HOW TO CRACK IT THIS TIME?!!!

[MagdaX]

Ok... so I have decided to give LL another go or shall I say, a proper chance. :sigh:
I did it before and I never stuck with it till the end and as a result i gained weight back on.
I really don't know why I sabotaged my success ( i lost 4 stones in 3 months).
It almost feels like I was on autopilot switching off any form of logical thinking and self control.
My question is to all of you who have succeeded and maintaining the weight loss.
What's your trick?
Any tips, suggestions??
I know i'm only at the beginning of my journey (starting on Monday the 6th) but I really want to make sure right from the start that I will not mess it up this time! :break_diet:
My mistake was of course that I never did RTM but is it really just that or am I missing something else?
Any advise and support would be very appreciated.
M
x

 

[Blonde Logic]

Hi and welcome back....but sorry you have to be - if you know what I mean.

I think you have already hit one big part of it, and that is doing RTM in my point is essential - the most important part of the diet. Let's face it - we ALL know how to LOSE weight, but it was keeping it off that was the hard part. RTM gives you a very good foundation for success, so definatly do it this time!

For me, how I have managed to maintain, is losing the weight meant more to me then just about anything. I said when I started LL that if I lost the weight (10 stone) that it would be the biggest GIFT I ever gave myself - and I would treasure it, as I do any other gift that is given.

I just REFUSE to ever go back. Ever. And that is how I maintain.....it is just not an option for me.

I have bobbed up and down a little, within a stone or so of my goal but I have always managed to get it back down.

I think having spent 25 years morbidly obese, I place so much value on feeling healthy and able to do all those things I always envied of slim people, that it has an immense value to me. THats how I look at it, and that keeps me in check.

Just try and find a way to make it the most important thing you have or can do, and you will manage.

Good luck again!

x

 

[MagdaX]

Thank You BL!
You are a true insipiration and your words of support mean a lot to me.
I really don't want to fail. I want to lose the weight and keep it off. For good.
The thing is, I said that the last time... and I still went back to the 'dark days'
I think I must put all the effort in going to group meetings each week and REALLY take something out of them.
Wish me luck xx

 

[Blonde Logic]

Thanks hon - Definately go to group!! I think that is very important as you will learn not only from the LLC but from other women as well. And be sure to be proactive in it - don;t be shy - speak up and get your moneys worth!!!

And then complete RTM. I equate doing the diet to something like taking a morotcycle safety course and then going riding in shorts and a vest! lol It just does not make sense.

xx

 

[MagdaX]

Very well put! Thank You!
I will keep my diary on here too. I'm sure that will help too
M
x

 

[Minerva]

Like BL has said - it's about putting a great VALUE on the loss itself. It is indeed something to be absolutely treasured, celebrated and most of all, remembered.

Many people when they lose weight - they either FORGET that they had lost it and vainly believe they are now "what they should always have been" which can minimise the fear of regain, and some people also attach a very big negative label on their loss - they only remember the bad and hence "forget it ever happened" and hence start enjoying everything just that little bit too much.

A true maintainer (whether they were ever big or not) is always aware of what they do, eat and most of all they - PLAN AHEAD ( i.e. party coming up? So for a week or so before and after we eat a bit less on purpose). It CAN be quite hard resisting temptation (we ALL have weak spots!) but it's a life of balance. If I choose to have a bit extra today - that means I can't as much tomorrow.

I think most of us do keep an eye on the scales, I weigh myself only once per week on Monday mornings. That gives me small time scales to re-evaluate what I'd done right or wrong in the past week because I can still remember it - so I learn from the previous week.

It's been over a year of maintaining for me and fear of becoming what I used to be drives me to stop myself before anything gets out of hand. I did have a blip earlier at about Easter time but I'm on course to getting back where I want to be. It's all about knowing you hold the power, every step of the way.


RTM is very, very important. It's painful - but DO it. For me personally it helped to do it twice. I originally did LL absitence and lost 9 stone, due to ill health I came off the diet and did the whole 12 week RTM. Then a couple of months later I did LL Lite to get to target, lost a further 2 stone and did RTM here as well - which truly cemented the lessons it was supposed to teach about portion size, self control and what foods I react well or badly to.

It's all there for a purpose - and it's only supposed to be a tool, not a crutch. We can't do LL forever, can't BE on it forever, eventually we need to learn the lessons it is supposed to teach.

I wish you the best of luck. Make this the LAST time on LL! I know you can do it!

 

[MagdaX]

Thanks for that Minerva. These are true words of wisdom. Well done on maintaining the weight loss for a year now!
I do hope this will be my last attempt to crack this.
I almost feel like I want to erase the past year completely. All those stupid diets I've tried all the money I spent...
Why? What for? The solution was right there before my eyes.
I guess I just needed to hear that click in my head and simply be brave. I'm totally doing this for me this time. I'm tired of feeling like a failure. I'm tired of starting something so important and never completing it.
It stops me from living my life the way I want to live. It stops me from becoming who I want. It's now or never..

 

[kathryn B]

There is so many wise people on here!! I am restarting on the 9th septmber for the third time.I am so terrified of failing but reading all the posts on here is really putting my head in the right place to start. I hadnt discovered minimins when i did it before I really think it is going to be my lifeline this time!!

 

[MagdaX]

This site is a great help especially if you're struggling. There's nothing better and more helpful to get your head in the right place and motivate you. Simply sharing your thoughts and get advise from people who are or have been through exactly the same issues and atruggles.
Good luck with your 3rd time. I'm sure it will be the last one
M. X

 

[Minerva]

When I found this site in Feb. last year it's been a godsend! Not just for the wonderful support and inspirational people on here, but also the wealth of information available on genes & evolution, diets, psychological AND physiological mechanisms at play when we do anything from exercise, to eating to working under stress!

I've had to dig around the other boards, looking at some very clever people's blogs back from years ago... There really are some very informative reads here that can teach so much.

I suggest starting with finding the user KD. Her words, ideas and struggles really helped me understand myself much more than I ever could have on my own!