How to get over the "wait" to lose weight? feeling overwhelmed
BecomingMyBetterSelf
Posts: 14 Member
How to "get over" thinking.. I have 6 months to one year to lose my almost 100 pounds of fat.. it seems like FOREVER away. I am not gonna give up.. but it just seems so far away.. what do you guys do?
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Replies
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Good for you for making the decision to change your life and become a happier, healthier person. I agree, we can't wait until we reach our goals to start living our lives. We're in our lives now.
I'm raising the whole quality of my life. I've changed my food to food I really enjoy, and cut out some food that makes me suffer. I've added exercise I love, walking/jogging in a nearby national park. One day I will lose the weight, but there will always be something else. I will never be perfect, but each day I can be healthier and happier. Hope that helps.19 -
Girl. You are gonna learn so many cool things about yourself. The way your mind works. The way your body works. You're gonna make awesome friends here. You're gonna end up with surprisingly tasty recipes. You'll be able to eyeball a pile of food and make a surprisingly accurate guess about it's quantity, and you're going to end up with opinions you never thought you needed about whole grains and vegetables you never even heard of.
Don't skip the cool stuff, though it might be tempting to fast forward to the end. There's so much to be learned and enjoyed about life as you improve one tiny thing at a time so that you can appreciate every change for the epiphany it could be.
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I take this journey one day at a time and 5 pounds at a time.
I have mini goals of 5 pounds. That way, a goal is always within reach. It makes it exciting.
I log my food diary a few days in advance. So, when I wake up, my meals are all planned for that day. It eliminates a lot of stress.
I've lost 30 pounds so far. I have no deadline to lose the next 35. It might take 6 months, maybe 9, maybe 12. I don't care really. I'm just enjoying the ride. 🌷18 -
So many nsv’s. Read the thread when you get down about the wait.4
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I agree with the others. I also have over 100 lbs to lose. I'm going for short term goals. Right now my goal is to get in the 260's and then to get past 255 since that's the weight I was stuck on forever. I also have goal shirts and will measure them every month or so to see if I fit in them. Short term goals are the way to go.13
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I have 50 pounds to lose, down 50 ish so far. It’s taken me four years to do that and I’m planning on 2-3 years for the next. There is no rush, I’m taking my time, don’t want calories too low, and want lots of food to fuel my workouts. It not a race. Did you gain it in a year? Why do you have to lose it in a year? Although lots of people can, It’s not for me.8
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I think the problem is you're thinking in terms of some finish line that you're gong to reach in 6 months to 1 years time. Here's the secret though. There is no finish line, there's just from now onward. You need to be doing things that you can maintain forever. And by forever I mean REAL forever, as in for the rest of your life forever, not a few months forever.
I now find myself in my mid 40's having spent the last 25+ years fat and trying losing weight because I was too impatient to spend 2 or 3 or 4 years in my 20's.
You think looking forward 1 year is 'Forever' to wait, try looking back and realising you had to 'wait' a quarter of a century.30 -
I started with over 100 lbs to lose, and so I shoot for 10 lbs a month. There's great threads here that have weekly weigh ins that help keep me accountable.3
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Why do you have 6 months to a year to lose 100 pounds? Losing 100 pounds in 6 months is only a realistic or healthy pace of weight loss if you weigh around 400 pounds or more, and if that is the case, you should still be under a doctor's close supervision if attempting such an aggressive pace of weight loss.
If a 100 pound weight loss will put you in your optimal BMI range, then even a year is too fast to expect that to happen. My 100 pound weight loss took 2.5 years.
Don't get so caught up in how long it will take that you push yourself to unhealthy extremes.17 -
Work on it five pounds at a time.8
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Why do you have 6 months to a year to lose 100 pounds? Losing 100 pounds in 6 months is only a realistic or healthy pace of weight loss if you weigh around 400 pounds or more, and if that is the case, you should still be under a doctor's close supervision if attempting such an aggressive pace of weight loss.
If a 100 pound weight loss will put you in your optimal BMI range, then even a year is too fast to expect that to happen. My 100 pound weight loss took 2.5 years.
Don't get so caught up in how long it will take that you push yourself to unhealthy extremes.
^this.
Being impatient and having unrealistic expectations is not likely to lead to long term success. As someone else said - you aren’t only in this for the amount of time to lose weight, but to build healthy sustainable habits that can carry you into maintenance as well.
I lost ~30 lbs and it took me just over a year. The modest deficit and slow approach meant that I never felt deprived, never thought about giving up.
You’ll see results and if you focus on small goals and milestones it helps to stay motivated. If all you tell yourself is how long the journey in front of you will be then I predict you quit the race before you finish.12 -
The time will pass regardless so you might as well start now and lose the weight. It isn’t going to go any faster if you wait. In 44 days I’ve lost almost 16 lbs. Imagine what you can accomplish in one year!6
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I feel the same way! I need to lose about 180 pounds, (I've already lost 14 in 2 weeks
) but I am so ready to already have lost all the weight!!! But at least I know it is going to happen! Good luck to us!! ♥ 5 -
kenmmaddock wrote: »I agree with the others. I also have over 100 lbs to lose. I'm going for short term goals. Right now my goal is to get in the 260's and then to get past 255 since that's the weight I was stuck on forever. I also have goal shirts and will measure them every month or so to see if I fit in them. Short term goals are the way to go.
Love your idea of goal shirts. I have about 10 different sized pants and shirts and once a month I try some of them on. I also keep the biggest pair of pants and shirt I ever wore - they always hang right next to our large mirror. And recently I bought some new pants - this time jeans - 4 sizes too small and they hang on the other side of the mirror. I also keep a list of all those tiny improvements and success moments which I have experienced over time - makes great reading when I feel a bit down. 545 days gone, 42 kg (92 pounds) down and much more to go.5 -
I had over 100 lbs to lose, and it took nearly 7 years. The issue is that sometimes people look at this one goal and see nothing else, when that one goal can be broken apart into mini goals + supportive goals, and the "big goal" is rarely the actual big goal.
Reaching those mini goals, and especially the supportive goals, is just as gratifying. Believe me, as someone who has reached a goal weight, it was kind of underwhelming compared to the rush of being able to run for the first time, the rush of being able to run longer, and the rush of being able to run faster.
The earlier you realize that "lose 100 pounds" is not your actual goal the easier you make it for yourself. Your actual goal is to "develop a set of habits and strategies that support maintaining a certain goal weight". The time you figure out how to handle social events without feeling stressed is much more gratifying and valuable than seeing a certain number on the scale, and it's something that you can work on and refine for years to come, so the gratification is never-ending. From experience, the only thing a number on the scale gave me was a short term euphoria that didn't last long. You get used to seeing the number, and then what?
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I figure it took me a long time to gain the weight - I shouldn't expect to be able to lose it all overnight. I also want to be able to maintain the weight loss.
I have lost 32kg in 9months and I did it through logging everything, being consistent, being honest with myself about what I was eating and doing. On bad days, I just picked myself up again and kept going forward remembering that it took me a long time to gain the weight so one bad day was bit going to undo all the hard work of weight loss...
You can definitely do it - just make sure you don't under eat - you need to eat to exercise and lose weight... And don't deprive yourself too much! Come up with a workable plan and calorie budget.
Good luck!!7 -
I seem to be losing around 20lb a year..... I'm living life, I'm on plan when I can be and off plan when it goes wrong. I'm becoming fitter and healthier and I'm making better choices more of the time. Jan 2018 was around 218, jan 2019 around 200. Now I'm about 180 and know that realistically I'll end the year about this as I'll lose some more and then gain over the festive period.
I guess, if I keep going, which I will as this is life now, I'll be around 160 by Jan 2021 a d that means goal in 3 years. When I started that would have sounded terribly long to wait, but now I'm enjoying the journey!
Good luck and take it slow
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I am like you - I wish I could fast forward just to see what I will look and feel like! I am an instant gratification type person (and diagnosed ADD, I think they go hand in hand). Too many times I don’t do something because of the wait involved... if I had planted that fruit tree that takes x years to mature and produce, I would be enjoying the literal fruits of that labor by now! But so many times I don’t because I don’t want to have to wait that long... so what do I do? Nothing. And that is a ridiculous mindset to have! I see my body that way as well. Too often I don’t start something because I don’t give myself enough credit to stick with it. It’s day one of the rest of your life. Next year when you look back you can either see how far you have come, or wonder why you didn’t start sooner and live with that regret.
Take GOOD before pics (as in, good quality, angles that accurately show what is there, not necessarily ones you want to see). Even when I don’t necessarily feel huge changes I can look at my pics and see those subtle shifts...8 -
So much good advice on here already so I won't repeat. I just want to add to those who lost; it took me 2 years to lose 100 lbs. But it was worth every minute to get here. Also still logging 2 years later. Once you get to goal you are going to have to continue what you have been doing for the rest of your life. Chances are you will get a few more calories but your life will never go back to the way it was before losing. Unless of course you want to gain it back.7
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I struggle with this as well. I just want it to be gone now!! But unfortunately it doesn’t happen overnight. I agree with the others who say mini goals or 5lbs at a time. That’s what I’m going to do for myself. 5lbs every 2 weeks is my goal!2
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Think in terms of something else you've earned that took time.
Few people think of academics as "Oh lord I have 12-16 years of education ahead of me" It's focusing on the year, the semester, the class.
Don't focus on the goal - focus on your behavior in achieving the goal.
Age certainly imparts a benefit. It's quite different to think of a year at 20 or at 50, simply due to experience.9 -
BecomingMyBetterSelf wrote: »How to "get over" thinking.. I have 6 months to one year to lose my almost 100 pounds of fat.. it seems like FOREVER away. I am not gonna give up.. but it just seems so far away.. what do you guys do?
In addition to the many useful perspectives others have posted, here's another thought:
Essentially, you're telling us that you're impatient with the process, and just want to reach the goal quicker: Near intant gratification, more or less.
Here's the thing: There are many, many good things in life that are going to take slow, patient, consistent, persistent work. It might be building a successful career; it might be raising happy/healthy children; it might be learning a skill like playing a music instrument, dancing well, or drawing/painting well; it might be saving money to buy a house or for retirement; it might be developing skill at some athletic ability; it might be achieving an advanced academic credential/degree or certification; there are lots of other examples.
As you go through process of losing weight, persistently and patiently chipping away slowly at it over quite a long period of time, you'll also be learning and practicing subtle skills that will help you achieve other long-term goals, and learning how to harness your personal strengths (and overcome personal limitations) to do it.
Learning how to patiently pursue life improvements is a transformationallly useful thing. Weight loss is a practice/learning opportunity.15 -
For me the first few weeks were hard but because I didn't know how to start. But on myfitnesspal site it help me see what everyone did. I saw some do CICO, change eating habits, fasting, or more exercising. Really once you realize what is the best for you it will become easier. Plus the small changes you will see will keep you motivated. I set mini goals that i could accomplish and make this long process pretty enjoyable.4
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I take it one day, even one meal at a time and don't put a time frame on my weight loss. The time will pass and a slower loss is much more enjoyable and sustainable.
I just set my calorie goal and stick to it the best I can. If I "mess up", I think about WHY and then think about a possible solution for the future, and every day I get BETTER. If I overeat, I don't sweat it. The next day, even the next meal, I hop back on the horse and continue with my plans. I don't restrict or punish myself. And I've still been able to lose 65 lbs.
I have started to think in terms of permanent lifestyle changes. If I can't do it forever, then I don't do it (I eat chocolate every day, don't restrict any type of food, etc.) I started listening to the podcast Half Size Me and highly recommend it. She talks about maintainable weight loss.
The "hard" work you put in day in and day out (it will get easier) will not correlate to how fast the scale drops, which will be slow. But slow is good. Just focus on the daily habits you are trying to execute (tracking, high protein, frequent meals maybe?) and the weight will come off as a byproduct.8 -
Celebrate the little wins... tightening my belt one notch, t-shirt fitting better, getting into the next size down jeans.
Irrelevant of how much you lose, if you are well in a week without eating something you didn't plan congratulate yourself as it's a win! Keep a diary and each day give youraelf 3 ticks, 1 for being in your goal, another for eating what you planned, 3rd for choosing healthy options. If you got at least 1 your on a positive if you got all 3 celebrate another day doing really great things5 -
When I wonder "how much longer" I also realize, that when I was gaining all my weight I never thought: "How much longer will it take, until I end up on 170 kg (375 pounds) ??? With this in mind, I take it day by day, meal by meal and I trust the MFP calculations. 540 days gone and lots more of fat to shift.8
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I didn't give myself a deadline and really didn't have a goal in mind at first. I started the middle of January and knew it would be a journey. 91 lbs down since.8
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Whatever your motivation is to lose the 100lb is also your motivation to lose 50lb, or 10lb, or 2lb, just on a smaller scale. There will not be a magical switch when you hit 100lb where you go from unhealthy to healthy, or unattractive to attractive, or whatever it is that you believe losing weight will change for you.
The truth is that every pound is a small improvement. I've lost ~40lb and was just today thinking about how nice it is to be able to climb 2 flights of stairs at work without being too out-of-breath to hold a conversation when I reach the top. I'm still very much overweight and have another ~50lb to lose, but this is a win! I've still got a jiggly belly and my thighs chafe when I wear a skirt, but I no longer have skin folding over itself around my waist.
Embrace the little victories on the way!10 -
I've spent much of my career as a project manager (not these days, but a while back). As I grew into the field, the size of the projects got bigger. And as they got bigger and more ominous because of their size and duration, a mentor told me something I'll never forget:
"A huge project is a bunch of related small projects put together."
This applies to just about every facet of life.13 -
You don't have to wait 6 months or a year to enjoy your success. Even the first 20 pounds is going to make a difference in how you feel. You don't have to wait till all the weight is gone to feel the difference. And remember, that time is going to pass whether you are losing weight or not - make it your goal that a year from now you are much happier with your health and how you feel. Short term, achievable goals really work.8
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