Ok, so I have been very, VERY good with my eating, fairly good with exercise, and the evil scale has not indicated all my 'goodness' with a lower number. I refuse to get discouraged, because this mini-epiphany came to me:
I am a work in progress, and this takes time. A lot more time than when I was younger, for sure.
So I am envisioning this unwanted fat as either scale-buildup (appropriate, no??) or really old yucky wallpaper in a large room.
These things take a lot of effort to remove, and a lot of time to get it right. So, keeping with the whole home improvement theme, and loosely referencing the 'body is a temple' school of thought, I'm conducting a prolonged and careful update and improvement of my body.
Lots of effort, lots of time, and the eventual outcome will be worth it.
I wish with all my heart I had listened to those older and wiser saying how much harder it is to lose as you get older. But then again, I wish I had never had the crappy things happen that led to extreme overeating in the first place.... You can't change the past, only how you deal with now. Slow and steady, work in progress, outcome (and journey) will be worth it.
Stay on track folks - we ARE worth it!!!

I'm 58 and this is my 3rd try on Atkins. But I'm not going to look back and regret, except to try and learn what I did wrong -- and fix it.

But last time I was in the throes of menopause and after 2 weeks of induction, I barely lost 4 pounds and I was pretty discouraged.

Now, after the hormones seem to be all settled down, I just lost 20 pounds in 25 days! Of course, since I have a long journey, I assume there will be stalls and slow-downs, but this weight loss has given me new hope.

And, now at this age, with losses and cancers in my family, I am more determined that ever that this is the last time. It helps that I have a great support system.

Let's look forward!

You've got it right. It takes the mindset to remember that this is a healthy way of eating, not a diet that you "white knuckle" through, then go off of. And avoid the slippery slope of cheating because it is insidious.

This is what has happened for me (the same epiphany) and IV e much lessened the stress of what the scale says. I know I'm getting healthier. Every day.

Hey there! I hope you are still doing well with your new outlook. Weight loss is a lesson in patience. Weight loss is a weird process. As my doc says, weight loss is not linear. We've been tricked into thinking that effort on our part should show immediate results on the scale. Sometimes the scale is really evil.

That is why we need other tools in our tool belt for this long journey. Things I use:

1. Tape measure. Measuring those body parts regularly. For me every, 2 weeks. Often when the scale is not yielding, you are actually getting smaller.

2. NSVs. Non-scale victories. Feeling better. Being able to walk further or go up the stairs without losing your breath(this was a huge one for me). Staying X number of days on plan. Smaller clothing sizes. Compliments from other people. I record them all in my journal and a small note book. I read them when I get discouraged to see how far I have actually come.

3. Mental shift. Making a commitment to self-love. Part of that to me is fueling my body with things it needs to be healthy. That carby "treat" might taste good and give me momentary pleasure, but it is not really in my best interest. Cheating only really cheats myself. Cheats me out of the good health I need to do what I want in life. But also, the self love to know that if I make a mistake, I don't throw in the towel. I immediately get back on track. Not the next day or week. Now. Loving myself enough to forgive and move on. This can be hard when we've had people looking down on us because of our weight for many, many years. Sometimes we don't feel worthy, but we are!

4. Mental shift. Time is a gift. Here is the thing: we TDC people have been given a gift. It takes us more time to lose the weight. The time it takes is a gift, because we develop consistent healthy eating patterns over the long term. It takes a long time to build healthy habits. Once we get used to eating healthful, it will be easier to continue and maintain past our weight loss goal. We are using our time to overcome using food as a reward and a comfort. We learn other ways than eating to deal with stress. 15 months and 107 pounds lost, but I am still not to goal. I am looking at it this way. There must be still some lessons I need to learn before I get to goal.

5. Mental shift. Celebrate. Be proud of every accomplishment - big and small. Don't ruin accomplishments by putting a time stamp on them (except celebrating days on plan). Don't punish yourself if you aren't X weight by X day. I did a little something for myself at each 10 pound increment and each 10% percent of weight loss. Not just scale numbers either. Wearing smaller clothes and my wedding ring actually fitting. My rewards are non-food obviously. Mostly small things, but one huge thing for me was buying an outfit from a more expensive store that I loved when I could finally fit into their sizes again.

Best wishes and success to you!

Great thoughts, Renee, thank you -- very helpful.

Glad you found it useful. Best wishes and much success to you!

I talked to a friend of mine. She had quit Weight Watchers last year because it wasn't working fast enough. She then said that really was just an excuse for not staying on the plan. She said, "If I had just stuck with it, the tiny losses I was accomplishing each week would have added up to what I wanted to lose. Now I'm a little heavier than I was when I quit, and am no farther along. I should have just stuck with it."

That's how I am motivating myself - just sticking with it. It's a big picture kind of thing, and overall I FEEL better, so that will be my main gauge of success. And I do feel better, with a little more energy each week.

Oh that I could tell my younger self all this before I gained all my weight. Sigh. Ah well, Happy and Low Carb Monday All!! Stay healthy!

Wise words. I've been keeping my weight down since 1972 when I first read Atkin's book. Inevitably, I would think I had myself and my weight "under control" only to find the pounds back. I'm sorry to tell you that it didn't get easier for me. Once fat, my body just wanted to go back there.

So the mind set had to change. This isn't something to go on and then off. Not for me. Not any more. It's truly a WayOfLife.

This metaphor really works for me. It helps me get my head around what the process I'm undertaking actually is. It's not just weight loss.

Well said. Thanks for these ideas, they are helpful.
If I can handle measuring myself I guess it would be good to see the change. Definitely feeling exponential NSVs already. Just changing the fuel changes everything.

Bluesinger - yes. This is not something to hop on and off, it has to be a complete mindset and way of life forever. I'm glad you've had long term success in maintenance, because those kinds of stories give hope!
Leshabar - measuring can give you a huge mental boost in determination, especially if the pounds don't move on the scale. I don't know where we lose from sometimes, but the body shape does shift, even when the scale doesn't. Someone called it the "whoosh fairy" - you have no scale progress, none, none, and then WHOOSH, you lose a bunch I like that effect!!! But the lost inches definitely keep you motivated in between.
Keep focused on the eventual goal, and the daily victories!