by Dolores Moore

Created on: July 15, 2009

Based on personal experience, my rather portly gut-reaction makes me tempted to say, "No, it is not possible to lose weight for life." For some, it is a constant battle to keep those pounds off, once the target of a healthy weight has been reached. That is because food is such a basic need, a pleasure and an indulgence that we all enjoy. So once the perfect weight has been attained, we begin to feel rather smug, and slightly adventurous about what we consume, and so go back to eating too much of those less healthy, but delicious options. Here comes another roll of fat, folks.

It might start with only occasional lapses, say, at a party or special family meal. Pretty soon, the habit of "a little more won't do me any harm" is reinstated, and oh no! those pounds are back on again. We then try to return to the stricter eating regime. This may not quite equate to "yo yo" dieting, where it is either feast or famine, with no happy medium, but it comes pretty close to it. It is a pattern I am sure many people will recognize and relate to.

However, I do know several people who did in fact lose weight for life. One in particular comes to mind, a friend who at the age of 32, decided to join Slimming World and lose 28 pounds. She did, and now, at 68 years old, she still has the same slender figure she achieved all those years ago. So it really can be done, it really is possible. Yet another female acquaintance lost 50 pounds about 25 years back, and has never regained that weight. She did it by herself, using healthy, disciplined eating, along with plenty of exercise. She eats and drinks what she likes, but always in moderation. Holidays and vacations, she is less strict, but at no time does she stop exercising. She mostly walks, jogs and runs.

Events in life can contribute to spoiling that hard-won weight loss. Bereavement, trauma, marriage, divorce, job loss, new job, new baby, and many other significant issues all effect our equilibrium. When this is disturbed, our lives unbalanced some way, many of us turn to food for comfort. This is when we pile on the pounds, which can lead to greater unhappiness. It would seem that anything that takes matters out of our control, even temporarily, is going to impact in some way or another to alter our habits and patterns of living, and eating is one of the first to suffer.

But if a person has the determination to hold onto the good habits, with regard to food and exercise, then they are doing a great deal to help themselves towards total well-being. If you do happen to "fall off the wagon" of "Weight loss for life", do not despair or think that all is lost. From what I have seen, with a positive attitude, a level of discipline and common sense, then I have to disagree with my first reaction and say "Yes, it is possible to lose weight for life." At the end of the day, you have your own destiny in your hands, so do what you can to stay in charge of it. Be happy.

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