Are You Too "Weight" Comfortable
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
This past week, Andrew from Andrew Is Getting Fit had an interesting post about the dangers of being comfortable.
He said: "One thing I was thinking about while running today is that how I’m in danger of becoming derailed from my healthy eating plans as I’m extremely comfortable with where I am at the moment. I find that I’m not eating as clean as I could because I’m not that fussed about losing weight anymore. I just want to not gain weight if that makes sense. The danger with this approach is that it is very easy to tip from having the odd snack to having a lot of snacks and then regaining the weight." He also posed the question about how his readers deal with it.
So, that lead me into this post today & also a continuation from my post yesterday & Monday on motivation & how I personally keep going on after all these years. I remember way back when as I first started to lose weight that I just wanted to be thinner. Of course back then, all girls/women wanted to be 100-105 pounds. I was in high school & I just did not want to be the fat one anymore. I wanted to be "thin". I don't recall striving for a certain weight although that 100 was in my subconscious. I just kept thinking about being thin. I did not have a goal weight in mind. I had a way I wanted to look in the mirror in my mind.
Now, saying that, back then it was not what I am now, obviously. But the thing about my whole weight loss journey from high school to now is that even though I definitely did it wrong back then, I still never looked at my weight loss with an end to the day to day living/eating healthier & working out. There was never any end date for me. I was always going to be a work in progress because that is life.
I know for some that this may not be what you want to hear. For me, I already knew that I gained weight easily & it was hard to get off so this was going to be a life long journey whether I looked good in the mirror or not. I was always going to have to eat better, watch what I ate, be careful of "getting comfortable", keep up the exercise and be diligent always.
Now, I am not saying that you can't enjoy, because as long as you are aware, you can enjoy. It is when you just get off track & don't get back. Believe me, the weight does come back on fast! Way faster that it takes to get it off! You can have your favorite foods and/or foods that you so love BUT me, as well as you, have to realize that you can't eat them all the time or any time you want to anymore. You just can't say I got to this weight, now I can start eating again.
If you recall my posts on my CHALLENGE about picking at food & taking bites of this or that. Before you know it, you have added at least 500 calories a day which is 3500 calories per week which is 1 pound per week which is 52 pounds per year! Now 500 a day may be extreme for some BUT I have seen weight loss stories where the person actually did this! Something to think about! Many of us fool ourselves about how much we are actually eating each & every day!
So, back to Andrew & the dangers of being comfortable. You can try my approach which basically is that I never established an end date for myself. I always said to myself that this will be life long.. and it has. We change, our jobs & family status change, our stress levels change and man oh man our bodies change. I have always been a work in progress and always will. At times I have been fine where I am but knew I would always have to watch my food. At other times, I saw changes that needed to be made and/or I established new goals & challenges. I think for me, this has been why I maintained & exceeded for so long. I always find things that I want to do to improve or challenge myself and/or new things to try out. AND I knew & still know that this is a life journey with no end date. I am a healthy work in progress, always will be BUT I know how to handle it & how to make sure that eating is not the enemy. I know how to handle it & I can enjoy & get right back to it always.
This past week, Andrew from Andrew Is Getting Fit had an interesting post about the dangers of being comfortable. He said: "One thing I was thinking about while running today is that how I’m in danger of becoming derailed from my healthy eating plans as I’m extremely comfortable with where I am at the moment. I find that I’m not eating as clean as I could because I’m not that fussed about losing weight anymore. I just want to not gain weight if that makes sense. The danger with this approach is that it is very easy to tip from having the odd snack to having a lot of snacks and then regaining the weight." He also posed the question about how his readers deal with it.
So, that lead me into this post today & also a continuation from my post yesterday & Monday on motivation & how I personally keep going on after all these years. I remember way back when as I first started to lose weight that I just wanted to be thinner. Of course back then, all girls/women wanted to be 100-105 pounds. I was in high school & I just did not want to be the fat one anymore. I wanted to be "thin". I don't recall striving for a certain weight although that 100 was in my subconscious. I just kept thinking about being thin. I did not have a goal weight in mind. I had a way I wanted to look in the mirror in my mind.
Now, saying that, back then it was not what I am now, obviously. But the thing about my whole weight loss journey from high school to now is that even though I definitely did it wrong back then, I still never looked at my weight loss with an end to the day to day living/eating healthier & working out. There was never any end date for me. I was always going to be a work in progress because that is life.
I know for some that this may not be what you want to hear. For me, I already knew that I gained weight easily & it was hard to get off so this was going to be a life long journey whether I looked good in the mirror or not. I was always going to have to eat better, watch what I ate, be careful of "getting comfortable", keep up the exercise and be diligent always.
Now, I am not saying that you can't enjoy, because as long as you are aware, you can enjoy. It is when you just get off track & don't get back. Believe me, the weight does come back on fast! Way faster that it takes to get it off! You can have your favorite foods and/or foods that you so love BUT me, as well as you, have to realize that you can't eat them all the time or any time you want to anymore. You just can't say I got to this weight, now I can start eating again.
If you recall my posts on my CHALLENGE about picking at food & taking bites of this or that. Before you know it, you have added at least 500 calories a day which is 3500 calories per week which is 1 pound per week which is 52 pounds per year! Now 500 a day may be extreme for some BUT I have seen weight loss stories where the person actually did this! Something to think about! Many of us fool ourselves about how much we are actually eating each & every day!
So, back to Andrew & the dangers of being comfortable. You can try my approach which basically is that I never established an end date for myself. I always said to myself that this will be life long.. and it has. We change, our jobs & family status change, our stress levels change and man oh man our bodies change. I have always been a work in progress and always will. At times I have been fine where I am but knew I would always have to watch my food. At other times, I saw changes that needed to be made and/or I established new goals & challenges. I think for me, this has been why I maintained & exceeded for so long. I always find things that I want to do to improve or challenge myself and/or new things to try out. AND I knew & still know that this is a life journey with no end date. I am a healthy work in progress, always will be BUT I know how to handle it & how to make sure that eating is not the enemy. I know how to handle it & I can enjoy & get right back to it always.
Looking forward to your thoughts about my way of life, Andrew's comment & how you handle the question about maintenance & being too comfortable.
Tomorrow I will have a continuation of this theme & some specific suggestions from people that lost a lot of weight & how they keep themselves going. Please check back!
Posted by truth2beingfit at 3/24/2010 12:01 AM 
Categories: Motivation/Support, Exercise, Life Experiences, Health, workout, Dieting, Challenges, Tips
Tags: acceptance Diets lifestyle fitness Exercise Tips workouts health life experiences challenges
Categories: Motivation/Support, Exercise, Life Experiences, Health, workout, Dieting, Challenges, Tips
Tags: acceptance Diets lifestyle fitness Exercise Tips workouts health life experiences challenges
Excellent post, Jody, and obviously along the lines of what I need to hear right now. I think that part of why I stumbled yesterday is because the constant fight can get to be a bit much at times. But, it is worth it!
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It is a journey for sure! You are doing great! Come back Thursday for more help! I hope what I am writing about helps even more.
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Much needed post. I'll have to check out Andrew also. Maintaining is harder to me than loosing. There's so much "drama" (and attention) around the lose and now its' the daily way of living and up to yours truly. It's like everyone else went home and the party continues. I like your no end date. I think that is my approach I just never verbalized it that way.
This is a great comment - "Now, I am not saying that you can't enjoy, because as long as you are aware, you can enjoy." Love it. Sara
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Thx Sara! I so appreciate your comments!
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I too was focused on numbers when I was younger. In the last 20 years I have read and researched enough that my focus now is on living a healthy lifestyle everyday of my life. When you eat whole foods and exercise, weight loss/maintenance is a natural side effect.
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Karen, so true! I think after we have been at this & as we age, it becomes so much more about being healthy & a lifestyle!
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GREAT POST.
It is a lifelong journey. It took me many, many failed attempts at "dieting" to realize this.
I was just having a conversation about the topic of getting comfortable/losing weight and gaining it back with my mom. She's never had a problem with losing (I do!) but her problem has been once she loses it, she gains it all back because she feels like it's "okay" to eat what she wants when she gets to goal. The fact of the matter is, it's not okay. You have to eat in moderation. It's a learning process, but I'm convinced I can do it and she can too. Being aware is the biggest thing.
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You are doing awesome! I wish for your mom that she can get control! Maybe my Thursday post will have something in it to help her...
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I encourage people to be happy where they are, and to strive to continually improve. Change with life in inevitable, so attempting to change in a positive direction will do no harm!
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Great points Dr. J!
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Yes, we are back from our trip! And boy oh boy did we ever EAT!! I need to get back on track starting today..thanks for the reminder of we are all a work in progress !
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Sian, glad you had fun!!! That is important! Yup, just get back to it! That is what works.
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Such a great post Jody. Like you, I feel like I am a work in progress for life. However, I do fall into the 'feeling comfortable' category. I like how I look now, even though I could lose 10 more pound, and that creates a bit of push and pull inside of me as to how far I really want to go to see more improvement.
It's that balance thing.
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Thx Lori! It is so great that you are happy with yourself. So many are not. It is all in what we want for ourselves & how much we want to push oursleves especially if we are happy where we are... You have done amazing things with your weight loss!
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Weight loss and/or maintaining your weight needs to mix in with your life. It's not something that will happen over night. It's part of my life! I want to be healthy and fit but I have to work at it everyday. Great post!!
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Jen, so true, We all have to take steps each day & be good to ourself. Make ourself a priority.
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I love how you said you don't have an end date! That is exactly how we need to live our lives! That is why you are fit at 52!
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April, thx! No end date works for me.
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I hadn't begun to think about any future "maintenance" phase of my life, but when I started this in September, I knew I was making lifelong commitments. Great things to think about Jody...and I'm so glad you learned from when you were younger and started doing it the healthy way.
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Josie, I know you will be able to do this! Check out my Thursday post for more!
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