Minus 50 and feeling discouraged.

misscase

I have lost just about 50 pounds over the past year..slowly but surely....and I still feel fat.
Granted, I still have a ways to go. I know I should be extremely proud of my loss thus far, but I just can't help but feel a little lost still. Has anyone else had this problem? I don't want to fall into a rut.

No one ever said this would be easy. I just don't want to lose my way.

ajfrench

I'm having the same problem right now! Got off track the last few weeks, nearing my year mark and discouraged that I've only lost 35 lbs. I think everyone goes through it. Only thing to do is keep pushing ahead!

misty0413

Most people call this a plateau. Don't quit you will just be mad at yourself if you do. Can't see your diary but try some new healthy food or eat your largest meal at breakfast. Change up your exercise.

SoySalva

I have lost just about 50 pounds over the past year..slowly but surely....and I still feel fat.
Granted, I still have a ways to go. I know I should be extremely proud of my loss thus far, but I just can't help but feel a little lost still. Has anyone else had this problem? I don't want to fall into a rut.

No one ever said this would be easy. I just don't want to lose my way.

I hear you!! I am about 10 lbs from goal weight and i still see myself fat! I am proud of my progress but I guess we just need to take off our fat glasses!

gsutphen

I just started, but I know when my mom did Weight Watchers (years ago) she hit a plateau and was so depressed that she didn't loose anything for weeks. Sometimes it happens, but don't give up. Change up your routine just a little. If going to the gym, hit different equipment. Main thing, don't feel like you can't do this. Best of luck

dawnivin2008

I am at 54Lbs lost - and feel awkward... not "fat" (for lack of better words to describe myself), but not yet "skinny"... I just feel stuck...I have been stuck in a 3Lbs gap for almost 5 weeks (loss and gain the same 3lbs)... this week got below by 1.5 Lbs, so hopefully beat my plateau, but know exactly what you are describing... Even staying where you are is better than gaining!!! Keep at it (as everyone says), I know it will pay off!!

bellesouth18

Go buy yourself a new outfit. If you still have some of your clothes from 50 pounds ago, lay them next to the new ones. Better yet, put the "fat" clothes on. Then put the new ones on. Take a really good look at the new you. Retraining what you see yourself as in the mirror is the hardest part, imho.

heather1945

Ask yourself....'how bad do Iwant to loose my weight?' it is only something you can do...You can't delegate, but you can always come back later, but to what??? A heavy more discontented you? Think of your choices before you give up .....It is always the rough road that turns out to be the easiest, in the end....good luck...

CharlieBarleyMom

Definitely. I have lost 74 and I just hit a year. I lost weight 10 years ago with WW and lost 93 pounds in less than a year... granted, I was 10 years younger then!!!!!!!! But, the thing here is that I'm happier because I'm eating REAL food. I'm not eating a lot of processed, frozen foods, which was a staple for me because the points were printed right on the carton. Now I follow calories, I know how many calories I need to burn to eat what I want to eat... and if I don't burn everything and I over eat one day, I know that I won't worry.

Mix things up a bit. Take 3 days off of "watching" what you eat. Allow yourself to eat something every day that you wouldn't have allowed for before... just log it all. Exercise a bit more or don't exercise at all... up to you, but don't stress over it.

You need to break out of the "blahs" and the only way to do that is to spur on a change of feeling inside of you... whatever works... try it and make it work!

EDIT: Oh yeah, I still have at least 50, if not 60-70 pounds to go before I hit "normal" weight... so I feel you on the "still feel fat" part. But you look great, I know.!

SoySalva

Go buy yourself a new outfit. If you still have some of your clothes from 50 pounds ago, lay them next to the new ones. Better yet, put the "fat" clothes on. Then put the new ones on. Take a really good look at the new you. Retraining what you see yourself as in the mirror is the hardest part, imho.

I will take your advice to OP....sounds like that is something that just might make me realize how far I've come! Thanks!!

BigBoneSista

This is something that happens to majority of us from time to time. Just try to stay focus. Push yourself at the moments when you feel the weakest. If you feel yourself being lazy call yourself on it! Kick your own azz! I'm serious. Its easy to give in to yourself. Don't settle for easy. Go for the challenge!

Norinella

I have lost just about 50 pounds over the past year..slowly but surely....and I still feel fat.
Granted, I still have a ways to go. I know I should be extremely proud of my loss thus far, but I just can't help but feel a little lost still. Has anyone else had this problem? I don't want to fall into a rut.

No one ever said this would be easy. I just don't want to lose my way.

Yes, I have lost 27, am plateaued, and have been feeling this way, too. You know what helped? I went to the store tonight and tried on clothes, and was able to get into things I never could have worn before. I am not going to buy those, because I am not done yet, but seeing the sizes on the clothes really helped me see myself as smaller. But I understand. I still see lots of fat when i look in the mirror.
Don't get discouraged... 50 pounds is a WONDERFUL achievement. I am proud of you! You can do this. And believe me, even if you don't see it, I am sure you look and feel a lot better than you did a year ago. As you say, slowly but surely. You can do this.

Arrica

I am exactly where you are. I have lost about 40 lbs in all and still feel fat and just kinda lost my motivation. I am still tracking and weighing regularly but not eating very healthy and not working out as much as I had been. Something that has kinda motivated me is that I tried on some smaller pants than I have been wearing and they fit. They are a little snug but I can get them up and zipped so I think my new goal is to get them fitting comfortably in a month. I suggest trying something like that as opposed to making a weight goal. Just a thought...

carpediem3

I lost 72 from 1/10/11 to 1/10/12 -- but, I haven't lost a single pound since my one year weight loss anniversary. Nearing 4 LONG months now. I get discouraged. I have days where I feel fat. And days where I want to say why bother continue. It's only human. Then I'm reminded when I look in the mirror of how far I have come. I will break this plateau, I know I will.
All I can say is keep going because you've done an amazing job thus far, and will continue to make progress so long as you don't give up! I tell myself this daily.

sml1231

When I originally started trying to lose weight six years ago, I lost 60 lbs. but still felt like if I could just lose another 5 or 10 lbs., then I'd be satisfied. In all reality, I looked and felt good, but I got discouraged and ended up gaining back 10 lbs, and then another 10, and then another 10. Last fall, I started getting back on track, and it was a challenge to even get to where I am now, but I'm not worrying about it like I was then, because I know that I'm still look and feel much better than when I originally started out. Even if I'm not at my goal right now, I know that it's the day-to-day that will get me there. I wish I wouldn't have been so worried about hitting my (slightly unrealistic) goal when I first lost the weight and had focused on being happy at what I'd accomplished and working to maintain it.

So hang in there. Keep taking it one day at a time, and eventually, you'll break through that plateau and the weight will start coming off again. There are a lot of tips on how to get past the plateau stage, but what works for me is changing things up. I switch up my workouts, maybe take a few days off, change up my eating patterns a little - anything to get my body (and mind) out of the rut. Plus, it kind of renews my drive to keep going.

Good luck, and - most of all - congratulations! 50 is a great number to have achieved, and you should be really proud of all the hard work you did to get yourself there!

Pkendricks

I am exactly where you are. Kind of hit a plateau. Trying to change up my diet pattern, exercise to break it, but my body has adjusted to my eating habits, calorie intake and is is leveling out. I have been told I have to change up everything again to "restart" the burning process again. Good luck and hang in. you can ask to friend me if you want.

albinogorilla

I have lost over 50, and i FEEL fatter now than i was when I started.
Thats because I am much more critical of myself now than i was in the beginning.

Every little bit of fat left bothers me, when there was lots more fat it was easier to shrug off.............but now when there is so little left its that much more annoying that it exists.........

my $.02

mewaybright

I have lost just about 50 pounds over the past year..slowly but surely....and I still feel fat.
Granted, I still have a ways to go. I know I should be extremely proud of my loss thus far, but I just can't help but feel a little lost still. Has anyone else had this problem? I don't want to fall into a rut.

No one ever said this would be easy. I just don't want to lose my way.

I looked at your photos and would like to make a recommendation for you. Put together a few pictures showing your starting image versus where you are currently... if you can actually see the difference on paper it will make a big difference in your motivation.

blissmanifesto

Dr. Pam Peek, the weight loss doctor, says that it takes the mind a year to adjust to every 25 lbs lost. So it's no surprise that you still see yourself as fat. You need to be patient and loving with yourself and take the time to get to know your body all over again. Go to the store and try on lots of clothes. See what size you really are. Try on all sorts of stuff, especially stuff you would normally never wear! Take mirror pics of yourself in the clothes so you can check it out later. (Don't buy anything unless you really love it, LOL.) Look at yourself in the mirror naked from every angle. Take pics of yourself in a bathing suit. Really look at yourself and check out the situation a whole bunch of times. I used to wear a size 22 back in 2003. Today for the first time, I put on a size 4 skirt at LOFT. I have only just begun to understand that now, I am small. It has taken me a really long time to see that this is real. So I do understand what's happening to you. It takes a long time to adjust to weight loss mentally!

In my opinion, the mental/emotional part of weight loss is way more challenging than the physical part. So be gentle with yourself and give yourself the time to work through these changes.

annabellj

wow I feel your pain! I just posted this on my page. I look at my fat pics and see the fat me, but when I look in the mirror now I still see the fat me! I know by my clothes how much I have lost. I think it takes time for your brain to catch up for sure. its been six months and I only have ten to get to goal but I look at myself and think, man I could stand to lose another 30 still! so I dont really have any advice per se but I am in the same boat as you! you do look amazing though!

ccbing

I was just telling a friend of mine a few days ago about a "rut" I went through mentally a few weeks ago. Even though I has lost 31 lbs in 3.5 months I was just feeling...blah. Can't really explain it. It was about a 2 week feeling....I ate more than I should have. I couldn't see the new me in the mirror. I had feelings of giving up. Not sure I lost anything those 2 weeks. Then I just literally had to snap myself out of it. I made myself work out a bit more and stick to my diet better the next week and saw great results on the scale that week and felt better. I ran a 5k race the last 2 weekends...I got a medal in the first one and my 9yr old daughter got a medal in the last one. My mood is much better now and am ready to tackle these last 20 lbs....I honestly think that us women have hormonal things that go on that are beyond our understanding. lol Also...I read on here where someone was happy to feel their collar bones...I had never really though about mine...so I felt and they were there
Hang in there! You are AMAZING!!! and you are worthy of you not giving up on yourself :flowerforyou:

misscase

Wow, I never expected to get this many responses- SO helpful! I read through everything and I am so glad to know that I am not alone in feeling this way. Reading all of your encouraging words really made me think and want to push myself even more! There is no way I am giving up!!!!!!!!!!! I am going to try all of these great suggestions.

and bigbearw, I have to say that I totally agree with what you said as well. When I was bigger I didn't pay quite as much attention to my body. Now that I am constantly thinking about it, I think I am more critical.