ASD Book Club - Thin For Life (Key #2)

Better late than never! Here's the summary of the second chapter of our ASD
Book Club book "Thin
for Life: 10 Keys to Success from People Who Have Lost Weight and Kept It
Off" by Anne M. Fletcher. All are welcome to participate or kill the
thread.

Key to Success #2: Take the Reins

This chapter discusses the common theme among the "masters" discussed in the
book of "taking the reins." According to the author "They Stopped looking to
others for all the answers and decided to lose weight for no one other than
themselves.

First is the story of Cindy P. who went from 235 lbs to 155 lbs (5'8") and
has maintained her weight loss for 10 years.

Highlights of the chapter:

Look Within - taking responsibility for one's own behavior

Do It for You - not the boyfriend, husband, mother, etc.

Face the Truth (be honest with yourself)

The Attitude Shift - A critical change in thinking about yourself and your
feelings toward weight control. This is the "light bulb" or "epiphany"
described here many times. The five situations that initiated most attitude
shifts:
-I saw the light
-I was scared to death
-I couldn't take it anymore
-I liked the new me
-I wanted to attract the opposite sex

It's More Than a Commitment to Lose Weight - other critical changes that
took place that kept the "masters" going after they had made the decision.
The need to make multiple life changes before or while losing weight in
order to make it work in the long term.

Inoculation Concepts - things to accept about yourself that can make things
easier
-Put yourself first
-Get in touch with what your weight is doing for you
-Prepare for the hardship of being thin
-Look forward to what you'll gain
-Accept that it's not easy, it's not always fair
-Your motivation for weight control with wax and wane
-Give yourself permission to fail
-Maintenance is not static
-Be persistent

How Much Weight is Too Much Weight?/Thin is Relative/Setting a Comfortable
Weight Goal/Accepting a Less-Than-Perfect Body/More Than a Weight Goal
A discussion on choosing a goal and what each individual needs to consider
when doing so.

Are You Ready?
A brief set of questions to help you decide if you are ready to change, plus
other considerations like:
-financial situation
-job situation/workload
-finding time to devote to weight control
-family situation (health, relationships)
-ability to add physical activity
-support system
-current happiness
-accept that there is no magic answer

Opinions, thoughts, or comments on these topics as discussed in the book?
Any part of this chapter stand out for you? What did you relate to or
disagree with?
I've attempted to do this without letting my personal opinions influence the
summary. I'll post my thoughts about these issues in another post.

Jenn

Glad to see this thread back! I'm going to be brief, because I'm in
this audit still and because I don't have my book here, but just wanted
to note that a couple of things that particularly resonated with me in
this chapter we

* Do it for me, not for anyone else. Absolutely!

* I like(d) the new me. I really started out the whole project pretty
casually, with no set expectations of outcome. But as I went forward I
liked what was happening, and it motivated me to keep at it. Now it's
motivating me to maintain. {I definitely did NOT feel "I couldn't take
it any more", or "I was scared to death". I was a pretty content fat
person, but I'm a more content thin person :-). }

I'm not sure what to make of the "Are You Ready?" topic. I think one
can get hung up on finding excuses why now isn't the right time,
setting dates well into the future, etc. For me, it worked to just
decide to do it, then start making the changes I needed to support my
new lifestyle. (I did, though, spend a few days thinking about what
that lifestyle was going to be.)

Chris
262/135/ (135-145)

Glad to see this thread back! I'm going to be brief, because I'm in
this audit still and because I don't have my book here, but just wanted
to note that a couple of things that particularly resonated with me in
this chapter we

* Do it for me, not for anyone else. Absolutely!

* I like(d) the new me. I really started out the whole project pretty
casually, with no set expectations of outcome. But as I went forward I
liked what was happening, and it motivated me to keep at it. Now it's
motivating me to maintain. {I definitely did NOT feel "I couldn't take
it any more", or "I was scared to death". I was a pretty content fat
person, but I'm a more content thin person :-). }

I'm not sure what to make of the "Are You Ready?" topic. I think one
can get hung up on finding excuses why now isn't the right time,
setting dates well into the future, etc. For me, it worked to just
decide to do it, then start making the changes I needed to support my
new lifestyle. (I did, though, spend a few days thinking about what
that lifestyle was going to be.)

Chris
262/135/ (135-145)

"Chris" wrote in message
oups.com...
Glad to see this thread back! I'm going to be brief, because I'm in
this audit still and because I don't have my book here, but just wanted
to note that a couple of things that particularly resonated with me in
this chapter we

* Do it for me, not for anyone else. Absolutely!

* I like(d) the new me. I really started out the whole project pretty
casually, with no set expectations of outcome. But as I went forward I
liked what was happening, and it motivated me to keep at it. Now it's
motivating me to maintain. {I definitely did NOT feel "I couldn't take
it any more", or "I was scared to death". I was a pretty content fat
person, but I'm a more content thin person :-). }

I'm not sure what to make of the "Are You Ready?" topic. I think one
can get hung up on finding excuses why now isn't the right time,
setting dates well into the future, etc. For me, it worked to just
decide to do it, then start making the changes I needed to support my
new lifestyle. (I did, though, spend a few days thinking about what
that lifestyle was going to be.)

Chris
262/135/ (135-145)

I haven't had time to post my comments on key #2 but wanted to respond to
the "Are you Ready" section. I personally don't think we should wait for
the "right time". Many of us would never be able to start a weight loss
program if we waited until we have nothing stressful in our life. I lost my
original weight during a very stressful time in my life - death of parent,
divorce, moved to new residence, etc. Stress often diminishes the appetite
in many people. Boredom causes me to eat more than stress.

Beverly

"JMA" wrote in message
...
Better late than never! Here's the summary of the second chapter of our
ASD
Book Club book "Thin
for Life: 10 Keys to Success from People Who Have Lost Weight and Kept It
Off" by Anne M. Fletcher. All are welcome to participate or kill the
thread.


Key to Success #2: Take the Reins

This chapter discusses the common theme among the "masters" discussed in
the
book of "taking the reins." According to the author "They Stopped looking
to
others for all the answers and decided to lose weight for no one other
than
themselves.

I thought it was interesting that most of the "masters" didn't follow a
particular weightloss program but rather developed their own diet from their
individual food preferences. They didn't deprive themselves of their
favorite foods - they simply limited the higher calorie foods. It also
stated they didn't expect perfection and didn't beat themselves up when they
made mistakes. It also pointed out that those who were most rigid with
their diets and strived to never stray from their plan were the most likely
to regain all their weight. When they fell off the wagon they were more
likely to stay off and not be able to jump back on track.

The Attitude Shift - A critical change in thinking about yourself and your
feelings toward weight control. This is the "light bulb" or "epiphany"
described here many times. The five situations that initiated most
attitude
shifts:
-I saw the light
-I was scared to death

I gained my weight after I quit smoking. At age 53 (1996) I knew if I
didn't quit smoking I was probably headed for major health problems. It was
during this period I shot to my lifetime high of 177. I had lost 20lbs in
1984 and maintained that weight loss for 12 years so I wasn't real worried
about gaining weight while I quit smoking. But the day I couldn't fit into
my size 14 jeans I decided it was time to include weightloss in my health
overhaul. I think the need to buy size 16 jeans was the push I needed to
get back into weightloss mode.

-I wanted to attract the opposite sex
I chuckled when I read this oneg After my divorce I decided I was much
happier living alone!!



It's More Than a Commitment to Lose Weight - other critical changes that
took place that kept the "masters" going after they had made the decision.
The need to make multiple life changes before or while losing weight in
order to make it work in the long term.

I don't believe diet changes alone will ever make a long term successful
maintainer. For me the key to losing and maintaining has been adding
exercise to my lifestyle. I started planning bike trips with the
granddaughters, rollerblading, walking, etc. As the granddaughters became
teenagers and didn't have as much free time to ride with me I found another
way to increase my biking time. I became a volunteer bike patrolman for the
local park system. I bought a treadmill for home since I don't like walking
after dark. I joined a gym but have found this doesn't always work for me.
I find setting personal goals in fitness provide me with motivation to keep
plugging away at the exercise. I'm not going to bike a century sitting on
my butt watching television. I agree with the author's view - losing weight
is exciting but maintenace is tough because their is no change - it's about
as exciting as watching paint dry. We need to find other things to motivate
us to keep the weight off.


Inoculation Concepts - things to accept about yourself that can make
things
easier
-Put yourself first
-Get in touch with what your weight is doing for you
-Prepare for the hardship of being thin
-Look forward to what you'll gain
-Accept that it's not easy, it's not always fair
-Your motivation for weight control with wax and wane
-Give yourself permission to fail
-Maintenance is not static
-Be persistent

I thought of Mary when I read the word 'persistent'.


How Much Weight is Too Much Weight?/Thin is Relative/Setting a Comfortable
Weight Goal/Accepting a Less-Than-Perfect Body/More Than a Weight Goal
A discussion on choosing a goal and what each individual needs to consider
when doing so.

My original weight goal was 130 back in the mid 80's. I tried for this goal
again in the 90's but found it was almost impossible for me to attain. I
settled on the higher end of my weight range which is around 140. I have to
take into consideration I'm almost 62 years old and have a large frame
according to my wrist measurements. I also consider my overall health more
important than a few pounds on the scale. At my present weight of 142 I
wear a size 10 jean and this is the size I wore in the mid 80's at 130
pounds. The change in body composition has been the additional exercise
I've done this time.

Are You Ready?
A brief set of questions to help you decide if you are ready to change,
plus
other considerations like:
-financial situation
-job situation/workload
-finding time to devote to weight control
-family situation (health, relationships)
-ability to add physical activity
-support system
-current happiness
-accept that there is no magic answer

I answered this in a follow up to Chris's post. I see no valid reason to
ever delay starting a weight loss program. Even if you're not 100% ready
you have more to gain by trying than not trying.

Beverly

Chris wrote:

I'm not sure what to make of the "Are You Ready?" topic. I think one
can get hung up on finding excuses why now isn't the right time,
setting dates well into the future, etc. For me, it worked to just
decide to do it, then start making the changes I needed to support my
new lifestyle. (I did, though, spend a few days thinking about what
that lifestyle was going to be.)

I had my epiphany and started *that day*. I had the last piece of
birthday cake that evening, but no desserts for months after that. I had
lots to learn about what I needed to be eating but I knew how to get
started.

Why can't we bottle epiphanies?

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

Chris wrote:

I'm not sure what to make of the "Are You Ready?" topic. I think one
can get hung up on finding excuses why now isn't the right time,
setting dates well into the future, etc. For me, it worked to just
decide to do it, then start making the changes I needed to support my
new lifestyle. (I did, though, spend a few days thinking about what
that lifestyle was going to be.)

I had my epiphany and started *that day*. I had the last piece of
birthday cake that evening, but no desserts for months after that. I had
lots to learn about what I needed to be eating but I knew how to get
started.

Why can't we bottle epiphanies?

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

On 16 Dec 2004 02:24:36 GMT, SnugBear wrote:


Why can't we bottle epiphanies?

LOL, Laurie this made me smile. I've had so many epiphanies, some of
which have led to long periods of weight loss and others to shorter
ones, that I'd need a whole wine cellar to store all the bottles.

janice

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 21:20:58 -0600, "JMA"
wrote:

Better late than never! Here's the summary of the second chapter of our ASD
Book Club book "Thin
for Life: 10 Keys to Success from People Who Have Lost Weight and Kept It
Off" by Anne M. Fletcher. All are welcome to participate or kill the
thread.

Key to Success #2: Take the Reins

This chapter discusses the common theme among the "masters" discussed in the
book of "taking the reins." According to the author "They Stopped looking to
others for all the answers and decided to lose weight for no one other than
themselves.

I'm glad we're still doing this, but glad the pace is slow as it's
hard to keep up otherwise! I've finally managed to find the time to
re-read this chapter and offer my comments.

Highlights of the chapter:

Look Within - taking responsibility for one's own behavior

I really agree with this. I have never blamed my own weight on
anything other than my overeating. As far as I'm concerned it's as
simple as that. The logical extension of that is to believe that I
got myself into this, and only I can get myself out of it. I even
have doubts about joining weight loss organisations which tell me what
to eat as I think ownership of my plan is so important. I notice that
Cindy P in the previous section of the chapter devised her own plan
for weight control, and that many of the other masters did this too.

Do It for You - not the boyfriend, husband, mother, etc.

How often do we find people saying this here on asd! It is so true
and I'm glad to see it confirmed in this book. I firmly believe the
wish to change has to come from within myself, not from anyone else
however close they may be or however I may value their opinions and
views on other aspects of life. If anything, pressure from others
would be likely to be counter-productive (I haven't experienced this
since I had pressure from my parents to lose weight when I first
gained it in my teens, but it certainly didn't work then!)

Face the Truth (be honest with yourself)

I have always felt that I have "owned" my weight problem, so I have a
bit of difficulty getting anything new from this bit.

The Attitude Shift - A critical change in thinking about yourself and your
feelings toward weight control. This is the "light bulb" or "epiphany"
described here many times. The five situations that initiated most attitude
shifts:
-I saw the light
-I was scared to death
-I couldn't take it anymore
-I liked the new me
-I wanted to attract the opposite sex

I've never experenced these seminal moments that so many people
describe as being the one thing that made them realise they had to
lose weight. I do agree with the person who is quoted as saying that
90 percent of weight loss is mental. If anything, I'd put it even
higher.

It's More Than a Commitment to Lose Weight - other critical changes that
took place that kept the "masters" going after they had made the decision.
The need to make multiple life changes before or while losing weight in
order to make it work in the long term.

This is about what made the masters' final successful attempt to lose
weight different from previous attempts. I've had so many
considerably successful attempts at weight loss, and each time this
has happened something has come out of the blue that I can only call
motivation, but I have to accept that as none of these attempts have
resulted in either my getting to my goal or maintaining my full loss
there must be something else needed, and this is what the author
refers to as many of the masters having made mutliple changes in their
lives. As Dally would say, you need to fix your head.

Inoculation Concepts - things to accept about yourself that can make things
easier
-Put yourself first
-Get in touch with what your weight is doing for you
-Prepare for the hardship of being thin

I think this is an important one - to realise there will be drawbacks,
including the comment that "the praise you get may start to irritate
you after a while" - comment irritates me all the time when I lose
noticeable amounts of weight, not just after a while!! For me, the
most important thing to remember is that being thin won't solve all
your other life problems at a stroke.

-Look forward to what you'll gain
-Accept that it's not easy, it's not always fair
-Your motivation for weight control with wax and wane

The interesting bit for me was the idea of maintenance being an
anti-climax, after the excitement of losing the weight and seeing
constant changes. Just another thing that needs mental preparation
and awareness in advance of getting to goal.

-Give yourself permission to fail
-Maintenance is not static
-Be persistent

I would agree with much of this, and it's something I could definitely
do with working on. I'm persistent if trying over and over and never
giving up is persistent, but I can't handle slow weight loss very well
- the master who achieved her 32 lb loss over 5 to 6 years has my full
respect.

How Much Weight is Too Much Weight?/Thin is Relative/Setting a Comfortable
Weight Goal/Accepting a Less-Than-Perfect Body/More Than a Weight Goal
A discussion on choosing a goal and what each individual needs to consider
when doing so.

The author says she can partially subscribe to the idea that each
person's body has some sort of biological set weight. I find this
very hard to believe for myself - my weight has fluctuated so much, so
fast, over years of yo-yo dieting I would challenge it to know its set
weight! She gives the example of a 200lb woman getting down to 135
and her body fighting to be heavier - surely that depends how she got
to be 200lb in the first place? My body didn't just find its way to
its highest ever weight, I put it there by constantly overeating.
Maybe some people view this differently - it would be an interesting
thread on its own.

I did really like the definition of a reasonable weight as "one you
can maintain without due suffering, at which you feel quite good about
the way you look, and at which you have no serious medical problems
caused by weight". I also liked the suggestion of reviewing with
every 10 lbs lost whether you are willing to continue the food and
activity changes you've been making and if so set your goal to lose
another 10 lbs, and so on. This paragraph was probably the one that
shone out most to me in the whole of this chapter - it really spoke to
me of something I hadn't thought about before.

Are You Ready?
A brief set of questions to help you decide if you are ready to change, plus
other considerations like:
-financial situation
-job situation/workload
-finding time to devote to weight control
-family situation (health, relationships)
-ability to add physical activity
-support system
-current happiness
-accept that there is no magic answer

I'm not sure I agree with this - OK, you have to be ready to change or
it won't work, but this sounded to me like a list of excuses not to do
anything just yet... I try not to think like this, but I guess it
works for some people.

janice

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 21:20:58 -0600, "JMA"
wrote:

Better late than never! Here's the summary of the second chapter of our ASD
Book Club book "Thin
for Life: 10 Keys to Success from People Who Have Lost Weight and Kept It
Off" by Anne M. Fletcher. All are welcome to participate or kill the
thread.

Key to Success #2: Take the Reins

This chapter discusses the common theme among the "masters" discussed in the
book of "taking the reins." According to the author "They Stopped looking to
others for all the answers and decided to lose weight for no one other than
themselves.

I'm glad we're still doing this, but glad the pace is slow as it's
hard to keep up otherwise! I've finally managed to find the time to
re-read this chapter and offer my comments.

Highlights of the chapter:

Look Within - taking responsibility for one's own behavior

I really agree with this. I have never blamed my own weight on
anything other than my overeating. As far as I'm concerned it's as
simple as that. The logical extension of that is to believe that I
got myself into this, and only I can get myself out of it. I even
have doubts about joining weight loss organisations which tell me what
to eat as I think ownership of my plan is so important. I notice that
Cindy P in the previous section of the chapter devised her own plan
for weight control, and that many of the other masters did this too.

Do It for You - not the boyfriend, husband, mother, etc.

How often do we find people saying this here on asd! It is so true
and I'm glad to see it confirmed in this book. I firmly believe the
wish to change has to come from within myself, not from anyone else
however close they may be or however I may value their opinions and
views on other aspects of life. If anything, pressure from others
would be likely to be counter-productive (I haven't experienced this
since I had pressure from my parents to lose weight when I first
gained it in my teens, but it certainly didn't work then!)

Face the Truth (be honest with yourself)

I have always felt that I have "owned" my weight problem, so I have a
bit of difficulty getting anything new from this bit.

The Attitude Shift - A critical change in thinking about yourself and your
feelings toward weight control. This is the "light bulb" or "epiphany"
described here many times. The five situations that initiated most attitude
shifts:
-I saw the light
-I was scared to death
-I couldn't take it anymore
-I liked the new me
-I wanted to attract the opposite sex

I've never experenced these seminal moments that so many people
describe as being the one thing that made them realise they had to
lose weight. I do agree with the person who is quoted as saying that
90 percent of weight loss is mental. If anything, I'd put it even
higher.

It's More Than a Commitment to Lose Weight - other critical changes that
took place that kept the "masters" going after they had made the decision.
The need to make multiple life changes before or while losing weight in
order to make it work in the long term.

This is about what made the masters' final successful attempt to lose
weight different from previous attempts. I've had so many
considerably successful attempts at weight loss, and each time this
has happened something has come out of the blue that I can only call
motivation, but I have to accept that as none of these attempts have
resulted in either my getting to my goal or maintaining my full loss
there must be something else needed, and this is what the author
refers to as many of the masters having made mutliple changes in their
lives. As Dally would say, you need to fix your head.

Inoculation Concepts - things to accept about yourself that can make things
easier
-Put yourself first
-Get in touch with what your weight is doing for you
-Prepare for the hardship of being thin

I think this is an important one - to realise there will be drawbacks,
including the comment that "the praise you get may start to irritate
you after a while" - comment irritates me all the time when I lose
noticeable amounts of weight, not just after a while!! For me, the
most important thing to remember is that being thin won't solve all
your other life problems at a stroke.

-Look forward to what you'll gain
-Accept that it's not easy, it's not always fair
-Your motivation for weight control with wax and wane

The interesting bit for me was the idea of maintenance being an
anti-climax, after the excitement of losing the weight and seeing
constant changes. Just another thing that needs mental preparation
and awareness in advance of getting to goal.

-Give yourself permission to fail
-Maintenance is not static
-Be persistent

I would agree with much of this, and it's something I could definitely
do with working on. I'm persistent if trying over and over and never
giving up is persistent, but I can't handle slow weight loss very well
- the master who achieved her 32 lb loss over 5 to 6 years has my full
respect.

How Much Weight is Too Much Weight?/Thin is Relative/Setting a Comfortable
Weight Goal/Accepting a Less-Than-Perfect Body/More Than a Weight Goal
A discussion on choosing a goal and what each individual needs to consider
when doing so.

The author says she can partially subscribe to the idea that each
person's body has some sort of biological set weight. I find this
very hard to believe for myself - my weight has fluctuated so much, so
fast, over years of yo-yo dieting I would challenge it to know its set
weight! She gives the example of a 200lb woman getting down to 135
and her body fighting to be heavier - surely that depends how she got
to be 200lb in the first place? My body didn't just find its way to
its highest ever weight, I put it there by constantly overeating.
Maybe some people view this differently - it would be an interesting
thread on its own.

I did really like the definition of a reasonable weight as "one you
can maintain without due suffering, at which you feel quite good about
the way you look, and at which you have no serious medical problems
caused by weight". I also liked the suggestion of reviewing with
every 10 lbs lost whether you are willing to continue the food and
activity changes you've been making and if so set your goal to lose
another 10 lbs, and so on. This paragraph was probably the one that
shone out most to me in the whole of this chapter - it really spoke to
me of something I hadn't thought about before.

Are You Ready?
A brief set of questions to help you decide if you are ready to change, plus
other considerations like:
-financial situation
-job situation/workload
-finding time to devote to weight control
-family situation (health, relationships)
-ability to add physical activity
-support system
-current happiness
-accept that there is no magic answer

I'm not sure I agree with this - OK, you have to be ready to change or
it won't work, but this sounded to me like a list of excuses not to do
anything just yet... I try not to think like this, but I guess it
works for some people.

janice