how will you keep it off ?

[paul1978]

The key to keeping the weight off, I think, is all in your head. You have to re-programme your mind. How does everyone else plan to "re-programme their mind" regarding food so the weight stays off for good?

[Sunshine Singer]

I'll work up the plans for as long as I need to because this is for life. I never want to yoyo diet again. I was so unhappy carrying the extra weight and this time I'll never forget those feelings. This time, for the first time, I am appreciating every lb that comes off and cherishing the whole journey. I am chosing to do this not forcing myself to do it. It will be worth it when I'm at my goal and maintaining.

I wrote a list of why I wanted to lose weight before I started CD (a few weeks before I knew I was gonna even do CD). It was on my fridge hidden behind something else. I found it after my CDC had sent me a fab success magnet. Brought into the garden and read it in the sunshine. I then wrote a new list of why I'm so happy to have lost x amount of lbs. It's now on my fridge. I will keep all the lists I make, next one probably at goal, then maintenence......to re-read when the day comes when i start taking my new shape for granted. When I have lost 2.5 stone, I will take a picture of myself with my stage piano upright beside me as thats what it weighs and frame it so i never forget how far i've come.

Apart from that I could blather on and on but I'll stop there. I agree with you tho it's a mind thing. Sort your mind out and your body will follow, along with anything else you want to be xxx

[Katycakes]

You're both dead right, it's a mind thing. The lessons are there all along the way, and falls and mistakes are a part of it. I had 6 weeks of 100% SS and then fell into a binge in December... for me, that opened up the realization that the hardest work of all was going to be in my head. I have tried all through my journey to work out why I felt a certain way, why I struggled, why I had blips. I am still learning, but I feel so much better in every way and that shows that this is work well worth doing. Losing weight is one thing - keeping it off is another. And to do that, we need to re-set old patterns, make healthier habits, change the way we think.

Great thread, getting people to think about this.

xxx

[LizS]

Definitely all in the head. I've done this once - well, nearly, I got to 11.5 and thought 'Yay,I've done it' - wearing size 12 jeans, etc. But then forgot all about maintenance and learning to eat properly again and just dived head first into the bread bin (and the curry house) so have put most of it back on, landing up at 14'13 on my CDC's scales. So here we are again. It did take four years to put it on, but it was a miserable four years of WW, Paul McKenna, a couple of abortive goes at CD, yada yada.

For me, I have to learn that its ok to feel an emotion and not smother it with food. Everyone knows that if you have the tendency to eat your emotions then you eat when you're bored, stressed, sad, etc. I do this. I also eat all my positive emotions. Fed up? Have a cake. Happy? Have a cake. Angry? Have some monster munch. Girl's night out? Have a load of snacky ("naughty") things to celebrate. Got a promotion? Lets go out for a meal. Having a bad week? Lets go out for a curry.

You get the picture.

I find I don't really FEEL my emotions - I notice them, eat them, and then go back into a rather distant sort of state where I don't feel much at all.

Paul McK has lots to say about this, and its actually pretty useful. I just have to learn to say to myself 'I'm sad. And if I eat that cake, I'll be sad AND I'll have eaten a cake' - it won't make any difference to how I feel!!

A reasonable alternative, as I see it, would be for the government to ban bread, toast, pastry and cake.

[Serena A]

Totally agree it's very much a mind thing - in most cases being overweight is merely the external symptom of our behaviour rather than being the problem in itself. Addressing the excess lbs with a few months of foodpacks or counting points or syns or whatever isn't the same as addressing the motivations or triggers that drive us to overeat.

If I kept cutting myself deliberately with scissors, plasters would stop the bleeding and allow the wounds to heal.

CD hides the scissors for a while and applies the plaster to allow our bodies to heal to a healthy weight, but unless we work out why we feel the need to cut ourselves then no sooner do the scars fade then we'll be hunting out the scissors again...

Sadly most of the focus is on comparing plasters and seeing which one does the best job and ooh I really feel the need to injure myself - I'll treat myself to a papercut and put a brand new plaster on it tomorrow

Think that's why I want to scream at the "just eat less and move more" brigade - they have the right answer to the wrong problem.

[Angela83]

Paul McK has lots to say about this, and its actually pretty useful. I just have to learn to say to myself 'I'm sad. And if I eat that cake, I'll be sad AND I'll have eaten a cake' - it won't make any difference to how I feel!!

A reasonable alternative, as I see it, would be for the government to ban bread, toast, pastry and cake.

LOL at this! (the second part of quote) I was considering seeing how early maintence goes but if I feel I need extra support I was going to ask the GP about CBT-I've thought about doing it now but after reading advice from KD the best place to work on that is after loosing weight. But might look into Paul Mck too, looks useful. Find Mikes no willpower newsletters really helpful and I've been collecting motivational advice from here too.

I want reaching goal to be the start of life not just the end of a diet!