Progress is so slow
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simi1421
Posts: 30 Member
Lately, it feels like no matter what I do – I am unable to make progress.
My weight is not going down, and my measurements are not going down..
It’s really frustrating! I don’t know what to do to get the scale to move down…sometimes it starts to feel hopeless, like your not ever going to see any change!
My weight is not going down, and my measurements are not going down..
It’s really frustrating! I don’t know what to do to get the scale to move down…sometimes it starts to feel hopeless, like your not ever going to see any change!
2
Replies
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I understand how you feel. I've been working at this for 3 months and initially I saw progress which was highly motivating. However in the last 2-3 weeks my motivation has severely waned. I just don't know how to get it back and get back on track.2
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When you feel like quitting, remember why you started.13
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Fat *kitten* or no fat *kitten*? that's usually enough for me to get my *kitten* moving - skinny *kitten* for meeeeee!1
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Obligatory chart...
11 -
How long is "lately"? My guess is that you're experiencing the normal parts of the process - stretches where things go really well, and other stretches where it seems like you're spinning your wheels.
Life isn't a magazine cover. You're not going to lose 21lbs in the first week or whatever other headline you want to believe. Similarly, progress is rarely going to be consistent. If you've made progress in the past, then make sure you are doing now what you were doing then. If not, get back to it. If so, then just be patient.4 -
Yup it is slow. The wonderful thing is even slow progress beats doing nothing or regressing. So step 1 is to stop gaining. Congratulations.7
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Oh one other thing let's say you lose 0.2 lbs a week. That is still more than 10 lbs a year.
Time is on your side.5 -
Oh one other thing let's say you lose 0.2 lbs a week. That is still more than 10 lbs a year.
Time is on your side.
I wonder if that's encouraging to most people... Making effort every single day for 10lbs per year? I'm not trying to be snarky, it's a legit question. If someone told me that, if they said, "Hey, do the best you can and you can reasonably expect to lose 10-15lbs over the course of a year" I'd probably just accept that I'm going to be fat forever. That is nto a good return on investment for me.11 -
Oh one other thing let's say you lose 0.2 lbs a week. That is still more than 10 lbs a year.
Time is on your side.
I wonder if that's encouraging to most people... Making effort every single day for 10lbs per year? I'm not trying to be snarky, it's a legit question. If someone told me that, if they said, "Hey, do the best you can and you can reasonably expect to lose 10-15lbs over the course of a year" I'd probably just accept that I'm going to be fat forever. That is nto a good return on investment for me.
I suspect that the deficit needed to lose 0.2 lbs a week would be pretty dang easy - we're not talking an hour of cardio and a 1000 deficit a day. More like swapping the afternoon soda for an ice tea.1 -
did you put on the weight you are trying to lose overnight? I would guess that you probably gained in similar to the losing .2lbs a week - it just slowly snuck up on you
I'm in the firm camp of any progress towards your goals is good progress - and that small incremental steps is the way to go (i.e. if your overall goal is to lose 50lbs, then focus on 5lbs, then another 5)2 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Oh one other thing let's say you lose 0.2 lbs a week. That is still more than 10 lbs a year.
Time is on your side.
I wonder if that's encouraging to most people... Making effort every single day for 10lbs per year? I'm not trying to be snarky, it's a legit question. If someone told me that, if they said, "Hey, do the best you can and you can reasonably expect to lose 10-15lbs over the course of a year" I'd probably just accept that I'm going to be fat forever. That is nto a good return on investment for me.
I suspect that the deficit needed to lose 0.2 lbs a week would be pretty dang easy - we're not talking an hour of cardio and a 1000 deficit a day. More like swapping the afternoon soda for an ice tea.
I think that on the surface, that sounds like an easy plan, but how many of us make a simple change like that and find themselves thinner at the end of the year without trying anything else. Most of us will make other, not-so-great changes as well that completely counter-act the slight deficit ("oh look, a frozen yogurt shop opened up nearby!" or "mom's gotten into baking, now I always have cookies at home!").
Whenever I see someone come here and talk about how hard it is to stick to their calorie goals, someone will always tell them to reduce their weightloss goal to 1lb per week. That is fine if you don't have much to lose, but for the person who needs to lose a lot, having it take 2 years seems like a prison sentence.5 -
the winner is the person who can eat the most while still losing weight - has worked for me and many others - there is this psychological notion that losing weight needs to be painful and torturous7
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gabriellejayde wrote: »Whenever I see someone come here and talk about how hard it is to stick to their calorie goals, someone will always tell them to reduce their weightloss goal to 1lb per week. That is fine if you don't have much to lose, but for the person who needs to lose a lot, having it take 2 years seems like a prison sentence.
is it better to set weight loss to 1lb a week and consistently lose weight without falling off the proverbial horse, or be more aggressive and routinely scum to temptation and have cheat days because of the restrictions?7 -
I guess I'd have to ask you what your commitment level is, OP, because I'm pushing 40 and have lost 11lbs in 54 days, with 1lb to go until goal. I lost 1 clothing size and I'm in my "thin" clothes again. That's not slow. And all I changed was how much I ate/drank. I honestly don't feel like this was hard, or I missed something, or it was punishment. And I feel SOOOO much better.
You say you are doing all you can...what does that look like? What what are your expectations? How many times a week are you going over your calorie goal? Are you being TOO restrictive? Are you giving up because you think the work isn't worth it? Are you not trusting the system? Are you wanting the weight off so you can relax? Because, from someone who hit goal about 4 times in the last 6 years, the work isn't over when you hit goal. Maintanace requires just as much dilegence.
Like most people have said, it really only takes a few small changes to have progress over time.
You may want to look at weight loss/or your goals in a different way. Can you change habits? Is there something you do over and over again, that you can stop doing to eventually make it effortless to lose weight?
I knew when I started this journey again, to get some weight off I gained for a beach trip in November, there were something things I'd never be able to give up (wine/beer, eating out, socializing). To have this much progress in such a short time, I needed to figure out what I could give up. I started cooking more. I started making better food decisions, with some treats mixed in. I started figuring out what food was worth it and wasn't (aka pancakes, they are tasty, but don't keep me full, so they had to go). I also made myself weigh my food and log accurately, EVERY DAY.
Also remember, this isn't the show "The Biggest Loser". Real weight loss is slow, and frusterating sometimes. But you have to learn to trust that the things you are doing are worth it in the long run.
8 -
My question for you is whether you are giving yourself more benefit of the doubt. Maybe you are trying in some areas, but there's always the chance you aren't being honest with yourself (not personal, but common).
The flow chart is excellent though, and I wish you all the luck. Feeling like you are stuck is a bummer.
Someone once told me that if I feel stuck in my fat loss to change one variable for a week and see how it goes. Eat 300 calories less per day for a week or workout slightly more or differently.
If you believe you can do it, you can do it!1 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Oh one other thing let's say you lose 0.2 lbs a week. That is still more than 10 lbs a year.
Time is on your side.
I wonder if that's encouraging to most people... Making effort every single day for 10lbs per year? I'm not trying to be snarky, it's a legit question. If someone told me that, if they said, "Hey, do the best you can and you can reasonably expect to lose 10-15lbs over the course of a year" I'd probably just accept that I'm going to be fat forever. That is nto a good return on investment for me.
I suspect that the deficit needed to lose 0.2 lbs a week would be pretty dang easy - we're not talking an hour of cardio and a 1000 deficit a day. More like swapping the afternoon soda for an ice tea.
That assumes that someone is happily eating at maintenance with no work/effort/thinking what so ever. That's not the case for most of us. For most of it, it takes work to maintain. So to work harder, just to lose 10lbs over the course of the year? No thanks. I'd rather bust my *kitten* for 3 months and be more or less done with it.2 -
deannalfisher wrote: »gabriellejayde wrote: »Whenever I see someone come here and talk about how hard it is to stick to their calorie goals, someone will always tell them to reduce their weightloss goal to 1lb per week. That is fine if you don't have much to lose, but for the person who needs to lose a lot, having it take 2 years seems like a prison sentence.
is it better to set weight loss to 1lb a week and consistently lose weight without falling off the proverbial horse, or be more aggressive and routinely scum to temptation and have cheat days because of the restrictions?
Are those the only 2 options? What about cutting really aggressive for a short period of time, then leveling off into a more balanced/sustainable diet?2 -
Oh one other thing let's say you lose 0.2 lbs a week. That is still more than 10 lbs a year.
Time is on your side.
I think the only thing this poster was trying to say is that even slow progress is progress, so it's better than giving up. Not that this is the rate you should expect or be happy with LOL.
OP, how slow is slow? What is your current weight and goal weight, and how much have you lost in the last month? How is your logging? Are you using a food scale?6 -
gabriellejayde wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Oh one other thing let's say you lose 0.2 lbs a week. That is still more than 10 lbs a year.
Time is on your side.
I wonder if that's encouraging to most people... Making effort every single day for 10lbs per year? I'm not trying to be snarky, it's a legit question. If someone told me that, if they said, "Hey, do the best you can and you can reasonably expect to lose 10-15lbs over the course of a year" I'd probably just accept that I'm going to be fat forever. That is nto a good return on investment for me.
I suspect that the deficit needed to lose 0.2 lbs a week would be pretty dang easy - we're not talking an hour of cardio and a 1000 deficit a day. More like swapping the afternoon soda for an ice tea.
I think that on the surface, that sounds like an easy plan, but how many of us make a simple change like that and find themselves thinner at the end of the year without trying anything else. Most of us will make other, not-so-great changes as well that completely counter-act the slight deficit ("oh look, a frozen yogurt shop opened up nearby!" or "mom's gotten into baking, now I always have cookies at home!").
Whenever I see someone come here and talk about how hard it is to stick to their calorie goals, someone will always tell them to reduce their weightloss goal to 1lb per week. That is fine if you don't have much to lose, but for the person who needs to lose a lot, having it take 2 years seems like a prison sentence.
I don't know, maybe there's some expectations that need adjusting. It was a simplistic response to the question, yes, but I really do believe that starting slow is a great way to do this. I started off this past January needing to lose 75 lbs and I actually DID set myself a two-year goal. That's just under a pound a week for 24 months. Lots of room to learn. It's been going pretty well so far. Not only am I feeling better and weighing less than I did when I started (I'm down about 29 lbs) but I feel completely in control and confident that the changes I'm making will last. I don't feel like I'm on a diet at all.3
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