I’ve been LCing for 6 months. Early on in my journey I was blessed by experiencing the mental shift that this is the way I will be eating for the rest of my life. When I fully accepted that reality everything got easier.

I looked around here and saw that there were long-term LCers that were steadily working their way toward their goal weight. Some were getting there faster than others, but very few (if any) were moving in the wrong direction. Some had even stalled for months at a time, but persisted.

These were powerful lessons for me. Suddenly I realized that I may not reach my goal of ____ by ____ date. Was I okay with that? Did I have much choice? Sure, there are things a person can do to make the weight come off faster, but at what cost? Was I willing to sacrifice certain foods? Was I willing to commit to a vigorous exercise program? Was I willing to experiment with sometimes costly supplements? Was I willing to commit the time required to analyzing every single morsel I put in my mouth?

Like many, my “quality of life” is closely tied to the foods I’m allowed to eat. With LC I have found a plan that I can truly live with and be very happy. I have traded rapid weight loss for my definition of a higher quality of life, as I still eat artificial sweeteners, cheese, nuts, some caffeine, moderate alcohol, a little fruit, and I don’t obsess over every little carb (I try to keep them under 30 net…40’s okay too sometimes). I do things this way so that I don’t feel deprived, so that I can persist on towards my long term goal of 145….maybe even 140!

The pressure is off as long as I don’t worry too much about the time line…. I just steadily work toward it. One day at a time. And every day is a good day.