Does 15lbs *REALLY* matter???

sundaywishes

I posted the below paragraphs on a thread someone created regarding they will look and feel better once they lose their goal of 15lbs, but how do they cope with how they look and feel in the meantime. It made me think about how to some people, 15lbs isn't a big deal. Whether it is or isn't to you, it can be to some men and women. So I wanted to start a new thread on it. There seems to be a stigma (not by everyone!) against people that "only" want to lose 10lbs or 15lbs, but the thing is, they still feel they need to lose that weight. What's the difference between someone starting out with "only" 10-15lbs to lose, and someone who started out with 150lbs to lose and now they're working on those last 10-15? Nothing. They both aren't where they want to be and are trying hard to get there. We should support each other no matter what our goals are (as long as they're healthy )

"When I started my journey to a healthy lifestyle, I had about 18lbs to lose to get back to where I once was. And on a 5'0" frame, or at least mine, that's 'a lot'. It's the difference of about 4 jean sizes. It's the difference between a flat stomach and a stomach that came out to my size 32 D/DD boobs. It was the difference between a flat back and back fat/bat wings, between a pretty much double chin and a defined jaw line. Between having love handles and not. So anyone that says 15lbs is not enough to be upset over doesn't get it. For someone 6in taller than it me it may not be 4 jean sizes, or any of the other differences I noted, but it is all relative to your body and your frame. People carry their weight differently. And all those differences lead to a much more self-conscious me.

I felt very uncomfortable going out. Few things and fit, and what did obviously looked like it was too small or didn't fit right. I wore a lot of baggy tee shirts (definitely not my style) and always kept my jacket/coat on indoors if it wasn't too warm. When I decided to start my journey, I said to myself, 'You know, I may not be where I'm at not, but I will be one day. And that 'one day' isn't very far off.' So I decided to go ahead and go out and not constantly worry about how my shirt was hugging me and the batwings under my bra band and how my stomach came out to my boobs. I knew that I was working towards my goal and soon enough I won't have to worry about those things. So why worry now? I started to look forward to how I was going to look because I was determined to look 'fit' a hell of a lot longer than my 'fat' self. And that's what got me through the rough patches. Now I'm 10lbs down and even though I'm not at the finish line yet, I feel sooooo much better! Many things in my closet look good on me again. There's still definitely some stuff that doesn't, so I don't wear it being that now I have better options. But when I felt nothing looked good on me, I just focused on the future and it helped substantially. "

ladykate7

right on!

I'm a 10/12 now, 15lbs to go and i'll be back to 4/6. Which is where I should be based on my body. Its not where everyone else should be, but its the optimal place for me to be according to my doctor.

I have the same issues as anyone else who's trying to lose weight. The same motivational problems to eat better and move more, the same being fed up with how I look and how I let myself get to the size I'm at. Sure its not 20, 30, 40, 70, 100lbs overweight, but its still 15lbs overweight. And its the hardest to lose. So actually those of us who either are or who made it to the last 15 have a harder time because results slow down, losing .5lbs a week is demotivating in itself. and one extra cheat meal, or a couple mised workouts could wipe out the .5 or even move me in the wrong direction.

StarIsMoving

That's awesome! And now you can also focus on how far you have come too! Over halfway there for ya!

trouble4503

I too am just trying to lose 15lbs and its hard to find the motivation and to stop obsessing and self hating. i wish i didnt think about 24/7!

you have a great outlook! that is awesome!!

sundaywishes

right on!

I'm a 10/12 now, 15lbs to go and I’ll be back to 4/6. Which is where I should be based on my body. It’s not where everyone else should be, but it’s the optimal place for me to be according to my doctor.

I have the same issues as anyone else who's trying to lose weight. The same motivational problems to eat better and move more, the same being fed up with how I look and how I let myself get to the size I'm at. Sure it’s not 20, 30, 40, 70, 100lbs overweight, but it’s still 15lbs overweight. And it’s the hardest to lose. So actually those of us who either are or who made it to the last 15 have a harder time because results slow down, losing .5lbs a week is demotivating in itself. and one extra cheat meal, or a couple missed workouts could wipe out the .5 or even move me in the wrong direction.

I'm losing an average of a pound every week and a half, 2 weeks. Sometimes it's more like a half pound in that time span. (In the past week and a half something crazy happened and I lost 2, but that has not been the average for me.) Since January I've lost 10lbs, so do the math, that's 1.6lbs a month (even with my 2 month gym hiatus due to family problems, that's still only 2.5lbs a month). It definitely gets harder and takes longer the closer you are to your goal. You burn less calories during your workouts and you lower your calorie intake as well (reminding people to stay healthy here ! ) so it feels like it's just at a crawl of a pace. But like I said to someone else, in the grand scheme of things, what's a few weeks? What's even a few months when compared to the rest of your life?? Once I got that through my thick skull (I always knew it, but never fully grasped it), I stopped stressing as much. And boy am I happy my skull wasn't any thicker, because it took long enough to accept it!! :laugh:

sundaywishes

That's awesome! And now you can also focus on how far you have come too! Over halfway there for ya!

I too am just trying to lose 15lbs and its hard to find the motivation and to stop obsessing and self hating. i wish i didnt think about 24/7!

you have a great outlook! that is awesome!!

Thank you both so much! And I wish it was easy to stop obsessing and self hating. Just keep telling yourself "grand scheme of things, grand scheme of things!!"

eig6

Yeah! This is so true. I started on this site only wanting to lose 10-15 more lbs and and I am also 5ft tall. I can definitely say that makes a huge difference on me; I've only lost 5lbs so far but I went from wearing 6-8 jeans to 4! It is still hard to lose those last 5lbs whether its at the end of a 95lbs weight loss or not!

MaybeAMonkey

As a fellow shortie, I can definitely relate! All it took was 15 lbs additional on my 5 foot and half inch frame for me not to get into any of my clothes. My choice was to lose the weight or buy more clothes and I'm not made of money! Everyone has their own goals and their own time frame to reach those goals. There's a lot of hard work wrapped up into two simple steps of eating right and exercising. Whether you're looking to lose 15 lbs or 150 lbs, it makes no difference to me - I'm happy to support anyone looking for encouragement!

ninerbuff

People who don't think 15lbs don't matter should strap it on their back for a day.


A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

alikonner

I love this! Thank you for posting! I have only about 10-15lbs to lose to where I am comfortable! And it does matter to me!

Thank you!

sweetpotatofry

Thank you for this post! I started out with about 20 to lose and have around 12 left. At 5'2" those pounds do make a difference!

fayelein

As someone who wants to lose a total of around 100lbs I completely agree!

Wish I'd sorted myself out when I too "only" had 15lbs to lose!

Everyone on mfp should encourage others to be healthy and be happy so keep it up and don't be discouraged/annoyed by the "only" comments

rheelizabeth

15 more lbs will get me out of the obese zone!
Cannot wait!!

sundaywishes

People who don't think 15lbs don't matter should strap it on their back for a day.


A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

So true! Thank you!!


And I'm so happy that people are taking part in this thread and happy to see it posted :bigsmile:

vivianngo

I love this! I'm trying to lose 8 lbs but it honestly will make a huge difference to me once i've lost it!

JeffJohnson26

In my opinion, any weight that a person wants to lose or gain absolutely matters. I haven't had the misfortune of seeing that much negativity in any threads, but I would hope people are encouraging no matter what a person's personal goals are. Ten pounds or a hundred pounds, we all have our individual challenges.

Ironically, if I drop another ten to fifteen pounds of fat, I would be at the lean mass/body fat ratio that I want to be. So I get what you're saying. Surround yourself with encouraging people and use all the negativity as fuel in the gym. Works for me!

On an unrelated note...nice ink on your back! I have four myself.

MaretL

Yeah! This is so true. I started on this site only wanting to lose 10-15 more lbs and and I am also 5ft tall. I can definitely say that makes a huge difference on me; I've only lost 5lbs so far but I went from wearing 6-8 jeans to 4! It is still hard to lose those last 5lbs whether its at the end of a 95lbs weight loss or not!

Totally agree! Probably 10-15 lbs don't show as much if you have 100 to lose (unfortunately!) but if you're very close to your healthy weight each pound might show and feel!!

I wish I would have been smart enough to start losing when I had only 15lbs to go, I think starting your weight loss sooner than later is a really wise thing to do!! And yes, losing your lbs then is much harder too! so couldn't agree more - same motivation and encouragement needed!!

manderson27

Weight is relative to the person carrying it. I have a very very slim friend, she has always been slim, if she puts on a few pounds none of her clothes fit and it makes her feel uncomfortable with herself. So she works to lose those few pounds.

I don't care how much or how little you have to lose, if it makes you uncomfortable in your body then you need just as much support and help as anyone else.

Vercell

So true 15 lbs is a big deal I wish I would have stop myself when my first 15 lbs came on. Great post

steph124ny

I've lost about 14 pounds now and I look VASTLY different than I did when I started. I took progress photos and put them in my profile. I haven't dropped a clothing size, but have acknowledged that my size 6's were too tight when I started...:embarassed:

And it has been hard.

CharleneJohnson

Yes 15 lbs really matters.....I have lost about 85 or so and I have about 12 pounds to get to my goal. I am working very hard to get that 12 gone.