Obesity and addiction

[Catrin]

You've had a major lifestyle shift in the last couple of years. It will take time for the mind to shift along with it. Just think moderate and calm. Eventually, it is possible to change perception...

THIS! Even though I've lost a total of 80 pounds since my heaviest (and 50 of that in 2010-2011), in my head I still "see" myself as fat. I know what size I wear, I get people's reactions who haven't seen me in a couple of years - but that internal image is still there. I think it is finally starting to moderate, but still... It takes time & I begin to wonder if I will ever really be there and all I can see in the mirror is that excess body fat that I still have - but that is normal I think (hope). So Goldfinch, I hear exactly what you are saying.

Ambiguity isn't a bad thing - thankfully for me

It DOES help to be able to physically do things I once thought impossible for ME to do

[Owlie]

THIS! Even though I've lost a total of 80 pounds since my heaviest (and 50 of that in 2010-2011), in my head I still "see" myself as fat. I know what size I wear, I get people's reactions who haven't seen me in a couple of years - but that internal image is still there. I think it is finally starting to moderate, but still... It takes time & I begin to wonder if I will ever really be there and all I can see in the mirror is that excess body fat that I still have - but that is normal I think (hope). So Goldfinch, I hear exactly what you are saying.

Ambiguity isn't a bad thing - thankfully for me

It DOES help to be able to physically do things I once thought impossible for ME to do

That. I've never been significantly overweight, and while I'm only a little lighter than I had been in high school (where I was rather squishy), that still follows me around. I wore baggy t-shirts to hide the muffin top....and most of the rest of my clothing was a size larger than necessary. It has taken me a while to be able to buy clothing that actually fits following a weight "redistribution".

I'm trying to remove a few pounds at the moment. I want to stay away from the calorie counting and weighing and tracking every.little.thing. I tend to be obsessive and a perfectionist in other aspects of my life (except housekeeping!), and I know myself well enough to know that that would be a bad road to go down.

[shootingstar]

So I really like the idea of not putting such strict parameters on goals. For some people. I guess it might be very important for others.

+1 If I put super strict parameters on goals for myself, I would be completely demotivated for the times I couldn't reach the goal (temporarily).

Sometimes it's better I practice better "living" health-wise regularily and temporarily "forget" about tracking myself towards a certain "goal".