Maybe my 100 pound weight loss goal was too ambitious

Goal179

Ok, MFP, I need a pep talk. I am feeling a little frustrated with my weight loss. I have been doing this for over 4 months and I still feel just as lost and unsure of myself as when I started. I am thinking that maybe my goal of 100 pounds is too ambitious and I don't have the strength, knowledge, skills to get there. Maybe 30 pounds is all that I have the ability to achieve and i need to just focus on maintaining what I have. I am still obese and for my health to be optimized, I need to get off another 70 pounds. I have read everything there is to find about caloric intake, exercise, cardio versus strength training and the more I read, the more confused I get. I see many people reach their 100 pound goal, but for some reason, I am starting to think that I am different and not capable of achieving it. The method that I used to lose the 30 pounds no longer seems to be working. I just need a pep talk. Especially from you guys who have managed to meet aggressive goals. I am not giving up, I am not stopping. I just don't know if I am doing this right. I am doubting myself because my results are not forth coming. I would like to print out your positive responses and hang them on my mirror to help keep me motivated. I love my MFP community and I am hoping you guys can talk me through this. UGH!!!

Annie_01

I started out with 101lbs to lose. About all I knew was that I needed to eat less and be more active. In the past when I tried that approach I failed. This time...I decided to educate myself.

It is confusing...there is so much differing information out on the net. I sounds good...then your read something totally opposite...and it too sounds good.

Here is what I have done...

I eat how I plan to eat the rest of my life...in portions that fit my calories.

I also eat enough that I am not hungry all day.

There have been very few foods that I have denied myself unless I think the calories are not worth it.

I buy very few highly processed foods.

Increased my fruits and vegetables.

Drink plenty of water.

Started a workout regimen that I am fairly faithful to do.

Most of all...I do what works for me. I have had to make some adjustments along the way. When the weight stops coming off I double check myself to see if I need to make changes.

I didn't know when I started if I could do this or not...but today I hit 200. By the end of the week it is possible that I will see the one hundreds for the first time in years.

I have succeeded this time because I took control...responsibility for each pound...made no excuses.

As each pound goes away...that is one more excuse that I no longer have not to succeed.

Has it all been easy...no...it hasn't. It has taken a lot of discipline to get this far. Soon I will have lost 50lbs and it will be time to start on the next 50lbs. I am preparing myself for it to be even tougher.

I have had good days and bad days...some days I am elated at my progress...other days I have been discouraged. What I haven't been is ready to throw in the towel. If I mess up...I just start again.

I can't offer much advice...I only know what works for me...you have to find what will work for you and that you will be able to sustain for not only until you lose the weight but for long past that. How I eat not will be how I have to eat for the rest of my life...well maybe a little bit bigger portions.

I wish you well...just keep working until you find what works for you in a healthy way. Make sure that it is a way that you can eat for a long time.

Oh...my one bit of advice...stay away from anything that sounds like a quick fix...there are no quickies in the weight loss arena.

Goal179

How many calories do you eat on a typical day?

mandikaye

I have 100 pounds to lose, but my first goal is just 30 pounds. I broke it up into more manageable chunks so it doesn't feel so overwhelming and daunting.


In the end, you have to find what works for YOU. You're not the same as me, or the others on MFP. You're you. What works for me, might not work for you. I've had to work really hard and fail many times to figure out what works for ME. I encourage you to do the same.

And remember, you're not alone.

bperkins88

i think finding foods that fill you up and are not calorie dense is a good way to start. I also think that having a scale and being able to portion the foods out helps too. It gives you an idea of how much is actually a serving.

acogg

Everyone here has had the discouraging day. You have to keep getting up, repeating and building new healthier habits. You are getting healthier every day, even if it doesn't seem like it right now. This is a long term commitment to your health, so time is not an issue. My heart is with you tonight! :flowerforyou:

Annie_01

How many calories do you eat on a typical day?

Normally around 1350. I save my exercise calories for my pizza day on the weekend.

I have become very articulate in my calorie counting...I weigh almost everything except for things that give the calorie count for each thing such as a slice of bread or cheese sticks.

Before I cook a recipe I weigh and measure the ingredients as I add them. After cooking I reweigh the finished product and determine what my portion size is.

On weekends...especially Sunday I give myself some extra calories...maybe closer to 1450...sometimes 1500.

I have averages losing weight at a rate of 2lbs a week....I am pleased with that.

Kyttiara

If you are feeling frustrated and confused, I would recommend a personal trainer, at least for a short time (if it's in your budget). I did 14 sessions with a trainer, and now that I'm done with her, I am continuing on with my strength training (weight lifting and the like) as well as mixing in cardio and yoga.

It can be daunting at first, especially if you have to go to a mixed gender gym. I am lucky that I have a ladies only gym near my home that has some amazing trainers and all the equipment you could ask for.

I'd be happy to help you with anything you need

jennifer_a00

Just keep logging! It's easy to be impatient (I have been there) but just keep logging! If you follow MFP calories that you have been given, eat back your exercise cals, and make sure you have inputed the right activity level, etc, you will lose. Why can't you lose 100 pounds? Don't give up, this requires patience!

bumblebreezy91

I'm really glad you posted this.

It's TOM for me right now and for the last few days, including today, I was like a bottomless pit. I went from being satisfied on 1200-1300 calories to taking in over 2000 at least, so I adjusted my intake goal to 1400. I did so well all day and then I binged tonight. I started getting discouraged earlier and I still am, so this thread arrived at the perfect time.

I still have 94 pounds to go and it's already discouraging after 15. Ugh! But alas, I'm just getting back up tomorrow and doing my best.

I've been breaking it into smaller goals. My first goal is to get out of the 200s. That's much more direct than "lose the remaining 94 pounds in one year!"

Inshape13

You can easily get discouraged if you look at it as 100lbs to lose because that is a number that is large. Look at it as needing to lose 20lbs by 5 times because 20lbs is a doable number.

When I hit 65lbs lost I stopped losing for a while and I really had to take a look at what was not working. I went out and bought a HRM and saw that what I thought I was burning was not accurate so I switched to circuit training and HIIT. All along I weighed and measured to make sure that calories in were accurate. I increased my intensity and broke my workouts in two separate times a day which included a morning workout of circuit and 2 mile walk in the evening. I also changed to 40/30/30 and watched macros carefully and the weight started coming off again.

You CAN do this and look at what you have done so far. You are doing yourself a dis-service by not seeing how capable you have already been and acknowledging that what you have done was working....you just need to switch things up, stop listening to that I can't voice and acknowledge that you are strong enough to get through this and meet your goals. You got this girl!

jennifer_417

If what you're doing stopped working, change something.
I did about 6 weeks of Intermittent Fasting last time I stalled out, and it got the scale moving again. But that's just one example.

FreshKrisKreash

30 pounds in 4 months is awesome! Why give up now?

licktat

I set a goal that seemed daunting. (62 lbs.) but I soon forgot I even set a goal because I was having fun using fitness pal. It is a sort diet game.
The software has saved my butt a few times. For instance I travel for work and it is easy to go off a diet when eating in restaurants. But recently I set up lunch at BW3, and figured I would get a buffalo chicken wrap. I looked it up in the parking lot while I waited for my client. It was 1200 calories! When he arrived I asked if he was ok walking to the place next door, and I got an Asian Ahi tuna wrap that was 350 calories. Saved my day, because I figured a wrap would be healthy and low carb.
my advice is to try and forget the end goal, and start plugging in foods that you like that fit into you daily goal. For me that was pickles, jerky, sugar free Popsicles, for snacks.... I have a whole shelf in the frig of varieties of pickles, and pickled veggies.
I use smaller plates and I even discovered ham is a lean option. I discovered olive oil and peach balsamic. I snack on olives!
I make my own egg drop soup and find it filling and hardly any calories.

Live_To_Win

I do not have 100 lbs to lose but I do have 85 of those pesky lbs. I put the 85 lbs on the slide but I am starting out just hitting 10 lbs at a time then moving on to the next one. Just know that you are only looking for manageable chunks at a time. Do not give up you have come very far already

dauvis

A trip of a 1000 miles starts with the first step. I think that baby steps is a valid strategy. Instead of waking one morning to pump iron for a hour every other day and running marathons on the off days(*), start small. Set a goals for yourself and find small short term goals that take you in the direction that you want to go. For example, my first short term goal was to start walking 10k steps per day (and this goal was further broken into smaller goals). Now that I succeeded with that goal, my next short term goal is to make it through the c25k program (based on time).

* - Disclaimer: Yes, this is an exaggeration.

dtimedwards

I have read everything there is to find about caloric intake, exercise, cardio versus strength training and the more I read, the more confused I get. ,

Stop reading, start moving.

Melionfire

30 pounds in four months is amazing. Look at 30 pounds of butter that is not a small thing. Be proud of yourself!!! Like others have said don't look at the big number, break it up. I celebrate every loss no matter how small. The only difference between those who reach their goals and those who don't is that they never gave up. There will be periods of time where you have to examine what you have done and ask yourself what else you could do or tweek to get the scale moving!! Take measurements because sometimes weight loss stalls on the scale but inches continue to drop. Don't give up, ask yourself why you wanted this and remind yourself of these reasons every day!!

fpelletier

Honestly you're doing great and you got some good advice! Sounds like you're doing the right things to get to where you are now. We all have those times we stall out on losing weight. For me, I eat around 1800-2000 calories a day, and yes I am losing the majority of the time. I am down 50lbs since May and have at least 100 more to go. Does it get frustrating after stepping on the scale and not losing even when I am under calories? Yes! Does it make me want to quit? NO! I keep going. When I hit a stall that last more than 2 weeks, I eat more. I end up going over several times a week, then I suddenly lose again. It doesn't work that way for everyone of course, but I feel like it re starts my weight loss.

If you aren't exercising, add it in. If you aren't eating back any exercise calories, eat some of them but necessarily all. Maybe slow your weight loss down to 1lb a week and eat the calories for a month or so and see what happens. Whatever you do, DO NOT give up!

Annie_01

I have read everything there is to find about caloric intake, exercise, cardio versus strength training and the more I read, the more confused I get. ,

Stop reading, start moving.

I had to tell myself that very thing. I spent more time trying to figure out what exercises that I was able to do than actual exercising. So one day...I just got up a started moving!

A great place to start until you can figure it all out is walking.

writemusic4him

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