You’re thinking it’s the New Year and this time I’m going to stick to my resolution to lose weight. HA! I made that promise to myself for probably 50 years before I finally lost 185 lbs. Oh sure, I was fine for the first few days and then I just never could stick with the diet du jour past Jan 5th.
I didn’t have time, I didn’t like the stuff I was told to eat, I hated shakes, I hated exercise, I loved good food, I’m a great cook, I have a big job with lots of restaurant lunches and dinners, business travel and conferences, working and commuting 60 hours a week! How could I possibly fit being on a diet, it’s so time consuming and felt like I was being punished.
I kept buying the next size up at Lane Bryant. Until I maxed out at their biggest size which at the time was 28 UGH! These are my old size 28 jeans!
Can you imagine how I felt when I stepped onto the doctor’s scale and it registered 315lbs? I had brain freeze. “OMG, I have to lose 200 lbs.” was the first thought I remember after that! The last time I was on a scale I was 280, where did these extra 35 lbs. come from? I also remember breaking out in a cold sweat. How the heck am I going to lose 200 lbs??? My brain was firing like a pinball machine. I was overwhelmed at the thought. Then the doctor delivered the final blow….he said “a woman at your height and weight will not live to see her 60th birthday.” WHAT? Did he just tell me I had 5 years to live? He suggested I go for a bariatric surgery consultation since I obviously couldn’t lose this much weight any other way. Time stood still for me at that moment.
I went for the consult, it was scary but the main reason I decided not to have the surgery was because I knew in my heart that I had never really fully devoted myself to losing the weight in a sensible, realistic healthy way. I had already tried every quick method, diet plan and pill out there, none of them worked for very long and none ever taught me why I was overeating in the first place or how to change that habit. Another reason why I elected not to have the surgery was because I knew that when I did apply myself to a “project” no matter how big or seemingly impossible I always delivered. That was my reputation at work and why I had such a big, high profile job in NY. I was the go to girl who could get anything done. So why couldn’t I lose the weight??? This isn’t rocket science! What’s wrong with me? I asked myself these questions a thousand times a day.
Then I started to think about this weight loss idea from a new perspective. Maybe if I made myself the “project” and approached my weight loss the way I would a big work assignment, then maybe I could find a way. It was that or start counting the Christmases left to celebrate. I decided that I wanted to live. But I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea of losing 200 lbs. I knew that everything I had done up to that point was obviously not working so I decided to do things differently. Not all at once and nothing really big, just small changes that I could live with every day. These changes became part of me and my new routine.
“I wasn’t on a diet, this is just how I eat now”, is what I’d tell people. I had no clue what I was doing, but as long as it was different than before I figured it had to work. It took me 6 weeks to lose a pound. I kept testing and learning. Failure was not an option.
How did I stay motivated through 6 weeks of trial and error before I lost any weight? I had to re-think everything – a diet is temporary, restrictive and easily abandoned. “I am not on a diet; this is how I eat now.” And then finally the weight began to drop. Still, it took 3 months before anyone noticed. That was ok with me; my motivation soared when the first person complemented me. But I wasn’t doing this to look good or for compliments, I was doing this in order to live. My motivation which used to be so elusive was coming from within me.
That’s how I found my compelling reason to make my health a priority. I stuck with it, lost 185 lbs. in 18 months and I’ve maintained my weight loss for over 5 years. I turned 60 this year! And best of all, I’ve started a Weight Loss Coaching Practice to teach anyone who is truly motivated to lose weight –how to do it realistically, naturally and so that it lasts. It is such a joy to teach people how to do this.
This year, instead of declaring the usual vague New Year’s resolution to lose weight, just decide that you are going find your compelling reason WHY you want to lose weight. This reason will be your guiding star as you make small realistic permanent changes in how you think about food and your health. Make your goal to lose 5 lbs. And when you do, you can decide if you want to lose 5 more. I promise this will change your life!