Trust the process

crazykatlady820

Dang. Weight loss can be soooo slow going! This past month I felt like the scale was barely moving. Every day I would log my morning weight into the Happy Scale app and just keep plugging along all the while reminding myself to trust the process. Every day- Kat, it’s worked so far. Trust. The. Process.

Today, I weighed in at 268 which is awesome!!! But it still didn’t feel like much of a loss until I went to input it on Happy Scale and the app told me I’ve lost 8ish pounds in the last 30 days. Here I am feeling like the scale isn’t moving, but it has been and at a rate I’m perfectly happy with. I’m not sure why I was trying to convince myself that it wasn’t. This is why tracking my weight each morning is an important tool for me. Because I can look at it when I feel like things are moving slowly. (And I can also get used to my regular fluctuations.)

Anyway, I guess I’m writing this just in case anyone needs to hear it too. Trust the process, do the work, and good gravy have patience! Lol! Patience is the hardest part I think. Sometimes time and progress isn’t as it appears and it’s easy to fool yourself into thinking it isn’t working. But I’ll say it again- trust the process.

tammyfranks2

I do not weigh in but like once every 2 weeks and I am actually scared to step on the scale because what if I gained , what if I only lost 1 pound , I am really working hard this time , I am so tried of being this big , I want this to work so badly ......so I needed to hear this , YOU are right , we have to Trust the Process !!! Thank you !!!

Dad4Myla

Trust the process. The toughest part is logging every thing you put into your mouth. If you make that the habit. You will eat less as you are more aware.

Mellykay88

Absolutely! If we eat fewer calories than we burn, we will lose weight. It really is that simple. Unfortunately, the diet industry does not want people to know that. There’s no “miracle” pill and I think the need for a quick fix is what keeps people from losing the weight. People aren’t usually patient with change. We want to change overnight, but it’s just not possible. Trusting the process is exactly what makes people successful. Find a plan that works, stick to it, and give it TIME is my biggest advice to anyone struggling.

PloddingTurtle

I'm trying to deliberately focus on the step-by-step, the daily food logging, the weekly meal-planning, the careful choices at the grocery store, the selection of recipes, and the weekend meal-prep, all as a way to ritualize the process until it becomes second nature, and doing that will hopefully distract me from analyzing the speed at which I am or am not changing.

It's just so easy to be impatient and become discouraged when we are too focused on that far-off goal because that's when the slow step-by-step improvements seem so inadequate, especially in a world where so much is instantly available.

MzCara148

@PloddingTurtle - I hear you. Why is it so easy to fall into a bad habit but so hard to establish good ones? I am also having a hard time staying in the now. I get myself all worked up thinking - can I loose this much by this date.? How fast can I get to this number? I know it's unhealthy but I have more work to go before I loose that mindset.

PloddingTurtle

I hear you too, @MzCara148.

Let's pat ourselves on the back for some of the gigantic tiny steps we are undertaking and help each other celebrate the process. Here are some of my newly incorporated not-yet habits, in no specific order of importance.

food logging
fitbit pedometer tracking
meal planning
meal prepping (ready-to-grab-and-go lunches and breakfasts for the week)
batch cooking (the freezer is my friend)
stopped all late night snacking
have not bought fast food or junk food as a meal replacement since I started two months ago

crazykatlady820

It IS hard to stay in the now sometimes! That’s why I am trying to focus on the process. The day-to-day little steps that will eventually get me there. It’s okay to dream about what my life can be like, but I’m also trying to remind myself to enjoy what it is like today. I’m working hard toward my goals and that is something to be proud of instead of overlooking it because I’m not at my goal yet.

MzCara148

food logging
meal planning and actually cooking
weighing everything
wearing my fitbit
planned workouts

Baby steps, baby!

PloddingTurtle

Are you experiencing a "Man! Am I good!" moment @MzCara148? Because you really should be. Change is hard, and you have a substantial list of deliberate changes.

tammyfranks2

I am trusting the process but man oh man it is so hard ....after 2 almost 3 weeks I went and weighted in at my docs , (they let me come in and weigh in ) and I have lost 2 pounds , I am just so gut wrenched . I am working so hard , I am working out with a 5 pound weight , I am trying to wait hours after last meal before I eat again (like 12 hours) I am only eating what I am logging . BUT my OB has me on these hormone pills and I am in pain and cranky and cry at the drop of a hat , and I only lost 2 pounds . MY blood sugars are good and I have lost 1 inch off my waist and 1 inch off my hips , but gezzzzz it's like why am I not down 100 pounds already LOL I am kidding , but after 96 days to only be down 27 pounds , when I lost weight before , yes I was only 35 now I am 52 I lost 80 pounds in like 6 months , at this rate I will be 54 before I lose 100 lol ok I am done crying for myself , whining and bitchin and moanin LOL thanks for listening .

bigghunny

@Tammyfranks2 Awesome job on the 2lbs and inches lost. I feel you on the frustration. We want the weight just to fall off. I go to the gym 5 days a week and when I don't I do aerobics and small weights at home. Still struggling with the 5lbs from April....lol It takes time and most of all alot of patience. Great job on your blood sugar. You will do it!

bmeadows380

don't focus on the scale - focus on the waist measurement because losing 1 inch off your waist is fantastic! The problem is that water weight is a horrible mask over our results sometimes, and your hormone pills are very likely contributing that water weight. So you may have indeed lost more than 2 lbs, but you may also be carrying around extra lbs from the water weight, which is NOT true weight. That's why I say focus on the inches lost, because that's a true indicator to you that what you're doing is working - those inches lost mean fat is lost and that's something to celebrate!

But I can completely understand how you feel because I'm fighting the same thing. I've been pretty well stuck since January, bouncing around the same darn 5 lbs. I spent the last 6 weeks slowly raising my calories up to maintenance, took a 2 week diet break, and then spent the last 2 weeks slowly lowering back down. Today I'm back to my 1500 calorie limit. 1 week after the end of the diet break, I lost 4 lbs of water weight. I was eating at a 500 calorie deficit so I expected to see myself down around a 1lb this week, but nope, I was back up those same darn 4 lbs. However, I KNOW for a fact that those 4 lbs are water weight - my hands are swelled, my ankles are swelled, and my muscles are sore because I've spent several days this week doing strenuous yard work - push-mowing my grass and the grass at my parents' camp, digging post holes, taking up sod with a hand-cultivator, planting plants, etc. All that is strenuous work and working out my muscles about like a weight training workout (at least, I'm sore like I've been weight lifting!) and after a workout, I tend to gain water weight as my body is working to repair those muscle tissues.

But even though I KNOW this in my head, its still incredibly frustrating! It's like "did I lose anything this week for real, or not?" But all I can do is make sure I tighten up my logging (when I work like that, I tend to want to eat more), stick to my deficit and be patient. It will come! And I knew this second 100 lbs wouldn't come as fast as the first, though I dont' think I"m going to make my goal this year of losing another 50 lbs