Losing weight too slow???

littlecompton
littlecompton Posts: 82
edited September 21 in Motivation and Support
I want to share something that I have just learned the hard way.

I joined MFP a few months back. I started exercising and doing my food diary. I was pretty darn good with the eating; not great but much better than I had been. And I was exercising much more. Each week I got on the scale and saw little tiny losses, like 1lb, 1.3lb, .5lb, etc. I was SO frustrated. I thought it was ridiculous, and I felt I was depriving myself to lose so little. So I went off my program.

Each week since I got frustrated and gave up I have GAINED weight. I am eating badly, and not exercising and should not be surprised by my gains, but yet I somehow am. I cannot believe how quickly the pounds are piling on. I have learned a lesson so simple that I feel like an idiot for not seeing it before:

Even if I have weeks that I work my butt off and only lose a little tiny bit, I am winning the battle.
Even if I have weeks that I stay the same, I am winning the battle as long as I keep up the work.
Even if I have weeks that I gain, I am winning the battle if I don't give up, and try harder the next week.

Please, fellow fat fighters, don't give up! Regardless of what our scales say, we KNOW we feel better when we put less food, more nutrious food in our mouths, and when we regularly exercise.

Consider me "scared straight". I can't keep gaining. I can't keep living dangerously. Please join me in taking back our lives. We can do it, one tiny little goal at a time. God bless you all!

Replies

  • AmandaJ
    AmandaJ Posts: 1,950 Member
    Thanks great words of wisdom especially for the weeks when the scale is higher and I swear it is laughing at me. :flowerforyou:
  • littlecompton
    littlecompton Posts: 82
    Thanks Amanda! At least your scale has a sense of humor....mine just whines.
  • MaureenH39
    MaureenH39 Posts: 315 Member
    Good point and one that I needed to hear today!!!! Thank you :flowerforyou: I am feeling impatient and frustrated this week as the scale will not budge!
  • megamom
    megamom Posts: 920 Member
    I am also losing sooooo slow but I was just saying today. I am not gaining. I think I only lost 3 pounds last month, maybe even less, I really don't remember but if I wasn't doing this, I know I would have gained. So it's all good.
  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
    lose weight slow too...so i'm gonna get a measuring tape which will make me feel better cause i lose inches before i lose wieght
  • hkystar
    hkystar Posts: 1,290 Member
    Very well put!
  • karenjoy
    karenjoy Posts: 1,840 Member
    really good post, thank you x:flowerforyou:
  • littlecompton
    littlecompton Posts: 82
    Just checking in with all the awesome fellow slow-losers! Is everybody keeping the faith??? Remember, not continuing to gain is still great. Losing is even better, but don't get caught up in the numbers. Exercise, eat right, feel good about yourself!

    People who lose the weight faster are working hard and they deserve their success. But we have to work extra hard to lose it so we have even more to be proud of ourselves for! And that means be proud of every single ounce that goes bye-bye.

    My sister who loses slowly like me called last week and was so bummed out because she only lost 1lb after working SO hard. I said "wait a minute...that's like 40lbs to normal people, so way to go!!!"

    You are not alone. Others share your frustration. But don't give up. Just laugh and go for a walk and KEEP TRYING. You WILL succeed. It may be slower than you'd like, but it will be so worth it. Happy day to every one!
  • AmandaJ
    AmandaJ Posts: 1,950 Member
    Still doing good, been wanting to eat alot these past couple of days but staying in my calories so I am happy! Still getting up at 4:30 am to go for an hour walk or walk / run. I just keep plugging away! :smile:
  • littlecompton
    littlecompton Posts: 82
    Way to go!!!! You've inspired me to go work out too. You are working so hard --- congratulations! Wow....
  • beautyqueen1979
    beautyqueen1979 Posts: 151 Member
    I am a bit of a slow loser I think. I certainly haven't had the big losses that some report from the first week or two when they started MFP. I was 213 on June 29th, and since then have lost 5.6lbs. Now to be fair I only upped the exercise four weeks ago, before that I was 'finding my feet' with simply logging and observing my old lifestyle. Not a huge loss, but I've heard the slower the better. My goal is to average 1lb a week :)
  • littlecompton
    littlecompton Posts: 82
    You're doing great. Slower is definitely better, though it's hard to accept that sometimes. I think you were wise to start the whole thing slow and get used to the changes gradually. It's so much easier to stay on track that way. Good job!
  • beautyqueen1979
    beautyqueen1979 Posts: 151 Member
    You're doing great. Slower is definitely better, though it's hard to accept that sometimes. I think you were wise to start the whole thing slow and get used to the changes gradually. It's so much easier to stay on track that way. Good job!

    Thanks :) I got into a bit of a downer earlier wondering why I hadn't seen some killer first couple of weeks losses - but after seeing this board I shook it off and am celebrating that at least the scale is going down and not up! I have done well on inches though, so I think I will focus more on them :)

    All of us will get there :)
  • tjbeer
    tjbeer Posts: 90 Member
    I too am a slow loser, actually so slow I have come to a stand still. However I am still motivated to keep going as I have lost 70 lbs so far, that was prior to starting MFP a month ago, but to be honest, disheartenment does come with the weekly weigh in!!

    So thank you Littlecompton for your great words of wisdom

    :flowerforyou:
    Tx
  • littlecompton
    littlecompton Posts: 82
    Been a couple weeks since I checked in. I lost 1.4lbs the first week of my new attitude. Gained back exactly 1.4lbs the second week and you know what? This time I didn't freak out and go overboard. I said to myself, 'well, okay, relax, get off the scale, keep on doing your best and be patient!'. I will weigh on Tuesday and tell the world what happens, because if it keeps one of you other slow-losers out there motivated to stick with it, it will be worth it!

    And from personal experience, please don't get discouraged by the people who fly past you while you are out walking or running. At first glance their strides seem so quick and effortless don't they? Especially when you feel as slow as a manatee, with shins that burn and feet that ache. But just remember, that tight butt walking in front of you might once have been much larger too. And one day, your butt could be the one that the walkers behind you aspire too while their shins burn and their feet ache.

    We can achieve our dreams, people! One ounce, one shin splint, one triumph at a time. Be patient and be happy. You are not alone!
  • shari253
    shari253 Posts: 202
    Thanks for the encouragement! I really needed it. I wouldn't necessarily say I'm a "slow loser" in general, but I will say I have bad days or bad weeks. I'm near my second week right now. For the first week I was sooo "good" and lost 1.8 lbs. This second week has not gone so well, as I've reverted to some of my old bad eating habits. My weigh-in is tomorrow morning, and I don't think I will be losing weight. On a positive note, I started the Couch to 5 K walk/jog program and have been very consistent with that, which I'm proud of. I feel like I'm in better shape already.

    Your nugget of wisdom that really hit home with me is that if I were not doing this program and at least trying, I would definitely be gaining consistently over time, which is NOT the direction I want to go in. So thanks! I feel better and I will keep trying.
  • littlecompton
    littlecompton Posts: 82
    What is the couch to 5K?
  • shari253
    shari253 Posts: 202
    The Couch to 5k program, also called C25K, is a nine week program to take you from total couch potato to running a 5K. To start all you need to do is be able to walk 20 minutes. You follow a training schedule of walk/jogs three times a week. Google C25K to get the website with all the info.

    Here is a thread for people doing it: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/98489-couch-to-5k-anyone
  • shari253
    shari253 Posts: 202
    Good news, I lost 1.2 lbs after all. That is 3 lbs in two weeks. I feel very thrilled with that!
  • fitterpam
    fitterpam Posts: 3,064 Member
    The way I see it, it'll take me as long to put it back on as it takes me to take it off. Comes off easy = Goes back on easy. If I have to work for it, I'm less likely to spiral down for weeks on end and do horrendous damage to my progress. Slow and steady is the way to do it
  • Eidson50
    Eidson50 Posts: 6 Member
    Hello everyone. This is my first post. I too am a slow loser. I'm not sure if it's my age this time but about 6 years ago I lost about 50 pounds with no exercise, only cutting my calories. This time around I'm cutting calories and getting on the treadmill for 25 minutes at least 5 mornings a week. I started at 198 pounds about six weeks ago and yesterday I was at 192. This morning I weighed and it said 195. It doesn't make any sense to me why the scale goes up when I didn't go over on my calories. Soooooooooo frustrating! I have accepted that this is a life style change and will have to be to keep the weight off once I lose it but it would be so motivating to drop a good amount in the beginning!!!!
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