Kill me now. Why is this so hard?

2

Replies

  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
    The scale didn't budge for the first 6 weeks I was working out and managing my food intake. 6 weeks. Not a tenth of a pound. Nothing. So, some progress is better than no progress. I'm over 2.5 years in now and I'm keeping those 30lbs off reasonably well. Good things generally take time & patience.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    I know I shouldn't weigh so frequently but I need to see even 0.02 of a loss to keep motivated.
    So this is what you need to overcome to be successful long-term. Work on that "need" which isn't really a need.
  • bkw99508
    bkw99508 Posts: 204 Member
    Here's a cool thread that you might enjoy that illustrates very nicely how an individual's weight loss appears to plateau or go up, but is actually trending downward. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1098806-newbie-loss-plateaus-and-weight-loss-math-with-graphs?hl=Plateau+graph

    I actually weigh myself everyday (but only enter my official weight 2x a week on MFP, regarless of gain or loss) and enter it in excel and then graph not only the actual weight loss but my deficit and the projected weight loss from the daily deficit. I then insert a trend line. I might go up a few lbs but usually end up lower *eventually* (which for me has sometimes taken 1-1/2 wks). As long as the trend line is going the right direction, I'm golden.

    I know it sound obsessive but what I have found is that when I think that I only lost 0.2lbs this week (or up 1.5lbs) I look at the downward slope of my trendline and KNOW that I'm progressing. It helps me to keep motivated when I think I am not losing *enough*
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    I haven't lost any weight in 2 weeks since I started going to the gym. Am I sad ... NOPE, not in the least. The scale is NOT the definitive measurement of success. I have lost an inch off my midsection in the last 8 days .. so that to me is worth more than any movement on the scale. I will take an inch over a pound any day of the week. Just because you are not losing weight doesn't mean that you are not making progress.
  • sealevels
    sealevels Posts: 123
    If your BMR is 1800, you should be eating 1800. My TDEE is ~2600, my BMR is 1800, and I eat over 2k calories per day everyday. MFP set me for 1490 - ha, not eating that low. It's assuming you will eat back almost all of your exercise calories. That's why it says you've earned a certain amount of calories.

    Cardio machines are known for being pretty darn inaccurate.
  • rickyd88
    rickyd88 Posts: 75 Member
    A lot of great points have got me thinking. Thanks for the input guys. Loving the graph - should probably occupy myself by making one of those rather than weighing every 5 minutes haha!

    I'm going to try hard not to weigh myself for another week now. I just need to feel comfortable in the idea that I am eating enough/not too much and that it's good to exercise.
  • zeebruhgirl
    zeebruhgirl Posts: 493 Member
    FOOD SCALE. I was grossly overestimating what I was eating.
    Also, weigh in once a week only, make sure its the same day, same location, nude etc.Consistency is key.
    Also look into TDEE to eat more to weigh less. Works like a charm for me :]
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    FOOD SCALE. I was grossly overestimating what I was eating.
    Also, weigh in once a week only, make sure its the same day, same location, nude etc.Consistency is key.
    Also look into TDEE to eat more to weigh less. Works like a charm for me :]

    This!
  • soniabogonia
    soniabogonia Posts: 778 Member
    Yep, patience and consistency is key. Weight loss it not linear. Keep on doing what you're doing. :flowerforyou:

    ^^ I agree.
  • khearron26
    khearron26 Posts: 171 Member
    Don't panic! Don't be afraid. You absolutely have to take this one day at a time. Even if you don't get on the scale for one whole week. Focus on your eating and your exercising habits each day. Think about your decisions in the moment. Don't let the numbers on the scale scare you. Like others have said before, there could be many reasons for the weight change you are seeing, none of which reflect poorly on you. Take this one day at a time. Listen to your body and challenge it. But don't let those numbers control you!!!
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
    I haven't seen this mentioned yet and I think it has been absolutely essential for my body transformation:

    When you start exercising, don't simultaneously cut your calories. Eat to stay THE SAME WEIGHT until exercise becomes a habit that restores your spirits instead of a drain, Spend a month or even two, or as long as it takes. Spend a year if you have to.

    The day you wake up already looking forward to the gym - that's the day you should start reducing calories. It took me about two months.
  • laurabrown66
    laurabrown66 Posts: 5
    Just started on MFP and I look at the caloris I should be eating and the other goals such as carbs, sugar and protein and I can't figure out how to get the calories withour going over on the other things. I am diabetic and the carbs and sugars are big things for me. Should I be less concerned about the protein?
  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
    What motivates me is that this time will pass anyway- a week from now I will either be healthier than I am now, or less healthy. A year from now, even more so. Whether my scale shows progress tomorrow or the next day is not nearly as important as the fact that a year from now, 10 years from now, I will have spent all this time moving one direction or another- and it's the daily decisions that add up to get me there.

    Coincidentally, thinking this way has helped me lose almost 100 lbs and has helped me cope with days where my weight went up, weeks where it didn't seem to move at all, and months where it moved so slowly I thought I must be plateaud.

    I also don't push myself quite as hard as it sounds like you do. I do moderate exercise and I don't restrict myself from any particular foods, although I am scrupulously honest about logging, even when it's not pretty. If I were working super hard at it all time, pushing myself to do things I don't enjoy every day, I would be very frustrated that all of that effort wasn't paying off immediately. It's too much to ask of yourself. Relax a little, be honest with your logging, and find a way to motivate yourself that doesn't require instant gratification, because that's a recipe for disaster. Good luck!
  • mikeschratz
    mikeschratz Posts: 253 Member
    If not seeing daily progress is enough to stop your motivation, you may want to consider working on emotional and mental fitness as well as physical fitness. You're being hard on yourself and setting unrealistic expectations, which will ensure you never succeed.

    Remember that this is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix, and that it has to be total-- mind AND body.

    ^^^^^ This^^^^^
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
    No, it's not hard. But as long as you have a deadline in mind and insist on treating weight loss as a race, it's going to be a fail. Find a lifestyle that you enjoy and can maintain forever, then stick with it. For me, what I eat matters, other people say it doesn't. Figure out what works for you. You do need to eat at a deficit but unlike what so many people here believe, under-eating will actually sabotage your progress.

    If you base your progress only by the number on the scale, no you will not stay "motivated". It's up to you to choose to commit to change or not. Nothing anyone says here can motivate you. You expect to see a loss every single week (and 2 pounds!?), well you will be disappointed repeatedly, because weight loss is NOT linear and the more you lose the slower it gets. I've been here for 15 months. I now lose (on average-not every week) only half a pound per week. Should I "give up"? Not. I'm focused on health and I eat the way I will eat for the rest of my life, so I just keep on keeping on. It's not hard, but it does take commitment. My commitment is to my HEALTH first and foremost. The weight loss is nice but not my primary focus.
  • chirosche
    chirosche Posts: 66 Member
    I know I shouldn't weigh so frequently but I need to see even 0.02 of a loss to keep motivated.

    Patience, or Fail.

    Easier said than done. An old thin photo of me isn't enough to keep me motivated, so what else can I try? Not so handy with a tape measure so I'm using an old pair of jeans I'd like to get back into.

    Also, still doesn't solve where I'm going wrong. I lost weight easier when I didn't exercise. How does that work?

    All of us want this unwanted weight to get off of us right now, immediately. We'd like to dismiss it into the waste basket like a balled up candy wrapper. You're not doing anything wrong. The problem that "develops" over time from yo-yo dieting is insidious. Each time, you lose and gain it back NEW fat cells are born. That is why you are heavier each time. So imagine, if you keep on losing and gaining, you'll eventually be bigger than you ever imagined. That is a scary thought. Also, metabolic damage can occur constantly going on diets, which may slow down you're ability to lose as quickly as you did before. So, now you have to make some mental adjustments regarding your approach and your discipline. This is not temporary. Whatever you have to do to get it off, you'll have to do to maintain. You just will be able to increase your calories to maintenance. You'll have to forgive yourself and give your body some mercy and allow it to readjust metabolically. I repeatedly hear be patient in this thread. And that is going to be key, otherwise, it sounds like you are stressing about it, which will also cause you to hold on to fat. Cortisol (the stress hormone) is a hidden enemy to losing fat. Relax, go with the flow, keep doing all the right things, which is sounds like you're doing, and it will come off, if you just don't have unrealistic expectations of how fast it's "supposed" to come off. Nurture your body, your mind and your spirit. Your goal is within reach. It can't be all right now. If you're going to be all or nothing, you'll find yourself recycling the yo-yo diet yet again.
  • gypsyrose64
    gypsyrose64 Posts: 271 Member
    It's taken me a YEAR to lose 34 lbs! There has been entire months were I bounce up/down and end up back where I started.

    I weigh every morning, after I pee, before I dress. I log it on an android app called "Libra", which gives you a trend line after a while. It helps to keep things in perspective.

    What I've noticed (for me) is carbs/salt/sugar affect my weight dramatically. I will blow up as much as 6 lbs after eating pizza or chinese food! I can weigh and then go get ready for work, weigh again before leaving the house and have gained 3 lbs. It fluctuates constantly. I only weigh once in the morning now and don't let it ruin my day.

    I would suggest you get familiar with your tape measure. I had one month where I gained a pound, but lost 3+ inches off my core! I would suggest taking pictures as you go... it really helps me.

    You cannot look at this like a pass/fail test. It's not an event you trained for and then face-planted before the finish line. The older we get, the harder it is to make our bodies change, but not impossible. You have to approach this as a decision towards health and nutrition, that just might yield weight loss. The more you stress out over it, the more your body works against you.

    I would say you're doing pretty darn good!
  • alexsheena
    alexsheena Posts: 20
    I saw this on tumblr and it really changed my outlook.

    'How do I stay motivated?'
    'This is probably isn't going to be what you want so I apologise BUT
    **** motivation. Motivation is an unreliable little ****. It comes and goes and it's not what you want to rely on to get you through really tough workouts. Instead of worrying about how to stay motivated, work on staying disciplined, on staying dedicated. There are so many days when I have zero motivation to do anything and if motivation was all I had I would get **** all done.
    Don't even question doing whatever your workout is. Don't even start to think "uhh I'm not in the mood". You just gotta ****ing do it. Make a routine. Schedule your workouts in and then when the time comes just get up and do it. It's hard. It really is. But you're a badass mother****er and you can do it.
    Discipline > motivation'


    I think this works for any kind of motivation. Your dedication is what will keep you going in the end. Slow and steady wins the race and what's the point in not sticking with it, going back to doing nothing is going to change nothing, stop wanting a quick fix, there isn't one.
  • JamieM8168
    JamieM8168 Posts: 248 Member
    Just keep doing what you're doing. Don't be discouraged by a week or two of low results. You can fluctuate by 5 lbs or more from day to day

Categories