I know I'm not a failure!

kinggrace78
kinggrace78 Posts: 29
in Motivation and Support
I've been thinking about this a lot lately and thought I would share in case someone out there is going through the same thing. I started MFP on 2/14/12. Since then I have lost 8 pounds....

8 pounds in 3 months - this bothered me a lot....at first. It bothered me when I started reading different forums on here and seeing people losing 2-4 pounds their first couple of weeks and slowing losing more and more weight each month. It frustrates me to see posts like 40 pounds gone in 90 days. I'm not jealous of anyone who has lost the weight because since I am in this journey also, I KNOW how hard it can be to drop those pounds, I'm just unhappy with myself. A year ago I was very unhappy with the way I looked and I used to think, man if I could just lose 10 pounds I would be happy, now it seems like I have forgotten that old me and now my 12 pounds aren't good enough.

I kept thinking something is wrong with me...I'm a failure, why can't I lose more than a few pounds a month. It's not like I don't have a lot of weight to lose, but then I started to appreciate the weight I HAVE lost instead of being depressed about the time it is taking me to lose the weight.

You see I have physical limitations that will not allow me to do a lot of the exercises people do that help drop the weight fast - my husband included. He is a runner and it doesn't matter what he eats, if he runs, the weight comes off. I'm not like that. The doctor recommended me to swim and do water aerobics. So that's what I started doing in December 2012. Since 12/1/12 I have lost a total of 12 pounds. 12 pounds in 6 months is not a lot to some people and someone reading this may think well if she wasn't eating this or eating that or if she was working out more she could have lost more. That's fine if you want to think that but I know how far I have come and what I have to do to get there, as limited as it may be.

So whenever you start feeling depressed or you feel like you are failing because the weight is not coming off as fast as you would like it or as fast as you see on other people, remember that we are all different; we all have our own issues we are struggling with, whether it's physical, mental, psychological, or a time issue and sometimes it just takes longer for some of us to lose weight than others. On a side note, if you are one of the people who can't seem to understand why some people aren't losing weight as fast as you, please don't judge them based on your own life - we are all here for the same reason - to get healthy!

Thanks and I hope I was able to encourage someone today.

Replies

  • FitBlackChick
    FitBlackChick Posts: 215 Member
    Thank you so much for this! I myself have had the most painfully slow journey. I jumped onto MFP about 8 months ago, with the goal of losing 20 lbs in 6 months. It's taken me 7.5 months just to lose 7.5 lbs! Sometimes I feel bad, especially when I see success stories about people who have lost about 3 times that amount of weight in half the time. This has really encouraged me. Thank you :flowerforyou:

    Oh and CONGRATULATIONS on your progress so far!
  • Coyoteldy
    Coyoteldy Posts: 219 Member
    Grace,
    You are doing what is good for you to do. I too have physical limitations and I work in the disability field..you ROCK.. sooooo many people figure that they have limitations so they do nothing.. but you are out there taking care of yourself and figuring out what you CAN do and then doing it...I think that 12 pounds is awesome....you hang in there.. nopt only are you a success, but other people who think they are "limited" should learn from you!!!
  • kinggrace78
    kinggrace78 Posts: 29
    I'm glad I was able to encourage you! I keep needing to remind myself of what I wrote - almost daily. Keep up the good work and we will get there together!!

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