alphabetsoup2013 Member

It takes time for your brain to catch up with the changes you've made. It took me two years to lose the weight (130 lbs.) and I've been maintaining that weight loss for the past two years. I can honestly say that I'm finally "at peace" with my weight/appearance after a lifetime of wanting to be in this place. I feel happy,…

I have been using a Fitbit for almost two years and synching it with MFP all that time. There have been minor hiccups in the past, but the past few days have been totally messed up. I have resorted to disconnecting my Fitbit from MFP and entering exercise manually on the MFP side of things. (It's more work, but it's less…

That is fantastic and very much counts as maintaining. Good for you!

Your transformation is incredible. Congratulations on all your hard work and your hard-won success.

The Diet Fix: Why Diets Fail and How to Make Yours Work, by Yoni Freedhoff, MD. Find out more here: http://www.thedietfix.com

This is great advice. I have seen so many people go at this thing in a totally unsustainable way. They burn out and/or they trigger a starve-binge cycle. They get discouraged. They gain weight. And then they quit. Why set yourself up for failure when you can set yourself up for success?

When I first joined MFP, I was solely focused on losing weight. I hadn't given any thought to the physical fitness piece of the puzzle. I lucked out and ended up with a lot of MFP pals who were working hard at being physically active. They inspired me to start being active. I never would have done it without their example.…

I love that, Lin. It is your turn.

I can totally relate to what you and Jen said about the warped pictures in our own heads. I grew up believing that I was fat and hideous. I recently saw a photo of myself in Grade 8 (someone I know posted it on Facebook). I was shocked to realize that I wasn't fat or ugly at all. I was pretty -- but sad and shy. In the…

Very true, @BRaye325

Hi @lovesretirement -- Yes, since I was in elementary school. I was an overweight kid/teen, a chubby bride (175 lbs.), and an obese adult.

Love those ones, too, @marekdds @HappyTrails7 and @lovesretirement

Yay, Jen! I'm on track so far, too. Didn't feel like going for a walk this afternoon, but I did it anyway. I'm glad I did. I always feel better (happier and less anxious) after I come back from a walk.

I read an amazing book on this subject last year: Self-Compassion by Kristen Neff. It's a great book and really helped me to shift the voice in my head from self-critical to self-compassionate.

Yeah, I'm not tempted to test it either, @lynnstacey2 :-)

Wow, those are both powerful stories, @BRaye325 and @beemerphile1 Thanks for sharing them.

The algorithm also depends on you incurring basically the same caloric deficit for each of the next 35 days as you did today ("If every day was like today...."). If you have some days that are under and some days that are over -- and the amount that you are over/under varies from day to day, the algorithm can't factor that…

Avoiding the downward spiral is all that matters. (I've gotten off track for years at a time after being sucked into the vortex of one of those downward spirals.) :-)

What a great idea, Jen. Thanks for suggesting that.

Great job planning ahead AND making good decisions in the moment. Well done! PS We're having sweet potato chili for dinner here. The Easter Bunny only brought chocolate for one person in our family this year (our teenager). The Easter Bunny is being very supportive of my/hubby's fitness goals. ;-)

I remember being totally inspired by your story when I read it on the message boards a few weeks ago, @NikonPal Well done, my friend!

* Keep logging daily. * Keep fitting in an average of 10,000 steps/day (some days more, some days less, but 10,000 steps/day on average). * Focus on my goal of weight maintenance a couple of times each day -- and continue to stay inspired by actively offering support to others. * Go easy with the bread. It is my weak spot.…

Nikki, I felt this way this time around, too: that this needed to be my final attempt at losing weight -- AND that I just don't have it in me to gain the weight back again.

For years, I was afraid to ask others to support in me in my weight loss efforts. I was so ashamed of being obese that I felt unworthy of their support. I was also petrified of letting them down, as well as myself, if I failed at weight loss yet again. Something shifted this time around and I was able to ask for support. I…

Yep! I can't imagine going back to being weighed down by an extra 132 lbs. (Well, actually I can -- and that's enough to keep me working hard at maintaining a weight that allows me to live life fully as opposed to sitting on the sidelines, watching life go by.) Great to have you as part of this group, @marekdds

Great to see you here, @LinFlemmer331 You have been working hard at this thing for a long time and you are a wonderful support to your other MFP pals.

Agreed! Can you imagine? Weight loss would have to become the focus of your entire life. It would be your full-time job. That doesn't have any appeal to me at all....

Hey, I hear you! I've lost entire decades of healthy living to that kind of thinking. ;-)

Hey, @GoPerfectHealth Great to meet you. I have a mini-trampoline, too. I like to pull it out in front of the TV and bounce/run on it. (It still feels weird to write that -- as someone who was completely sedentary for decades.) ;-)