New You--New Mindset

Once you have set and attained a reasonable goal weight do not say to yourself,

"Yay!  My diet is over!"

Instead, declare to yourself,

"YAHOO! My new life as a thin person has begun!!"

Don't Be Ridiculous!

The first step to successful weight maintenance is choosing a reasonable goal weight.  This is so important because if you set it too low, it will be very difficult to maintain and constantly discouraging.  My original goal weight was 5 pounds less than what it is now.  I found that 5 pounds makes all the difference between feeling successful or like a failure.  To stick to my original goal weight would mean I would have to watch everything I eat, pretty much all the time.  I am not willing to live that way!!  I love good food.  I love holidays and eating out.  So it was my discovery that if I allowed my goal weight to be five pounds higher than first intended, I can enjoy all kinds of food in a reasonable fashion.

Also, do not set your goal weight based on somebody else's weight.  Two people who are the same heights can look very different at the same weight.  It has to do with your build and shape and muscle mass.  I have found it best to shoot for a certain clothing size (again, be reasonable about what size you can maintain) and then figure out what weight correlates with that size for you.  And yes, I am all about the number on the scale.  I know some people are successful without ever weighing themselves and that is great, but this blog is about what works for me.  And I weigh myself pretty much everyday.  The number is my indicator of what I can and/or should eat that day.  I like that my scale is digital and shows the tenth (as in 138.9).  That way I can monitor little gains or losses before they become whole pounds.

That is not my feet, nor my scale, but you get the idea, right?

It is best to check your BMI at your goal weight and make sure you fall within the proper range.  You can find an online BMI calculator at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bmi-calculator/NU00597 .  My BMI is at the high end of my "healthy range", but I don't care.  I have found the number that works for me.

Here's the Scoop

As an adult, I have been every dress size from a 4 to a 24.  I've been fat and I've been what most would call thin.  I say that because I have a hard time considering myself "thin" because I do not (and never will) have a "beach body".  Nonetheless, I have managed to maintain my "goal" weight since April 2009.  I am happy with my size and like the clothes I can now wear.  Before this stretch of time, I would travel up and down the scale constantly.  My highest weight was 220.  This does not include my first pregnancy wherein the last weight I remember being was about 270, but beyond that, I chose to not know the number and/or blocked out the memory.

1994

1996

1997

My first major weight loss was in 1997 when I lost 85 pounds in 8 months.  From that time until January of 2009, I was a great "DIETER".  I could put my nose to the ground and lose weight, but once I made my goal, I went "off the diet" and pretty much went back to my normal way of eating.  The result was over 10 years of gaining and losing the same 40 pounds.

The concept of maintaining weight was always quite daunting to me, as there is no end in sight.  Maintaining is just that--remaining the weight you are from here on out.  I am very goal oriented and I like to check things off and move on.  Weight maintenance does not fit on a neat little to do list.  It has to become a part of you. That fact never clicked for me, but somethings did change in me when I lost that stinking 40 pounds for the last time in 2009. These changes have caused me to be able to stay at the same weight and wear the same clothes for over 2 years now. 

Through this blog, I intend to share those changes and strategies that are now part of my life in hopes of helping others who are on this long, daunting, albeit worthwhile journey.  I welcome all feedback.  If you are already on the journey, please share your tips and tricks. 

Ok, here we go!
Angela

2009

2009

July 2011