How many tries did it take you till you were fully committed to a healthier lifestyle?

From what I have seen when an individual chooses to change the direction of an aspect of their life it seems to take more than one try...

Whether it is quitting smoking, stopping an addiction etc...

So I am curious how many attempts or even years did it take you till you were able to consistently pursue healthy eating and/or regular exercise to maintain an "average"/healthy weight?

Personally, it has been several years of slowly transitioning from dysfunctional thoughts of eating and food to being able to treat my body well through healthy food and exercise. I am still trying (and failing) but every re-newed attempt I get closer to my goals.

I'd say it took me about 3 years and many many attempts.  I think I have found a happy medium where I am healthier but not sacrificing too much.  Thats what always did me in, I would go overboard and then burn out and gain the weight back. 

Personally, it has been several years of slowly transitioning from dysfunctional thoughts of eating and food to being able to treat my body well through healthy food and exercise. I am still trying (and failing) but every re-newed attempt I get closer to my goals.

This process is still ongoing for me, too, but I'm finding myself, by far, the most successful this time because I now finally view it as a necessary lifestyle change and behavior mod., not a "diet, gotta lose it quick."  I am more hopeful than ever this time is for good.  I fall off the wagon but, unlike before, I now realize all is not lost and no longer think, "Well, might as well go ahead and order that large pizza, extra cheese, and eat the whole thing."  I get up and climb back on it instead, uhhh, the wagon, not the pizza. 

My first diet was at age 8.  I'm now 33.  I had done the Cambridge, Herbalife, cabbage soup, and 7-day "diets," Nutri-System, and others, more than once each, before the age of 13.  Nutri-System I did in the 7th grade.

I had lost count of how many times I've tried and failed . . . ohhh, somewhere back around a gigatrillion, I'd imagine, let's just say 25 years and lots and lots of pizzas . . . 

I tried so many fad quick-fix diets in the past. (and failed)

When I started on February 1st, it wasn't an impulse, but rather a long thought out decision ... in short the thought process went something like this: I weigh 284 at 5'10".  I will have a normal healthy BMI at 170 (top end of normal being 24.8).  Therefore I need to lose 114 lbs.  WOW!  What a mammoth undertaking!  Hmmm, I don't think I can stick to any "diet" long enough to lose anywhere near that amount of weight ... what can I do?  Reduced portion size, healthier choices which give excellent nutrition, have low calories ...  maybe burn a few extra calories with some kind of activity (not exercise, I hate gyms ...), maybe walking? bicycling? swimming? 

So I basically started doing what CC recommends, even though I didn't find the CC website until mid-May.  I really like all the calculators and logs ... makes doing what I decided to do so much easier!

I have given up artificial sweeteners because they made me feel so hungry.  I also discovered that sugar and white flour products never satisfied me and kept me feeling hungry all the time ... so I have virtually eliminated them.  It has been much easier to eliminate these items than it would be for me to have regular portions on a daily basis.

I'm into the healthy lifestyle for 5 months now.  I can well imagine myself living like this for the rest of my life ... just a few calories more a day.  I now enjoy the foods I used to turn my nose up at.  I'm really content.    I've lost 59 lbs in these 5 months and have another 55 (at least) to go.  My online CC "coach" says I should reach my GW of 170 in July of 2009 ... so a little more than a year from now. 

I haven't fallen off of the wagon so far, but I do make conscious decisions what I will allow myself when eating away from home.  I'm learning to make healthy choices if they are available, and if they're not available to eat in moderation and make up for it the next day.  You know, when I'm out by allowing myself a certain amount of foods I would normally no longer eat, I don't overeat and I don't feel guilty about it either.

I think we all have to learn to make choices on a daily basis. 

My first attempt at weight loss occurred two years ago, right after I graduated high school. My husband had left for bootcamp, and I didn't want him to be the only one who was changing emotionally and physically.

However, I took things a bit too far, and almost cycled into an unhealthy eating habit (severely restricting calories and over exercising for the amount I was eating...on average I think I ate somewhere close to 1000-1200 calories a day and was trying to burn 300-500 of those calories off by exercise). When he came back from bootcamp, I slowed my weight loss attempt down and went to maintaining, as my routine of exercise and restrictive calories was too tough to do long term, for me.

I only ended up gaining 20lbs of the 30 I lost back over the course of the past year and a half or so, as I fell off the wagon and fell of it for quite a while. Back in January, I started to get back on it again, found out I was pregnant, later miscarried, and took it easy through February while my husband was still home before he deployed. Once he deployed, I vowed to start another attempt at weight loss starting March 1st, and I have pretty much been on the wagon 90% of the time since. =) I still have moments where I threaten to fall off (my exercise needs to step up a bit), but I still make an effort to watch my calories, at the very least.

This is my first attempt at losing weight and it will be my last, I somehow was in denial of the fact that i was looming on 300lbs for the longest while and i was almost 330lbs when i finally realized just how gross i had become.

The changes that i have made is something that i can do forever, so I know that this is the first and last attempt at weight loss ... slow yes .. but im happy with that =)

I quit smoking once about 5 years ago .. and was quit for 3 years .. i then started again ... but i quit again in October of last year.

I smoked alot (2 packs a day) and quit cold turkey both times. I dont think i will ever smoke again, its counter productive to my new healthy lifestyle =)

K

29 years?  I'm 30 now.

I've started and stopped smoking a number of times.  I still won't rule out having just one every once in a blue moon.  I haven't smoked even one since December, though.

This is the first time in my life I've made any sort of commitment to excersise.  I'm going on seven months of consistant work outs.

9 years of talk but this is the first conscious attempt to change my lifestyle and become fit.  About 4 years ago, I lost a bunch of weight "without trying" and not only put it back on but more.  I seem to lose weight every summer when I walk and swim with my son but immediately gain it back.  This year, I started during winter and will still be on the "weight loss" trek during the fall.  So, I'll be heading towards winter with the wind at my back. 

i dont know how many times yet lol.. i dont know if this time will be that time... id like it to be, but im not seeing any movement on the scale yet, so i dont know.Ive never followed a fad.. they all seemed so silly! Well.. is the Body for life diet a fad? lol i did that once... but i wasnt losing any weight (the bf did tho, grr). Ive always just calorie counted... it worked once for me, lost 20 lbs n then moved n put it all back on.. n kept gaining, so i HOPE this is the last time.

I did the usual daft diets in my twenties and thirties but I think the whole 'change your lifestyle' message really only hit home when I hit 40.  Mortality suddenly became reality!  In the past I was only concerned about the cosmetic.  Today I still like to look as good as I can but it's not quite as important as keeping that blood-pressure reading sensible.  Maybe that's an inevitable part of the ageing process?

My  attitude changed and, with practice, so has my lifestyle.   But I've tailored it very much to my tastes.  I decided which dietary vices to keep... the glass of wine... and which to dispense with... chinese takeaways.  And, because I'm a lover of great food and I like to entertain, I've devoted the last few years to relearning how to cook fabulous stuff but in a more healthy way.  (Guests appreciate lighter meals too... go figure) The nut I find the toughest to crack is exercise.  Give me a spade and an untidy garden and I can dig for hours on end quite happily.  But put me on a training machine and I'm looking at my watch after 10 minutes.  Still working on that one!

it's been an ongoing process since i was about 16 or 17. but i am still learning the process and trying to "do right" instead of just "knowing" and not doing what i know to do. i still have my days where i feel like being lazy or ordering a pizza when i have chicken and broccoli in the fridge. but i think i am much better informed than i used to be and much more equipped to make wiser decisions to reach my goal. i'm getting in the best shape i can be in and helping to motivate others around me as well

I'm on my third "diet," but I'm not actually calling this one a diet; this is the first one I'm calling a lifestyle change.  Sure, I will probably jump on and off the bandwagon, but I think this time I'm really committed.  :)  So I guess the answer is...three?

It has been a 10 yr. process for me. I am a yo-yo dieter. It has been the last year that I realized I needed a change in eating habits and to do that I had to change my thinking.  Before, I just did not care. Thin has never motivated me because I do not want to be thin, I like curves LOL and want to keep my curves soft . Clothing never motivated me and certainly, famous people have never motivated me, my desire was and has never to be a clone, I am unique and like that.  I did not care if my arteries were clogging.  If I died, I died and that was my attitude for most of my life. Through a series of unfortunate events, I have had a life change.  The last month it  hit me that I am not going to diet, I am changing habits to become healthy. I have blown it several times by binge eating when emotions have been involved. Last weekend and most of this week.

Walking out doors is my thing. I like to walk but am bipolar and have a anxiety disorder so sometimes it is hard for me to mentally get out the door to walk . Today, I walked in place for 25 mins. straight. It was not much but it was something.

I am trying to be harsh with myself and just keep plugging away.

I am grateful for this site. It is really helping me concentrate and see myself more clearer.

 

Having always been a "big girl" from puberty I never worried too much about my weight until I started having health problems, sure I got fed up when I couldn't buy fashionable clothes over the years but I always made an effort to look good at my size. There has been the occassional attempt to lose weight and the time when I lost more than 14lbs in a short time after an operation, but it always went back with more besides. Ending up at 222lbs at 5' 2".
Then in my forties I started having problems with my blood pressure, medication helped, but I'm now 56 and I've had enough of feeling unwell (in fact really ill), not being able to buy nice clothes, not being fit enough to have fun with my very new grandkids and on February 5th I joined CC. Since then I've had good times and bad times and managed to lose 14lbs and gain back 7 and lose 5 again but I'm determined that this will be my last TRY and will at some point become my way of life without me having to think about it.
It isn't going to be easy or plain sailing by any means, as anyone who has read any of my journal enteries will know. I stumble and fall often but I just have to get back up again and keep going because I want to feel good for whatever time I have left on this earth.
So here's to all of us who have tried, tried and tried again and the very fact that we are still trying, good luck and good health.

Dess

 

ONE TIME!!  Once I put my mind to doing something I do it.  In May 2000, after 16 years of smoking, I decided it would be best for me to quit.  So I did......cold turkey!  I haven't touched another one since.  April 21, 2008 I weighed 193 lbs.  Mind you I was active then and even more so now, but I decided to lose weight.  I quit eating past 7:00 p.m. ENTIRELY, cut my calories to anywhere between 2000-2250, and exercise daily.  I run every 2nd day and do circuit training on the days between.  When I run, I either run hills for 4-5 miles or timed intervals on flat ground for 4-6 miles.  I now weigh 168 lbs and have lost 4 inches off my waist.  Once I reach my goal of 160, I will just maintain.  By the way, I never deprive myself of anything.  If I want it, I eat it.  But then I make up for it the next day by eating less calories and more exercise.  On days where I feel I need to burn more calories I even vacuum the house, sometimes 3 times a week.  My wife loves it.

Oh boy.

I've always been told I was overweight, whether by family, relatives, friends (of the family), or doctors.  Finally around five years ago, I joined WeightWatchers at 5'3, 190 pounds, and only twelve.  I lost weight rather rapidly and got into a bad habit of under-eating.  By January of 2004, I was 120 pounds.  But that quickly changed as I began to binge more and more.

I developed a really unhealthy relationship with food and began bad habits of purging and taking laxatives as well.  As a result, I packed on the pounds and stood at 200+ pounds in April of 2007.

With the help of my boyfriend and a new determination to be healthy, I decided that enough was enough and that it was time to do things the right way.  Since that decision, I have lost over sixty pounds!  I did, however, fall off the wagon sometime in February and gained twenty pounds, which I've lost again by now, so really I guess you could say I lost eighty xD.

It took me been about ten years since I started fighting with myself in terms of self-image and health.. I was always an overweight child, growing up I became somewhat thin but I always ate the wrong foods and never included the good ones. Since my pregnancy over a year ago, I have tried two times since then and the second was when I joined this website.

 

I wasn't ready to commit to a healthy lifestyle which included exercise, proper eating and body nourishment. Before, I had never made it past two weeks on a "diet". Now, I've lost 5 lbs in three weeks so far and I'm extremely motivated. Now that my young toddler is no long a baby, he eats our food and no longer baby food. I know as long as he is eating right (veggies, grains, meats, alternatives, fruit, etc,.), I will be too!

 

I have to work on quitting smoking now..

This is my 2nd attempt at a lifestyle change, and it sure as H#%$ will be my last!  I've come to the conclusion that you have to maintain a healthy lifestyle for an entire year before it really sticks with you.  Think about it, you survive one of every holiday, and you don't jump off the bandwagon immediately after.  I made the mistake of totally relaxing my diet/exercise routine once I lost the weight the first time (for me wedding).  It's like I thought once I got there, maintaining was going to be a breeze.  NOT SO MUCH!  I jumped off the bandwagon immediately after my honeymoon.

This time, I am going to factor in things like vacation and holidays.  Sure, you can have a cheat day.  The key is going back to your healthy routine the day after!

Wow, here's a sad and shocking revelation...I have been jumping on and off "diets" or "a healthy lifestyle" for over 24 years!!!  The first several attempts were driven just by the desire to lose weight.  The next several attempts were for occasions like:  my 1st class reunion, my wedding, during pregnancy, after the baby was born, during the 2nd pregnancy, after the 2nd baby was born, my 2nd class reunion, a cruise.  Now I am 42 and I want to be healthier - for the long haul, more active - to play with and set an example for my 2 boys, and toned - because I don't want to feel middle aged and frumpy!!!  

God willing, this will TRULY be a lifestyle change that I will commit to for the rest of my life.  Of course, there will be ups and downs...THAT'S LIFE!!!  However, I pray I don't allow myself to go REELING out of control again.  

Let's stick together, encourage each other, and lift others up when they are down.  There IS power in numbers, and I do believe we can all do it if we stick with it and reach out to each other for help and support!!  Good luck, everybody!!

I can't tell you how many false starts I've had - changing my eating for one or two weeks, and then poof.  The only real attempt was a go several years ago where I lost 30 pounds.  This time for sure, though. :)

One of the things that interferes with my diet attempts: I'm a roleplayer (and my husband has a company that makes gaming related things), and I go to conventions.  Sometimes it's darn tough to eat things that aren't soaked in grease, let alone healthy.  *sigh*

I think I finally "got it" in 2004. I started to exercise as I was tired of always being tired ( I was at 199 lbs with a 4 month old baby). About 20 of that was baby weight.

I started spinning as we have noon classes where I work. I didn't even make it through my first class, but I kept going back. I was so sore and tired when I started but eventually I started to drop some pounds. I also started keeping track of my food, and would lose weight when I journaled. It took me about a year and a half to get to 146 as it was slow and steady - I'd lose, plateau, then get motivated to lose again.

I think I became much more aware of my "health" over just getting thin, and realized the benefits of being active (I have a lot more energy).

Unfortunately I still fall off the wagon at times and become too lazy to journal (the last 2 years or so). I seemed to be able to maintain around 152, but just recently got on the scale and realized I was up to 158. This was a good kick in the butt to get started again, and I am now motivated to get to my original goal of 140.