Best Practices for not giving up

SexyMimi12 wrote: »

Hi everyone. Brand new here and am already excited at the prospect of starting a new journey to better myself physically, mentally and emotionally. I hear often that getting rid of weight is like a roller-coaster ride. I’d love to hear from those who were on the brink of giving up and then stuck with it. What kept you going forward instead of stopping in your tracks?

One thing that was crucial for me was to make a plan that focused on making it relatively easy, rather than trying to make it super fast. Enjoyable food, fun exercise (or at least tolerable, convenient, practical) - new habits that were sustainable, not some miserable forced march.

That, and avoiding trendy nonsense in favor of manageable changes that would work for me. Some radical named diet isn't necessary. What's necessary is to find a way to eat the right number of calories while feeling mostly full, eating food we find tasty and practical, and that adds up to reasonable overall nutrition.

Also, a slow and steady loss rate that's sustainable day in and day out for weeks/months can get a person to goal weight in less calendar time than an extreme, aggressive loss rate that triggers deprivation-caused over-eating, breaks in the action, or giving up altogether.

Successful loss can be boring rather than dramatic/extreme, and that's OK.

That's my perspective after losing 50+ pounds in just less than a year (after 30 years of overweight/obesity), and staying at a healthy weight for 7+ years since that loss.

Wishing you success: The results are worth it!

I agree with Ann and ninerbuff -- the easier you make it on yourself, the more likely you are to stick with it. For me, making it easier meant not deciding I could never have foods X, Y, and Z again; focusing on positive choices (e.g., more protein, more fiber, more whole foods) than eliminating things from my diet; choosing a moderate deficit; and building up my workouts gradually.