Well it has now been six years since I decided that I needed to trim some weight off and be slim forever. The last six years have been a real roller coaster for me, I have split with my wife, moved house, got a completely new career, climbed a mountain, won a gameshow, done a naked photo shoot and generally had loads of good times and bad times.
But here I am six years on still at goal weight, the reason is that I no longer use food to celebrate the good times and I no longer use food to help me when times get tough.
I remember reading an article that said statistically it is impossible for someone who loses large amounts of weight to keep it off long term, but that's the point ! I don't keep it off as I got rid of it back in 2005, now I am just normal slim Mike !
I spent last night chatting to someone who was telling me how much they love food and love being on the sofa eating etc etc. But then they were doing a diet for a few months to trim the weight off and then they hoped to maintain.
But I have never met any maintaner who didn't change their mental relationship with food, sure you can try any old fad diet on the market, you can do Lighterlife, Cambridge, Weightwatchers or Slimming World and while you do those diets properly you will trim down but it's what you do afterwards that really counts.
And no diet really educates you in how to think differently about food and how to value your health and self esteem above eating too many calories. Most diets want you to go on their maintenance programs which basically means it is still about the food, I haven't dieted or thought about dieting since I finished back then and will never do another diet as the more I dieted the bigger I got !
So here is to the next six years ! Am sure it will be a bumpy ride but I shall be doing it with the same positivity I used for the past six years.
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