Struggling with consistency

believe053017

Amy tips for staying on track? I'm good for about a week them see that the weight isn't dropping as quickly as I'd like, so I fall off track again.

tiptoethruthetulips

Set more realistic goals would be my tip given that you are allowing disappointment to derail you.

irandra23

I know what you mean. I get like that as well but just like the weight didn't get in in a week, it wont take a week to fall off.

You have to learn to celebrate small achievements and set realistic goals. I say dedicate two months to weight loss and trust me you will be happy at the end of the period.

kommodevaran

Don't be "good" - be kind and firm. Eat enough food, but not too much. Eat food you like, and move as much as you want. Don't go on and off track, just live. Eat, think and move like the normal weight person you want to be.

You can expect to lose up to 1% of your total body weight per week - on average - if you do everything right. But don't expect to see a drop on the scale every week - your weight normally fluctuates more from day to day than the amount you can lose in a week. Weekly weigh-ins on modern (accurate) scales doesn't work well with modern (healthy) weight loss. It can be a good idea to weigh daily or monthly instead of weekly.

LivingtheLeanDream

Maybe you have too aggressive a calorie deficit? wouldn't it be better to not feel like you are depriving yourself yet still lose weight? it will just happen a little slower but so what?

colors_fade

You must take the long view.

The problem with weight loss, for many people, is there's a constant need for feedback. We weigh, we measure, we want to see results. But weight loss takes a long, long time. So the only way to make it work is through consistent effort, and realizing you are not going to see results day to day, but more like month to month.

You stop after a week because you don't see results. But the problem here is that you expect results after a week. So until you can fix that mindset, you won't be able to stay consistent.

This is a mental exercise you must learn to perform: to say to yourself, "I know I can't measure my progress every day, I know I won't see my progress every day, or even every week, but I will see the results over a long period of time if, and only if, I stay consistent with my effort."

Losing weight is like trying to take sand out of a bottle one grain at a time. You remove 100 grains of sand and look at the bottle and it looks exactly the same. And you think, "Why am I not seeing any progress? I just removed 100 grains of sand!" But there's a million grains in there. So you have to just keep working at it. Eventually, you'll look at the bottle and notice about 1/4 of the sand is gone, and realize, "Hey, I really am making progress, it's just hard to see until enough time passes."

mkdm291

I did the same thing for a long time. It turns out my goal of 1 lb/week with a 1200 calorie limit was too difficult for me (if people can do it, more power to them!). LOL!
I lowered my goal to .5/week and it set my limit to 1400. I'm finding it much more manageable. That in addition to squeezing in more workouts, I feel a lot more accomplished and consistent.
Slow and steady wins the race!

everher

I used to have this problem. Although, when the weight wasn't dropping as quickly as I like I would be hard on myself.

You just have to accept it isn't going to happen overnight. You didn't gain the weight in a week, you aren't going to lose it in a weight.

Set reasonable expectations (a pound or so a week) and you won't be disappointed.

peaceout_aly

believe053017 wrote: »

Amy tips for staying on track? I'm good for about a week them see that the weight isn't dropping as quickly as I'd like, so I fall off track again.

Set realistic goals that are attainable over time. Pre-log.

2011rocket3touring

To add on what color_fade brilliantly posted; focus on the process. Feel good about a good mean, then a good day. If your under your calorie goal then your successful and celebrate that victory.
Remember the "goal" isn't the goal, it's learning a new way of living. Losing weight does little good if you gain it back.

Sara1791

I try to think of it this way: This is what I do now. Whether I lose one pound this month or eight. I just do what I'm supposed to do and the weight will come off eventually. Feedback is helpful over time to know whether or not I'm on track, but it needs to be over time. Not one week or two weeks. Sometimes not even three weeks. I try to be really objective and detached when I step on the scale. I try to look at it as data that will help me make good decisions if I interpret it correctly.

samchez0

Know that weightloss doesn't happen in a week just like gaining didn't happen in one week. You need to give your body longer to show any sort of results