Fear of Weight Loss

lmunro5394
lmunro5394 Posts: 33 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm hoping that I'm not the only one who has struggled with this issue! I've had moments on this journey where I've had a sense of fear come over me when I see the number on the scale going down... Obviously I'm doing all of this to lose more weight and to be healthy and the goal is for the scale to continue to show losses, but mentally, I don't know how to fight that fear. I've had moments where I've thought that I need to eat more to get that number back up!

Background on me... I was heavy as a child and around the age of 13 began starving myself and exercising excessively and lost quite a bit of weight. Only to get pregnant at the age of 17 and the weight gain took off from there after having two more babies and frankly really not caring about myself. I began my weight loss journey in 2007 after my 20yr marriage fell apart. I started out at a high of 286 and right now am at 196, haven't been under 200lbs since 1997! My goal is 135...

How do you battle the mental part of losing weight???

Replies

  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    The best way to overcome the struggles people face during efforts to reduce body fat is to adequately educate yourself as much as you can on what leads to successful fat loss and maintaining goal body composition during weight recovery. Often times a lot of the hysteria and anxiety people experience is brought on by not fully grasping what's happening physiologically during various stages of weight loss or the connection between dietary intake, energy expenditure and realistically obtainable goals. For instance, a 1 or 2 lb weight gain is immediately thought to be redeposition of fat as opposed to water retention and glycogen refeeding to help recovery post-exercise.
  • D3vAnge1
    D3vAnge1 Posts: 104 Member
    Idk but for me it's the fear of getting to where I want to be just to windup back where I started. It's kinda like when groups/countries go to war then as they're celebrating their victory another rushes in on em & overtakes em...I'm a bit fearful that once I meet my goal I'll get complacent, comfortable & then wham, I'll wake up to find that I'm 280 again.
  • kgprice11
    kgprice11 Posts: 749 Member
    The people around you are a very big factor if you are not mentally tough. Also educate yourself on how to eat right, lose weight properly as in substances, weight training, cardio, etc. Also you keep motivated to wake up for that 8am workout or stay up late after work to finish the workout is a huge factor
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I've definitely had days where I wake up and think I should just get fat again. A lot of people will never understand that mentality (as you can see above) but you're not in this alone.

    I can only speak for my own issues, I use weight as a sort of buffer between me and the world, a way to hide myself and insulate myself. It was easier to disappear when I was larger. I don't think that's a lack of mental toughness as other posters have implied, but simply a part of who I am.

    A lot of my issues have been helped by therapy, but I know it's not for everyone. All I can say is that after you lose it you'll get used to having it off and it won't seem so hard. Some days, though, it helps to remind myself that I can always put it back on if I really want to. I just want to get it off and see what happens first.

    Hope you find something that works for you. Only you can decide what you need right now. Just know that you're not alone.
  • jtakingcareofherself
    jtakingcareofherself Posts: 144 Member
    You are not the only one! I would start to journal. It will help you work things out. And books by Geneen Roth are great too. She poses a lot of those questions. All the best! You had the courage to post, and that is definitely facing up to the fear!
  • huskergramma
    huskergramma Posts: 2
    Diannethegeek, I appreciate your openness and willingness to be vulnerable. It was like you were reading out of my book. I am trying to approach this as "I want a healthy body, big or little" so with that said...I know that mentally I am battling against that fear of losing my "buffer" which I thought was a protection but is really killing me in small increments! I don't want to be the Gramma who can't get down on the floor with the grandkids to play a game (the back up again is a worry too!) So, I have started...again! But I am trying to delete the "D" word out of my vocabulary. Congrats on all of your success.:happy:
  • 70davis
    70davis Posts: 348 Member
    Bump

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