How Long Before You're done?

Monday, 11th Jul 2011

Day 14

When do you celebrate a weight loss? When do you declare yourself “cured, and fit?”
We’ve all read the stories of people who have lost significant amounts of weight, and then gained it back. God, there are celebrity spokespeople who even with all their vast financial resources, have problems with maintenance.

This is a question I struggle with myself, because while every kilo lost is a victory, should there be a measure of “wait and see” before we celebrate in earnest? There are people all over the world who have lost weight, and then gained it back. For a long, long time I have been one of them. I never lost any significant weight before my final try, but there were times during my diet, that I lost a few kilos and then after I celebrated my success I saw myself regain the weight. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but it always came back.  Especially when I got pregnant and started "eating for two."

So when do you celebrate? Is there the perfect amount of time that needs to pass before we can declare someone an “expert” (if there is even such a thing) at weight loss?

I think that every kilo lost, and every healthy change should be celebrated. I always get excited every time another piece of clothing fits, or the scale moved in the right direction. But those celebrations of losses are not exactly what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the declaration of long-term success.