Missing the big changes

mtsprout
mtsprout Posts: 20 Member
in Motivation and Support
I started last February at 220 lbs and am at 168 right now. I'd like to get down to 150 over this next year, which I think will be doable, but I really miss the big leaps in weight loss and the noticeable changes in the mirror. Anyone else emotionally struggling with the shift to slower weight loss? I haven't been focused much on my calories for a few months--just sticking with the better habits I developed--and I've stayed at about a half pound of loss per week, which is what I want at this point. It's just not as satisfying!

Replies

  • GoRun2
    GoRun2 Posts: 478 Member
    As a suggestion, go to the consignment store and buy tight jeans. You should see changes in how they fit. Worth a try.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    I have been working for some time on preparing for maintenance which will mean that the scale will change very little other than normal weight fluctuations and the mirror may show fitness improvement from exercise but at a very gradual pace.

    My eating habits have graduated to nearly mindless adherence during normal periods of time. It is just a regular day. Since I still have a little weight left to lose when the scale does show a new low it is a bonus prize.

    For a very long time my scale results have been overshadowed by NSVs. I started with a very large amount of weight to lose and a lot of freedom to recapture. I have not yet began taking any of that for granted but I am worried that over time it may happen. After all we are talking about things which most people find to be normal capabilities. They are exciting to me because I lost them through all the weight gain and now they are back. In the future they may just be normal again.
  • mtsprout
    mtsprout Posts: 20 Member
    GoRun2 wrote: »
    As a suggestion, go to the consignment store and buy tight jeans. You should see changes in how they fit. Worth a try.

    I really like this idea! Feeling my clothes fit better was great motivation during the first part of my weight loss.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    88olds wrote: »
    Some thoughts-

    There’s the law of diminishing returns at work in weight loss. As I lost my health got better. A lot better. A lot of the things that got me going to begin with, sleep apnea, HBP, sore knees, were gone. There weren’t life threading isssues to cross off the list because those had been addressed. I still recall that at some point I just wanted GW because it was there. After all everything is wait and see what its like when we get there. GW was really the only way to quit nagging myself.

    For me there was an identity crisis as I neared goal weight. If I wasn’t going to be the fat guy trying to lose all the time, who was I? This took a while to sort out.

    There’s expectations v reality. Making goal doesn’t change the nature of the universe. No magic happens. I think nearly everyone has some sort of a letdown.

    I think you’re wise to aim for a soft landing at GW. As long as you are losing something and are satisfied with how you are living you are in the golden zone. Never forget you can’t weigh 150 living a 180 lb life.

    Congrats on the loss. Keep going. There’s no finish line.


    I am not sure I will have a label that replaces my two previous ones of enormous guy and enormous guy losing weight. The next one that follows is average weight guy. That definitely seems anti-climatic.

    I like the transition I am making into active guy quite a bit so maybe that is good enough.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    88olds wrote: »
    Some thoughts-

    There’s the law of diminishing returns at work in weight loss. As I lost my health got better. A lot better. A lot of the things that got me going to begin with, sleep apnea, HBP, sore knees, were gone. There weren’t life threading isssues to cross off the list because those had been addressed. I still recall that at some point I just wanted GW because it was there. After all everything is wait and see what its like when we get there. GW was really the only way to quit nagging myself.

    For me there was an identity crisis as I neared goal weight. If I wasn’t going to be the fat guy trying to lose all the time, who was I? This took a while to sort out.

    There’s expectations v reality. Making goal doesn’t change the nature of the universe. No magic happens. I think nearly everyone has some sort of a letdown.

    I think you’re wise to aim for a soft landing at GW. As long as you are losing something and are satisfied with how you are living you are in the golden zone. Never forget you can’t weigh 150 living a 180 lb life.

    Congrats on the loss. Keep going. There’s no finish line.


    I am not sure I will have a label that replaces my two previous ones of enormous guy and enormous guy losing weight. The next one that follows is average weight guy. That definitely seems anti-climatic.

    I like the transition I am making into active guy quite a bit so maybe that is good enough.

    2+ years in maintenance here. I think of myself as a formerly obese person. If I don’t stick to my maintenance plan, I could be an obese person again. Other people think of me as thin/athletic, and I am more comfortable describing myself as an athlete now, but part of my brain is always going to see myself 100 pounds ago.

Categories