Patience Problems

I'm losing weight, consistently. I'm working out with a personal trainer and counting my calories every single day. I'm happy with whats happening to my body but I just want it to go faster. I feel like I'm putting so much effort in and every time I step on the scale the number is just not as low as I feel it should be. How can I gain some patience? I have this idea of what I really want and I feel like I'll never reach it, that it's impossible. I know Rome wasn't built in a day. I feel like a whole different person, I just wished I looked like it too.

Replies

  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
    There are no tips to get more patience....you have to realize it. You appear to already understand this takes time and you are seeing the small, steady improvements, so you should continue to focus on that.
  • Lt_Starbuck
    Lt_Starbuck Posts: 576 Member
    There is one tip. Something you can say to yourself in moments like this.

    "I want something soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo badly - that Im willing to work for it for like.... a week and then that's it, I quit."

    Sounds dumb right?

    it helps.
  • Lt_Starbuck
    Lt_Starbuck Posts: 576 Member
    Just in case my point is missed, If you actually want this, you'll work for it as long as it takes regardless of how fast or inconsistent the results are.
  • HealthWoke0ish
    HealthWoke0ish Posts: 2,078 Member
    Perhaps you can adjust expectation.

    In my work, when people come in with a legal problem, I like to give them a high number for retainer. I'll say, "That'll cost around $5000 so I'll need that deposit before I start." When the process ends up costing only $4000, the client is ecstatic. However, if I were to have said, "Hey, I'll try to keep it around $3500" and then it ends up being $4000 (like in the first example), the client is upset with me. The way I've translated that to weight loss is to put the "goal" time out in the relatively distant future. So for instance, if I think long term and decide I want to lose "x" lbs by July, I feel really great when I hit that goal in April...three months ahead of schedule. If, on the other hand, I kind of have a big number in my head and don't pin expectation far enough in the future, I feel disappointed after a few weeks when I feel like there hasn't been enough movement. This is not to say that I make really small goals, put them too far out in the future, and don't push myself; rather, I'm just trying to provide an example of expectation setting that can allow my mind to grasp realistic lengths of time it will take for me to reach my goals without experiencing too much frustration or undue impatience.

    Hope that's somewhat helpful. Good lucky, buddy:)
  • fpuckett2383
    fpuckett2383 Posts: 49 Member
    Thanks guys :). I guess I'm just trying to not get discouraged. It sucks how easy it is to gain weight but how hard it is to lose it. I know I need to set short term goals instead of just envisioning the end result, I'm just not sure where to start. I'm not very good at gauging myself- but I'm going to look back into my diary and see what's a normal number and go from there.
  • StabbyParks
    StabbyParks Posts: 7 Member
    There is one tip. Something you can say to yourself in moments like this.

    "I want something soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo badly - that Im willing to work for it for like.... a week and then that's it, I quit."

    Sounds dumb right?

    it helps.

    Love this!
  • Every time I get impatient with my results (it has taken me a year to lose 20 pounds), I just think about how uncomfortable I was before I started eating differently and exercising.

    I picture myself running out of energy simply trying to tie my shoes, how hard it was to lug laundry baskets up and down one flight of stairs, and stuff like that.

    Then I think about how easy all of those things are for me now, and say "Hmm...would I rather be back there, or on my way to better things?"

    I'm sure you experienced struggles that you can use as a motivator - just think about how much your life has changed since then. :)