The "Weight of the Beast" Challenge

[Blitz]

Good thing that I've finished the challenge...bounced horribly back up the next day.
I'm not that worried as my cruising weight is higher but I would like to stay in the 67's for a while.

Reflections...
I've learnt a lot of new things on this challenge.

First thing I have discovered is that I overly depended on exercise to achieve goal largely ignoring my other great lever - food intake.
I think that there is a great confidence in your own ability to sweat the results out that you get too slack with your food. In my original weight loss journey I was very strict about the amount of food I consumed particularly at the beginning. While I had mountains of fat to remove and little aerobic fitness to back me; food reduction was my main tool in losing weight. As fitness kicked in, my snacking and portion size increased and perversely my weight loss rate decreased. I was feeding my fitness and losing sight of the goal.

This underscores in my thinking the need to stay faithful to the maintenance pathway. If this is my psychological thinking now then if I fall of the bandwagon I could find myself in trouble. Exercise alone isn't going to remove huge amounts of weight. Weight loss success needs discipline in portion control or it will not work. The two levers must be used together. If I was to do this challenge again - I would really need to look at this aspect of my game and step up on it. Success could have been so much quicker.

I gained insight in what happened in the pointy end of my weight loss journey. My success at reaching goal was largely due to my strategy of finally getting to the place where I went all out for it. Like Hillary with Everest or the early Arctic explorers. Build a series of camps close to the goal - and then go for broke for the summit or pole. "The final push" so to speak. In this challenge I found that I had to deploy this mode to succeed.

I also found the urgency of the goal was reduced. When I started my journey into weight loss it literally was a life or death issue. But with success, your health gets better and you feel so much more alive and so you put on the back burner the need to get to goal quickly. In this challenge I found that motivation to achieve it was greatly reduced. Been there, bought the shirt...so what is the big deal? In the end what got me over the line was integrity (some may call it pride). I talked the talk - I have to back it up with the walk. It probably was also the thing that originally got me over the line in the first place. So many people telling me I didn't need to lose any more weight. Also the realisation that I had set the goal too low because I didn't take into account the loose skin weight...and that my sitting weight should be higher played on my mind. But what drove me not to stop but to actually achieve the number I had set was the profound thought that anything less than goal would be a comprise I what I had stated I was going to do. My integrity (to myself primarily) would be in question.

On the positive side I learnt that indeed I could get to goal again.
That it wasn't just a one off fluke or a chance event.
That I had the skills and integrity of character to follow through on my words.
That I could comfortably sit in the 67's without too much effort.

Overall it has been a rewarding experience.
It also has made me appreciate just how much easier maintenance is to losing weight.

Kim

[Divalicious]

WOO HOO......Congratulations Kim, you made it, WELL DONE!!!
I'm happy (for) and very proud of you.
I knew you'd BLITZ this challenge!!

I'm sorry I haven't been on here much, I've been flat out with work, and trying to get to the gym at every opportunity.
Thank you for your email too, which I will respond to shortly (I've got about 200+ emails in my inbox and I haven't opened them yet but will work my way through them over the weekend if I can).
In between work and the gym, I've had to travel a fair bit and that's really taking its toll on the weight loss; but relax....in a neutral way (that is, no gains but no losses either )
I have to admit though, being escorted to dinner by some high flying dignitaries (purely business) is not as glamorous as it sounds, and it is nice but I have to watch EVERY mouthful of food at some of these fancy restaurants (thankfully a lot of them serve what I call "ponsie" food which you need a telescope to see on the plate, they're so small) and so there's not a lot of room for overindulgence!!!

I keep hovering between 63.2 and 63.3 and it is sooooooooooooooooooooo killing me!! I figure it's taken me 18 months to lose 60+ kilos but it's taking me another (goodness knows how long) to lose under 4kg (sigh)

But I'll keep battling on, and again......my thanks for your support Kim, you're a gem xx

[Blitz]

I'm sorry I haven't been on here much, I've been flat out with work, and trying to get to the gym at every opportunity.

You did warn me that you wouldn't be able to post too much here...kept to your word in spades!
Glad to here that you are keeping up your love affair with Gym. Work it hard.

Thank you for your email too, which I will respond to shortly (I've got about 200+ emails in my inbox and I haven't opened them yet but will work my way through them over the weekend if I can).

It's your own fault...that's what happens when you give out your email address to me - spam!

In between work and the gym, I've had to travel a fair bit and that's really taking its toll on the weight loss; but relax....in a neutral way (that is, no gains but no losses either )

As I told Natasha in another thread; I figured you'll be circling the airfield weight wise - but not getting it down to the ground (goal). I've been where you are now and know ALL about that pointy end. Sooner or later you'll land that baby on target.
In the meantime this will give you a taste how maintenance will be (except it will be slightly easier).

I have to admit though, being escorted to dinner by some high flying dignitaries (purely business) is not as glamorous as it sounds, and it is nice but I have to watch EVERY mouthful of food at some of these fancy restaurants (thankfully a lot of them serve what I call "ponsie" food which you need a telescope to see on the plate, they're so small) and so there's not a lot of room for overindulgence!!!

I know what you mean. Last year my wife's company threw a formal dinner for the long serving employees of the company. No idea what they were serving so I prepared myself for the worst. Exercised, lost a bit before the event and kept the day's other meals frugal. The dinner arrived very late (which panicked me as I like to eat really early...making mental notes about how much exercise I'll need to do in the morning to help that lateness)...while the meal was very tasty - I was in no danger of gaining weight on it. The serves were super small! I nearly starved to death!

I keep hovering between 63.2 and 63.3 and it is sooooooooooooooooooooo killing me!! I figure it's taken me 18 months to lose 60+ kilos but it's taking me another (goodness knows how long) to lose under 4kg (sigh)
But I'll keep battling on

I'm sure that like I did, you too will find your way out of the cul de sac.
Like me, you will get so fed up with going nowhere that you will make that Herculean attempt and reach the summit.
Battle on - but know we all here are in your corner!

Kim

[Divalicious]

Hi Kim,

And thank you for your support both in here and privately.
I'm sure I'll get to my goal!!!
In fact, my doctor has said I'm already there and that I should review my 60kg goal making it more like 65kg which if I did that means I'd need to GAIN over a kilo and a half!!!
Though I'm very happy for you, and that you've reached your target. I'm not a competitive person; I don't really care to race anyone to the finish line. I'm just happy to get there, no matter the time or travel route.
For me this journey has been about rediscovery, who I am, how I function around food and what I can and cannot get away with (both food-wise and exercise-wise).
I've lost a lot but boy oh boy, I've really learnt ALOT too!!!
I know one thing for sure, I'm not an "attention seeker" I don't much of anything including photos, food diaries, I know it's silly but I feel they only serve to draw attention to myself and I'm really not interested or need that kind of attention. I have a very full work and social (and family) life, and honestly don't have time to post anything much at all, and that unfortunately includes (especially of late) responding to emails or messages, so if I don't reply or post often, please know that like you I'll do my best to be supportive and responsive, but alas.......I'm probably in running to catch a flight and can't even stop to turn my laptop on!!!

xx
Josie

[tinkerbella]

Hello Diva,
Im so happy too see you doing so well,good for you...
Its nice too see that your happy with yourself,great going girlfriend...xx

Kepp it up,you will get to your goal...

[Blitz]

In fact, my doctor has said I'm already there and that I should review my 60kg goal making it more like 65kg which if I did that means I'd need to GAIN over a kilo and a half!!!

Usually I don't have much confidence in doctors knowing much about weight loss since my encounter with my doctor when she told me that I've lost enough weight and that I could stop - even though clearly by any regular height/weight healthy chart I had 30 more kilos to lose.
Having said that I applaud your doctor's wisdom in understanding that loose skin has significant weight that skews conventional height/weight charts for the formerly super obese. He is probably right on the money with his estimate.
I know that when the surgeon slashed off the loose skin from my belly when he was fixing my hernia he thought that he had removed 2 to 3 kilos off. I would still have about that again in loose skin distributed over my body (hips, upper thighs and my legendary bats wings for example).
As I neared the pointy end I became more aware that the loose skin was something that I did factor in when setting my goal weight.
No amount of research could uncover the vexed question "how much does loose skin weigh?".
I knew that my goal weight wasn't going to be my maintenance weight.
I settled for a 3kg weight range of just under 70 kilos (that was my line in the sand).
If I was smart I wouldn't have bothered about actually reaching the original goal but I had that number in my head so long that anything less seemed a compromise. Besides my bloody-mindedness Dutch heritage wouldn't allow me to!

Though I'm very happy for you, and that you've reached your target. I'm not a competitive person; I don't really care to race anyone to the finish line. I'm just happy to get there, no matter the time or travel route.

I was hoping the challenge would canter you along to the finish...unfortunately it wasn't meant to be.
But you are right...just getting there is far more important than a timetable of intent.

For me this journey has been about rediscovery, who I am, how I function around food and what I can and cannot get away with (both food-wise and exercise-wise).
I've lost a lot but boy oh boy, I've really learnt ALOT too!!!

This is the big thing about the whole journey.
The discovery of self.
If you have done it right -the journey changes you and grows you as a person.
And interesting these learnt skills and character traits are transferable to other areas of your life.

Kim

[Divalicious]

Hello Diva,
Im so happy too see you doing so well,good for you...
Its nice too see that your happy with yourself,great going girlfriend...xx

Kepp it up,you will get to your goal...

Thanks Natasha,

Appreciate the kind words xx

It's definitely a struggle....

This "pointy end" that Kim was talking about is razor sharp. I've been hovering around 63.3-63.5 now for sooooooooooooo long I'm beginning to think it's as low as I can go?!!

I'm also thinking that I may need to review my goal, modify it from 60 to say 63???

I'll give it a bit longer (maybe another month) but if I don't get to 60kg by then, I'll definitely change it to 63.

You're doing very well too I see!!! You go girl xx

You've worked very hard, so please be careful not to undo any of that hard work when you're in Melbourne.

Don't be tempted, stay strong and most of all STAY WARM (it's brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr freezing cold down here) so bring your woollies with you!!

[Blitz]

This "pointy end" that Kim was talking about is razor sharp.

Think of it as character building!

I've been hovering around 63.3-63.5 now for sooooooooooooo long I'm beginning to think it's as low as I can go?!!

I'm also thinking that I may need to review my goal, modify it from 60 to say 63???

I'll give it a bit longer (maybe another month) but if I don't get to 60kg by then, I'll definitely change it to 63.

I think you can make it if you want to...the real question is do you really truly want to?

On one hand is the pride factor of achieving the goal that you set out from the beginning.
The argument is of integrity of character. For me that argument was important but maybe that just disguised my stubbornness.

On the other hand however, it could be argued that it is just plain smart to know when to walk away a winner.
There have been plenty of sporting champions who weren't wise enough to know when it was time to hang up the old boots who lived to regret that decision that they didn't finish on top of their game.

Only you can make and live with that decision.
If you have nothing left to prove then finish it...if not - then continue to original goal.
Personally I think that you've got nothing left to prove...you are a winner - and that better future is there for you.

Kim

[Divalicious]

I've been told that I'm most likely at goal, but I refuse to believe it, and in fact, will keep going until I get to 60 on the knocker!!!
In fact, at the rate I'm going, I'll probably get to it in age rather than in weight!!!
I'm a stubborn old bird, and though I should probably say I'm done, I can't bring myself to do it, so I will keep saying to people......I still have a ways to go yet!!