ASD and weight loss progress. Is it a factor in success?

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I used to be extremely obese at 335 lbs. Over the course of a little more than a year I dropped down to 230 due to adopting a healthy lifestyle of good eating habits and exercise. A lot of people say I have a lot of willpower for being able to stay from the junk foods I used to eat and stick to my regimented healthy lifestyle now, but I don't see what the big deal is.

My mother told me that because I have Asperger Syndrome it is easy for me to jump head first into sudden lifestyle changes due to the way we are prone to turning things like this into an obsession. Do you think this is true? Post your thoughts.

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I began a fitness regime in March 2010, determined to raise my strength and fitness level, strengthen my bones and posture, increase metabolism and lose some flab from my waist. I have never had a weight problem but I certainly needed toning and I hav accomplished all my goals, but I still must maintain the level of fitness (1.5 hours per day of cardio exercise) to maintain optimum fitness. Reducing fat, salt and excess sugar has also improved my moods and energy levels.

Humans have weight issues because they eat too much and do not exercise. Reducing food/salt/sugar/fat reduces calories and increasing exercise increases metabolism.

I believe my AS gives me the edge in fitness maintenance, because it is part of my routine and I like repitition.

Good luck in maintaining your new weight/fitness level.

Thanks. That's the point I was getting at. Everything from the diet to the fitness portion has come especially easy for me because It's very easy for me to follow a regimented lifestyle in how I eat and everything. In fact, I can easily eat the same exact meals every day of the week. People say I have great willpower, but to me it's just easier for me to follow a pattern than not to.

Thanks by the way =) But not at the point yet where I should worry about maintaining. Need to lose another 30-40 lbs first.

I agree the tendency to obsession and routine are very helpful, but it does take a tremendous amount of willpower to force such radical changes in one's lifestyle. Once the new routines are established, I do think its easier for someone with autism to maintain them.

I think I'm the opposite. I have rigid routines and it's so emotionally stressful to deviate from them that it's very difficult for me to make healthy changes. Doesn't mean I don't try, but it's rough.

I think it definitely does. I'm trying to drop 40 pounds right now, and in the first month lost 11. Eating healthy and the gym is definitely becoming one of my obsessions. I'm being careful because when I first started, I would look at myself in the mirror and say "I will never be this fat again." I have to be careful because I don't want this obsession to turn into an eating disorder.

For what it is worth, in girls with eating disorders, a significantly higher percent have AS than the general population.

So how best can I go about doing this. I know I need to eat health and work out. But when I try to it changes my routine. My mom keeps bugging me about it. But she refuses to understand that for me to do that I need to do it with out with out jumping over steps B,C,D,andE.

I want it to e a routine in which I can enjoy myself still me and not feel like I have to be like ever one else.