Losing weight and keeping it off..

For all of you close to your goal, or at your goal.  First I have to say I'm very proud of you.  Losing a lot of weight is an extremely big accomplishment.  One that you should be very proud of.  Getting healthy in life is so big, I just pray that every last one of you succeed in keeping it off and remaining healthy and active through out your lives.

Please remember though that maintenance IS just the beginning of your weight loss journey!  Even being on maintenance for a year or two doesn't  mean you know how to help others.  I think the majority of us in this room has lost weight numerous times before.  I for one know I've lost probably over 200 pounds, or maybe even more  in my life.  We've all done it, been there.   We all have been to dietitians, professionals, weight doctors, nutritionists, etc.  Again, I myself have been told "why are you even here, you know what to do, you can have my job!"  Most of us I think are very active in the knowledge of the subject, I know I am. Just like that article Skylar posted on that junk food is as addictive as cocaine.  I think most of our problems come from other areas of life, like compulsive overeating, being a closet eater, emotional trauma at some time in their life, or certain foods being addictive like that article, etc.My point is that there is soo many areas that stems weight gain.  Just like one diet does NOT fit all.  

I personally love the idea that Ruth mentioned she is attending WW.  I think that is GREAT.  Think we forget that even if we do weight loss surgery, in what...five years?!!? I think it was (something like that) the chances of gaining it back are high, IF you don't change your ways of eating and exercising.  Same as with us...bottom line is you have to change your ways, before AND after! I think after is even more crucial.

I'm just stating this because some might feel inadequate to those who still have lots of weight to lose.  If you have the right mindset, losing weight can be easy.

Maintenance though, is forever, and just the beginning!!!!

  BRAVO!   awesome post

You are so right - maintenance is even more important that losing and I haven't even started maintenance. I think it really helps to be honest and insightful with yourself to really understand where your problems are, even if you had WLS. Yes one diet doesn't fit all and how you maintain doesn't fit all either. I do believe that having continuing to get support, whether from WW, family and friends or here or elsewhere is important. We all share this disease called Obesity.

Seems to me since you took the time to fix the problem the right way then maintenance should be a breeze. You've already invested all the hard work upfront and have developed the right habits over time which always pays off in the end.

I see your butterfly!lol  AND the pot of gold.  You are fixed!

I ended my post too fast. Isn't it funny, how you can stop being obese, but in your head you will still be "obese".  For a while anyway. :)  

You on the other hand, sometimes I wonder how long it will really take you!  I'm so glad you found something that you can live with.  You are a true inspiration girl! :)  I know for one I would love to eat like you do, but with my family so big there is just no way..my willpower isn't strong enough.  Plus I think I have some underlying problems to deal with.  But wow..you are going on so strong!  I never hear of you being tempted or anything!  That is soooo great.

Hugs to you!

Holly 

Holly, thanks so much for the feedback on my butterfly and pot of gold _ LOL. I don't know why I didn't put up that ticker thingie earlier. I always enjoyed looking at others when they post.

Holly, I know you've been struggling for quite awhile and I really do think that counting calories is going to help. I also know that not everyone can make the same choices I did in my diet - many people consider it extreme but with my autoimmune problems my muscles were so weak due to swelling that at one point I couldn't get up off the couch without DH's help and I couldn't chop veggies for supper and had trouble lifting things off the shelf - I had no where else to go with my diet except an extreme change. I see lots of people over on the McDougall site are  the same way - they were told they needed heart by pass operations and other serious stuff.  Plus I was lucky that DH was supportive  and he was willing in the beginning to mostly eat my stuff - he was eating out for lunch and when he traveled for wor****il he started to see the changes in his body. Now he is on the diet 100% too and that does make a difference when you share it with someone.
 
I do think though that a couple of things that I'm doing translates to everyone - eat more veggies since they fill you up and are extremely low calorie. The more veggies and fruit you eat the better. Cooked and raw.

Eat whole foods and avoid the heavily processed commercial foods with ingredients you can't pronounce. I'm lazy, I buy canned beans and frozen veggies to make meal prep easy so I've looked for stuff that only have the ingredients I would make from scratch at home.

Avoid fast food - it may be cheap to buy a McDonald's hamburger at the drive thru, but it's very expensive to fix the damage it causes in the body. Try to limit it if you can't avoid it. Take lunches to work, prepare meals ahead, find take out that is healthier - whatever you can do to prepare yourself so it's easy to avoid.

I have always said that losing weight is actually easier than maintaining a healthy weight/bmi.  That's not to say that losing is "easy", it's hard.......it takes a tremendous amount of focus and dedication to loss weight and reach a healthy BMI.  I've probably lost a few thousand pounds over my lifetime but I've only been able to maintain a loss of about 190.

From personal experience I can tell you this last time I lost the weight it was different for me.  Even though I still put to use the same knowledge I've had for most of my adult life, the difference was that I totally changed my relationship with food and I exercised.  Overeating is not just about feeling hungry....it's why we eat, how we eat, and what we eat.  I believe with my entire heart and sole that unless there are real life changes made that the weight will come back.  "dieting" is temporary..........healthy eating and healthy living (including exercise) has to be permanent.

Instead of thinking of the goal as being just a number on the scale, make the goal living a healthy life.  Too many people "diet and exercise" until they see the number on the scale and then they feel they reached their goal so they are done.....big mistake!

I will NEVER assume that I am "cured" I must always be aware of what I eat and why I'm eating otherwise I could slip back and that is not something I will allow myself to do.  I am taking the daily steps needed to maintain my weight loss for the rest of my life.  I know I will be tracking my food, doing my exercise, and making healthy choices for the rest of my life.

Anyhow....that's just my 2 cents.
Ruth

Ruth, words of wisdom - changing your relationship with food and making permanent changes. and yes, we will always be obese, even when we lose the weight.

Like Ruth, this weight loss journey of mine has been very different, I've changed everything from how I cook, what I buy, where I go out to eat, how I think about food - it's a whole new world for me. Even ordering food in a restaurant is completely different and usually stuff off the menu. I'm also going to continue to weight and record my weight every day just because I find it helps me focus, even for a second, on how important making the right food choices are. I know some people can't weight daily because they find it too upsetting, but it doesn't bother me if the scale bounces a little up and down - as long as it's only a few pounds. It keeps me honest. I'm also going to just keep eating the way I'm eating now - I don't plan on big changes once I've lost the weight. I have not used any food goals this time round either.

While I'm still losing, I'm already thinking and planning for maintenance.

Thank you all for the encouraging,  wonderful posts.  Give yourselves a pat on the back ladies.  You deserve it.

I have two sisters who have had WLS and both are doing great.  Even though they chose this route, I am just not ready yet (even after 25 years of being overweight) to go there.  I see their struggles with "head hunger" and how they too have to deal with maintenance.  Just because their insides won't allow them to overeat most of the time, both still have/had to overcome the things that made them fat in the first place. 

I am giving WW my all this time and being very careful to get rid of the attitude that "just a little bit won't hurt". All those "little bits" add up to big hips and thighs.  


Have a healthy and blessed Easter everyone.

Cetta