Ask the Diet Psychologist

I have been losing weight in short bursts.  My top weight was about 4 years ago at 249.  That summer I realized if I didn't change immediately I was going to top 300 within a year (I was gaining 5 lbs a month).  To give you the short version, I've dropped weight in a series of losses and either minor gains or plateaus. 

This year I dropped another 25 pounds between January and June, then stopped losing weight.  I panicked.  I can feel it.  I got below 200, was doing great, feeling great, then I dropped below 190 and suddenly froze up. 

I'm currenly at 191, and I've started working on it again.  I'm giving up candy for at least the holiday season and possibly for life, and trying to change the way I use sugar, in short, I'm making life changes that will hopefully be permanent.  I don't want to panic again.  But why did I panic in the first place?  Why would I be scared of being a healthy weight?  I don't ask for thin.  My bone structure is too strong for thin.  But why can't I let myself be healthy?

It sounds like you're making good progress and going about things in a healthy way. Are you simply hitting plateaus, or are you engaging in sabotaging behavior as the scale goes down? If it's only plateaus, that's normal as your body reacts to losing weight. If you're engaging in self-defeating behavior because you're experiencing discomfort about being smaller, then there is a deeper issue.

You might find my book useful, as it deals with self-defeating behavior in detail:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312978812/fattitudes

Keep up the hard work.

Dr. Jeff