Thread: Making this the last time.....

So does anyone else go through the emotions and thoughts on the weight loss.
I have attempted and failed and be succesful over and over again. I have lost this weight before, said & thought that I meant that THIS FOR SURE was the last time, until I lose control go off program and here I am again...saying this it!!!
I am sure that we all get to a certain point have it be on the scale, clothes, size or what have you in which you say, that is it for you girl? dude which ever? But, how do we lose that control after promising ourselves so many times that the weight was off and staying off "this" time.....

Has anyone gotten to the breaking point that you say, this pound that I lose is going to be never ever mine again? That I will never do this to myself again? And then really really mean it.
What is the fine line between never ever and the person that says and does it.

Selfishly I saw an article in a tabloid (I know junk) that Oprah put some of the weight that she has taken off SEVERAL times back on. And I thought, well I feel a little better. Sad I know, but atleast I had something/one to relate to. I have been following her loses and gains since I can remember, read the books, subscribed to O and I watching a few months back I thought....she really did it, she took the weight off and then I see the pics all over the place and she really did put the weight back on.
Neither here nor there.
Can you relate to my rant (plea) here?
Are you scared that this isn't really the last time?
And IF** you have found the answer to the not gaining and losing and yo yoing like me and countless others....any tips on how acchieved you that?

Thanks

Well, PQ, the way I see it is this:

This is a life-long process.
Now, there may be some who disagree with my perception and analogies, but I believe that weight struggles remain STRUGGLES even for those who have reached their weight-loss goals.
I DO believe that I will achieve my weight-loss goals, but like you (and countless others), I have fallen off the wagon NUMEROUS times. I also believe that *getting there* is only half the journey.
Just as some struggle with alcoholism or drug addiction, this is MY addiction.
It angers me when I hear someone say, "just eat less and you'll lose weight."
Would you say that to an alcoholic?
Why can I have a glass of wine with dinner and not be affected in the least -- indeed be able to go 6 months before I take another drink -- but another fears even a sip? How can I even sympathize with their struggle?
And it's not even *politically correct* to do so!
Why, if someone said to an alcoholic, "Just drink less!" they would be slapped with all kinds of castigation for being so insensitive and thoughtless. But any old joe on the street feels they can comment on someone's weight struggle...

I'm sorry; went off on a tangent there... But my point is this. Yes, I have said MANY TIMES, "This is IT; this time it's for real; I'm gonna succeed!" and many times I've had to look myself in the mirror and realize that I am my own worst enemy when it comes to this struggle.
Does that mean I should just give up? Just because I have failed before?
Of course not!
As they say, you're not truly a failure until you refuse to get back up again. It doesn't matter how many times you fall off as long as you are willing to continue in the fight.

And I don't hold any childish beliefs that once the weight is gone my life will be perfect and everything will just "magically fall into place." I will STILL have to watch what I eat and how much I eat even when I've reached my goal and have kept it off for 20 years. Hopefully, as time goes by, it WILL get easier (I'll bow to those who know for sure on that), but I'm sure that it will still be a struggle.
What do they say? "Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic"? Just because someone stays clean and sober for 20 years doesn't mean they should start drinking again.
I guess that's why I like LC; it takes away the cravings, the desire more than any other diet I've tried. The rest all just seem like torture to me, constantly tempting me to indulge just a *little* bit more...
No thanks; I'm an all or nothing kind of girl and a little "abstinence" never hurt anybody! (I'm talking CARBS here!!!)
HTH,

Hi PQ

Over & over again I struggle to lose - lost 60 gained back 30 & that was in the last few years- i keep picking myself up.....sasying i'll succeed this time - yet something looks good and b4 i know it - i've eaten IT.
i've struggled w/ my weight since childhood - now that i look back at my childhood pictures - i wasn't really heavy - i am built like my dad - but my mom was tall & thin....and i don;t blame her either - its really how you percieve yourself....even now when people say "oh you look nice - your a good weight now" blah blah blah - i know they are being nice - yes i look better then B4 - but theirs more work i have to do - and its not impossible -

its that word STRUGGLE
you can live without alcohol, drugs, sex - you can't survive without food

you know, pq, you hit on something here that i think we all deal with, in one form or another. or at least most folks.

for me, after i've done well for a while, sometimes i get sloppy. i get a case of the carb creeps, the just-one-won't-hurt-itis, the little bit here little bit there syndrome, and next thing you know, bam! you've put on 15 pounds. or worse.

ok, well, maybe not that fast, but it feels like it.

i try to differentiate for myself between the concepts of struggle and effort. when i think of things as a struggle, it's a fight. it's tiring. it wears you down. you're fighting against what is. when i think about it as an effort, then yes, there's work involved, but it's not bucking the tide. it's more like directing the tide. you know what i mean? it's making solid choices, pushing myself that extra bit to get moving, doing what i know i need to do and what i feel best when i do. doing my work.

i also am a big believer that the ONLY way to fail is to stop trying. as long as you're working on yourself, you're a success.

like summer, the ONE thing i have no question about is that this is a life-long process. there is no end, unless i want to end up back where i was. and i don't. but i also know that if i'm thinking struggle, deprivation, blah blah, i don't do well. i become depressed and tired of "dieting," of watching every little thing. it doesn't seem worth the work.

my ongoing goal is to keep lc "just the way i eat." and largely, my habits have changed tremendously. a blowout now doesn't hold a candle to the old days! now, it's too much fruit or cream cheese or something.

i guess one of the things that is helpful for me is to avoid focusing on "all the other attempts." that doesn't mean squat anyway. i say, use them to learn what throws you off-track! if they are learning experiences, they cannot be wasted. instead, i try to focus on what i want and where i want to go. i visualize, i meditate and i send my energy to what i want. if i feel the urge to stray, instead, i set about looking for an acceptable lc sub.

i am a big believer you get what you focus on and where you put your energy, your life follows. so i believe it putting my energy towards only that which i feel good about and want more of in my life. your milage may vary.

(as someone who is working on taking off that 20 she put back on when she got the carb creeps.)

peace out.

This post makes me think about a post by bkloots a while back:
http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=14916

In this post we were talking about when it finally becomes a way of life, and not just a diet... perhaps this will be helpful.

Heidi

Lawbooks: I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!
"As they say, you're not truly a failure until you refuse to get back up again. It doesn't matter how many times you fall off as long as you are willing to continue in the fight."
Thanks Cindy!!!
Goddess as always!
Thanks Heidi.

I guess that sometimes we think that we will be over this and not struggle everyday. Lawbooks like you said an alcholic is NEVER recovered.,..they will always tell you that they are "Recover-ing" as in present tense, not past tense.
I just guess that I wish that it was easier, and since I am a go-getter it is hard for me to think that I will struggle with this everyday, that food is my drug. I realized that not so long ago. I don't drink, do drugs, I eat. That is my venom of choice.

Thanks everyone....anyone else have thoughts, feedback, ideas....or just rants...about feeling the same way that I do.?

PROTEIN QUEEN~PQ