Staying on the Weight Loss Wagon

I know what to do to lose weight - eat less, move more. I know how to lose weight - journal my food, stay within recommended calorie range, get movement in daily, start small. I know why I want to lose weight - reasons I'll continue to list here on my blog as time goes on, but can be summed up with "a life worth living."

When to lose weight is where I struggle the most with weight loss. I'll put off the "big day." The big day can be anything from starting a new program, to getting back on a program, to getting back on a program again... and again... and again. And then once I'm on it, I last anywhere from three days to a couple weeks, then I slide right off the back.

Almost five years ago, I quit smoking. It took me two years before it finally "took." I quit smoking for three months or three weeks or three days or one week or one day, then would start smoking again. And then quit again. Over and over for two years. Finally, in August 2004, I smoked my last cigarette.

If I can quit a two pack a day habit, I can lose this weight. I have to believe that. What makes this harder is that when you quit smoking, you quit. Period. I can't quit eating. There is no on/off switch here. I have to be so careful to reduce calories enough that I lose weight, but no so much that my binge eating disorder gets tripped. Then I don't feel I lose weight fast enough, so I give up and eat too much and am back where I started. Or I restrict food too much, feel resentful and then, yep, binge.

Right now, I'm working with a calorie range buddy at SparkPeople via email where we check in everyday on how we are doing. I'm hoping with some one to one support, I can stay within my calorie range for the week. I'm shooting for seven days out of seven, but six out of seven would be fine as long as I don't go way over.