More on why we do it - or don't do it as the case may be!

Each of us needs to self examine and ask, "Is this mini-depression simply a cop out?"  Is it just an excuse to not do what is not comfortable, like getting out of bed and pulling on walking/gym clothes, or skipping the burger meal with the work crew? Discipline is a beautiful thing. It is not comfortable.  It requires us to break out of an old habit pattern. Teaching ourselves new skills takes time, we are students who will not be perfect at this! I also zoned in on what Brenda said abou****ching thin people watch what they ate, while she did not. Ha! 90% of the thin peeps in my life eat what they want, in extraordinary amounts. The other 10% are self proclaimed nut jobs who are fine with eating broccoli for supper.  So, my perspective was that I constantly would be bitter that i could not eat that way. My body does not need much food, that is it. I'm sure I may have screwed up my metabolism to an extent from my binge/purge days, but man alive, that has been over 10 years ago, and I have been an avid exerciser for 22 years. WTF.

I bring that up because this is our path in life. Many of us are not ever going to be and will fight to stay under 200# - call it complacency, call it genetics, this is our path.  let's not allow ourselves to whine or use excuses to fall back and give up.

WOW!

I needed to read that today.  I dove in head first 2 weeks ago, and was off to a good start for about 8 or 9 days.  I can think of a million reasons to get healthier,  and none to continue on the way I'm going! I have alot of family issues and stresses in my life, and I always deal with them by stuffing myself silly!  You're absolutely right - change IS hard, but not a reason to give up.  There are so many things I have control over that I could work on. Talk is cheap. I'll keep looming, and be back with a progress report....... sigh..... Thanks for the reminder! : ) 

"I bring that up because this is our path in life." Amen my friend.  That's exactly what I've been saying.  Fight it, deny it, rail against it, it is what it is.   Donna

Both my sis-in-law's and my BF are thin and do watch what they eat and try and exercise.  If they gain 10 or 15 lbs. they go into panic mode and kick it into overdrive.  I know a lot of people overeat just like us.  For me though, quite a few of the people in my life do work at. 

I am not giving up!  I will be happy if I can maintain a somewhat overweight body.  I just don't want to be obese.  Anything else is probably unrealistic for me, unless I get hit over the head with a lightning bolt or something.   I do miss seeing a lot of the regulars on this board.  We really need the support.  Seems like so many have gone AWOL. I know for me, I would never judge anyone for falling off the wagon.  Don't be afraid to post if you are struggling.  We have all been there!!  Brenda

 

 

Well since Thanksgiving , i been having a problem !  i started back on the wagon day after, then it was my 37th wed anniversary went off, Now trying to stay on. I keep telling myself not to give in to craveings, cause i would just be messin myself up cause i have come a ways to lose the 50 pounds i have already lost, I dont know maybe its mind games with we, Ho Hum need to get moving again, had a problem with my knee there for awhile. Just hard to stay focused i guess!  And Christmas around the corner, OH BOY!  Hope i can hang in there as the rest of us. Bye for now Delilah!

"Let's not allow ourselves to whine or use excuses to fall back and give up." Right on Neecee! I try not to do this, and not focus on what everyone else can eat or do. I have done enough of that years ago and it got me nowhere. Just made my thinking worse. We have to keep pressing forward. Also we have to accept all the things we cannot change, learn from our experiences, grow, and keep kickin'. -Bud

You are right, Bud, no excuses and no giving up.   Glad to have a face with your posts.  You are an inspiration! Brenda

Bud!  Looking GOOD!  Thanks for putting up a pic!

"I bring that up because this is our path in life. Many of us are not ever going to be and will fight to stay under 200# - call it complacency, call it genetics, this is our path.  let's not allow ourselves to whine or use excuses to fall back and give up. " I read that and react--nope, don't agree 100%.  That above to me is a copout.  Our path is our choice.  Choosing to not be our best because of a predisposition to obesity is a copout. I will be below 200, maybe only 160 instead of 130, but I will be as fit as my body can be.   It's all a choice--a choice to find what will work for us, to apply those strategies, to strive to achieve.  Complacency itself is an excuse.  Blaming it on genetics is an excuse. God may have given some of us the ability to withstand famine, etc., but he didn't mean for us to be unhealthy. If you choose otherwise, the "other side" holds something you want more than fitness and health.  That should be examined. I know you're saying don't whine, or give up, but that too can be directly rooted in the wrong choices, the wrong way to diet, the wrong way to get active. I still say, playing with the wrong diets, foregoing activity, it's still a choice.  I say this as someone who complained for years about diets not working anymore.  It was true, they weren't.  But I just had to find the core of what would work for each and everyone of us.  I stopped listening to the diet industry and misinformed docs, searched out and found my answer. It's not in diets.  It's not 100% in calories (I wasn't overeating at my heaviest).  It's not in deprivation.  It's just not as hard as we make it out to be....

One of the things I have had to do very carefully was not to tell people that what worked for me was going to work for EVERYONE.  Back in July of 2005 I started my journey and within one year I had lost my 140 pounds.  Yes, one year only.  I have been maintaining it and working it now since July of 2006.  I will never go back to being 350 pounds again, I just won't. When I lost 140 pounds the scale stopped moving.  I have to say that I do not see myself getting into the normal range for my weight which I think tops out at around 157.  Suffice to say that at my lowest weight after a liquid diet when I was 18, I was 167.  That was 24 years ago and before two children.  Now, if someone tells me that it is a copout I would be pretty angry.  Nobody but me knows how hard I've worked, what I've done to change myself, and how I continue to work my ass off to be the best and the healthiest I can be.  Copping out is not in my vocabulary. I get people writing to me after reading my profile and ask "what EXACTLY did you do to lose the weight?"  My motivation came from deep inside of me, and not everyone is going to benefit from it in the same way that I did.  Everyone finds their own way.  It would be presumptuous for me to assume and preach that my way is the only way.  Be careful of doing that as well.  Someones failure may fall directly on your shoulders, whether you want it or not. I'm very glad that you found what works for you, but everyone has to be given the opportunity to do the same.

Donna