After losing some weight on LC, I fell off the wagon and, despite attempts, have not been able to get back on.

Now I'm the heaviest I've ever been. Dangerously close to the 300 mark.

I'm still mobile and such, but I've noticed that things like shaving my legs are starting to really take a lot of effort and are tiring. It's starting scare me a lot.

I'm not really sure what I'm asking for...I guess just I assume some of you were once at this point? How did you get your mind right so that your health started going in the right direction? What did you do?

Personally I was motivated by a cancer scare. About 20% of people who get multiple blood clots (I did) have a fatal form of cancer. Once tests were completed that showed I had no genetic issue, my risk went up to 40%. I had also cut my life insurance down three years before because I had two kids in college and decided to chance it. A big mistake. I felt like I had failed my family and was determined to get into the best shape I could so I could fight cancer.

Since then the cancer scare has faded away (goes to 0% if nothing shows up in two years) and I think I was very fortunate in my motivation. I was fighting something external or at least something I didn't cause. So much of weight loss is mental. Few things are more personal than what we put in our mouths. We can't quit eating like we do smoking. We still have to eat. It takes A LOT of metal energy to change the way we eat. Add to that motivation by self criticism and I think for most people it takes more mental energy than they have.

Here is what I suggest. Don't be so self critical. Don't dwell on the bad, the negative, the things that drain you. That might even mean NOT weighing yourself every day/week/month. For instance, think before standing on that scale, trying on that pair of pants or peeing on that ketostick, "If I'm disappointed do I have enough in my tank to get over the disappointment?" If not, don't do it. Do try to make changing what you eat seem thoughtless, natural and simple. Get past induction. Relax as much as you can.

Keep calm and keto on.

Before I started my current weight loss effort back in February I was in really bad shape. I won't get into details, but I too was starting to lose the ability to do normal life functions. My weight and health was becoming a significant issue and my quality of life was headed downhill fast. I saw a news story in January that talked about one thing that all people who have lost lots of weight and kept it off have in common... They don't cheat. They stick to their plan.

I took this idea to heart and started another diet hoping (as always) that this time would be different. I started doing the only diet I'd ever had any luck with... this one -- a low carb diet. The only difference this time is that my mantra was never to cheat. By cheat, I mean indulging in the carb loaded junk that I know will set off my crave monster. My goal was to stay under 30 net carbs per day... but when I was fighting those initial cravings I allowed myself to eat as much low carb (plan) food as I wanted, even if it threw me off on the carb count for the day. I was used to large portions of food and I still had the urge to eat large meals. So I could gorge or even binge if I had to, but it was NOT going to be a food that was off plan. I ate until I was stuffed. But I refused to cheat on the carby stuff I was craving. I made it a rule that I simply would not break. To my surprise, I was actually able to do it. I didn't have a lot of confidence that I could or would -- but I did manage to get it done. Within weeks, my cravings subsided and my portion sizes fell quickly to a normal amount of food. I just didn't want to eat so much. Not cheating became easier to do with each passing day. Eventually (within 3 or 4 months) sticking to my plan became easy and I actually started to enjoy my new diet. I was feeling great, had more energy, and was losing weight. I was no longer tormented by cravings and had gained a control over what I eat that I'd never experienced before. Feelings of deprivation faded away and I actually started to believe that I just might actually reach my goal this time. I didn't want to screw this up. What I was doing was really working. And I have to say, the simple idea of getting through each and every day without cheating was the key to my new-found success and this is the only way I could have gotten to the place where I am now.

Learning from this site and other sources, my way of thinking about diet and what I eat started morphing into something new. I realize that my old way of eating was for enjoyment and to satisfy my cravings. My new way of eating is to satisfy my body and my health. The idea of making this a perminant lifestyle started to sink in. The idea of eliminating the unhealthy carb loaded food forever started to soak in. I've reached a point where I just don't even entertain the thought of cheating anymore. Am I still tempted? Yes. That will probably never change. But I don't play head games with myself anymore to come up with an acceptable excuse or reason to cheat. I don't cheat so that I will stay in control. The temptation to cheat is a whole lot easier to fight off than the aftermath of a cheat. I just don't eat those foods anymore, period. Giving in would result in another failure. That is not going to happen.

I did not start off this way of eating with all the answers for what it would take to be successful. I started it with the same doubts that I always have. I'm a pro with diet failure so why would I expect anything different? But focusing on that one thing - no cheating - seems to have gotten me over the hump. I'm over the struggle to stay on a diet and into a new way of life. I'm half way to goal and I'm filled with a new confidence that I will actually get there and stay there.

You can do it, too. Focus on one day at a time and do what ever it takes to stick with your plan. If you do, you will surprise yourself with what you can accomplish. I'm shocked as hell for what I've been able to do. I didn't really believe I could do it. I'm glad I'm proving myself wrong.

As a women OVER 300, it didn't really bother me too much, I just always assumed that eventually it would come off. Until recently, when I approached khrussva mentions, the cusp of "losing ability to do normal things".

To me, this was difficulty bending, a lot of lower joint pain, stairs a nightmare, seatbelt at the limit of it's extension, reaching the highest plus size available here in stores (would need to shop online), having difficulty fitting into normal sized chairs almost ANYWHERE, having a hard time standing up from a sitting position, or my personal favorite even having difficulty fitting in the bathtub, then struggling to get up out of it after!Or even reaching myself in the bathroom (sorry if TMI).

These days I really struggle with the diet still - mostly financially and emotionally. I'm a single Mom so have a lot of stress in my life, but each day when I wake up, I say to myself - "just make it through today" - and that applies to all areas of my life I also have a thyroid issue that seems to not be right. Of course my labs are normal, so the doctor dismisses my concerns but I typically fight to keep from gaining weight - loss would be a bonus! lol

I do plan my meals out so I don't get hungry, and to try and avoid surprises and temptations. Somedays, I'm pretty successful, others not - but my #1 rule is to avoid gluten. This I'm proud to say I've been GREAT at because I have such negative side affects from it (pain, fatigue, and extreme mood swings for one) and because it MAKES ME TERRIBLY HUNGRY (which goes back to being unable to resist bingeing) !!! If I do have a small potato, say, I'm satisified with that - though not low carb, I can stop after eating it, which I cannot say for pasta for example, where I could eat six plates before I'm full.

I'm probably not a person to talk about motivation, most days I wonder if I will ever get to a point where it's effortless but so far for me, it hasn't been. You just really need to rely on yourself to keep going. Find something that motivates you. If you fall off, start again, just keep going, do it again, and again and just don't stop! This is the best thing I can say.

Hope this helps you, best of luck on your journey.

What helped me the most was reading good books, specifically books about metabolic syndrome. Having a model in my head, a way to understand what that giant bowl of sugary cereal was doing to my insides helped to pull me out of that whirlpool.

My new understanding of the issue also helped me to filter out the self criticism. Once I understood there was a biological mechanism behind my binging behavior, I could step back and understand it as an illness rather than a personal shortcoming. This takes much of the emotion out of the equation. Of course emotion is an important part of decision making but at some point it becomes counterproductive, creating a dysfunctional negative feedback loop. Self loathing is never a good starting point.

Restarting a diet is hard. After a diet meltdown and regain episode (of which I have had many over the years) I always knew that I would eventually give it another go. But it was always hard to actually do. Really hard. And sometimes it took me months or years to get done. Unfortunately, the delays just made the job that much more difficult to do (more weight to lose).

A good analogy is that it is like standing at the side of a pool and you know the water is darn cold. Wading in slowly would just prolong the agony - so your plan is to just jump in and get it over with. But for some reason, you just stand there. You could do it now -- or -- 5 minutes from now. The result is going to be the same. It will be the old familiar "shock" of cold. You don't want to jump -- but you know you are going to. Eventually -- at some point -- you get your head in the right place and just do it.

I like Matlock's idea. It might be a good time for you to do some reading and find the motivation you need to jump in again. Don't keep jumping in if you are just going to crawl right back out. Just like cold water, you have to stay in it long enough for you to adjust and get used to it. Get your head in the right place and jump in when you are ready.

I hope this doesn't sound shallow, but what has really helped me is remembering - and repeating aloud as often as necessary - Yoda's words of wisdom: Do or do not...there is no try.

It helped that I met a diabetic with no legs and knew that I would end up just like him if I kept on eating like I was.

It's been just over a year since I started LC, and about 8 or 9 months since I got off Metformin. During that time I've had some small lapses and 1 major falling off the wagon. The only thing to do is climb back on. Whatever you do, don't feel sorry for yourself. If you want to add some drama, yell a bad word.

Just think of a future version of yourself. Maybe you're sick, unable to look after yourself, vision going, dialysis, wounds on the legs that won't heal, incontinent. What is that future version of your self going to think about the current version of yourself?

Almost two years ago this was me - though the *300* was, for me, *only 200*. I believed that I was eating in a healthy way - and I was, according to the food pyramid (!?), but inattention (and too much bread and pasta) was keeping my weight on a steady uphill climb. I finally realized that if this continued I would have to buy new, bigger clothes - I hate shopping for clothes! And I knew that once I bought those clothes I wouldn't feel too motivated to *waste* that money by not wearing them, so would not be too worried about losing the weight. So "enough is enough!", and I started working on making the clothes I already owned fit better. I have gone from a really tight 16 down to a 12, numerous aches and pains are lessened or stopped, I have more energy, and I can't fathom why I didn't do the whole thing sooner. I have another 15 or so pounds to go, and it is going very slowly, but I can't imagine, now that I *know how*, that I will ever allow myself to gain that weight back again. The *fat girl* clothes, and the possible/probable health problems associated with excess fat are very good motivations for me, now that my eyes have been opened.

I feel your pain piper. But you're heading in the right direction, you have acknowledge that there is an issue and you are willing to resolve it.

The heaviest I've ever weighed was 296 back about 20 years ago. I've been yo yoing my entire life, I've lost hundreds of pounds (probably close to 400...YIKES!) but I kept playing the game with myself, lose the weight then go back to eating the carb-age... rinse repeat recycle etc etc. It finally hit me that I SERIOUSLY needed to do something because I wasn't getting any younger... the pic in my gallery dated April 2013 finally did it... I don't know why... because I have other pics of myself... but that one was IT but I played about 6 weeks of yo yoing = eating to plan 100% for 4 days losing some weight and reward myself on the weekends with poor food choices... and of course gaining those pounds again... insane behavior then I kicked myself in my fat a$$ and said NO MORE... I know how to do this...just DO it and I did ~ today is day 502 for me on plan 100% with only one cheat which I learned a HUGE lesson from and never repeated.

Wishing you much success on your personal journey!

Jo

The motivation for me this time was fear.

Like many of us I'd tried it all and always ended up in the same old overweight, unhealthy place. Water fasting, juice fasting, appetite suppressant pills, diuretic pills, hypnotism, over-exercising, vegetarianism, veganism, raw foods, Weight Watchers, Overeaters Anonymous, every diet and diet-aide I ever heard about, including Atkins.....they all worked as long as I worked them. But I never worked them long enough.

So I gave up and went along with the low fat/high carb SAD like most of the country. It wasn't until I had lab results that made it clear I was a heart-attack waiting to happen that I had the motivation to try yet another diet (it happened to be South Beach). Every day I thought about dying (yes, really) if I didn't persevere. You are allowed to eat a few grains on SB but I was so scared I eliminated them and sugar completely. Getting off the cravings rollercoaster combined with sheer fear kept me going. When the fear subsided (with better lab results) the surprising, sustained, weight loss and vanity got me the rest of the way. Four years in and I'm GLAD I was so scared.

I'm with Nancy. If you are starting to be scared now because shaving your legs is tiring, think what's in store for you as you get older and your bad choices finally come home to roost: disease and dependence on others. That should scare the wits out of you. Turn it around now while you still can!

Fear is a great motivator. It was for me when I started out, this time, in 2004. I'm one of those who'd lost many times only to regain. That alone is so very deflating. We work so hard to lose anything and then stuff happens and we totally abandon our work.
The last time I had been working on losing weight was back in 1998 when my father died suddenly. Grief took over and I abandoned my efforts. I regained whatever I'd lost and then some.
In 2000, I was hospitalized with DVTs and a PE (Pulmonary Embolism). I could have died from that, It scared me a lot. Then 9/11 happened in 2001 and that scared me also as the fear of having to evacuate at my size was daunting. A power failure in 2003 was really scary when I had to walk 14 flights of stairs being morbidly obese.

All the time, I kept my experience of going to OA and FAA meetings in the back of my mind. Being abstinent, following a food plan( no sugar, no flour, no wheat), counting days of abstinence, logging all my food.....all things that I learned would be tools for me to just start, one day at a time. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

So I began, terrified that I'd fail yet again. But I kept coming here daily and logged my food into my journal mainly for accountability. That was the promise I made to myself, to log my food daily no matter what. That helped me a lot as I'd then read around the forum and I learned a lot from that time.

Each day I stayed on my plan, I got stronger in my resolve. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Months have now turned into over 10 years. But it all has to begin with just one day....one day at a time.

I hope that some of this helps you to begin.

I'd also like to add that taking on the task of losing more than 100 lbs. is daunting, to say the least. Truly very scary!
It was all the people who'd come here and had done it before me that gave me hope that I could do it too.
We are here for you when you decide to go for it.

YES! Just looking through the photo gallery in this forum totally changed my attitude about what is possible. There are so many success stories, people losing one or two hundred pounds and keeping it off. The whole adventure has been much easier than I thought it would be.

Know this, you CAN do it. All the people here who have gone before us are proof. It CAN be done. It DOES work to eat HFLC to lose body fat.

I did/do not have as much to lose as some, but it really doesn't matter. Mentally, I had started to think that NOTHING would work. MENTALLY I had started to lose hope. I mean, if you do EVERYTHING "right" according to your trainer, skinny girlfriend, marathon coach... and you STILL don't lose weight... then hope starts to go dark.

I was just SO HUNGRY. But now, I'm not.


You CAN do this. We all can and we are.

When you are ready, come join us! These boards are the best!

Hope to see you around.

Best, Jammie