I like the following quote:

“What good is any feeling we may have about ourselves,
if it only lasts as long as others agree to it?

Seeking and receiving approval from others
is like sitting down hungry to an imaginary meal.
You’re invited to eat all you want,
but no matter how much imaginary food is served,
you can never get your fill. Your hunger remains.

No fictional feast ever satisfies.
But we still look to others for our sense of self even though
the very moment it’s received, it must be renewed.

No one can give us that which can only be found with our Self.
No one can give us the approval we seek,
because it isn’t his or hers to give.

And the more we understand the truth of this higher fact,
the less inclined we’ll be to give ourselves away.
We must do the needed inner work,
which alone leads to owning our own lives.”

by Guy Finley at www belifnet.com

The definition of Discipline involves how someone
is trained by others to do what is expected of them.

Self-discipline involves training oneself for improvement.

Most people don’t have a discipline problem;
most people have a self-discipline problem.

One of the most critical components of reaching one’s goals
is to be able to manage time, thought, and physical action
on a daily basis. The ability to do this depends on
how well a person puts self-discipline into practice.

People responding to discipline do what is expected
because of an outside authority or society’s dictates.

Self-discipline is the power that comes
from doing what is right by one’s own choice
instead of being under the threat of discipline from another.

It takes self-discipline to consistently perform actions
that require sacrifice and work.

People with self-discipline
deliver what is expected of them, and beyond,
even when no one is looking.

Try to comprehend a person
who picks up a piece of litter from the street
because they see it,
not because they are told to do so,
or to impress others.

 Now, apply this concept to Dieting.

Discipline is an outside Expert or Diet Guru
taking control of our food choices, and
determining specifically how-what-when we must eat-or-not-eat
in order to lose weight or maintain weight-loss.

Self-discipline involves consistently following through
in making the kind of day-to-day individual personal food choices
which will result in weight-loss and maintenance of that weight-loss.

Even.....

…..when no one is looking
…..when we don’t feel like it,
…..when the scale doesn’t show our desired results,

                           
Sometimes the things we want are mutually-exclusive.
Here is a common statement made by dieters:

“I am excited about dropping my extra fat,
and I want to stop dieting and obsessing over every bite.
I think about food and weight loss all the time.
I want to just be free of that and eat normally.”

The….draw….of many diets is the desire for two distinctly separate things,

* to lose and maintain weight.
* to be able to eat “normally” without having to think about it.

 These are two separate goals,
and for almost every obese or reduced obese person,
these goals are Mutually-Exclusive.
Meaning that if you have the one, you can’t have the other.
You can’t have them both at the same time.

These conflicting desires are exploited by modern marketing
which promises us that we can have both of these things together,
but it’s a false promise,
an insidious lie that raises unreasonable expectations
and tends to doom us to failure.

Many people spend their lives
trying to force that square peg into a round hole,
refusing to ACCEPT that universal truth.

In our current modern society, difficult day-to-day food choices
which require thought and self-discipline,
will always be an ongoing part of one’s way-of-life
in order for an obese person to become normal weight,
and for a reduced obese person to remain normal weight.
 We will never be able to automatically eat like a "normal" person.

While we can develop positive habits that will help us in that task.
Developing habits takes a great deal of effort,
and although, after these habits are established, 
certain habits might help reduce a few of our conscious food choices,
it won't resolve the problem.
Specific eating Habits might make some eating choices easier,
but it won't eliminate the continual thinking and choosing process.

That dieting Truth doesn’t have to be a negative.
Make it a positive. 
 Dieting can become an enjoyable Hobby.

For those interested in following my Diet Recipe videos,
I recently posted a new one: "Crispy White Pizza",
which is located here at DietHobby under Recipes, Mini-Meals.

I will be off-line during this Holiday weekend.

Those of you who would like immediate inspiration
can find it here in the Archives, which holds
seven months of daily posts.

Or you could take this time
to review the rest of this site.

For those who are following my “Ask Grandma” videos
click to see my latest one: “Kpop Music? Still like that old time Rock 'n Roll”
which is located in DietHobby under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma.

Avoidance of regaining lost weightis the primary goal of weight-maintenance.

Recently on a forum I frequently visit I read a post by a person who is working to maintain her weight-loss.  She had gained 5 lbs over time, and said:

“I can’t believe I let myself slip”

  I considered that statement and compared it with my own experience.
Over the past three years, my body has added about 5 - 7 lbs to its stabilized weight.

All the while, I’ve been working hard to keep that from happening, and I’m still working to lose that regain and to avoid gaining more.

In my own case, I wouldn’t call it “slipping”.  I didn’t “slip”.  It’s more like my body was being pulled along a surface by an unknown force,
while I was desperately working to cling, grasp, clutch, and hold on to any surface that would stabilize me and keep me from moving.

This process is still going on. Every day I work to keep my body at its “normal” weight, here in my maintenance weight range near the 115 lb area,even though my body thinks “normal” is over 200 lbs, and seems to inch my weight higher despite all my best efforts to keep this from happening.

Based on my past experience, I am well aware that if I chose to stop continually and consistently working to maintain my current weight, it wouldn’t be like missing my step
and falling off a curb to land on a nearby surface.
It would be more like jumping out of a plane without a parachute, my body rapidly hurling a long distance toward my potential destruction.

I’ve now been maintaining near my goal weight for 5 years and 7 months, and it takes more work to do it now than it did the first two years. It’s not surprising to me that less than 5% maintain their weight-loss, what surprises me is that the percentages are that high.

Some might think that this article is negative thinking,but I believe that   Acceptance of Reality is a positive and helpful thing. I am grateful that I was able to reach my weight goal,and I am grateful for every day that my body stays near it.

The Reduced Obese are constantly being lied to by the media, and marketing interests...including the medical profession, which serves to instill false expectations.

Weight loss is not easy, and long-term Maintenance is even harder.
It is a mistake to believe that maintaining a weight loss is easy, and that someday in our lifetime we can do it without a struggle.

   We need to get over it.  It ain’t happening.