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Hanna
02-01-2005, 02:43 AM
Hi Buddies!

I am happy and excited to be soooo close to goal!! Only a few pounds to go!!! Yay me! LOL!

I have been thinking alot on what it really was that happened to me when WW stopped being a struggle, and turned into a way of life. Sure I still have my occational whining, I want to eat what she is having, why do I have to be on WW? -sessions, but I really don't feel that this is so hard anymore.

When I started out, every day was a struggle. Staying within my points felt almost impossible. Earning APs felt like a chore. Drinking water was disgusting. The buddies that were here when I first joined might remember my whining....
Like I have told you before, I have been on antidepressants and in therapy for depression almost exactly as long as I have been a Bootcamp Buddy. I came off the meds in October 2003, and have been out of therapy since december. (Still feeling wobbly about not having my therapist around as often...) When I stopped taking the meds, my world started to spin faster. I gained weight. I felt that it was natural, since the meds were affecting my serotonin levels, and they have to do with over eating etc. And maybe it was. But last spring or early summer I had an epiphany. I didn't have to gain weight. WW didn't have to be hard. I just had to make up my mind to really do this. I decided to enjoy my journey. I actually, honestly, decided not to care about the scales. I started to focus on my journey.

Does it sound to easy? Well it did take me several years of thinking to get there... I am not fast, but I am stubborn...

How do I focus on my journey?
I measure my success in my journal. That is, I celebrate the success of every OP day. I don't count tham, I just allow myself to be proud of myself for being OP. The scales may say up or down, maintain or disaster, but I KNOW that I am a success, since I am OP.
Focussing on the process is a well known strategy in production industry, where one aspect is to do things right, and the outcome will be right. And it really works in real life!! (Hey, it's not often engineering is appliccable to reality ;) ) By focussing on what I DO rather than on what the outcome is, I have lost better than ever. Sure, I'm slow, but hey, give my poor body a break! It has already lost over 80 pounds!! After some time, this way of thinking has become a part of me. It's liberating. I do my best, and that is good enough.


I often see sad posts about not losing enough, or losing too slow, or why did I maintain, I stayed perfectly OP , all valid questions, and all questions I have asked. My best advice in every aspect of this weight loss journey is focus on the process and make a decision to enjoy it, and we will all be great successes.


I'm having a great OP day, so I already am.

:bcbsalute :buddysmoo
Hanna

chinsafer
02-01-2005, 05:14 AM
Thank you hanna!!!


it sounds like your journey has truly been filled with ups and downs. having maintained for the last two months, i'm glad to read your advice and move on with my journey. sometimes i think in terms of "I'm half-way through", but i try to keep in mind that this will be a journey for life. i can never go back to how i used to eat.


wishing you all the best,

tschüß,
jennifer

robijax
02-01-2005, 07:08 AM
So well said Hanna! I'm still working to get where you are mentally.

Your post reads like one that belongs in the training manual!

50_for_my_30th
02-01-2005, 08:56 PM
Great post. It has been a challenge. I've rejoined and rejoined again.

Your post opens my eyes.

flgal
02-01-2005, 09:34 PM
Hannah-Your words maks such sense. I am always feeling like I am a yoyo going up and down- one minute thrilled and the next totally defeated. I am going to take your advice and just focus on the process. I am learning to live my life in a new way, and I need to accept that it it going to take time and that it is a PROCESS!!! Thanks so much for your words of wisdom. I was just curious, do you have any before and after pics. that you might want to share? I would love the extra motivation. Thanks again.
Heather:)

Hanna
02-02-2005, 02:08 AM
Thanks for your input guys!

For me it's very therapeutic to try to tell my buddies what I have been thinking. The process of writing things down makes my thoughts clearer. That't why I keep writing these things...

Heather, I am in the 50+ album! Page 1. The before picture there really isn't before I started, but rather some way down. All early pictures of me from this journey have food in them... and one of the more current ones looks like it has wine, but its diet coke.

HUgs all

Hanna

gracie83
02-03-2005, 09:01 PM
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. You are an inspiration! I printed your post.:)