Slow losers

stacey8121

Hi,

I'm 32, and unfortunately I've lost and gained 50+ pounds several times in my life. This time, I've been watching my diet and exercising for 13 months, and I've lost 47 pounds. I know it doesn't sound very slow, and I am definitely grateful for the weight I've lost, but the last 20 pounds took me more than 6 months. I'm 163 now, and I have another 17 pounds before I hit the top of the range for a healthy weight for my height. And I'd really like to lose more after that (I've been that weight before and still looked chubby). I just feel like it's going to take another year for me to feel comfortable with myself. I've been working out harder and more consistently than ever before in my life, and it's still a huge struggle. Rationally, I know that there is really no rush, but it's hard to stay motivated for so long. Is anyone else in the same boat? Sometimes I look in the mirror and can't believe I still look like this...

stacey8121

I just re-read what I wrote and it sounds like I've got major body/self esteem issues. I really don't most of the time...I'm just having a bad day I guess. It's good to get it out here with people who have hopefully been in the same place I am.

ChrissyC1985

i lose slow, lost 12lbs since Jan, i know it's because i binge and put on and it takes ages to lose it all again, i have got better and binge loads less than i used to but it's all a slow, learning process and i am making progress with my fitness goals so i am heading in the right direction overall.

4ever420

At first I lost weight quickly, I had a lot to lose. Now that I'm within about 40lbs of my goal it's going excruciatingly slow. I understand about losing motivation when sometimes it feels like you're treading water. Hang in there, even if it does take a year to get to where you want to be, a year can go by pretty quickly.

Pinkylee77

You are not doing that bad with your weight loss. Slow loss is best. Last year I only lost about 10-12 pounds before MFP this year I have done better. But you have to think you are 47 pounds lighter than you were. Even a half pound loss a week is better than gaining. Increase your exercise add a bit of weights and keep your chin up.

nxd10

I hear you. It came off really fast for those first 28 pounds and then trickle trickle for the last 8. But I did eventually hit the goal.

Here's the good and the bad news.

First YOU ARE AWESOME. That is a lot of weight.

Second, everyone says it is easy to keep off than to take off. Your body needs to readjust. You have to be 'in the lifestyle' and not on a diet and teach yourself how to behave. Even after you take it all off you're gonna have to keep on logging and keep on exercising. You KNOW that. You've been through this yoyo before.

The longer you stay on the wagon and keep on doing it the more it becomes just what you do and what you're going to keep doing. You're going to keep this off forever. Just keep saying it.

---

All that said, I did start to lose faster when the weather got warm and I just started moving more. I also started eating lighter - by which I mean fewer carbs and more fruit. Your body wants those calories when it's cold and lets them go when it's hot. Keep measuring accurately - it's easy to slide. Log all those dressings and that mayo. Double check your carbs are lower than 40% to keep those insulin low and your body burning fat. Check those portion sizes.

It is hard to keep motivated. But it's hard to stay motivated to keep it off too. This is just your life now.

Duck_Puddle

What I have done is to change my mindset. I don't focus on pounds dropping (they will go if/when they feel like it), I focus on setting goals to eat better and exercise (things I can control). Assuming I meet my goals, the pounds will come off (which they do-whenever they feel like it). It has helped me to really internalize that there is no "done"-achieving a certain number on the scale doesn't mean I can change the behaviors (eating better and exercise). So I focus on the behaviors and let the results happen. And they do. And I don't see a d@mn bit of difference in the mirror either. My head knows I'm smaller, and I see it in pictures, but not at all in the mirror. I've read that it takes time and eventually I'll see the difference. I hope that's true.

mwilke

I know how you are feeling. I lost 50 lbs. in the past year and a half. Figured it was now a habit to pick the healthier foods and to exercise. Then I lost my job in October, and got a little depressed. I ended up gaining about 10-15 back, and am now trying to get back into the mindset where I want to go exercise and I want to eat healthy. Not gonna lie, I give in to cravings a lot, just because I don't want to deprive myself and end up sabotaging myself. But even after having dropped down to a medium from and XL, I still see the XL person looking back at me in the mirror.

Macstraw

Remember that the scale # alone does not determine whether you'll look "chunky" or not - the composition of the body itself makes a much bigger difference. You can be the weight you say you looked chunky at & still appear chunky or you can be that exact same weight but look much smaller by having more of the weight that makes up that scale # be muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat BY VOLUME (for those that feel the need to argue that things that have the same scale # must weight the same), so more muscle on your frame will look smaller in size than the same weight in fat. Bottom line - move more, focus on how healthy & strong you feel, track your "medical" #'s (blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, etc.) & look in the mirror. That will tell you much more than looking at a # on the scale......

ReneeJ814

What I have done is to change my mindset. I don't focus on pounds dropping (they will go if/when they feel like it), I focus on setting goals to eat better and exercise (things I can control). Assuming I meet my goals, the pounds will come off (which they do-whenever they feel like it). It has helped me to really internalize that there is no "done"-achieving a certain number on the scale doesn't mean I can change the behaviors (eating better and exercise). So I focus on the behaviors and let the results happen. And they do. And I don't see a d@mn bit of difference in the mirror either. My head knows I'm smaller, and I see it in pictures, but not at all in the mirror. I've read that it takes time and eventually I'll see the difference. I hope that's true.

My thoughts exactly! I'm a slow loser too. I've been on MFP for almost a year and 6 months and I've lost 41 pounds. I thought that I'd be further along than this, but I'm trying to focus on how far I've come overall instead of the number on the scale. I'm going to tell you the same thing that people tell me: keep doing what your doing and the weight WILL come off.

Macstraw

t re-read - the word you used was "chubby" not "chunky". I'm betting that you seeing yourself that way was more mental than reality anyway. You'll be fine, just take a long term view & make steady changes until you are where you want to be.....

stacey8121

Thanks so much for all of the supportive responses. And so quickly too! It's really helped me feel better. It's true that I might look much slimmer than I am expecting when I get down to 146 (the top of the weight range for my height), as I've never been there before after having done so much strength training. I told my friends recently that I was just going to focus on that weight as my goal weight - because when I was my highest weight I would have loved to be 146, and trying to go below that might be so hard that it would make me spiral out of control. But of course, after I told them that, I thought about it and said that I should really try to be the best I can be...

Anyway, I really am thinking way too much about this. I should focus on all of the improvements I've made and not so much on how far I am from the "perfect" body. I'm in good health, have a boyfriend who seems to love me at any weight, and a good job and friends. So, it's really mostly vanity that I'm whining about - and that shouldn't be impacting me so much. Hearing the way the rest of you have dealt with these types of feelings has been great.

beattie1

What I have done is to change my mindset. I don't focus on pounds dropping (they will go if/when they feel like it), I focus on setting goals to eat better and exercise (things I can control). Assuming I meet my goals, the pounds will come off (which they do-whenever they feel like it). It has helped me to really internalize that there is no "done"-achieving a certain number on the scale doesn't mean I can change the behaviors (eating better and exercise). So I focus on the behaviors and let the results happen. And they do. And I don't see a d@mn bit of difference in the mirror either. My head knows I'm smaller, and I see it in pictures, but not at all in the mirror. I've read that it takes time and eventually I'll see the difference. I hope that's true.

^ This, but for me, my head knows I'm smaller, and I see it in the mirror, but not at all in pictures.

aquinoz

1 to 1.5 lb's a week is good enough for me.Slow and steady wins the race.

nxd10

What I have done is to change my mindset. I don't focus on pounds dropping (they will go if/when they feel like it), I focus on setting goals to eat better and exercise (things I can control). Assuming I meet my goals, the pounds will come off (which they do-whenever they feel like it). It has helped me to really internalize that there is no "done"-achieving a certain number on the scale doesn't mean I can change the behaviors (eating better and exercise). So I focus on the behaviors and let the results happen. And they do. And I don't see a d@mn bit of difference in the mirror either. My head knows I'm smaller, and I see it in pictures, but not at all in the mirror. I've read that it takes time and eventually I'll see the difference. I hope that's true.

So smart.

Also - have you recalculated your calories? MFP changes them depending your current weight but if your weight comes off a little at a time, it never updates so you wind up having a higher calorie count than you should.

It's painful, because you put in your current weight and your calories drop. But every time I do it I drop more weight.

shaybuggie

That sounds exactly like me, the only difference is that my BW was higher. My weight is up and down right now. I'm not sure what it is, but I think it just may be that your body is getting used to being the weight you're at now, or at least that's what people keep telling me. You'll lose the last 17; I have confidence in you!

Macstraw

Thanks so much for all of the supportive responses. And so quickly too! It's really helped me feel better. It's true that I might look much slimmer than I am expecting when I get down to 146 (the top of the weight range for my height), as I've never been there before after having done so much strength training. I told my friends recently that I was just going to focus on that weight as my goal weight - because when I was my highest weight I would have loved to be 146, and trying to go below that might be so hard that it would make me spiral out of control. But of course, after I told them that, I thought about it and said that I should really try to be the best I can be...

Anyway, I really am thinking way too much about this. I should focus on all of the improvements I've made and not so much on how far I am from the "perfect" body. I'm in good health, have a boyfriend who seems to love me at any weight, and a good job and friends. So, it's really mostly vanity that I'm whining about - and that shouldn't be impacting me so much. Hearing the way the rest of you have dealt with these types of feelings has been great.

You don't sound like you're being vain - you're trying to improve yourself while finding your way through the process. We have all been programmed that the # on the scale is the end all & be all, but being on MFP since January has taught me that the scale is the least important # to track. I use it as a guide to track progress, but I no longer worry about what a goal weight is going to be - I am going to keep at what I'm doing until I am comfortable with the entire combination of my health, my strength, the way I feel & how I look. I learned not to worry about plateaus, as I continued to get smaller - started my journey packed tightly into 38 inch waist jeans, recently bought new shorts (including jean shorts) in a comfortable size 34. I think you're going to be very pleasantly surprised by how you look even before you hit your 146 because you are doing so many more of the right things that weren't happening before - the key to success is not a deprivation diet, it's moving more, eating some less but much better food......

kazzsjourney

It has taken me over 6.5 years so far to lose 182 pounds...does it matter? nope...only matters that i am losing and trying to be the "best me" i can be. If it takes another year so be it...time will pass anyway...as long as you are improving each day thats all that matters IMO

donyellemoniquex3

I've been here for over a year and lost 15lbs.