I'm losing 40 lbs in 4 months!
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Cella30
Posts: 539 Member
I keep seeing this thread pop up and a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon. This message is for you. Please bookmark this page and come back in 4 months to read it when you’re ready to hear the truth.
TL;DR version: No. No you’re not.
I’m not trying to be mean or a negative Nancy or demotivate you. I think it’s awesome you are here and want to lose weight. I’m being realistic, and the popularity of that thread is concerning. For as long as I can remember, I was you. I would give anything to go back and tell myself this: You are only setting yourself for failure and future psychological damage.
“But this time is different! We’re going to join a group and support each other.”
Oh really? What makes you think tomorrow morning you’re going to wake up and magically be cured of all your unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits?
“But even if I only lose 5 pounds, I’ll be happy!”
I’m calling BS. You’re seriously telling yourself that? How many people here can say they set a goal of losing 40 pounds and were completely satisfied and happy that they only lost 5? Stop it. You’re going beat yourself up for failing the 40 pound goal and give up because it’s too hard.
Now, let’s say you’re a special snowflake and you actually find a way to lose the 40 pounds in 4 months…during the holidays. :noway:
Congratulations! Now what? How long do you think you can keep up restricting, not eating carbs, replacing two meals a day with shakes, running 10 miles a day, or popping pills? Think you can do it the rest of your life? Because if you don’t, you are going to gain the weight back. Period.
Please stop doing this to yourself. Google or find people here that have lost substantial weight and kept it off and listen to their story. It’s not a coincidence that they are all very similar. Stop trying to find a quick fix, the easy road. It takes hard work, accepting responsibility for your actions, a lot of patience and forcing yourself to create new, healthy habits when everything in you is fighting against it. It will take months, or even years, to slowly reteach yourself how to eat and there will be many days you fail.
It has taken me a long time to get to this point and I’ll be honest, most days sucked monkey’s balls. But here I am, looking back with zero regrets. I feel amazing. I am healthy. I finally feel comfortable with my relationship with food. Most importantly, I could eat and exercise this way for the rest of my life.
If you want to start a dramatic diet that is only a temporary fix and totally mind f*** yourself in the process, then you got this 40 lbs in 4 month’ers. Have fun restricting, losing, binging, gaining, hating yourself, gaining, restricting, ad nauseam. I’m done living life like that.
Love,
Me :flowerforyou:
*Disclaimer: Yes, I know that everyone is different, that medical conditions exist and those that are extremely obese can accomplish this. These are not the people I'm talking to. You know who you are.
TL;DR version: No. No you’re not.
I’m not trying to be mean or a negative Nancy or demotivate you. I think it’s awesome you are here and want to lose weight. I’m being realistic, and the popularity of that thread is concerning. For as long as I can remember, I was you. I would give anything to go back and tell myself this: You are only setting yourself for failure and future psychological damage.
“But this time is different! We’re going to join a group and support each other.”
Oh really? What makes you think tomorrow morning you’re going to wake up and magically be cured of all your unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits?
“But even if I only lose 5 pounds, I’ll be happy!”
I’m calling BS. You’re seriously telling yourself that? How many people here can say they set a goal of losing 40 pounds and were completely satisfied and happy that they only lost 5? Stop it. You’re going beat yourself up for failing the 40 pound goal and give up because it’s too hard.
Now, let’s say you’re a special snowflake and you actually find a way to lose the 40 pounds in 4 months…during the holidays. :noway:
Congratulations! Now what? How long do you think you can keep up restricting, not eating carbs, replacing two meals a day with shakes, running 10 miles a day, or popping pills? Think you can do it the rest of your life? Because if you don’t, you are going to gain the weight back. Period.
Please stop doing this to yourself. Google or find people here that have lost substantial weight and kept it off and listen to their story. It’s not a coincidence that they are all very similar. Stop trying to find a quick fix, the easy road. It takes hard work, accepting responsibility for your actions, a lot of patience and forcing yourself to create new, healthy habits when everything in you is fighting against it. It will take months, or even years, to slowly reteach yourself how to eat and there will be many days you fail.
It has taken me a long time to get to this point and I’ll be honest, most days sucked monkey’s balls. But here I am, looking back with zero regrets. I feel amazing. I am healthy. I finally feel comfortable with my relationship with food. Most importantly, I could eat and exercise this way for the rest of my life.
If you want to start a dramatic diet that is only a temporary fix and totally mind f*** yourself in the process, then you got this 40 lbs in 4 month’ers. Have fun restricting, losing, binging, gaining, hating yourself, gaining, restricting, ad nauseam. I’m done living life like that.
Love,
Me :flowerforyou:
*Disclaimer: Yes, I know that everyone is different, that medical conditions exist and those that are extremely obese can accomplish this. These are not the people I'm talking to. You know who you are.
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Replies
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TL;DR version: No. No you’re not.
It has taken me a long time to get to this point and I’ll be honest, most days sucked monkey’s balls. If you want to start a dramatic diet that is only a temporary fix and totally mind f*** yourself in the process, then you got this 40 lbs in 4 month’ers. Have fun restricting, losing, binging, gaining, hating yourself, gaining, restricting, ad nauseam. I’m done living life like that.
Love,
Me :flowerforyou:
*Disclaimer: Yes, I know that everyone is different, that medical conditions exist and those that are extremely obese can accomplish this. These are not the people I'm talking to. You know who you are.
Finally some "sanity" here. This post is excellent and should be required reading! EPIC!
Thank you for writing this eloquenty and frankly: funnier than hell! :flowerforyou: :drinker:
:laugh: 0 -
Love it.
Thanks for saying what I'm sure many are thinking after reading the original thread.0 -
Um, okay?
I'm not participating in the thread you mentioned. Maybe people there are all doing completely crazy things that are going to backfire, I don't know. But as someone whose goal is to be down 31 more pounds by the end of the year, I can't help but feel like I resemble this remark ;-).
Look, I know I'm not in for an easy path. I know there will be setbacks and challenges and plateaus. I know I'll either screw up during the holidays, or spend a bunch of time resenting the cookies I'm not eating.
But.
What am I supposed to do instead? Wait until January, when I might well have put on a couple pounds of holiday weight and won't be able to exercise outside? Avoid setting a goal at all? I understand what you're trying to say, OP, but it feels a lot like "you won't do it right so don't even try." And frankly, that's what I was telling myself for years. I don't need to hear it from the outside now that I'm finally making progress.0 -
BEST. THREAD. EVEEERRRRR!
Finally someone said it!!!
:flowerforyou:0 -
Um, okay?
I'm not participating in the thread you mentioned. Maybe people there are all doing completely crazy things that are going to backfire, I don't know. But as someone whose goal is to be down 31 more pounds by the end of the year, I can't help but feel like I resemble this remark ;-).
Look, I know I'm not in for an easy path. I know there will be setbacks and challenges and plateaus. I know I'll either screw up during the holidays, or spend a bunch of time resenting the cookies I'm not eating.
But.
What am I supposed to do instead? Wait until January, when I might well have put on a couple pounds of holiday weight and won't be able to exercise outside? Avoid setting a goal at all? I understand what you're trying to say, OP, but it feels a lot like "you won't do it right so don't even try." And frankly, that's what I was telling myself for years. I don't need to hear it from the outside now that I'm finally making progress.
I don't think the OP was suggesting to not set any goals and to wait until January to try to lose.
The point she was trying to make (in a nutshell) is to not have these goals that will require you to lose weight in an unhealthy manner. When people do this, the majority (read all) of them gain the weight back, as when you lose weight in an unhealthy manner, then you're unable to sustain the weight loss. Do something that you'll be able to do for the rest of your life. Not just for a few months.
There is no one suggesting that "you won't do it right so don't even try", and it's strange that this is what you got out of the OP.0 -
Um, okay?
I'm not participating in the thread you mentioned. Maybe people there are all doing completely crazy things that are going to backfire, I don't know. But as someone whose goal is to be down 31 more pounds by the end of the year, I can't help but feel like I resemble this remark ;-).
Look, I know I'm not in for an easy path. I know there will be setbacks and challenges and plateaus. I know I'll either screw up during the holidays, or spend a bunch of time resenting the cookies I'm not eating.
But.
What am I supposed to do instead? Wait until January, when I might well have put on a couple pounds of holiday weight and won't be able to exercise outside? Avoid setting a goal at all? I understand what you're trying to say, OP, but it feels a lot like "you won't do it right so don't even try." And frankly, that's what I was telling myself for years. I don't need to hear it from the outside now that I'm finally making progress.
Um...there's an enormous difference between setting an unreasonable goal and setting no goal. There's so much room in the middle. I'm not sure how you got that you should do nothing until January from the op? She (speaking from a place of experience) is saying that such extremely lofty and aggressive goals really can't be achieved without resorting to unsafe or unsustainable practices. The op was trying to impart some wisdom to help people set reasonable goals, based on healthy & sustainable behaviors. That starts now-not later. But understand that healthy & sustainable behaviors will lead to successful long term change (and maintainable weight loss). The flip side is that you won't likely lose weight at an exceedingly aggressive rate, in fact, it'll probably be a whole lot slower than you want (all the more reason to start now). But since you're building habits and behaviors that you have to sustain for the rest of your life, what's the big rush?0 -
***Stuff from OP***
Replacing two meals a day with shakes
***More stuff from OP***
Overall I agree with what you've said.
Just found the shake part a bit funny. I use a shake for breakfast and lunch- but those are only 340 calories of the ~1,500 to 1,600 calories I eat a day. Meal replacement shakes aren't the devil when used properly. :flowerforyou:0 -
Thank you Cella! Wonderful post.
So many people have overblown expectations, only to quit when they realize that .... dang, this going to take awhile.0 -
Congratulations! Now what? How long do you think you can keep up restricting, not eating carbs, replacing two meals a day with shakes, running 10 miles a day, or popping pills? Think you can do it the rest of your life? Because if you don’t, you are going to gain the weight back. Period.
This is the only part I have trouble with. People can do dreadful, horrible things to themselves (and others) for insanely long amounts of time. People can under eat and over train for years before they realize something isn't right.
Everybody's journey is different. I think the value of these forums is the community of people who are dedicated to helping others to find and stay on "the path".
The other thing is that there's great value to trying and failing. Failure is one of life's greatest teachers.
Lots of crabbi-pants-I-Don't-have-time-for-your-mistakes on the forum today.
Bad juju IMO0 -
I don't think the OP was suggesting to not set any goals and to wait until January to try to lose.
The point she was trying to make (in a nutshell) is to not have these goals that will require you to lose weight in an unhealthy manner. When people do this, the majority (read all) of them gain the weight back, as when you lose weight in an unhealthy manner, then you're unable to sustain the weight loss. Do something that you'll be able to do for the rest of your life. Not just for a few months.
There is no one suggesting that "you won't do it right so don't even try", and it's strange that this is what you got out of the OP.
OK. That's just how I read it. Maybe I'm coming at this in a defensive frame of mind. I just see the OP as saying, 'I know better than you, I know you can't do what you want to do,' and I personally tend to go to 'so don't even try' from that. My rational mind knows there's a lot of middle ground, but sometimes my rational mind and my emotions don't talk to each other.
I still don't think 40 pounds in four months is too ridiculous as a goal. That's barely over two pounds a week -- aggressive, but well within many medical recommendations. I agree that eating only rice cakes and running 10 miles a day, or whatever craziness was going on in the original thread, is probably a very poor way to lose weight.0 -
lmao you are awesome, truthful and funny!!! best thread ever!!!0
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i guess im a rare "snowflake" i started my weight loss journey at the end of april. i have hit the 53 lbs gone. i eat. i dont starve myself. i eat what i want in moderation. i work out every day. i enjoy it. i take a few days off a week from the DVD. i purchased a body media fit device and i love it. i also weigh myself everyday. please no negative comments. i am very proud with how hard i have worked to get this far. i love the way my body is changing and im going to keep at it :happy:0
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***Stuff from OP***
Replacing two meals a day with shakes
***More stuff from OP***
Overall I agree with what you've said.
Just found the shake part a bit funny. I use a shake for breakfast and lunch- but those are only 340 calories of the ~1,500 to 1,600 calories I eat a day. Meal replacement shakes aren't the devil when used properly. :flowerforyou:
Then I counter that you are not using them as a "meal replacement", even though you may be consuming them during a meal time. Consuming 1500-1600 calories overall in a day is reasonable and healthy. Clearly, the OP was referring to those who use shakes to significantly lower their overall daily calorie intake. You know, the ol', shake for breakfast, shake for lunch, and a reasonable dinner - which probably nets 800-1000 cals a day.0 -
Love it! Thank you for posting.0
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Congratulations! Now what? How long do you think you can keep up restricting, not eating carbs, replacing two meals a day with shakes, running 10 miles a day, or popping pills? Think you can do it the rest of your life? Because if you don’t, you are going to gain the weight back. Period.
This is the only part I have trouble with. People can do dreadful, horrible things to themselves (and others) for insanely long amounts of time. People can under eat and over train for years before they realize something isn't right.
Everybody's journey is different. I think the value of these forums is the community of people who are dedicated to helping others to find and stay on "the path".
The other thing is that there's great value to trying and failing. Failure is one of life's greatest teachers.
Lots of crabbi-pants-I-Don't-have-time-for-your-mistakes on the forum today.
Bad juju IMO
+10 -
For me, this was just what I needed to hear. I have tried the "lose it all in 30 days" plans. Didn't work for me..........wasted lots of money and ended up with a stress fracture. We are a society of instant gratification and except weight loss to be the same. Just this morning I felt so frustrated with my lack of weight loss when in all reality it would have been a miracle if I had lost any weight already. So OP, thank you for your words of wisdom because that was just what I needed to read today! Makes me feel motivated to keep working hard and eating healthy for the rest of my life! 0
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Best post I have seen on here in a long time! If you go into something with low expectations you are setting yourself up to succeed! I went into my weight loss journey will a goal of 4 lbs a month and so far I have been meeting and sometimes exceeding that goal.0
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i guess im a rare "snowflake" i started my weight loss journey at the end of april. i have hit the 53 lbs gone. i eat. i dont starve myself. i eat what i want in moderation. i work out every day. i enjoy it. i take a few days off a week from the DVD. i purchased a body media fit device and i love it. i also weigh myself everyday. please no negative comments. i am very proud with how hard i have worked to get this far. i love the way my body is changing and im going to keep at it :happy:
me too. Except I have a fitbit and I don't use DVD's, I go to a place to workout. And if I'm unable to go, then I do something from youtube. I have eaten out whenever we wanted. I have eaten take out pizza. Last night I had some red velvet cake. I have been on two vacations this summer and still held my own. I have never felt better.0 -
i guess im a rare "snowflake" i started my weight loss journey at the end of april. i have hit the 53 lbs gone. i eat. i dont starve myself. i eat what i want in moderation. i work out every day. i enjoy it. i take a few days off a week from the DVD. i purchased a body media fit device and i love it. i also weigh myself everyday. please no negative comments. i am very proud with how hard i have worked to get this far. i love the way my body is changing and im going to keep at it :happy:
No, you aren't a rare snowflake...but you did have 117lbs to lose to start. Please note the OP's disclaimer. I believe you fall into those she wasn't speaking to.
I think she's more talking about those with only 40-50lbs to lose thinking they'll just wipe it out in the next 4 months.0 -
ohai0
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