Its a long, long, loooooong road

I've never had a problem dieting (that's a lie).

OK, I'll try again.

"Dieting" is not really a problem for me. (Damn. Why do I keep typing that?)

OK. I have a problem sticking to a "diet". I have a lot of weight to lose
and, while I've done really good on stints as long as six months, most
"diets" last a month or two and then I fail.

I realize that part of the problem is motivational. Surely, there are
addictive/emotional factors that play into this as well.

I'm on a roll right now with my diet. There was a thanksgiving hiccup, (ok,
a belch,) but I got back on track. My concern is getting off-track again,
especially during the holiday season.

If it took you a year or two to lose your weight, how did you stay motivated
for that period of time? Did you reward yourself for every five pounds of
weight loss? Or did you just have a long term vision of the new you? Also,
once you got into thinking way-of-life vs. diet, how did you go about
predicting what was really going to work for you over the long haul. Was it
just trial and error?

After thirty-some years of smoking, I can tell you that beating an addiction
is hell. The way I was able to quit successfully was two-fold. First, I
developed a huge amount of motivation to never smoke again. Second, I really
prepared myself by doing a lot of research as to how to quit, what problems
I would face, etc.

The thing with eating, though, is that you can't quit, you have to control
yourself. Forever.

I've been reading you guys's posts for quite a while now, and haven't quite
figured out how it is that you've all done so well for so long, from the
perspective of which I speak.

There is sooooo much great help out there for people who want to quit
smoking because the emotional and addictive aspects of smoking are
acknowledged in almost everything you read. What you read in virtually all
diet books, though, is a real pile of crap (IMHO). I know what I'm supposed
to eat and how much. That's not my problem, and I'm tired of seeing
three-inch thick paperbacks that just ramble on forever without getting into
the meat of the subject.

dt

Daven Thrice wrote:
I've never had a problem dieting (that's a lie).

OK, I'll try again.

"Dieting" is not really a problem for me. (Damn. Why do I keep typing that?)
snip

Not once in your post do you mention exercise. Assuming you can, you
should - as much as possible.

I know this is a "diet" newsgroup, but you cannot separate diet from
activity. Furthermore, IMHO you should invert your thinking - think
exercise first, and diet (ie, how to fuel that exercise) second.

As an ex-smoker (i'm one of those too) you'll know that one of the keys
to success is making not smoking normal; that has to be the datum on
which your life is based. Well, try doing the same with activity - fold
increasing amounts of activity into your normal life, and you won't even
notice you are doing it after a while. Walk to the shops, buy a bike
(and use it!), sell your car even - adjust things in your life in order
to fit it around activities.

Again - I'm assuming being active is a choice you have - for some it
isn't, but there was nothing in your post to suggest otherwise.

Good luck!

--
Succorso

Daven Thrice wrote:
I've never had a problem dieting (that's a lie).

OK, I'll try again.

"Dieting" is not really a problem for me. (Damn. Why do I keep typing that?)
snip

Not once in your post do you mention exercise. Assuming you can, you
should - as much as possible.

I know this is a "diet" newsgroup, but you cannot separate diet from
activity. Furthermore, IMHO you should invert your thinking - think
exercise first, and diet (ie, how to fuel that exercise) second.

As an ex-smoker (i'm one of those too) you'll know that one of the keys
to success is making not smoking normal; that has to be the datum on
which your life is based. Well, try doing the same with activity - fold
increasing amounts of activity into your normal life, and you won't even
notice you are doing it after a while. Walk to the shops, buy a bike
(and use it!), sell your car even - adjust things in your life in order
to fit it around activities.

Again - I'm assuming being active is a choice you have - for some it
isn't, but there was nothing in your post to suggest otherwise.

Good luck!

--
Succorso

In article PXbwd.35704$ve.29833@fed1read06, Daven Thrice
wrote:


I'm on a roll right now with my diet.

Yup! I've lost three pounds in a shocking manner:

counting calories
exercising
removing high fat foods but not going 'low fat" either

--
Diva
********
Completing 5 years of maintenance

This is a really good post, and it's kind of the key question to all
of this. I want to give you a thoughtful answer and have bookmarked
your post to answer later today. For now, I have to go to work :-).

Chris
262/134/ (135-145)

Daven Thrice wrote in message
news:PXbwd.35704$ve.29833@fed1read06...

I've never had a problem dieting (that's a lie).

OK, I'll try again.

"Dieting" is not really a problem for me. (Damn. Why do I keep typing
that?)

OK. I have a problem sticking to a "diet". I have a lot of weight to lose
and, while I've done really good on stints as long as six months, most
"diets" last a month or two and then I fail.

You will fail. The question is what do you do after you fail. Instead of
thinking about sticking to a "diet" for a year think about choosing a new
way of life for today and "repeat forever" (thanks Dally).

I realize that part of the problem is motivational. Surely, there are
addictive/emotional factors that play into this as well.

I'm on a roll right now with my diet. There was a thanksgiving hiccup,
(ok,
a belch,) but I got back on track. My concern is getting off-track again,
especially during the holiday season.

If it took you a year or two to lose your weight, how did you stay
motivated
for that period of time? Did you reward yourself for every five pounds of
weight loss? Or did you just have a long term vision of the new you? Also,
once you got into thinking way-of-life vs. diet, how did you go about
predicting what was really going to work for you over the long haul. Was
it
just trial and error?

After thirty-some years of smoking, I can tell you that beating an
addiction
is hell. The way I was able to quit successfully was two-fold. First, I
developed a huge amount of motivation to never smoke again. Second, I
really
prepared myself by doing a lot of research as to how to quit, what
problems
I would face, etc.

Congratulations on your smoking cessasion. You obviously know how to
motivate yourself. Use the same motivational techniques you used to quit
smoking to quit overeating. If rewards/punishments worked for you in the
past, use them again. If finding a support group worked for you in past,
find a weight loss support group.


The thing with eating, though, is that you can't quit, you have to control
yourself. Forever.

But you had to replace smoking with something else. For many people that
something else is eating. In the past, some of the times you are eating when
your body is not in need of additional nutrition. Replace that eating with
something else. Throughout the day I use something I call "exer-snacks."
Short 5 to 15-minute exercise sessions. They might include walking around
the building, skipping rope, push-ups, chin-ups, lunges, etc.

I've been reading you guys's posts for quite a while now, and haven't
quite
figured out how it is that you've all done so well for so long, from the
perspective of which I speak.

There is sooooo much great help out there for people who want to quit
smoking because the emotional and addictive aspects of smoking are
acknowledged in almost everything you read. What you read in virtually all
diet books, though, is a real pile of crap (IMHO). I know what I'm
supposed
to eat and how much. That's not my problem, and I'm tired of seeing
three-inch thick paperbacks that just ramble on forever without getting
into
the meat of the subject.

There have been discussions on this board about books that get into the
emotional, psychological reasons for weight problems. It appears many on the
group are currently reading "Thin for Life" and are posting their thoughts
on the book here. Also see the posts in the thread "What Did/Does Being
Overweight Say for Me."

In the two weeks I have been here I have found the regulars are very helpful
and encouraging. You might try the same thing.

Best of luck!

What you read in virtually all
diet books, though, is a real pile of crap (IMHO).
AMEN to that!


The thing with eating, though, is that you can't quit, you have to control
yourself. Forever.

I've been reading you guys's posts for quite a while now, and haven't quite
figured out how it is that you've all done so well for so long, from the
perspective of which I speak.

for me, losing weight is just another one of those necessary evils --
like dealing with diabetes, trimming one's nails, showering, depression
-- it will never completely go away, regardless of what the scale says,
so i'll just to keep on hacking at it. it's not so bad, somedays it
feels good to know that i'm being responsible. otherdays, i go shopping
and realize that being able to fit into a smaller and cuter little black
dress beats trodding around in ugly sweats. motivation comes in many
different forms.

and then there are the days i just want to lock myself in a room with tv
and eat a whole cheesecake. omg, they're so good... that's when i think
about if it's worth the two days of depression and bloating and
subsequent binging, and the entire relapse spiral. no, not really.

Daven Thrice wrote:

If it took you a year or two to lose your weight, how did you stay
motivated for that period of time? Did you reward yourself for every
five pounds of weight loss? Or did you just have a long term vision of
the new you? Also, once you got into thinking way-of-life vs. diet,
how did you go about predicting what was really going to work for you
over the long haul. Was it just trial and error?

I was motivated by that scale going down every week! I didn't join this
group until I had already been maintaining for 6 months but I *still*
learned a lot once I did. (and why doesn't anyone talk about flaxmeal
anymore?? g)

Since I started losing weight in February, by the time the holidays came
around, I felt like an old pro. All along I had minigoals - usually 15
or 20 pounds, not 5. I celebrated milestones with my cheering section
and things like gourmet picnics at the end of a hike up a mountain. I
had just a tiny bit of chocolate every Friday (one *fourth* of a
brownie!). When it was county fair time, I had the best fries on the
planet and then walked 4 miles. I had an occasional lunch out and enjoyed
it. I did not splurge often but I never felt deprived. I just never
over-ate again or allowed a splurge meal become a splurge *day*. I was
getting wonderful results and refused to tamper with that.

Now I have one whole brownie every Friday. I don't have pie any other
time but Thanksgiving and plum pudding is confined to Christmas. I have
a whole bag of the best potato chips on Superbowl Sunday. I know I need
to be mindful of what I eat 98% of the time and that's fine with me.
It's SO worth it to be able to RUN if I want or to pull on the size 4
jeans s Pilates makes me feel wonderful.

I learned how to love exercise for the first time in my life and did it
as much as possible. I've only cut back a little since I've been
maintaining. My life has improved so much. Losing weight was the best
thing I ever did.

--
Walking on . . .
Laurie in Maine
207/110 60 inches of attitude!
Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03

Daven Thrice wrote:

If it took you a year or two to lose your weight, how did you stay
motivated for that period of time? Did you reward yourself for every
five pounds of weight loss? Or did you just have a long term vision of
the new you? Also, once you got into thinking way-of-life vs. diet,
how did you go about predicting what was really going to work for you
over the long haul. Was it just trial and error?

I was motivated by that scale going down every week! I didn't join this
group until I had already been maintaining for 6 months but I *still*
learned a lot once I did. (and why doesn't anyone talk about flaxmeal
anymore?? g)

Since I started losing weight in February, by the time the holidays came
around, I felt like an old pro. All along I had minigoals - usually 15
or 20 pounds, not 5. I celebrated milestones with my cheering section
and things like gourmet picnics at the end of a hike up a mountain. I
had just a tiny bit of chocolate every Friday (one *fourth* of a
brownie!). When it was county fair time, I had the best fries on the
planet and then walked 4 miles. I had an occasional lunch out and enjoyed
it. I did not splurge often but I never felt deprived. I just never
over-ate again or allowed a splurge meal become a splurge *day*. I was
getting wonderful results and refused to tamper with that.

Now I have one whole brownie every Friday. I don't have pie any other
time but Thanksgiving and plum pudding is confined to Christmas. I have
a whole bag of the best potato chips on Superbowl Sunday. I know I need
to be mindful of what I eat 98% of the time and that's fine with me.
It's SO worth it to be able to RUN if I want or to pull on the size 4
jeans s Pilates makes me feel wonderful.

I learned how to love exercise for the first time in my life and did it
as much as possible. I've only cut back a little since I've been
maintaining. My life has improved so much. Losing weight was the best
thing I ever did.

--
Walking on . . .
Laurie in Maine
207/110 60 inches of attitude!
Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03

"SnugBear" wrote in message
.4...
Daven Thrice wrote:

If it took you a year or two to lose your weight, how did you stay
motivated for that period of time? Did you reward yourself for every
five pounds of weight loss? Or did you just have a long term vision of
the new you? Also, once you got into thinking way-of-life vs. diet,
how did you go about predicting what was really going to work for you
over the long haul. Was it just trial and error?

I was motivated by that scale going down every week! I didn't join this
group until I had already been maintaining for 6 months but I *still*
learned a lot once I did. (and why doesn't anyone talk about flaxmeal
anymore?? g)

I don't use flaxmeal but I still put a tablespoon of ground flax seed in my
oatmeal each morningg Does this count?

Beverly