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Originally Posted by BirdDancer
Congratulations, fern! This is so wonderful to read! I am very glad you brought up the power of intention as an important part of your success here.
I often try to provide a bit of a counter balance to medication weight gain discussions (often complaints or downright medication demonization). While I fully understand the challenges medications bring in terms of weight control, I also understand the challenges that psychological illness brings. If I'm depressed, or have symptoms that lower my belief in my abilities, destroy my focus, I struggle to succeed. I know how easy it is to become resigned that a situation will not improve. We have to fight that! Maybe a particular medication is not the right one, but I know that taking no medication is not the right way to my mental and physical wellness.
Focus is so important for bringing about positive change. So is strategy, thinking outside the box, hard work, yes...support, trials (giving new things a try), not allowing yourself to feel resigned to a situation, and open-mindedness. These are things that I have really learned in most recent years. |
You brought up so many great points! I had to shift gears and try several different strategies before I found something that worked. I tried lowering my sugar intake. I tried moderate exercise. I tried eating a little less. All of that failed. I opened my mind to tracking my food and noticed several people including you were having success with MyFitnessPal, so I gave that a shot. I realized I hadn't tried more rigorous exercise and began a new program. I went through all of that trial and error and just did my best to keep the faith and remain positive.
I heard so many say the weight gain was inevitable. Even my therapist warned me that it would be very difficult to turn around. She had me considering acceptance and how to love myself despite the weight gain. I still loved myself, but I had previously worked hard to lose weight and I just couldn't accept that my fate would be decided for me. I really like working with her, but I'm glad I tuned that part of therapy out.
I do recognize that a lot of people are dealing with debilitating physical issues and also mental issues that make their journeys much more difficult than mine has been. I'm not exactly sure what their path to success should look like. We are all so very different. I can only say that I believe there is an answer for everyone and we can all be healthier if we really want to. Small changes can add up over time in a big way and I'm hopeful for and happy to support everyone along the way.