[helenm]

Having been a yo-yo dieter for many years and all the while on an upward trend I have been wondering about the process I have been following - fad diet after fad diet, shakes, deprivation, fasting etc, etc

My question is - do they work without addressing the issues of motivation, attitude and my thought patterns and beliefs????? Or is there still something else I have not thought of?

The figures tell me that even when we do lose weight, after 1 year we have regained 45% of what we lost, after 2 years 52%, after 3 years 68% and after 5 years 115%!! ie have put on more than when we started. So how do we change the cycle? Obviously what we believe will work is not working, so we all have to ask ourselves how can we prevent ourselves from being one of these statistics. Why, when we all know what to do, what to eat and what not to eat is it so difficult - maybe this is the wrong approach?

What do you think?

Food is a big part of how we feel emotionally - because as a newborn baby food and love & safety go hand in hand at your mothers breast, celebrations like birthdays are set around food and cake, as we get older this is more entrenched with the bigger celebrations also being encased in food eg weddings, graduations, Christmas, Easter, funerals, all major celebrations of who we are and how great we are (or were) include food and often not the healthiest of foods like the celebratory cake! The lollipop to take the pain away, the sweet treat for being good these are all firmly entrenched in our psyche, fun and food are closely linked. No wonder weight loss can be hard and seen as deprevation! How do I take these factors into account?

I think we all have our reasons for being overweight, conscious and unconscious ones, the thing that I believe is the first step and the ongoing motivator is the 'why', why do I want to lose weight?

We are all motivated by either pain or pleasure, I think that when we are motivated by pain we move faster, there is more urgency to achieve. For me losing weight is a pleasure thing, I want to lose weight in order to look and feel better along with having more energy. Even as I write this I can see that my resons are pretty tame (they don't inspire me), no wonder I am up & down!! I also believe that if I succeed in my weight loss then other areas in my life will be more successful.

Getting the reason and the motivation clear and closing the back door ie not giving ourselves an out (I am good at this one!) is a step often not explored and one that will prevent success.

Hmm enough of my ramblings.
Helen

[Light]

Hi Helen,
Dieting will usually provoque an imbalance in your body and "spirit". Diet after fad diet will give you shakes, deprivation, fasting...
This is why I do not like them. My approach on loosing weight is by lifestyle and alimentation change. I think that moderation is the key and not depriving yourself.

Instead of pushing our limits we should all find our center of equilibrium.

Just my 2 cents...

[Tangerine]

[Andrea]

I am one of those who spent so much thinking and trying to lose weight that I witnessed my adolescence and first youth passing by! My daughter, no matter how old, won’t go through that because I’ll tell how sorry I am now! I was so into being normal weight, that I forgot how smart I was or what a beautiful smile I had. I got used to my weight and all I’m trying now is to eat healthy. What can I say, guys, I nearly lost my marriage for putting weight in the center of my universe! Congrats to those of you who are keeping it real!