Too fat, never going to lose weight!!

dawn_westbury

Does anyone else ever feel like they just have SO MUCH weight to lose that it’s never going to happen?! I look at my stomach, my arms, etc and think “how can I ever lose all this fat/weight?!” .. It’s so discouraging!

gems74

Every journey begins with a single step.

And attitude is everything! You have to start thinking positively, that it will take time but you ARE going to succeed. You got this.

Start with small goals, 5lbs will turn to 10lbs, etc.

buffalogal42

What are your stats? (Height, starting weight, goal weight?)

I am down 113 lbs (20-ish to go) - there are no quick fixes. This took me over 2 years of sticking with a plan ... if you are committed and realize it is a long process, you CAN succeed!!

PaulaWallaDingDong

I pretty much started with no expectations about how fast or slow it would come off. Every time the scale went down was a win. It'll be 3 years in January and I still haven't reached goal 1. I did, however, drop over 100 lbs. You don't need to lose "all this fat." You just need to lose a little bit. Once you've done that, a little bit more. And so on and so forth.

RA60172

I agree with gems74. Small, attainable goals. When I started January 1st, 2016, I was staring down the barrel of 90+ lbs to lose. That is daunting, to say the least. I quickly realized, through the advice of others here, that I shouldn't try to tackle the thing as a whole or put it on a timeline. I broke it up into 10 lb blocks and remind myself continuously that it takes as long as it takes. Even at ~66 lbs down in 21 months, I STILL focus on my current short term goal. Patience and hard work will get you to your goal. Just take that first step! Best wishes on your journey.

Bluetail6

"Weight loss is not linear---237 lbs later and loving life"

Please read this success story. I don't have even close to that much weight to lose; however, I have never felt defeated. I'm just making it a priority now.

CutieGirl79

One day at a time, 1lb at a time! Take time to learn about yourself, what makes you happy, new hobbies etc. If you loose 5lbs, try to hold 5 one pound sticks of butter in your hand, or a 5lb bag of potatoes, and admire how much of that came off of you! But trust me, the little tiny tiny goals help a lot! My little goals are 10lbs. And it feels great to reach that goal and keep going! I have 84lbs to lose, but I hate to think about that part, lol. So 10lbs at a time is a MUCH better feeling and not so over whelming!

Keep on going! you WILL get there

dadsafrantic

none of us were born a huge tub of goo yet there we went. it didn't pack on overnight and it sure won't go away overnight. hang in there, don't give up and don't panic. start by getting off the couch and doing less. less eating, less worrying about the speed of loss. like buffalogal and paula say get in the boat and row.

brighteyes21

I feel you!! I just started this journey again, I have over 100lbs to lose, but I'm determined! I have had 5 pregnancies and have lots of baby weight to lose, but we are done having kids and I'm ready to get healthy. I feel like you have to want it or you will just give up. Im down 11lbs and every time I see the scale move, weather up or down, I have even more motivation! Best thing is to take it 1 day at a time, and know you will have good days and bad days and that's ok. Don't give up if you have a bad day or a few bad days, just get back on track and everything will work out!

JenObRN

dawn_westbury wrote: »

Does anyone else ever feel like they just have SO MUCH weight to lose that it’s never going to happen?! I look at my stomach, my arms, etc and think “how can I ever lose all this fat/weight?!” .. It’s so discouraging!

You can do it! Just take one day at a time. I like to not only weigh myself, but measure myself too. Week by week you may see small changes that will only become big changes over time. Keep going! It's hard work but worth it! I get discouraged too because I have literally not lost any lbs, not even an oz in the last week. But with my workouts and monitoring my food intake I can feel changes. My abs are tighter, my quads are stronger.

timtam163

Seek out success stories from others; they're all over the internet, in articles and podcasts, and in these forums. I guarantee you someone was once in your shoes with twice the weight to lose and ground it out one day at a time.

The beauty of starting from a long way is that small things make a huge difference at first. So even though the journey is longer, those first steps (hard as they may be at first) will be the most dramatic.

dawn_westbury

buffalogal42 wrote: »

What are your stats? (Height, starting weight, goal weight?)

I am down 113 lbs (20-ish to go) - there are no quick fixes. This took me over 2 years of sticking with a plan ... if you are committed and realize it is a long process, you CAN succeed!!

I am 5'5" and weigh about 235lbs .. My ultimate (wish) goal would be to weight what I did before I had my daughters (125lbs), of course that was about 20 years ago! I really just want to lose as much weight as I can (or that I need to) to feel good about myself, be healthier, not get out of breath going up ONE flight of stairs etc etc! Whether that ends up being 125lbs or 155lbs.

imacamper

What about 5 lbs.? Can you lose 5 lbs.? Just focus on that. Then when you lose five, work on losing five more. And so on. You only have to do it ten times to lose 50 lbs.

And also you have to understand that you must change your lifestyle if you want permanent weight loss. Worrying about how much you have to lose in total suggests that you are still thinking you can go back to your old habits once you're "done". Doesn't work that way.

I started seriously in August of 2015 and lost 75 lbs in about ten months. Then I went on vacation for a few weeks and allowed myself to "cheat" some while on vacation but intended to get right back to it once vacation was over. Well, I didn't. And now after 14 months of bad behavior, I'm nearly back up to where I started before I lost the 75 lbs.

And this isn't the first time I've gotten healthier only to slowly revert back to old behavior and undo the gains I made.

So I get it. And it's hard. But the hardest part is getting your head right and eliminating excuses. That's the key to long term success.

JeromeBarry1

It takes time. It takes a week to lose or gain as much as you do lose or gain in a week. It takes a month to lose or gain as much as you lose or gain in a month. It's taken me now 17+ months to ________ the weight that I've _______. @dawn_westbury , take a moment and guess the words that go in the blanks. Your choices are (lose, lost) and (gain, gained).
Perhaps that photograph above my name, taken about a month ago, shows you a clue. As of today I'm 101 lb down from where I started. It was no accident. Using the resources and the community of myfitnesspal, I learned that the amount of food I had regularly been eating was excessive. I also learned about other foods and ways of preparation which I've added to my kitchen skill set. Eating a proper amount of food for weight loss is easily done. You don't have to lose 100 lb, you just have to pay attention to today. Log your food accurately. Eat what you like, but not too much. Be patient. Be amazed.

wefts

[quote="dawn_westbury;c-40388826

I am 5'5" and weigh about 235lbs .. My ultimate (wish) goal would be to weight what I did before I had my daughters (125lbs), of course that was about 20 years ago! I really just want to lose as much weight as I can (or that I need to) to feel good about myself, be healthier, not get out of breath going up ONE flight of stairs etc etc! Whether that ends up being 125lbs or 155lbs. [/quote]


Dawn if I can loose you can loose
I am 57 YO and started 110 days ago feeling the same I am 5'8" started at 226 lbs and an apple shape all my weight is in my gut which really made clothes shopping hard and was so discouraged . But I found this site and started using the diary , and stayed on 1280 cal till I dropped the first 23 lbs , I am now down 27 lbs and on 1440 a day , I got a used exercise bike and am working at increasing my daily cardio .
It is work and takes planning . stock the house with low cal high volume foods so you can avoid feeling deprived and hungry. I am rooting for you

Lounmoun

dawn_westbury wrote: »

buffalogal42 wrote: »

What are your stats? (Height, starting weight, goal weight?)

I am down 113 lbs (20-ish to go) - there are no quick fixes. This took me over 2 years of sticking with a plan ... if you are committed and realize it is a long process, you CAN succeed!!

I am 5'5" and weigh about 235lbs .. My ultimate (wish) goal would be to weight what I did before I had my daughters (125lbs), of course that was about 20 years ago! I really just want to lose as much weight as I can (or that I need to) to feel good about myself, be healthier, not get out of breath going up ONE flight of stairs etc etc! Whether that ends up being 125lbs or 155lbs.

Every pound you lose makes a difference.
It takes time but is not impossible.

tammystarren

Its overwhelming but all the lil accomplishments will add up in the long run! Thats the only way!

pamfgil

I was your starting weight, I'm now down 60 pds approx after 215 days, plus I'm an inch shorter. Aim for improvement, keep focused on the next 5 or ten pounds and remember the time will pass anyway, do you want to be in a better position next year?

kommodevaran

I did, sometimes, but I chose to trust the process, focus on my behavior, improving my environment, adjusting my attitude (preferences, expectations), and be patient. Keep in mind that you aren't really losing weight, what you are really doing, is eating less and moving more, which creates a consistent calorie deficit, which over time, depletes your fat stores. Maybe thinking about it that way, can help you to emotionally detach yourself from all of it, while at the same time accept and love your wonderful body and be amazed by the things it can do.

Read yesterday's thread again: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10594927/how-do-you-eat#latest

amusedmonkey

What would make you feel better? Being 235 pounds or being 234?
What would feeling overwhelmed and not starting in the first place get you? Potentially being 236 pounds.

Would you rather feel better or feel worse? Even though your goal weight feels like a long way to reach, the act of losing weight is not, and your health can get noticeably better losing only 5% of your weight. That's only about a couple of months of dieting for enormous health gains. Don't look at your end goal, look how much you're gaining at every stepping stone.

Time is going to pass either way. It took me 5 years to lose 120 pounds, that's longer than most people and my results are "worse" than most (I don't see it that way), but if I had that "it's too long and daunting" attitude my results would have been even "worse". I'm focusing on the process itself and learning how to live with a diet that would allow me to maintain a reasonably healthy weight instead of on the weight itself, because that's the most important aspect of weight loss. Almost anyone can lose weight, but it takes a special kind of commitment and work to maintain it, so that's the most worthy aspect of your focus.

Rincewind_1965

No matter how long the travel:
Never look at the complete distance and the possible obstacles because this can and will be discouraging.

Instead just concentrate on the next pound to lose
Concentrate on the next mini-goal (3 lbs by the end of the month)
Divide your travel into as many short stages as possible (5lbs, 10lbs; BMI 5 points down, first quarter) The possible "mini-goals" are legion.

No one ever lost the complete overweight in one go.
It's always just stages, stages you complete in baby-steps.

BTW "Baby-Steps": Part of this journey will be the occasional stumble and/or fall, that's normal and completely Okay. Baby-steps have stumbling built in, that's how we learn to run.

I wish you all the best on your personal journey.
You are not alone.