On Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:31:13 -0800 (PST), wrote:

I am a firm believer that success leaves clues so I must say something
in regards to something I have seen in my life that has worked. Most
of the times in my life when I have lost a lot of weight I have done
so by surprise being I did it when I had not stepped on a scale in a
few weeks and realized I had lost 50 pounds.

I don't believe you lost 50 pounds in only a few weeks. If it's
possible, it definitely doesn't sound healthy. You'd probably have to
lose a lot of muscle mass to do that, and that would doom you to gain
back all the weight and more. I think I have actually gained muscle
mass during my weight loss because I've been walking a lot and lifting
weights. And I make sure I get enough protein.

because I think I finally understand why it has never worked for me.
Say you take a 110 pound woman and put her on a stage and take a man
and hypnotize him and tell him that this woman weighs over 500 pounds

I use hypnosis and visualization to see myself at my ideal weight. The
number on the scale doesn't cause me to be hypnotized into staying
heavy, because I use hypnosis techniques to see myself as being slim.
I do not see the number on the scale as a discouraging thing. I use
that number as a score card, and when the number goes down I feel
GREAT about it. Personally I need that feedback. I love the feeling of
seeing that number go down. It makes my day when that happens. So you
see, that number isn't something that makes me feel bad.

You sound like someone who gets easily discouraged and therefore
avoids looking at reality. I learned long ago that running away from
reality is a bad idea. You need to be mentally strong and confront
reality and conquer over it.