“A 1999 study estimated that just 20 percent of overweight or obese Americans are successful at losing at least 10 percent of their body weight, and keeping this weight off for at least a year.” – The Best Way to Keep Weight Off | Live Science

“Here’s a sobering statistic: Roughly 90 percent of people who lose a lot of weight eventually regain just about all of it.” – Weighing the Facts: The Tough Truth About Weight Loss

“A team of researchers at King’s College London, found that an obese man has a 1 in 210 chance to get himself to a healthy body weight, which becomes a 1 in 1,290 chance if he’s severely obese. For women, being obese means they have a 1 in 124 chance of attaining a healthy body weight, or a 1 in 677 chance if they have severe obesity.” – Odds of an Obese Person Attaining a Healthy Weight Are Incredibly Slim, Study Finds

Depressing reading, isn’t it? Just reading the headlines is nearly enough to discourage someone who’s morbidly obese from even trying, if the chances of them regaining weight are just about a sure thing. I can’t say my life experiences have been much different.

Just about is not always, though. There’s some room in there for the exceptions, and I choose to believe all of us are the masters of our own outcomes, regardless of the percentages. All of us have it within us to beat the odds, as long as we’re willing to continually put in the work necessary.

I’ve chosen to shift my thinking about how I go about bettering my life. I think of this journey much like a chosen career; something I want to be good at, so I am constantly looking at ways I can adapt. It’s not a job as much as something I — okay, I’ll admit it — enjoy. Believe me, that’s not something I would ever have said about any previous time in my life when I attempted to lose weight, but I think the biggest difference between this time and all the times that came, before, is that my efforts now are about my life as a whole, not about a number on the scale.

I honestly have come to enjoy the differences in my life; my own thinking, my own abilities, the ways I have committed myself to changes that make my life more enjoyable. Those things in total are so much more than any temporary disappointment I might feel when I step on the scale and don’t see a number I’d hoped for. While I still weigh myself daily, I am so much more patient with myself, now. I know that’s just one number among many indicators that I am healthier, and that’s the point.

For instance — I wear a FitBit daily. Lately, my resting pulse has gone downward — noticeably, despite my weight still being above my low. I’m sure this is a result of walking daily, and it’s a great outcome. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be in for my annual wellness exam, and I fully expect good news, including the possibility of being able to drop a medication. That’s a huge payoff and a number I’d much rather see, especially since I started this journey, concerned about my health.

I believe that to continue being a success on this journey means pushing away stats; they’re meaningless in my own personal battles. As long as I am doing better each day, I no longer care what all those articles say about my chances for beating the odds; they only measure weight loss and gain, after all, not the effectiveness of long term choices.

I’ve already beaten the odds, and I’m just gonna keep working on beating them.