Losing weight is extremely hard, but many people do it. What's even harder is keeping the weight off. Most studies suggest that, within a few years, almost everyone who lost weight has gained it back.
I am one of the very few who hasn't. This year is the 18th year since I began my weight loss journey. I'm still down 90 lbs from my heaviest weight. There's been periods where I've put some of the weight back on, and periods where I got even thinner, but I've always maintained most of my weight loss.
Here are some thoughts I have that I hope are useful to others.
Diet is far more important than exercise, but exercise is really important and you need to learn to love it -- not just tolerate it, or do it as a chore. The easiest way I've learned to do this is to pair exercise with something else that you find enjoyable/valuable. Certain kinds of yoga, for example, pair exercise with spirituality. Weight lifting where you are getting stronger and putting up more and more weight on a regular basis pairs exercise with self improvement and achieving goals (sadly, this ends after a few years). Team sports can make exercise into a fun social event (if that's your thing -- it's not mine, but for some people it is). There are so many examples and ways to do this. For years, I had a solid group of gym friends and so it was like a big hangout. Whatever way you go, just know that forcing yourself to do something you hate (take a boring jog for 30-minutes three times a week, whatever) is not sustainable.
Weight loss is possible through changing your daily habits, but long-term weight loss is only possible through systemic life changes. What do I mean by that? Well, if you have a job that's stressing you out and taking all your time so it's almost impossible to cook healthy meals, you may be able to deal with that for a few months or a year or whatever. But you aren't going to be able to deal with it for years and years and years. There will come a day when you will have to choose between something like your job and your weight. Or it could be a relationship or a group of friends. Or maybe even some internal demons you are afraid to address. This will be unique to every person and require a lot of introspection, but I'm convinced that everyone who has serious weight problems, also has serious challenges in their life that are bigger than just making smart choices about what they eat. Try to figure out what these are, and address them. You may find that this much harder than sticking to a diet.
Has anyone else here maintained significant weight loss for a few years (or more)? If so, what worked for you?
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