During my weight-loss phase, I participated in a diet forum of people who posted daily weights. Observing the behavior of the others provided me with extremely helpful information. When I neared my goal weight, I decided that it was important for me to set specific Goal weights, and to make them extremely VISUAL.

So I created this Weight Maintenance Chart,

which turned out to be a very successful way to BURN specific goal-weight-range numbers into my mind and heart.

Many people have asked me how and why I chose these particular numbers, for these specific categories.  My "creative" thought process went this way....

Over time, I’d learned that my body weight tends to bounce around quite a bit due to salt/water/waste issues. Three pound gains and losses are frequent. Five pound deviations are not unusual. After a 3 day vacation I can have an 8 to 10 lb up-bounce, most of which recedes after a week of eating carefully. Due to this, I decided to set myself a 10-lb maintenance weight range.

At a height of 5’0”, the "Expert" Charts said my "Healthy Weight Range" was between 95 and 128 lbs, and specifically gave 110 lbs as the most "Healthy" weight for my height and bone-structure. I chose the specific numbers from within that range which were meaningful to me.

I set my permanent Goal weight number as 115 lbs. and decided that more than 5 lbs above that number was unacceptable. Therefore I set the 4 lbs above 115 as a “lose weight” area.

I knew that, due to my love of food, dropping too far beneath my goal weight would never be a problem, however, I watched one of my 5'0" forum members, who was maintaining between 110 and 100 lbs, be continually hassled by her family and by other forum members who were worried she was going to “develop Anexoria” and allow her weight to drop too low.
My own family also began making occasional remarks like: “when will you decide to stop dieting?” So I decided to clarify my entire position by setting limits for my bottom weight,as well as limits for my top weight.

The Charts singled 110 out as the ideal number for me,and my lifetime secret fantasy was to weigh 105 lbs. So I decided to set my 10 lb maintenance range between 115 and 105 lbs,.  which placed 110 lbs at the mid-point of my range.

Even the positioning of my numbers have Meaning.  English is read from left to right, which means thatleft is where one has been, and right is where one is going.  I put my high numbers on the left and my low numbers on the right. because the high weight is my past, and the low weight is my future,

The bottom numbers of the "Healthy" Chart were 99-95 lbs so I set this 4 lb range as a "gain weight" area.

Any weight below my "gain weight area" (less than 95 lbs) is a weight that is Totally Unacceptable to me.

Any weight above my "lose weight area" (more than 119 lbs) is a weight that is Totally Unacceptable to me.

The colors I chose also have meaning for me.

Blue for the Maintenance area, because it's my favorite color.
Green for the Acceptably lower area... like Go, it's okay.
Red for the Lose and Gain Weight areas...like Danger or Stop.
Black for outside the high and low Boundaries...like Outer Darkness.

I put all of that information into a small Chart to make it Highly Visual. I did this primarily to firmly fix my goals in my mind,  but found that this also made it easy to share the details of my plan with others. During the past 5 years, this chart has proven to be a very effective tool.

My goal is to make DietHobby an interesting and informative place, rather than a boring monologue about myself. 

That said......
Here's a picture of my cat, Boodie.

                         
If I wanted people to see me fat, I would have stayed fat.

That’s one of the many reasons I did what it took to lose from 271 lbs down to 115 lbs, and continue the struggle to maintain
my weight-loss. Sometimes I share former fat information with personal acquaintances in real life, and sometimes I don't. It depends on the situation and on my mood.

However, I don't share fat pictures of myself with the general public. Morbidly obese people all look pretty much the same, because no matter where you carry fat, there are only so many places on the body to do so.

Photoshop is so common now, that a fat picture is PROOF of nothing. There is also an element of Freak Show or Circus Fat lady, in the fascination people seem to have in looking at "Before" pictures.

I feel that if anyone needs the "Inspiration" of seeing a Before picture, they can look in the mirror, or watch a weight-loss show on television.

People who knew me fat will remember what I looked like. People who didn't can look in the mirror or watch “The Biggest Loser”. I’m not here to sell a product, only to share my ideas and my life.

During the fat phases of my life, I wore primarily tent dresses and caftans. Below is a music video of California Dreamin' by the Mamas and the Papas.Visualize a fat version of my face on the body of Mama Cass.

I am an Experiment of One,
I continually learn new things about myself, and reaffirm things I’ve previously learned…but had forgotten.

Although we share many commonalities, each of us is different. We are genetically different, as we each have a different blend of ancestors.

Each of us has different life experiences, and many of us have cultural differences. We have different educational backgrounds, and my hierarchy of values will not necessarily match yours.

Because we are different people, what works for me, might not work for you, and vice versa. Each of us is an Experiment of One.

We don’t all have the same likes and dislikes, or the same tastes….even regarding food. It’s not a one-size-fits-all world, and that includes dieting, This means the kind of diet that will be a “good fit” for you, might not work for me at all.

My own Diets, or Food Plans continually fluctuate, due to my many experiments with various diets and food plans. Part of my ongoing Maintenance is a search for a Way of Eating with which I can live comfortably, while staying inside my Maintenance weight range.

My favorite diet would be one where I could eat ALL of EVERYTHING I like, ANYTIME I want, while keeping my weight inside the blue or green areas of my Weight Maintenance Range. Since that diet does not exist, I continually experiment with a variety of diets and food plans.

Are you conducting your own Experiment-of-one?

There are many different kinds of Hobbies.

Some people collect stamps, coins, watches or guns.Some people use their recreational time to garden, cook, read, sew, knit, build things, play video games, watch TV, engage in sporting activities etc.
 
There are numerous choices available as to how to use one’s recreational time.
I choose to Diet; I’ve found a way to make Dieting an enjoyable pastime.

My DietHobby has become a valuable use of my time.
I read about it; learn about it; talk about it; and think about it at will. It has become an enjoyable part of my life.

My choice to consider Dieting in a new light, and make it into a pleasant and absorbing Hobby, benefits me both physically and emotionally.

Many Experts and Authorities say that “Diets don’t work”, that we have to adopt a new “Lifestyle”. Proponents of this or that diet claim it’s not really a Diet, it’s a Way of Life.

Whether it’s called a Diet, a Plan, a Way of Eating, or a “Lifestyle change”, the bottom line is every one of these requires you to avoid eating everything you want, whenever you want. In some way, all of them….in some manner… restricts eating.

So it’s still a Diet.

At the same time that we Diet, most of us are made to believe that the reason we have to diet is because our greedy and lazy behavior has made us fat,. …that our deprivation is only what we deserve…because we lack the Strength of Character to eat like “normal” people.

Then, if and when our bodies do manage to reach normal weight, …..our lives can begin…. and we are expected to treat food just like those “normal” people do.

In addition, a “stiff upper lip” is required, and we have to “suck it up.” We are made to feel guilty if our diets affect our families and friends, or inconvenience them in any way. Many of whom, by attitude if not in words,  show their belief that our need to Diet makes us defective and inadequate.

Therefore, ..we are led to believe that  while we need to make “eating healthy” a number one priority at the same time we must put our diet in the background of our lives,  and spend as little time focusing on that diet as is possible.

First, my life didn’t Stop because I was fat.
I’ve been living my life all during my life, and it didn’t Start because I became normal weight, it just continues on while I engage in my behaviors of choice.

Next, my 5 years of maintaining a large weight-loss, have taught me that unless I want to regain my lost fat,  my dieting must go on forever. I chose to Accept that difficult truth, and I decided to have fun with the ongoing process of Dieting

I choose to Embrace Dieting and all that goes with it.
DietHobby demonstrates how I make Dieting into an Enjoyable Hobby.