I was going to title this something like struggles in weight loss and maintenance, but I really want to focus on reframing that word.  

Debby wrote an eloquent post on this subject the other day, and she commented to me about how it was good to hear someone else with the same issues.

I get emails or comments from time to time about how I stay so focused and determined.  Here’s the secret – I struggle, too!  I really think being a successful loser and maintainer is understanding that you are going to face tough times and you won’t always win.  Put me around certain foods or in certain situations and I will face plant into enough food to make me uncomfortably full – even when that was not my plan.

Sometimes it is just the urge to let up and eat.  When that happens, I refer to it as the old me having a temper tantrum.

Old me:  I want to just eat without thinking about it.  It’s not fair that other people can eat food and not gain weight.  Why can’t I just eat what I want when I want?

Following cues from the Beck book, I try to reason with said self with things like:  You know you don’t need to eat 6 servings of cereal, 1 is enough.  Of course it isn’t fair, but you just have to accept that and move on.  You can eat whatever you want when you want, but you have to be prepared to weigh 250 pounds again.

The old me sounds pretty petulant, right?  That voice pops out from time to time and sometimes reasoning with it just doesn’t work.  It’s much easier to give in.  We’ve all been there.

I have learned that when I do give in, it isn’t the end of the world.  I won’t gain back 100 pounds with 1 day of bingeing.  I do seem to be able to stop it pretty quick these days, though, and I think that is the result of years of practice.  I am not like a lot of the bloggers or people on forums I read that charge on down to goal losing a large amount of weight and keep it off.  It’s been such a long process (years) for me both physically and mentally.  This blog has actually been a useful tool for me to ponder things and get feedback (so thank you, gentle readers!).

I do win sometimes, though.  And all that good food you see on my blog is the result of learning to love different foods and making them taste good.  If you haven’t read my food philosophy, you can here.

I guess I would leave you with the thoughts that even when you get down to a happy weight, don’t expect to magically stay there, or that you are completely changed.  Heck, the journey down is the same way.  As imperfect beings, there will always be challenges, but what will make you successful is how you cope with those when they arise and learning how to speak to yourself with kindness.