By Lynn Haraldson-Bering
My friend Paul will mark 16 years of sobriety on February 3. My parents will celebrate 57 years of marriage October 18. I will observe three years of maintenance on March 12.
Anniversaries help define us and give perspective to the larger picture of our lives. In the minutiae of everyday, we need anniversaries to help us see that our lives are more than a collection of days and months; that we’re not just embodied disconnections. Anniversaries remind us of the things in our lives that are enduring and make us whole. Anniversaries can be happy or sad, celebrations or quiet remembrances, but they mark an event or accomplishment reached on a specific date that was important enough that we take notice of each year. Anniversaries remind us to look back and to look forward as the people we are in light of those events or accomplishments.
To say “I’ve maintained a ___ -pound loss for ___ years” is a remarkable and empowering statement. Barbara and I want Refuse To Regain to be a place that celebrates weight-loss anniversaries. Like staying sober, married, or cigarette free, maintaining a weight loss takes diligence and hard work, and it deserves to be acknowledged for the accomplishment it was and continues to be.
We want to add your goal anniversary to our new Celebrating Maintenance Anniversaries page! Share your goal date, and if you’d like, a few words about your maintenance regimen along with a photo or video. Send your information to refusetoregain@gmail.com.
Our anniversary page debut maintainer is Debra from Burton, Michigan. Debra reached her goal November 22 and is maintaining a 152.2-pound weight loss.
Here’s Debra’s story:
“I have struggled with my weight my entire life and have done many diets. I've even lost 80 and 100 pounds before, only to regain it immediately. This time is so different. I just finished a book in which the author said, ‘Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing you're worthy of the trip.’ That statement reflects how I've felt during this weight-loss journey. I like to eat healthy, not just eat Points filled with pizza and cheeseburgers. I’m inspired to stay motivated when others think I'm 'weird' for not eating birthday cake, etc.
“I also started walking my first week on Weight Watchers. I started doing 15 minutes and have worked up to 3 miles in 45 minutes. My husband and I joined Anytime Fitness a few months ago and have been lifting weights, doing the elliptical machine, etc.
“It is so ironic because most of my friends bemoan how their body feels so much worse now then 20 years ago. I cannot relate to that because 20 years ago I felt terrible and at 42 I feel awesome.”
Well said. Congratulations, Debra! We’ll be here to wish you a happy anniversary in November.
And we’ll be here for yours, too. You’re well aware of the statistics. Maintenance isn’t something everyone’s doing every day. Send us your anniversary date and let us all celebrate our remarkable accomplishment.
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A few more readers sent us their anniversary goal dates and I wanted to share them here. They'll be added to our new Celebrating Maintenance Anniversaries page.
Sheri Jungers – Goal: Nov. 21, 2007. Maintains 65-pound loss. “I…never lived a healthy lifestyle until I began Weight Watchers in 2007 after I rescued a high energy dog and decided to try to keep up with her. Walking gave way to running, five pound dumbells turned to ten, and I learned to view food as fuel instead of entertainment. Running became my new passion. I love to get outside, spend time with my dog, and explore my neighborhood. I am now the woman I wanted to be when I grew up.”
Flo from Worcester, Massachusetts – Goal: March 16, 2001. Maintaining 80+ pound weight loss.
“I started at 217 pounds and I maintain in a 2-3 pound range around 136 pounds. I lost my weight on Weight Watchers, and I have never missed a monthly weigh in since I hit Lifetime in May of 2001. My motto is, ‘Being overweight is hard. Losing weight is hard. Keeping the weight off is hard. You just need to pick your hard.’ My after picture is on top of a mountain that I climbed with my husband. Another of my after weight loss goals was quitting smoking, and I am happy to say that I have been smoke free for almost 7 years now.”
Donna from Philadelphia – Goal: April 2007. At 5’5”, she maintains a 68-pound loss and weighs between 118-121. “I primarily use Weight Watchers program to stay on track and have also incorporated some of Barbara’s philosophy on the Primarian diet. I exercise 6 days a week cardio and weights—as much as I can handle with chronic low back pain I deal with. I ask a lot of my body so I do my best to treat it with the respect it (and I) deserve by eating well and staying fit. I really want to be an example to my sons how important self-care is. What also has been motivational to me is the “pay it forward” part where so many of my friends and family have started to follow my lead on staying healthy and I’ve seen many of those close to me make better choices for themselves. And finally, I think both the Internet community and attending WW meetings has been the one factor that was different this last time down the scale. Almost all of the other times I just didn’t take advantage of support systems that were available.”
