Ready to give in and wave the white flag

Sam_Jayne

Im just about to start week 3 but really dont know if i can do this anymore
I started at 288lbs with a target of hopefully losing 99lbs by mid august 2013
1st weigh in went well as i thought it would do with losing water (i lost 7lbs) but now i have just done my 2nd weigh in and have gained 2lbs,im feeling very disheartened about this and feel ready to quit,how am i meant to lose 99lbs when i cant even lose 7lbs and keep it off??????????
I want to feel confident and make my family proud of me,my motivation for this is our family holiday next summer when i will hopefully put a swimsuit on for the 1st time in about 19yrs,but i really feel now this is never going to happen and am just coming to terms with the fact that i am always gonna be one of life's "fatties" so just wave the white flag and come to terms with this.Im not meant to lose this and be happy so why keep going through this??

alleycat88

Following Steve Gleason's motto

"NO white flags!"

kikilorain

Although I do the same things every week, for the most part, I never lose the same amount every week. One week I will lose a pound, the next lose nothing or gain, the week after I'll lose 3 pounds...etc. You have trust that if you continue counting your calories - the weight WILL come off. There are a lot of factors contributing to our weight - such as sodium intake - which can make you retain water. Don't give up after 2 weeks! You're doing well so far losing pounds in 2 weeks... that's awesome!

rotill

You haven't gained 2 pounds, you have lost five. In two weeks. That is pretty quick!

Long term weight loss means going up and down. Don't let the first little up worry you.

I am not very large, and I no longer lose fast, but I can go down 2-300 grams a day for several days, then suddenly it stops and I jump back up a kilo in no time. Then I start the slow decline again.

What is keeping me sane (I have done this since the beginning of June) is that since I log pretty religiously, I can see that while I have peaks, each peak is lower than the previous one. And as long as each peak is below the previous high point, I know I am losing, not gaining.

Even for me, who now has only 6 or 7 pounds to go for a normal BMI, it is a long haul, and will be at best 12 weeks, most likely almost half a year until I get there. You have the benefit of being able to lose that much in two-three weeks at this point! It's fantastic!

Keep at it, and good work!

Rotill

Carovnik

Don't give up yet, my friend. Even though you've gained 2lb, the important thing is to focus on what you've accomplished so far, and that is the fact that you lost 5lb in two weeks - thats a great start!

I've tried for years to lose weight, and every time I gained a couple of lbs, I waved the white flag - always ended up regaining far more than I'd lost too. Since starting MFP, I've realized that the weight isn't as important in the long run as other physical measurements and ultimately how i feel on a daily basis. Now when I gain, I just remind myself how much better I feel overall.

I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind my asking:

When you did the second weigh-in, was it at the same time of day as the first?
Did you wear the same kind of clothes as the first time?

Both of these can make a difference in what your weight will show as.

emire31

I know it seems impossible when there's so much to lose but you have to decide how you want to live your life. If you are prepared to spend the rest of your life accepting the discomfort, ill health and increasing mobility problems as you age and continue to gain weight on your already strained body, then you can return to the lifestyle that got you where you are today.

If you would prefer to live, be mobile, healthy, active, comfortable in your body and able to enjoy life then you have to be prepared to work for the state of health you want to be in. It's going to be painful at times, excruciating even but you can't give up. You have to accept the fact that it took years to get your body into it's current state and it's going to take a lot of hard work and time to move out of it. Be motivated by what you want to be and also by what you will be in a few years if you don't change.

There are so many people on here who've lost over a hundred pounds, it can be done and you can do it too. You have to believe in yourself and believe in the worth of your goal. There may be a reason why your not losing weight as fast as you could, see what others who've lost huge amounts have done exercise/diet wise and maybe you could take some tips from that.

Stay focused!

louisau

You've only been at this for 2 weeks. Give yourself some time. Try to stick it out for at least 6 weeks. Try and stay off the scale (near to impossible I know) but do try.
Don't give up on yourself or your goals.

Best of luck

PennyHarris123

dont quit please.....i joined a couple of weeks ago but had started my new regise about 5 weeks ago, all i saw was weight gain during that time until last week so 5 weeks later! i was same as you beginning of last week but then weighed in Friday and had lost 4 pounds. Keep going, body needs to adjust and all that. At the end of the day you've still lost 5 pounds in a couple of weeks which is really really good. Slowly but surely....keep it up

helenx55

slowly wins the race, your body is having a ***** fit its in shock that youre taking away fat!! seriously you will do it.

david_swinstead

It could be what people call "water weight" but that is often used as an easy excuse.

Lets face it (bluntly), if you have 99lbs to lose then you're a big girl. At your size the weight should be flying off you. If you've gained 2lbs there has to be a reason. Let's find out what that is:


What does your diet look like? Open up your diary and let us take a look.

Are you weighing your food or guesstimating it? Innaccuracies in portio nsize can account for a lot.

How much are you exercising and how are you logging it? The calorie burn figures on MFP are notoriously overestimated so if you're using these you may not be burning as much as you think.

Weight loss is nothing more than a formula, and if a formula doesn't add up, there is *always* a reason that can be pinpointed.

yarwell

Im just about to start week 3 but really dont know if i can do this anymore
I started at 288lbs with a target of hopefully losing 99lbs by mid august 2013

You need to do this if you want to see your grandchildren grow up. Think what will happen to your weight if you give in now.

For practical advice you should say what you're eating and what exercise you're doing and perhaps open your diary.

Have you seen the Steve Miller programmes on Sky or Freeview ? or search for "Fat Families" on youtube. There you'll see other 20 stone + people getting to grips with their issues successfully - hope you can get some inspiration from them.

Arexxx

Don't give up so soon!
It didn't take you three weeks to gain the weight. Just be patient.

sunnygirl87

Give your self some time. It didn't happen overnight, it's not going away that fast either. We all want NOW! Be kind to you, educate your self about how your body responds to things like salt, hormonal changes, stress and disappointment. You now weigh five lbs less than you did two weeks ago. Yeah you! Truly, we are making life changes slowly but surely. Give yourself time. Instead of focus on the scale, how about something like increasing your walking from 10 min to 20 without it bothering you? Something like that is a manageable and rewarding goal. It's not all numbers, truly, it's not. The other night, I took my resting pulse. It was 60 beats per minute instead of the usual 90. That's a tremendous change! Yoga and meditation, thank you very much!

allthismusic

Quitters never win!
Its not going to be easy and its not going to be quick...but hang in there. You deserve to wear a swimsuit on your holiday. You can make your family and yourself proud! Just stick with it and you will lose the weight!

FlaxMilk

If you lost 7 lbs in 1 week, then the +2 is probably just some of the water weight. How is your sodium? Losing 7 lbs in 1 week is a lot, I'm not surprised some of it came back.

LTGPSA

So, if you quit now - how's quitting going to help you reach your goal? What do you mean by "don't really know if you can do this anymore"? It's not some torture ritual - you log what you put in your face and then you analyze the numbers and determine methods to improve on the numbers, like replacing bad stuff with fruits / veggies. Also, drink more water and routinely exercise somehow. This is not a "drop it overnight" plan. It will take time, but if you just look at it "one day at a time" - what exactly are you losing (no pun intended) by sticking with it? I.E., what harm are you causing yourself by continuing to do this for You? It's about learning how to take better care of you and achieve a much healthier you (for You, not anyone else). You didn't gain the weight overnight. Be patient, stick with it and it will come off. You have almost a year for your goal, even if you don't meet the exact number - if you stick with this I bet you'll be pleased with the result in August 2013. One last thing - suggest losing the negative self-talk, that's of no benefit either. Perhaps begin realizing and telling yourself "I can do this", because you can! We all can!

Best wishes to you on returning to your journey to better health! :flowerforyou:

VenomousDuck

Keep picturing your goal. You want to feel good on your holiday.

If you give up, you will feel like you do now.

Even if the stupid number on the scale doesn't change (and it will), regular exercise will have you feeling MUCH better in a year.

I have lost a bunch, but am still fat and I ran 2.5 miles both Saturday and Sunday. I NEVER would have been able to do that before. Not even back in high school.

So, don't give up. NEVER SURRENDER!

Newf77

*****WARNING NOT SPLENDA COATED*********
You have been at this for three weeks and have not lost the weight that you thought you should of; the first week you lost 7 pounds and now put two back on and want to toss in the towel. Here is the rough truth, this is a journey, and you are going to have weeks that are better than others. You did not reach this point in your life in three weeks and you are not going to change it in three weeks. If you want to toss the towel in after three short weeks than you should. Good luck with the rest of your life and adios. However, if you really want to make the change and start heading towards a healthier lifestyle. Reach deep down inside of yourself, places that you did not know existed and start punching, fight for what you want. Then you use that towel to wipe the sweat off your brow and know that each day is better than the day before. I do not live by a scale, ”numbers lie”. After six weeks ask yourself how you feel, how are your clothes feeling. Are you able to do more now than you were before?

Joannie30

PLEASE do not give up!! We all know how hard it is on this journey. It can be frustrating and downright INFURIATING at times and often I have felt exactly like you do now, but i didn't give up, i powered through and i'm now roughly 50lLBS lighter than i was at the start of this year. Not only that though, i'm also SO much healthier!! I'm not borderline diabetic anymore, i don't get heartburn, migraines or aches and pains which i used to have on a DAILY basis when i was bigger. I would never have been able to say all that if i'd have thrown in the towel when i was so tempted to. There are days even now when i really lack motivation but i just tell myself that i have come this far, i'm almost at my goal weight and to give in now would be so so silly.

Keep going!!!! You are doing SO well!!!!!!! Think about a few months down the line- what will you be able to say to yourself?


"I tried a few months ago to lose weight, but i gave up. I couldn't do it. If i'd stuck with it, i'd probably be near where i wanted to be weight-wise by now. I should've stuck with it."

OR...

"I have lost x lbs and yes, it's been SO hard!!! but i've done it and i am stronger now"

YOU GOT THIS!!!!!!!

Jx

tleighs

Stay with it. I gained weight my first few weeks. Still going up and down. Lose / gain 1 etc, but the overall weight is lower than where I started. The point it, you body has to adjust to whatever food plan changes and exercise you are doing in. Give it time.

HelenDootson

It could be what people call "water weight" but that is often used as an easy excuse.

Lets face it (bluntly), if you have 99lbs to lose then you're a big girl. At your size the weight should be flying off you. If you've gained 2lbs there has to be a reason. Let's find out what that is:


What does your diet look like? Open up your diary and let us take a look.

Are you weighing your food or guesstimating it? Innaccuracies in portio nsize can account for a lot.

How much are you exercising and how are you logging it? The calorie burn figures on MFP are notoriously overestimated so if you're using these you may not be burning as much as you think.

Weight loss is nothing more than a formula, and if a formula doesn't add up, there is *always* a reason that can be pinpointed.

What he said^^ Dont give up, you did not get to where you are in 2 weeks, you will not loose it in 2 weeks - Lots of us are here for the long haul - You can be too :flowerforyou: