I got the following message from a friend
here on MFP and after writing her a very long response, i decided that i
would share both with you...i think that if what i said to her can help
someone else than it is only fair i share :~)
so here you go....
FROM A FRIEND ON MFP
<<<<>>>>
so here you go....
FROM A FRIEND ON MFP
<<<<>>>>
MY RESPONSE
i have been on this path for just over 4 years.....i have lost 81lbs in that time and still have about 28lbs left to be at the middle of my goal range (140-150)...
when i started in 2008 i wanted to lose 53.8lbs the first year....it was a a ridiculous goal but it was where my head was at - at the time....anyway, my first BIG goal of 199 was not reached until december 2010 - a FULL 3 years after i started BUTTTTTTTTT, i never wavered in my drive to get there or to become healthy in the meantime...this is what was different "THIS TIME".....
every single thing i have done over the last 4 years is something i can live with for the rest of my life - if i added something to my diet or workout regiment than i have to be able to live with it...the same can be said for the deleted stuff....
----->>>>i refuse to give up the foods i like, drinking diet coke, having an occasional glass of wine, eating potato chips or a slice of pizza - i have just learned FINALLY that everything in moderation is the ONLY way to be successful - it's how the skinny or regular people around me do it every day....so why not me???
----->>>>if i start a new workout or pick up a new plan, i have to be able to stick it out - i am not going to be in the gym 4hrs a day/7days a week - i have 2 young kids, i work full time and i want to have a life.....so, i have chosen programs i can do in the time that i have - i workout 6 days a week with 1 day of rest...right now i am just finishing up the 1/2 marathon training (race is 2/26 in disney) and i do a wt lifting program called new rules of lifting for women 2 times a week....i work out 3 nights a week - 2 nights after my runts go to bed and 1 night while they are home with daddy, i run 1 day a week during my lunch hour, i go to the Y or the gym on saturdays and i do a "long" run on sundays as part of my training....once my race is over i'll readjust my schedule to include less running and i might pick up biking....at one point i was doing dble workouts pretty much every day during the week - walking/running at lunch and then my planned night time workouts - i loved the HUGE burns but it burned my ass out and i had to give it up.....now i take a lunch time walk if i need a break from the office BUT i dont count on it as part of my daily burn goal until after i complete it (if that makes sense)....
you have to "flip" your way of thinking and make this a total part of your life - you are NOT on a diet, you should not be "trying to just lose weight"....you should be changing your current/old life to the become the life that you want to have forever.....be the person you want to be and then the weight will come off.....
i've been in the mid to low 170s since july of last year LOL...i guess you could say i'm on a bit of a plateau but i dont really see it that way lol...although i have been maintaining this weight for sooooooo long, i have gained soooo many other amazing "experience" or non scale victories during that time....i have been told many times that i do not look like i am still in the 170s but i am....i just bought M exercise pants, i wear M shirts and 10 and 12 pants, i bought a M dress and it looks great, my arms are toned, i'm assuming my back and ass do to since my hubby has taken notice recently LOL....i am getting firmer and i love how i feel.....
the lbs are not dropping for me BUT FOR ONCE in my life while trying to lose weight i let go of that goal....i'm just not trying to "lose the weight" anymore....it will come off when it wants to come off, in the meantime i'm going to live my life the way i want to life my life and continue to be happy and healthy with my family for many many many more years to come....and i'm going to celebrate every single NSV and let the scale do it's own thing....i can not be discouraged with my progress and NEITHER CAN YOU!!!! if you are doing what you should be doing, the rest WILL fall into place, i promise...it might not be tomorrow, it might not be next week, it might not even be within this year BUT it will come...and who knows maybe along the way you'll realize that what you are striving towards isnt really where you need to end up....what the hell is a number on the scale anyway??? it can change after drinking a glass of water, it can change after taking a dump, it can change after eating an apple or a cookie or a salad - all these things are part of life - the scale does not own you....
