Made my goal today!!

[ddaniels]

Hey there, everybody! Today I made my goal after one year of LCing! I feel like now the work REALLY begins- keeping it off! I feel like I am very settled in to this WOL, but it seems like SO many people report that they regained all of their weight, plus more, that frankly I'm a bit anxious about maintenance. My two primary rules for myself while I was loosing weight have been to not let myself get hungry and make sure I eat really yummy stuff so I never feel deprived, and I plan to continue with that. So far I haven't exercised, but I know I need to do that for my health, so I guess that will be the next mountain I need to climb.

I'd be happy to hear any insights/advice you have to share!

[Jonahsafta]

YES! YES! YES! Congrats!!!! How wonderful!!

[Laydebleu]

Congrat on making your goal.

[ddaniels]

Thank you both very much!! :)

[Quest]

Mucho congratulations. It sounds like you found a way to keep on a steady pace and didn't let anything throw you off track. You're a role model. Are you going to post some pictures?

[meplus1]

Congratulations!!! way to go

[KaiNiki]

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

[Enomarb]

Welcome to this stage of your journey!! The main thing I can say is don't think that this is a "diet" that you are now done with. It really is a WOL.
E

[ddaniels]

Thanks everybody! I really do hope to think of it as a way of life. it certainly feels that way. I like the way I eat now, and for the most part, don't miss the high carb stuff. I want to stay mindful of what I am eating, but I don't want to be obsessive about either. I just want it to feel....normal, I guess!

Nope, no pictures! I actually would have to really hunt for a before picture, because I have avoided the camera like the plague for so many years! But, I've had so many people give me positive responses to my weight loss, that I know it is "real" even if somedays I have trouble seeing the way my body has changed. I was wearing size 18 - 20's at this time last year and last week I went out shopping and bought a couple of size 6 pants. It's WAY less stressful to go shopping now!

I've been either overweight or actually "obese" for the past 20 years, so I think it's going to take awhile for me to know I'm not anymore. I'm now at the upper part of the normal BMI range for my height, and it would be nice to loose some more weight. However, I think I want to learn to feel happy that I am no longer heavy, rather than feel stressed because I am not actually skinny!


And boy, I REALLY don't want to EVER gain this weight back!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KimNWI]

WOOOO HOOOO just saw this post that is amazing CONGRATS!! you must feel absolutely wonderful about yourself :D as well you should :)

Threads like this keep us who still have long way to go, going!!

[bigksmomma]

It's amazing to me that you could be a size 6 and still be in the upper BMI for your heighth!! I'm sure you look absolutely AWESOME!!! Congratulations on reaching your goal and good luck maintaining!!! :thup:

[ddaniels]

It's amazing to me that you could be a size 6 and still be in the upper BMI for your heighth!!

Yeah, boy did I get lucky! In one of the few times in my life that my body actually cooperated, the weight especially came off in my belly, butt and thighs, while not loosing more than I wanted to from my bust. It certainly isn't anything I did to make it work out like that, especially since I haven't started to exercise yet! However, along with keeping a bust, I also have kept more in my arms than I would like. Currently, long sleeves are my friends and constant companions! Guess I'll need to work on that!

[Sona]

Congratulations, DDaniels! Considering you've been lc'ing for a year or more, you deserve kudos for perseverance and determination--two qualities that will stand you in good stead as you navigate maintenance waters!

Well done!!

[erinleigh]

That is so great! Congrats! You've done so awesome! Keep at it! You can already tell that you are accepting the fact that you are never going to be fat ever again, by knowing that you can't eat what you were eating before!

WTG!

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

[pinkquinn]

congradulations!!!!you are an inspiration

[Judynyc]

Bravo!! :clap:

Well done!! :agree:

I hope to be joining you soon, in the GOAL CLUB!! :D

[ddaniels]

Thanks for all your kind words everybody- you are all so sweet!

I am convinced, with 100% certainty, that I could NOT have lost this weight without this forum. I have benefitted in so many different ways from being here. People's willingness to share both their successes and their setbacks, their questions, advice, recipes, struggles, funny stories...all of it has inspired me and kept me on track when I otherwise might have run out of steam and given up. I'm going to stay very close to the forum as I try to maintain my weight, because I suspect it will be a major factor in keeping me from falling off the wagon. I am sending lots of hugs and good wishes out to all of you and to those people who do the hard work of keeping the forum running. You guys are the greatest! :rheart:

[RD64]

Congradulations...love to hear about success

[Jonahsafta]

DDaniels

Would you please tell us the words of advice that really made the difference to you in your weight loss journey.

[ddaniels]

DDaniels

Would you please tell us the words of advice that really made the difference to you in your weight loss journey.

Gee...I don't think I did anything really special, other than trying to stick closely to the plan, but I guess there were a few things I did that made things a little easier.

I had two sort of simple "rules" that I think helped me out. The first rule was that I didn't ever let myself get too hungry. The times I am most likely to stuff myself or make bad food choices is when am really hungry, so I tried to make sure I didn't skip meals, and I kept some snacks in my purse, like almonds, to hold me over until I got to have my next proper meal.

The second thing I did was to make sure I never felt deprived, or like I was on a diet, so I tried to eat very yummy foods, or foods that felt indulgent. If I started to feel "sorry" for myself for being on a "diet" I would make sure I ate one of my favorites, like crab legs and butter, chicken wings, steak, stuff like that. It's hard for me to feel deprived when I am eating like that, so that made it much easier to stick with a LC way of eating.

These two things helped me to not eat off plan and made it so I rarely ever "cheated". It's not that I am a disciplined person, because I DEFINATELY am not! I just made sure I was enjoying the LC lifestyle so much, that I didn't get tempted to cheat!

I'm hoping that these two rules help me stick to this way of eating. There are areas that I have not been very successful at and they continue to be a struggle for me. The biggest one is with exercise. I am having major difficulty with becoming an exerciser, and am failing that one big time! I also have not done very well with remembering to take vitamins, and I know I need to. I've also not done well getting into the habit of drinking enough water. So, I have plenty I need to keep working at, and I will continue to turn to the forum for advice and inspiration.

[rachelratz]

Gongrats!!! Good going. Good you mentioned you bust did not get smaller. There are actually a few women afraid to lose weight because they have a fear their bust line will shrink! Girl...you get curves AFTER you can skinny.

[ddaniels]

RachelRatz- You're certainly an inspiration! How have you manged to keep your weight off for all these years??

[Jonahsafta]

DDaniels...thank you for your sharing your wisdom! It is encouraging!

Rachel, wow! What have been the things youve learned on your maintenance journey?