Six months in - 40% there, and lessons learned

It was six months ago today that I joined MFP. So far, I've lost 45 pounds. I know, I know - not that impressive when you consider there have been people here who have lost 60, 80, 100 pounds in the same amount of time. But I've never lost this much at one time before, and it's a major accomplishment for me to have stayed focused and on task for half a year. I still have a long way to go, but I'm 40% of the way to my goal.

Along the way I've learned a lot about how to keep myself on track. Like Yogi Berra said about baseball, 90% of this game is half mental. The secret is to stay motivated and not allow myself to get frustrated and lose interest. Here's what's worked for me so far:


#1 - N I /\/\ - NO INSTANT MIRACLES.

I've got a lot to lose, and I needed to get into the mindset that I'm in it for the long haul. I also needed to remind myself that it would be weeks, or months, before I started noticing a real difference. If I could commit to that - I would eventually turn the N I /\/\ around into a W I N .

#2 - LOSE THE DEADLINE - THIS ISN'T A RACE.

I lost the first 10 pounds within a couple weeks, and at that point set a goal to get down to my target weight by my next birthday by losing 10 pounds a month for 10 months. After plateauing about three months in, I was no longer on track for that goal. Rather than giving up in frustration, I decided that it no longer matters how LONG it takes - as long as I keep working towards the goal, I WILL get there.

#3 - SET AMBITIOUS GOALS, BUT ACCEPT PARTIAL VICTORIES.

I still have a GOAL to lose 10 pounds a month. But if I only lose 7, so what? I'm still 7 pounds closer than I was a month ago.

#4 - I'M NOT PERFECT AT THIS, BUT I DON'T HAVE TO BE TO SUCCEED.

I do pretty good most days staying at or under my calorie goals. But some days I end up a hundred, or even several hundred calories over. If it happens, it's not a total failure. Since my target is 1000 calories below my maintenance intake, I am STILL coming out ahead, even on the days when I totally blow my goals.

#5 - DON'T GIVE UP EVERYTHING - LIVE A LITTLE.

I admit, I'm not losing as fast as I could. If I chose to subsist on grilled chicken breasts and dry salad, I could lose a couple more pounds a month. But I don't want to merely subsist. I want to be able to get together with friends once or twice a week over a couple of beers, or to have pizza and pasta from time to time. And I don't want to feel guilty about it. By cutting back a little rather than eliminating them entirely, I can fit the things I enjoy into my diary and stay within (or reasonably close) to my daily goal.

#6 - CELEBRATE LOTS OF SMALL VICTORIES.

The scale isn't going to go down every single day. But that doesn't mean I can't find something else to celebrate. Every day I hit my calorie goal for the day, or every day I get my 10,000 steps in, is a small victory. I celebrate milestones - every 5 pounds lost, every 5 days of keeping a streak alive, every 50 miles walked.

#7 - TAKE ONE DAY AT A TIME.

When I hit that plateau, I knew I needed to change something up to get back on track. After reviewing my diary and my pedometer logs, I realized that I would often go three, four, five days in a row without exercising. About that same time, a friend of mine sent me a link to an article that gave me an additional tool to motivate me to walk every single day. Now, choosing to blow off exercise for a day is no longer even an option in my mind.
http://lifehacker.com/5886128/how-seinfelds-productivity-secret-fixed-my-procrastination-problem

My apologies for the long post. If you've made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read this. Feel free to add me as a friend!