Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

[G-Mom]

I wanted to start a thread warning the newbies and others to not become obsessed with losing weight. This time last year I weighed 214lbs and was doing great, however, mentally I was NOT. I became very obsessed with losing weight, so much that my every thought was about dieting and exercise and losing pounds. It was less about becoming healthy and more about looking good. Finally, I said "enough!" and stopped dieting altogether.

Well, this wasn't good either, of course! I am constantly fighting that all or nothing approach to dieting and just trying to concentrate on the health aspects of losing weight. I feel better about myself now and I can actually think about other things beside dieting!

The moral of this story is this: If we are obsessed about dieting and losing weight now, what will we do when we are at goal, obsess about health? I doubt it. Many of us have never obsessed about exercise, but that is not good either. Anyway, just wanted to remind everyone to put losing weight into perspective and not obsess.

[ladyinred]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

Good point G-mom. Sometimes we can lose sight of the big picture and just worry about losing x number of lbs in x amount of time. Dr. Atkins mostly started this plan as a way of getting healthy, reducing high blood pressure and warding off diabetes. A side effect of being healthy is that you tend to look good. Food obsession and dieting obsession are both bad. Being healthy is good and that's what we should be focusing on. And you look good momma!!

[jcapulet]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

And you look good momma!!

I agree...that picture of you and your lil one is great, G-Mom, and you look gorgeous!

[Sarah1341]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

Thanks for sharing that! While of course I want to look better, I NEED to be healthier. I have a really tough time with the patience end of getting healthy and losing weight, which totally throws me off course.

[Heidi3]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

you my dear... completely moved me ..those are brilliant words ..thank you for sharing that

[Sheshy]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

Really, excellent point.

I think many overweight people have an obsessive personality to begin with...and when changing to a healthy eating plan, the obsessiveness just comes along for the ride. It is hard to break that cycle, but making the health aspect of the change #1 is a great way to start!

[boonie stomper]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

"Everything in Moderation" is what my Mom always taught (Grandmother, too)... (and too much of anything is bad). One MUST focus on a problem to a certain extent in order to solve it, and to recognize and deal with it should it, once effectively dealt with and put aside, decide to begin to reappear, without it getting to be as much of a problem as it had once before been.

With too much focus however, we can easily lose sight of other things of importance, in much the same way as a drug addict focuses so much on the drug the person loses sight of good things in their lives which should be important.

[k5commando]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

Excellent points, however, "Excess in moderation" is my motto. Oh, and most importantly.....



GO BIG RED!!!

[sofarsogood]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

G-mom - how were you able to stop obsessing? I find that everything I do is all or nothing, including dieting and excercise, I think it's part of my personality. Like when I clean the house I will do it once a week from one end right to the other from ceiling to floor rather than just picking things up all the time. I would like to change this and have moderation, like you said, but what was your first step? Did you just make the decision and do it with this WOE?

[2big4mysize]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

Thank you for posting that G-Mom


many folk arrive at goal weight and exprss those exact feelings "weight loss has been my focus for the last X yrs what do i do now??" it is very hard to shift from the joy of a smaller number to the reality of the number is here to stay. That is one reason premaintnenance is so very important and moving up the OWL rungs as you slow your lose the change in the nukber becomes less consuming and the smaller healthier more energized person you are becoming and the new things you can do with the smaller healtheir more energized body becomes the focus.

happy low carbing.

[dreamof145]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

Although I agree that we shouldn't obsess over losing the weight, we need to be aware of it and make plans to incorporate it into our new life-styles. When I first started this plan, I read a lot of stories from people who had lost the weight and gained it back. I found a lot of books in the library and motivational tapes that I listened to.

I realized that if you eliminate things, you have to mentally prepare yourself and fill that gap with action plans to make it a positive change. I began a total make over for myself. I wrote down my other weaknesses (fear of speaking in public, self-conscious of my hair, make-up, and my inner dialogue to myself).

I began working on these things so that once I lost the weight...they wouldn't be excuses for me to use to slip back into my old ways. It was a struggle and it was a challenge for me to change the things that I'd hidden behind for so long. Soon, I found myself becoming comfortable with the new me both inside and out.

My new eating and exercising program became comfortable to me. I experimented with new hair-styles and filled my mind with positive thoughts and actions. I worked on relationships with people. I volunteered in the community, became involved in 'outside myself projects' so that I wasn't focusing on me. I now feel that because I did these things, my mind is better able to accept the changes.

I hope this makes sense. It was my new life plan and how I dealt with the shock of losing weight and improving my life.

[G-Mom]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

Wow! Such an overwhelming response! Thank you for reading my thread, this obsession business is very pervasive in my life.

[G-Mom]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

And you look good momma!!

Thank you Lady and Jcapulet! You are complete sweethearts!

[G-Mom]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

Excellent points, however, "Excess in moderation" is my motto. Oh, and most importantly.....



GO BIG RED!!!

WOO HOO!! Can't wait for the games to start!!

[G-Mom]

Re: Obsessed with Dieting..be careful

G-mom - how were you able to stop obsessing? I find that everything I do is all or nothing, including dieting and excercise, I think it's part of my personality. Like when I clean the house I will do it once a week from one end right to the other from ceiling to floor rather than just picking things up all the time. I would like to change this and have moderation, like you said, but what was your first step? Did you just make the decision and do it with this WOE?

Well, dear, my hubby helps me a lot. He lavishes me with adoration and makes me feel beautiful at every size. And believe me that was difficult for me to understand when he was a fit 200 pound paramedic and I was a bloated 322 lbs! He helped keep my feet on the ground about what really mattered in life. One thing he helped me with when I was feeling fat was to ask me if my fave actress Angelina Jolie were to gain 100lbs if I thought she would be ugly. I, of course said no!

I realized that there are so many things that I need to concentrate on that have nothing to do with being skinny. Now I watch my Atkins, of course and try to exercise but I no longer obsess over every morsel or missed exercise session. Heck, I even ate a homegrown peach (from my orchard) yesterday without guilt.

Also, I tell you we are very much alike, because I do have an obsessive personality and I also clean my house like that! What I have to do is devise a cleaning plan (my house is 5000 sq.ft, so God help me if I don't), so I don't let things go, and I don't have to spend 8 hrs scrubbing. I section out the week and clean certain rooms on certain days. The Great Room and kitchen need daily clean-ups, however. This helps to keep me organized.

The first step for me to not obsess about things was doing Atkins. I found this WOE easiest for me because it helped me actually enjoy food again, especially when I eat something sweet, like fruit. When I ate whatever I wanted, I would shovel it in searching for satisfaction! I never appreciated a food's flavor. Now, I do, which is nice.