keeping the inspiration/motivation going

jennylilac

Hello - I have a total of 147 pounds to lose. It is new and exciting now. I am trying new foods and seeing the scale drop dramatically. I am worried about getting discouraged when I hit that first plateau or even when things slow down. If you have a big goal, how do you stay focused for a long period of time? Any advice?

wennim

I have found that I need to break it down into manageable chunks. I can not imagine trying to lose 100 plus pounds but 10 is completely doable. When I slow down I try to rely on other things to tell me how I am doing. Know that even when things slow down as long as I am following my plan something is changing. I try to take pictures occasionally and putting them side by side sometimes help. Also measurements and how my clothes fit.

It is a long journey but I look at how far I have come and I love looking at pictures of other people who have accomplished what I an trying to.

NoMoreBlameGame

Hello - I have a total of 147 pounds to lose. It is new and exciting now. I am trying new foods and seeing the scale drop dramatically. I am worried about getting discouraged when I hit that first plateau or even when things slow down. If you have a big goal, how do you stay focused for a long period of time? Any advice?

Hi there. I have the same amount left to lose as you do. Thus far I have lost 53 lbs. For most people that would be a massive accomplishment, but for me...it feels more like a pebble falling off Mt. Rushmore (just being honest).

My first plateau arrived this week. I'd been dropping by 5 lbs a week for quite some time, then 4, then 3 (I was still perfectly happy with three). Most of that was water weight (which I knew). This week I lost a whopping .3 lb (yes, point three) and to be honest? It was extremely frustrating (still is)..and yes, it's discouraging. However, I keep reminding myself of what so many others have already said to me....time is going to pass regardless. I may as well keep pushing and keep striving toward my goal while time passes (it's going to pass whether I try or not).

The other part of why I have to stay focused is because I refuse to let the fact that I produce more cortisol than I should...beat me. Yes, it makes me gain weight...but after working alongside my doctors to come to some sort of possible fix...I'm not about to let myself (and my doctors who have never given up on me) down. I have PCOS (another obstacle). I've done a great job of blaming these (and other illnesses and medications) on my weight; I'm done making excuses.

My advice is to *allow* yourself to feel whatever you feel along the way, whether it be discouraged, frustrated, happy, sad, irritated, etc. Your emotions are your emotions...just own them, **don't** let them own you.

You can do this! \o/

julieworley376

My advice would be to concentrate on the way you are eating and the exercise you are doing being the way you now live and the scale to be secondary. If you rely on the scale as a measure of how well you are living then it will disappoint you. All you can do is eat right and move more and eventually that scale will move on it's own. But I do know what it's like.

Now that I am having bariatric surgery I find myself focused more on what I can eat and how I can eat it, the way I am going to live. I have stopped manically weighing myself all the time and for me, that is working better.

scubasuenc

Like you I started with 150 lbs per lose, and it was too large a number to focus on the whole thing. I set my self smaller goals. My first goal was to get under 300 lbs, which was a modest 10 lb loss. Then I had 25lb goals along the way. Then under 200 lbs. I've got another 10lbs or so until my next 25lb goal. Then I will switch down to 10lb goals because I'm losing more slowly.

For me the main thing has been not to focus on the scale. I wake up each morning with 2 goals - stay under my calorie goal and exercise 30 minutes. Those are easy to measure and manageable. I know that if I do those two things every day, the weight will come off. The scale might go up and down with natural variation, but if I do those two things I will have a downward trend.

My advice is to focus on developing healthy habits for the live you want to live, and then celebrate the victories, both numbers on the scale and NSVs along the way.

carimiller7391

Hey there Jenny, with 147 to lose, break it down by 7lbs, then you have 21 segments to lose of 7lbs. Make a reward sheet for yourself for each segment or however many segments you want, reward yourself with something you like or enjoy.

I am actually working on my reward sheet right now for me. It's like the dangling carrot in front of my face. It gives me a goal and a reward. Just an idea for you.

What ever you decide to do... remember to make sure that it works for you and is something that you can live with and work towards without feeling overwhelmed.

Hugs,
Cari

mikesgirl4evr

Hi Jenny. I have to agree with whatveveryone else is saying. When I first started this journey, i needed to lose more than 300 pounds! That was 8 1/2 years ago when i had gastric bypass surgery. Two years after surgery I had lost 250 but hadn't dealt with the why's of my eating and managed to gain 120 back. Through hard work, therapy, and learning to use my tool (my smaller stomach created by WLS) again, I have lost over 80 pounds of the weight I re-gained. But I still have a lot of weight (about 90 pounds) to lose to reach my goal of 199. I have been on a plateau for over a year that I finally broke through. It can be very frustrating and quite frankly it pissed me off. I was doing everything right and the scale wouldn't move. The first thing I did was "break-up" with my scale and "trust the numbers." I continued to log my food and exercise and believe that if I was ending every day with my assigned deficit, I WOULD eventually start losing again. I also had to remember why I started this entire journey. Yes, I wanted to lose weight (that's a given) but the main reason was to get healthy so I would continue to be in my son's life. I had to remember that losing weight is just a result of eating healthier. So please don't get discouraged. Make small manageable goals, remember to log your food (staying under your calories but not too far under) and get your exercise. And never be afraid to ask for support - that's vital. We are here for you!