posted about this very thing today.
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    I finished reading these posts again and I always learn something new each time!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    I saw a thread in the main forum that made me think about this again.

    The word lifestyle gets thrown around a lot now. It has been co-opted even by people who jump from fad to fad as if saying the word lifestyle actually means it is one... it is not.

    One of the things to remember is that you have a lifestyle now. You had a lifestyle while you were gaining weight. The plan has to be to change your lifestyle.

    Does anyone actually start with losing weight as a lifestyle? I doubt it. I think every weight loss effort begins with a plan and a plan is a diet. That doesn't make it bad it is just that is where it starts. No matter what you do there is an abnormal aspect of beginning weight loss and in my opinion a lifestyle requires things to seem normal.


    Transitioning:

    So how you make your lifestyle about proper weight management? Here are my thoughts and keep in mind I am no expert so fight me on any point that you feel is wrong:

    1) You can't be in a constant state of hunger, low energy, or misery. All of these things happen even when we gain weight but they can't be constant then or now. Experimentation with different ways of eating may be required to overcome some of it. You may also have to settle for losing weight a little slower if you are always tired. You can be uncomfortable at times, in fact you should be, but miserable is no good.

    2) You don't quit. You can't change anything if you quit each time something goes wrong. How can that be a workable lifestyle?

    3) Maintaining realistic expectations. You didn't find a magic genie lamp and you won't lose more than 75 pounds in a blink of an eye. It is going to take time and there will be challenging days. You can't be patient if you don't manage your expectations.

    4) The weight loss is a chapter not your entire story. You have lives to lead. You can't be obsessed with weight loss and scale results. I know we all get sucked in at times but most of the time you need to be going about your lives and just dealing with weight management as a small piece of it.

    5) It is about a better life not a number on the scale. I think the priority has always got to be non scale victories over numbers. I like a good milestone number but I would much rather sit in a booth with my wife, travel comfortably, and all the other things that weight has held me back from doing.

    6) Adaptation. A lifestyle is not a static thing. There are things that change that are constantly having an impact. Things like location, jobs, friends, family dynamics, relationships, and of course health and weight. When things change we change. We adapt.

    7) Weight management is the goal. We should not be happy with just losing weight. Anyone can lose weight. We have to keep our eye on the prize of managing our weight as it comes off and stays off.

    8) The transition begins but when does it end? I don't know the answer to this. I assume for me it will be well after the weight is lost and I have been in maintenance for a couple of years. I have to keep learning and keep improving until I have this down. Maybe the answer is never. All I know is I intend to keep making small changes over time until weight management is so steady and routine I barely have to manage it at all.


    That is all I have for now. I may edit this as I think of other things and as some of you post your thoughts.

    I often go back and read posts that are particularly meaningful or motivational....I think the above up is something all of us need to remind ourselves of....this IS our new lifestyle!