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Day 2 (Plus 6 years or so)

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

It's really pretty embarrassing to me that I started on SparkPeople in 2008, and I still weigh about the same as I did back then. Well, technically not "still." It's really "again." I've lost the same 25 pounds and gained it back more times than I can count in my life, including on SP. Right now, I'm about 5 or 6 pounds below my absolute peak weight. It's not as if my ideal weight is really 25 pounds more than I'd like it to be, and that's why I keep bouncing back up. That's true for many people, I think, but in my case, I'm 90 pounds above the absolute most I can weigh and still have a healthy BMI. I know that the reason I keep gaining back the weight I lose is that I go off the diets. Diets don't work. You have to do a complete lifestyle change. This is what makes me nervous about SP, and I know it's the reason I've gained weight back on it. Tracking my food is the big key for me to losing, and I just can't stick to tracking for the rest of my life. When I stop, I gain the weight back. Now, I'm tracking again. Yesterday and today I've tracked everything I've eaten. (Stayed within my ranges yesterday, too, TYVM.) They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Is it crazy for me to be doing this again when I know I can't keep it up for the rest of my life?
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  • no profile photo CD4274730
    I'd echo just about everything the others said, and I'll add to it:

    I definitely struggle with this idea that I'll never be able to let up. I'll always have to track and exercise and watch what I eat. I just hope that when I do reach my goal weight this time (haven't been there in 12 years), I'll appreciate the fact that it'll be a lot harder to lose it all over again and that tracking what I eat is a small price to pay. I'd rather have to lose and gain and lose the same 5 pounds all of the time (in the future) than continue to gain and lose this same 75 pounds that I've been working on for over a decade.
    2541 days ago
  • NUMD97
    I agree completely with COOLRAIN. Raising my hand to show that I also am one who joined in 2008, March in fact. But I do know this: If I didn't do the tracking daily, I would be a runaway train. Old habits have been with us for decades. Yes, it is a lifestyle switch and not a "diet" that we need. Until we figure out that part, with ease, taking into account all of life's stresses, I'm glad that SP and the incredibly supportive community keeps me in check. There is no other weight loss community like this one, and it's still free. Also like COOLRAIN, I am pretty much on target when I first "weigh" something in my hand before putting it on the scale, because I am usually within a fraction of an ounce spot on. Eventually, as others who have succeeded have stated, they no longer need to weigh things. Agree with you completely that we will no longer need to do that activity, once the weight is off for good, hopefully. And as others have said, too, which I, too, have realized independently of my reading it here, if in doubt, I round up, and not down, just to make sure I don't go out of bounds. That helps me a lot, too.

    The whole venture is a process after all and you have to be patient and kind with yourself. When it finally comes together and it makes sense, then you can graduate.

    All the best,

    Nu
    2541 days ago

    Comment edited on: 2/12/2014 2:21:24 PM
  • COOLRAIN
    Absolutely NOT! You'll find that once you make a habit of weighing and measuring and eating the right foods, you won't have to track it everyday for the rest of your life. Eventually, it will become second nature, and you'll know what you need to eat and how much a serving looks like. You should check yourself from time to time, especially if you feel your waistband getting a little tighter or the scale starts to creep up, but a few days back to checking on intake should put you back on track. For now, don't even think about "the rest of [your] life. Just focus on today.

    I too recently re-started after first joining in 2008. My husband was diagnosed with cancer, I was working two jobs, and I just gave up taking care of myself. But I'm back at it again, and this time I'm going all the way to goal! (It's nice to know there's someone else out there starting over.) Tomorrow, I'll celebrate 1 month. So, just know there's someone out here rooting for you!

    emoticon


    2541 days ago

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    Disclaimer: Weight loss results will vary from person to person. No individual result should be seen as a typical result of following the SparkPeople program.
 

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