Your biggest weight loss challenge?

eb8566

meganreid163 wrote: »

Ugh I relate to so many of your guys answears.
My biggest struggles are the scale moving up and down. It’s rough for me to see any kind of gain of even not a loss even though I know that’s complety normal.
Also realizing how long it’s going to take me to hit my goal.
I lost 27 pounds in a year. And I have about another 27 pounds to lose which I know will take even longer.
For some reason I had it in my head that I could lose 50 pounds in a year 😫

The fluctuations on the scale are misery. I was doing great this week and then TOM so up over a pound overnight and takes days to go away. The fluctuations make me insane. I know weight loss isn’t linear and when I retain the fat loss continues and eventually shows on the scale. But, it still makes me crazy.

New_Heavens_Earth

Several difficulties:

Consistency on weekends. I tend to restrict during the week, then lose it on the weekends.

Patience. I lost 70, regained 20. Everyday I have to tell myself it will take time. But yet I still want this off now *cue Veruca Salt*

Comparing myself to others instead of being appreciating my strengths and being grateful for what I've already accomplished.

Looking for perfect instead of staying with what's doable and works. Always looking for perfect diet and exercise plan instead of doing what I'm capable of consistently.

Over commiting myself. I've joined accountability and challenge groups for plans I hated just to be part of things. I've ghosted several FB challenge groups. Sucks, but I don't need that stress anymore.

ChickenKillerPuppy

texasredreb wrote: »

I'm early in my journey. My biggest struggle right now is to not freak out when the scale goes up instead of down. I can regurgitate all the reasons why weight loss isn't linear, but when it happens to me it's hard not to hyper-focus on a 2lb weight gain. "I know it was that piece of cake I ate on Saturday. It put me over 400 calories for the day. I shouldn't have had it. I hate myself for being week."

No way that 2"x3" piece of cake contained 7000 calories to account for the 2lb increase, but I still feel do deflated. That's a week's worth of dieting gone. Poof.

Wow - THIS!! I am exactly the same way. You captured it.

ChickenKillerPuppy

I have to say I am actually a little choked up reading this thread. I relate to SO MANY of these challenges. The guilt and self-loathing I feel for maintaining my goal weight (130) for over two years and then gaining 20-30 pounds and having to start over and wear my bigger clothes, the exasperation when I don’t lose one week or barely lose or gain, the knowledge that it’s going to take time even though I want to look good for an event next month where I am going to see a bunch of people who last saw me at goal weight, the anger at myself for not starting this earlier knowing that this event is looming, etc. etc.

Thank you all for sharing your challenges. I really needed it. Knowing I’m not alone and knowing you all keep on pushing forward even with these challenges helps me more than I can say.

I love the saying “you don’t drown because you fall in a puddle, you drown because you don’t get back up. I have gotten to goal several times before (weight had been a life long struggle) and I know as long as you stick with it, even if you gain some weeks, even if you binge one night, you will get there. Thank you all!

1BlueAurora

My biggest challenge is mindless eating. I love nothing better than a bowl full of popcorn with lots of butter and salt while I'm watching a movie on Netflix. I try to focus on slicing up some cucumbers and carrots and eating those instead, but it's just not the same. At least, not yet!

jnomadica

My biggest challenge is meal prep. With a busy life, sometimes it’s SO much easier to grab takeout, but that’s hard to fit in my calories.

asliceofjackie

My biggest challenge right now is actually economical, believe it or not. I'm finding it hard to fit healthy things like gym memberships into my economy. And I don't even own a pair of sneakers if I wanted to do outside workouts like walking/running. I try to do it (walking mostly) in my boots, but it's not convenient. I also have the issue that all of my clothes are starting to get loose and I can't even remotely afford buying new clothes at the rate that I'm losing them to the weightloss.

So yeah, weightloss comes with a great deal of side effects that I hadn't really planned for. But I'll get through it. Slow and steady wins the race in the end

BattyKnitter

My biggest challenge is the unknown!!! Have I accidentally been in maintenance for the past 4 weeks, or will I get a weight loss whoosh of 4 lbs soon? Should I lower my calories just in case? Should I quit running because it makes me so hungry and I'm worried about eating back all my exercise calories in case my Fitbit is overestimating my burn because I haven't lost weight in 4 weeks. That for me is the most challenging and exhausting part.

smoofinator

New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »

Several difficulties:

Consistency on weekends. I tend to restrict during the week, then lose it on the weekends.

Patience. I lost 70, regained 20. Everyday I have to tell myself it will take time. But yet I still want this off now *cue Veruca Salt*

Comparing myself to others instead of being appreciating my strengths and being grateful for what I've already accomplished.

Looking for perfect instead of staying with what's doable and works. Always looking for perfect diet and exercise plan instead of doing what I'm capable of consistently.

Over commiting myself. I've joined accountability and challenge groups for plans I hated just to be part of things. I've ghosted several FB challenge groups. Sucks, but I don't need that stress anymore.

Get out of my brain! Everything you said is me, 100% (even down to the ghosting)! You've accomplished so much and you definitely have it in you to keep going. Perfection is the enemy of progress.

RetiredAndLovingIt

@asliceofjackie..I have gotten quite a few nice clothes from a thrift store..much more reasonable than new, especially when you are losing rather quickly. My friend also buys a lot of shoes there, but I draw the line on that. I dont want someone else's foot problems.

bpotts44

I think you are right in that the patience required to be disciplined over the long period of time it takes to make a significant difference is the hardest part.

JennJ323

My biggest challenge is sticking to my plan on the weekends. Weekdays are so easy, meals are prepped and planned.. each day is the same routine. But then on weekends other plans often pop up and I don't want to be tied down to my planned meals. So I almost always go over my goal. I'm in maintenance right now and overall it hasn't affected me, but only because I'm so good during the week. They off set each other.

mjglantz

Funny, when I think back on when I started I don't think I saw anything as a real challenge. I made small changes so I wouldn't be overwhelmed & had no timetable for losing weight. Knew that what I did to lose weight was what I'd be doing for life.

yasmine_ah

I think my biggest issue is balancing my social life with dieting. I eat well at home (except holidays), but there is always someone wanting to go to happy hour, brunch or dinner. All my friends want to go out to eat when we hang out and it's hard to not be tempted by the delicious food. I also have been going on a lot of dates recently, and it's even harder to be restrictive with what you're eating when you're meeting someone for the first time...

Also free food at work. Free food is the best food. >>

whmscll

It’s not free, though. It doesn’t cost money, no, but it costs you plenty in terms of exercise and reducing your calories at other meals and work in generL to keep the pounds off.

endermako

my biggest weight loss challenge is the final 10lbs. i've been working on them since january. I've got 4lbs to go.

matrosov65

Hazelnuts. Pine nuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds. It's my snack food, netflix food, comfort food, I eat them by fistful. Now I have to literally count them and that truly stinks.

MissCM1983

Probably resisting eating the calories I burn through exercise. That and not eating breakfast!

TanyaHooton

The table at the entrance to my office where there is often platters of chocolates and cookies and pastries. I have to take the long way around so I don't see them. If I see them, I end up taking one...or five.

That I don't have to be perfect ALL THE TIME. I only have to do pretty good most of the time and it will fall into place, even to lose the vanity pounds. And that if I'm not losing weight even after being diligent, then there's something up with my body (TOM, oncoming sickness, too many salty chips)...not that the method doesn't work.

That "scarcity mentality" is a thing, and that it is hard to overcome. It takes a lot of conscious willpower to overcome thinking that was programmed in childhood and to remember that there is not a scarcity of peanut m&m's and I can forgo this opportunity because the world will not run out.

That a lot of foods I'd indulge in (even in moderation) actually don't leave a good taste in my mouth. Like Dove dark chocolates. They are deliciously sinful on my tongue. But after I've swallowed the chocolate, the fat and sugar leaves a gross aftertaste. And I don't like that. So I stopped having them because I don't want the aftertaste.

avlucia

My biggest challenge is actually measuring and weighing food. I just find it super inconvenient and usually just end up estimating, which I'm still losing so I must not be too bad at my estimates, but I also tend to be under my calories by a decent chunk.

Second would be not getting the results I feel like I've earned. I haven't felt this in a while but it's just something I'm constantly conscious of and one of those pitfalls that can easily discourage me.