March/April weight loss challenge

[bambu101]

Good post, GLC1968! I agree 100% on the "click" part, and also had a similar epiphany, if you want to call it that, about 2 weeks ago. As one of my former co-workers used to say, "your head has to be in the right place". She lost 60 pounds 9 years ago, and has kept it off since.

I think that the motivation comes from within, and not from looking at pictures or trying to lose for a class reunion or whatever. There are lots of tools out there to help you lose weight, but you have to start the process yourself. It took me many, many false starts to realize that.

[Jones]

GLC,

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I guess my frustration is that it did click and I lost weight, 40 lbs, and the motivation just left. When I think about being on a diet for another year I eat. When I focus on being healthy or faster or feeling better I make better choices. I just want my click back and I want it to stick with me during the challenging times.

I did notice your weight loss, nice job!

Jones

[GLC1968]

Jones - I did that once, too! I lost 30 or so lbs - still had 10 - 15 to go and I just couldn't make it happen. I think I was just over it, you know?

In fact, that was when I bought my first road bike and since then, I've done nothing but gain!

I honestly believe in the value of taking a break though. That same coach I mentioned above used to refer to fat loss as paddling a kayak upstream. In order to make any headway, you have to paddle very hard. If you only paddle lightly, at best you can hope to stay in one place. If you lift your paddle out of the water altogether (ie, give up), then you'll quickly start moving backwards. So my thought is if you just don't have it in you to paddle hard right now (we all get tired, right?!), then just paddle lightly and keep yourself where you are for awhile to rest. Once you are ready, you can start paddling hard again to make more progress.

Whatever you do, don't do what I did and pull those oars out of the water altogether!

[Veronica]

When I think about being on a diet for another year I eat. When I focus on being healthy or faster or feeling better I make better choices. I just want my click back and I want it to stick with me during the challenging times.


Jones

Don't think of it as being on a diet. If it's a diet, when you stop, the weight comes back. You have to be honest with yourself and make changes that you can live with.

For me it was easy to give up the 3 - 4 Red Bulls I drank most days. Giving up my daily homemade chocolate chip cookie was much harder.

Have a plan to deal with those challenging times. I know at staff meetings there will be a ton of junk food - teachers love junk food. I bring my version of junk food those days - peanuts, cashews, almonds, dried cranberries and chocolate chips - in a measured amount.

Good luck!


Veronica

[Veronica]

Tucker is at 15.25. Sometimes I think the vet was wrong and he is not suppose to be a 13 pound cat. I've cut their food from 1.5 cans per day for both of them to 1 can per day. Tucker's weight has barely changed in two months. Cassie has stayed the same.

They are eating a high quality canned cat food with human grade chicken. Tucker had been over 17 pounds at just a year old when he was eating dry food. He was tubby! Too many carbs for that baby.

Veronica

[limewave]

I agree that it is overwhelming to think about dieting for another year. I focus on one meal, one snack at a time, one moment at a time. And I don't beat myself up if I have a bad day. Getting healthy is not a race to a finish line. As my uncle always likes to tell me, By the inch, it's a cinch, by the mile, it's a trial.