What makes this time different?

[ZerasPride]

A co-worker was just complimenting me on my weight loss and she asked me what made this time different from any others that I have tried to lose weight. I realized that was a good question and deserved some serious thought.

I don't think I had a light bulb moment or a last straw that made me say this was it. I think it was a culmination of the right forces coming together at the right time. The SBD is very easy to follow and I know I can eat this way for life, I am on the "other side" of 35 and didn't want to turn 40 with this weight on me, I was in the largest size clothes at Lane Bryant, I was sleeping so fitfully at night I think my husband wanted to sleep on the sofa with my snoring, and of course there's the seat belt incident on the plane coming home from Disney this past August. But I don't think any of these things in and of themselves made it the right time. I always knew sooner or later I would find the program that would work for me and I would be in the right place mentally to make it work. I feel that time is now.

How about you? What makes your way of eating and your weight loss different now from any other attempts you have made before? I would love to hear other people's stories.

 

[lmhall2000]

Lisa,

Well, I'll give a top ten.....

10. I saw a picture of myself the previous Christmas bending over to open a present and WHOA let's just say it wasn't pretty- in 8 years of putting on the weight I had never really seen a close-up of my back-side....that was a shot of reality!

9. I always vowed I would have the baby weight off by the time my baby was 2 (I have 3 of 'em). She was just about to have her 4th birthday when I said- LET'S GET GOING ON THIS!

8. I found WISH- 5 days after I committed to change my eating/exercising.

7. WISH gave me ALEX challenges, a WISH buddy, HUGE support, and those glorious CLIPPIES that appealed to the competitive side in me- they were cheap, shiny, and FREE!

8. Once I realized I could walk 3 miles in a week- I thought- "Hey, maybe I can walk 6!"

9. By the fourth of July, I was nearing Onederland and thought- hey let's try 4 miles instead of 2 miles on my morning walks. It was hotter during the day so early am walks were nice. So then I joined the 1/2 marathon crew and decided to up it to 4 miles 5 days a week! WOW!!

10. What keeps me going is the energy I get from my workouts, the pride I have in being disciplined with providing my body fuel rather than comfort, and seeing M's instead of XXL's!! I have 30 something more pounds to go- but I've completed 2/3 of my journey- there's no stopping me now!

Tara

 

[A1A1]

To be honest, Lisa, it was you and some others on this board (many others) that truly inspired me. You gave me hope. You let me see that if you and they could do it, so could I. I started to believe that I deserved to be healthy and fit. I always knew that my dd deserved a healthy mom, but never believed I could be. I believe it now. I never knew anyone who had a significant amount of weight to lose actually reached their goal and kept the weight off. I have seen countless cases here. Many, many people reaching their goals. It is magic!!! I feel the magic inside myself now. I have so far to go, but I finally believe in myself. It is not a diet that I am doing. I changed my entire way of living.

 

[mowsie dreamer]

This is a great question!

It wasn't any one big thing for me, either. Lots of things came together to make a new healthy me right.

1 - I realized I was just tired of being tired all the time. Being 130 pound overweight, it had been so long since I had had any energy at all, that I had forgotten what it was like. On family outings, I couldn't keep up with my family and I hated that! After losing some weight, the first time I realized that strange feeling pulsing through me was energy I was shocked. And then very happy!

2 - One of my DSIL's was very overweight also and had developed multiple health problems. Some of them, like diabetes and high blood pressure, were a result of being overweight. Watching her struggles (she was in and out of the hospital for the last 2 years of her life), made me realize that I was headed down the same path and I wanted to get off that path.

3 - I found WISH! And that is probably what really got me off the wrong path and on the weight loss wagon! In the beginning, I came and lurked every now and then and loved the supportive and caring atmosphere. The last couple of weeks before I joined, I lurked a lot ! I loved the way everyone helped each other out and encouraged each other! I started to think that it was possible for me to do this, too! And I really wanted to be part of the fun!

4- I found the right program for me, the one I can do from now on! I love the flexibility of WW and the fact I didn't have to give up eating everything I love. It really fits my lifestyle. Isn't it great that there are so many different programs? We can all find the one that fits us!

Thanks for posting this question, Lisa.

 

[disboo]

1. My husband and I spent 1 1/2 years planning/getting ready for our second honeymoon - a trip to new Zealand! I really wanted to not hold him back, and be able to "tramp" through the countryside, a big thing to do there. Well, I did it and boy am I glad.

2. We are starting to dream about an early retirement (in 10 years!) and I want to be active with my husband - play a little tennis, walk the dog, etc.

3. Realizing my kids (23, 21, 18 years old) never really saw me slim.

It was just the right time for me!

 

[Samandmom]

Great post!

1. I REFUSE to buy a pant size bigger than 18's or a top bigger than 2x. I realized I was not fitting into these sizes anymore.

2. I want to set a good example for my DS and DD.

3. I realized that WW fits my style.

4. I HATE to look at any pictures of me lately.

5. I want to be healthy.

6. I want to have energy.

 

[helenk]

I started the end of May just cutting down on my portions, with being so heavy I was snoring very loudly. In fact when my son and I went to WDW in Dec of 2002, I felt so sorry for him because I kept him awake each night. I had gotten to the point of not going to my annual exams because I was embarassed by my weight. I decided that since I was going to be 50 in 2004 I really needed to get the weight off safely, and need to change my eating habits.
At first I just lurked here, but got good advice by reading the posts and I started low carb. By the time I went to WDW by myself in September I had lost 25 pounds and felt great, and I had started walking twice each day to get ready for all the walking in WDW.
When I got back I decided to try the SB diet and I love it. I do not feel deprived, I exercise at least 5 times a week, I usually do the 2 or 3 mile WATP tape and it does not kill me. I am able to walk on the treadmill for more that 15 minutes and giving up.
I feel as though I have changed my whole life!
I really like the support here too. I think that really makes a difference, it is like going to a meeting w/o leaving the house. No one really knows who you are but you find yourself sharing your weight loss victories or your slip ups with a group of people that share the same goal as you do.

 

[Strings]

I think that 2 things are making a differance for me this time. 1) My husband is doing it with me. He always sabotaged me in the past. " One bite of ice cream. Do you want some chips?..." 2) I found WISH. I started a journal and have some great WISH buddies. The support is tremendous, and you guys keep me honest. Clippies are an added bonus.

 

[ZerasPride]

Thanks everyone for sharing and being so open and honest. I would have to second (and third and fourth) that having this board available and finding my way here has helped me tremendously. Keeping a journal as well makes me stay honest and really think about what I am going to put in my mouth before I do it because I have to report it in my journal.

If anyone else would like to share, I'd love to hear from you. This is so encouraging!

 

[tiggerlover]

This is a question that my fitness buddy and I talked about a lot. For me the reasons I think this time is different is because I was finally ready. I know that I thought I was ready those other times, but obviously I wasn't because I wasn't successful. Also, this time around I was better informed, there were so many things I just wasn't aware of when I entered into my weight loss journey this time and that wealth of information was important to be successful. Another reason is I had a partner in this and we worked together. I also had WISH to guide me along with support, motivation and inspiration. So I guess what ZerusPride said, " it was the right forces coming together" is true, because it wasn't any one thing, it was a combination of all the above.

 

[catherine]

The only thing that is different for me this time around is that I found WISH. With the support and encouragement of my WISH buddies I've been able to accomplish things that I haven't been able to before. In the past every time I tried to lose weight some event, for example vacation or Christmas would come up and I would use this as an excuse to eat all the junk food that I hadn't been eating. Of course I would promise myself that I would get back OP once Christmas or whatever was over, but of course I never did, and I'd put all the lost weight back on. Then I found WISH and suddenly the penny dropped! It wasn't about dieting 'till I had lost the weight and then going back to what I was eating before. It was about changing my lifestyle. So this is what I did. I cut out all the junk food and caffeine and started to exercise. We had a 16 day trip to WDW at the beginning of Dec. My plan was to eat like I will eat when I get to my goal weight. I knew that this trip was make or break for me. If I could come back from the trip having been successful and get back OP for Christmas, I knew that I could get to my goal weight. To cut a long story short I was successful, I ate well on the trip, came back and got right back OP and didn't cheat over the holidays. So now I know deep down that I can get to make goal weight, and this makes me so excited

 

[Disfan1]

My main reason for sticking to my diet this time are:

1. I was to big to fit on the roller coasters at Busch Gardens in Tampa! It was SO embarrassing to be turned away from Kuumba because I was too big for the safety restraints!

2. I gained 1/2 of a shoe size! After being a size 6 since I was 12, I realized I can gained WAY too much weight. I was back down in a size 6 shoe within two weeks but I still went around telling everyone "I've already lost 1/2 a shoe size thanks to my diet!"

3. I have complete flexibility with the Deal-A-Meal. If I choose, I can have a hamburger, bagel pizza, sugar-free ice cream, or even a peanut butter sandwich once in a while. I don't feel deprived at all and that is a big key for me since I have NO willpower when it comes to denying myself.

4. YOU GUYS! I had been getting discouraged until I found this board- it has renewed my resolve to lose this weight for good and anything less than GOAL is NOT good enough. Thank you for your support!

 

[newholiday]

When I found out that heart disease is hereditary in my family I knew I had to take a close look at my old eating habits.

WISH helped/helps

and I input every bite into Fitday.com so I see how it breaks down

 

[Auggietina]

1. I took responbility of my weight. I am the reason that I am heavy. This was very tough for me to realize. I never thought of myself as "fat" In my mind I was "OK". It wasn't until I stopped kidding myself that I was able to make a major change

2. Atkins has worked for me. For the first time in my life I have felt satified after eating. This has never happened before. I was always looking for something else to eat.

3. I skipped my annual appointment with my dr last year because I knew I had gained weight. I just couldn't bring myself to go and be embarrased.

4. I have almost no pictures with my dd. She is 7 and has no pictures of her mother with her when she was a baby. How selfish was I to take that away from her? I refused to have my picture taken. Because then I would have to take responsiblity for my weight, which up until recently I was not ready to do.

5. DH is leaving for a 18 months, 12 which he will be fighting in the war in Iraq. I need to take care of myself and make sure I am in the best health, because dd is depending on me to be there to take care of her. I don't have dh as a crutch to pick up my slack.

6. I have found support in these boards and a place to go when I feel like I am failing. It is a great place to see that I am not alone and my feelings are normal

Boy was that theraputic to write this all down!

I feel good!

 

[DoeWDW]

Every other time I've lost weight, I've done it on my own with no help and no support. When I fell off the wagon there was no one to encourage me to dust myself off and get back on plan. I was doing low-carb before it was fashionable and was eating differently than everyone else around me and constantly having to defend and debate my food choices.

Now I have WISH and my journal. I'm not doing this alone anymore. There are people who have lost a lot and are now maintaining, people who are in the process of losing and people who are just starting - we're all in this together and helping each other. I love having my WISH buddies to celebrate my successes - even the little ones like wearing my "back of the closet" pants that used to be too small. I also have my WISH buddies to encourage me when I'm feeling weak. This support has made all the difference in the world to me.

Low-carb eating is also now more mainstream. I no longer have to defend my way of eating nearly as often - what a relief.

If I am succeeding, it is in large part due to all of you!
Thanks for taking this journey to good health with me!

 

[honeymo78]

This time I really have a plan and its not one of those fads (remember the cabbage soup diet - much like 0pt soup but that isn't all I eat now). Also I am exercising and I have a great support group here with WISH.

 

[MelanieC]

Good question,

In January 2002-May 2002 I lost 37 pounds and got down to 149. I thought that was the time that I was going to do it forever. I didn't have wish, and I was looking at it as a diet. I really thought I could handle keeping it off, but I went on a mini-weekend to visit my mom and Aunt. I gained 5 pounds that weekend, and maintaned there all Summer. That fall, I just kept gaining, and I really wanted to get back on track for my Disney vacation, but I couldn't. Then the winter rolled around and last year DH went to Kuwait for the war. I tried really hard, by going to a WW meeting while he was gone, but once the actual war started I was an emotional wreck. Luckily DH was only gone for 2 1/2 months and when he came hom in May, I vowed to get my life under control and do this once and for all. I knew I could loose the weight with WW"s because I had lost 37 pounds the year prior.

This time I just did it. And a few weeks after starting I found WISH. I really think that you at WISH have really made all the difference. It's like having friends who you can talk about things, that you normally would have to keep bottled up inside. Most friends aren't available 24/7 to discuss your weight loss, and issues relating to weight loss , eating healthier and exercise.

I also think that learning that this is not a diet, but a way of life has made all the difference. In 2002, I don't think I learned how to eat healthy. This time I have done so good in making better food choices, that I am sure this will stick with me for life.

I made it through a vacation, and a holiday still maintaining where I am at and now that the new year is here, I am ready to get to goal.

 

[AlreadyexcitedGrammy]

it was not wanting to be "the fat lady in the pictures" on our WDW trip with ohMom and family. I believe in God's perfect timing and I do believe that He sent me to the DIS boards to check-out info for the trip and I stumbled onto the best site I could have ever WISHed for

ohMom and I were just thinking we needed to get onto WW (probably online) but I was being cheap (frugal sounds better but I was thinking cheap) so we decided to give the board a try before the money splurge.

It's my Buddies, the fun, the laughs, the posts that I relate to (the yeah, I've been there ones), the encouragement from everyone, my DH saying "do you get another clippie-thing yet" - everything that WISH offers makes me a "satisfied customer"

And, all this for free