Effective Long-Term Weight Loss: Always Cut Yourself Some Slack When Your Weight Fluctuates

For effective long-term weight loss, know that mistakes will happen

In the last post, I talked about gaining weight. That happened for two reasons: 1. I was looking for food to fix something in my life and 2. I stopped doing the things I know I needed to do.

I talked about it because I want you to know that mistakes are inevitable but defeat is optional.

That’s where a lot of people who lose weight get stuck. They won’t let themselves make a mistake. They gain some weight and instead of fixing the problem, they throw in the towel and give up. That’s how they gain 10 pounds, don’t address it, then gain 20, get demoralized and still don’t take steps to fix it, then gain more and more until they eventually gain back most if not all the weight they lost. I know because I used to be one of those people. And if you’re one of them too then you’re going to find yourself yo-yoing with your weight until you start cutting yourself some slack and forgiving yourself for your mistakes.

What matters when you make a mistake with weight-loss

It’s really not the mistake that counts, it’s what you do about it that counts.

• Do you use a mistake as an excuse to give up or a challenge to fuel you forward?
• Do you start looking for someone to blame or do you take responsibility for yourself?
• Do you spiral into self-pity or start looking for how to fix it or learn from it?

The answers matter because the answers to those questions are the difference between success and failure when it comes to weight loss. One of the most empowering things you can do for yourself is to recover from your mistakes.

For effective long-term weight loss, don’t hold to perfection

I don’t hold myself to any kind of perfection anymore. I don’t hold myself to any belief that I’m never gonna do some particular thing ever again. I used to believe if I screwed up with food a little that gave me permission to screw up a lot. I also used to believe that the number on the scale got to decide how I felt about myself and how good my day was going to be and whether or not I was allowed to eat anything. It used to be that half a pound on the scale in the morning would completely destroy my mood, steal my peace, and put a big damper on my happiness.

It also was bad for my mental health because I could never seem to keep to that exact number down to the ounce for two days in a row. There are a whole bunch of reasons for that like water retention and stress and just fluctuations in your body from day-to-day. But if you’re not thinking about that when you step on the scale, if all you’re thinking about is how dreaded, terrible, frightening, and demoralizing weight gain is, then that number can decimate you.

For effective long-term weight loss, change what you believe

Weight gain is only awful and horrible if you look at it that way. Lucky you, though, you can change your mind at any time. You get to choose how you want to see weight gain. So do yourself a kindness and don’t look at gaining weight like that. Your weight is gonna likely fluctuate, so gaining weight can actually just be a normal occurrence.

We also need to talk about how you feel when you gain weight, especially if you’re filled with anxiety and fear or if you believe your weight is tied to your self-worth or your success or anything outside yourself. It that’s the case, then you need to rethink what you believe. It really is a mindset. Your weight is simply a number. And all you have to do to change that number’s importance in your life is to change what you believe about it.

For effective long-term weight loss, pick a range

I weigh anywhere from 128-140 pounds. I needed to make a range to save my mental health. Now as long as I’m in that range, I feel comfortable and I’m good. Having a range also takes the pressure off having to do any of this perfectly. You get to make whatever range you want to. So you pick the weight range where you feel most yourself and most comfortable in your body and you strive to stay in it.

And if you fall out of it, like I did briefly for a couple weeks, then it’s still okay. That range is just a guide telling you where you feel best. That’s it. So if you aren’t in the range you set for yourself, then you just take steps to fix it. You lean into self-compassion and refuse to beat yourself up. You don’t wait for anyone else to give you permission or to come fix it and instead you take action and fix it yourself. You start listening to your body and trusting yourself again and taking the action you know you need to take. Problem solved.

You always have choices

Spiraling out of control is a choice. It’s up to you whether you want to make that choice or not. You don’t have to spiral and abuse food and gain the weight back. You just have to take a step back and a deep breath and then do the next right thing, which is to wait until you’re hungry to eat again then stop when you’re comfortably full.

Strive to do the best you can

I don’t do weight loss perfectly. You won’t either. And that’s okay. That’s better actually because the pressure’s off. You strive to do the best you can. You be kind, gentle, and patient with yourself along the way. That’s how you’re going to get the weight off and keep it off long-term. I’ve lost 5 of the 10 pounds I’d gained. The other 5 will come back off, I have no doubt. It’s just a matter of self-compassion and a little patience. You’ve got to give yourself the same.

Get off the diet-go-round. Get on with your life.^®

Stop wishing, start doing.
Create your own weight loss before and after success story.

My weight loss transformation & how it can help you have effective long-term weight loss

You absolutely can break the diet cycle. I got free. Your life can be that way too.

I made my own path because I needed to get myself out of the crazy-making behavior I was having around food. I needed:

• no more dieting.
• no more restrictive eating.
• no weighing and measuring food.
• no off-limit foods.
• no more judgment around food.
• no more trying to figure out healthy eating or just what healthy foods to eat.
• no more judging my self-worth based on the scale.
• no more you’re-not-doing-it-perfectly diet rules that were only fueling my constant thinking about and obsession with food.

I needed to stop: searching for weight loss tips, wondering how to lose belly fat fast or how to lose weight fast, worrying about how to eat healthy or finding healthy snacks for weight loss, coming up with yet another healthy eating plan, trying to have quick weight loss, or forcing myself onto yet another weight loss diet. What I needed instead was to find, out of all the weight loss programs out there, the best weight loss program for me. Turns out, the best way to lose weight was to find out what works for me and do that.

• I’ve lost 160+ pounds naturally by simply trusting myself and listening to my intuition (mindful eating and eating intuitively).
• I have maintained that weight loss for 9 years and counting by trusting myself and listening to my intuition (mindful eating and intuitive eating).
• I no longer have any eating disorders, including bulimia (bulimia nervosa) and binge eating disorder (compulsive overeating).
• I no longer have a fear of food.

Just imagine what you could be doing with your life if you’d just commit to having your own before and after weight loss success story. You could be: following your own dreams and reaching your own goals, cultivating your own passions, and making both your inner and outer worlds a more blissful and peaceful place.

I got that for my life. I want it for yours. I will teach you how.

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Let today be the day you make peace with your body and with food.

For more information, check out the Start Where You Are Weight Loss^® page.