Anyone that has been successful but lost weight very slowly?

I have deliberately lost slowly. I've dieted in the past and ended up giving up and regaining, for various reasons. This time I've found it easier to stick with it, and I think it's because I'm doing it so slowly. Recently, I got to a weight I was comfortable with and maintained for a while, so that has made the weight loss even slower! I've started trying to lose about a more, and yes, it does get frustrating not seeing any progress, but I know I've made a big difference with the 60lb I've lost.

What helped for me (your mileage may vary) was weighing every morning and watching my progress in the "reports" section. It's normal for weight to fluctuate by a couple of pounds from day to day, so if you're trying to lose 1/2 lb a week, it's difficult to see how successful you are. For instance, you could have "lost" 2lb one month, but your weight happens to fluctuate up by 2 lb on weigh-in day, so it looks like you've had no progress at all. By looking at "reports", I could see if there was a downward trend in my weight, and I could look at progress over a several months.

I do know that the general advice is that you can lose more quickly if you have more to lose, and I think that is true, but I do think it's personal. My TDEE at close to morbidly obese was WELL under 2000 calories, so a 1000 calorie deficit (2 lb a week) would have felt like a starvation diet to me!

And if your doctor has advised you to go slowly, there's probably a reason for that.

Good luck with it! Going slowly takes longer, but I found it much easier!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1193569-cookies-taste-better-than-skinny-feels

This is a great post! Enjoy :drinker:

+1

I was thinking of this post too! Definitely worth a read.

I have lost 50 pounds in just under 2 years. Would I have liked it to be faster? Sure. Would I change how I went about it if I was able to do it over? Never. I like food too much!

I've lost about 50 pounds but it's taken over a year. I'm finding that this slow weight loss has lent itself to easier maintenance. I was somewhat impatient at first with everything but I've come to understand that it's better this way. Slow and steady wins the race

I'm losing at about the same rate as you and sometimes I have feelings of despair about how long it will take me to get this done. But done with what, exactly? Having healthly habits (eating and otherwise) is causing me to gradually lose weight but it's also just the way to live well. I'm not going back to poor habits, so nothing will really change when I reach goal weight. I think what I'm longing for is not to relax my habits, but I just want to be slim...right now. I think the way I should view it is that I'm not on a diet, I'm just living my life.

A couple of things:

Living in the moment: Life is short, don't waste the next three or four years waiting for the future you to appear. Find something else in the here and now to devote yourself to. You can have a very satisfying life just as you are right now.

Motivation: I don't conciously need motivation to do many of the daily things I do that keep me healthy, like bathing, brushing my teeth. The way I eat should be sort of the same thing.

I’m at .5 a week as well. I sometimes do get discouraged looking at all the other numbers on here as well. Then I look at their age and understand that at our age it is much slower. What helps me is that this time I know for sure I am never ever going to see that weight come back. At .5 a week, I don’t feel like I am on a diet. Completely satisfied at the end of the day. If you are going to go harder on exercising, please measure. I have only lost 10lbs in 110 days...but I feel like I've lost 20. Good luck, and stick with it because you are looking great!

After I lost the first 40lbs.... it slowwwwwed way down. ive gone many months without loosing anything. But changes things around some days does me justice.

i've lost between 55-60lbs total.. and have about 8lbs till my original goal weight but alot more toning to do.

I feel a bit silly claiming to be a success story, but damn it I'm pleased with my progress! I've been working on it for over two years. I've had setbacks ( put back on 13 pounds) and had a few months of no weightloss. I'm a slow and steady kind of person, I knew that if I cut all of the junk out and started extreme exercising, I wouldn't last a week. The hardest part is staying motivated when you can't see a change quickly (I'm also 5.11 which makes weightloss seem even slower!) I just have to constantly remind myself why I'm doing this. I think every obese person can testify that there are daily reminders as to why being overweight is tough. More positively, to really celebrate the small successes along the way (fitting into a new dress size or getting a compliment about how good you look) and hold onto these things when you're having a rubbish day and want to quit.
I should also say that I was the opposite from lots of people, the first 20 pounds took me ages, however it gave me the confidence and ambition to make the next part go a lot faster. Also Im building up my fitness level so exercise is so much easier now, not to mention the fact that I'm carrying around less weight. I've lost 54 pounds so far and most of that has been in the last six months. I still have another 21 pounds more to go, but I feel so motivated by my progress so far that I feel like it's finally within my reach.

Most of all I've found these boards to be huge motivators. Everyone is different, I hated the idea of weight watchers (being weighed in front of all those people!) I'm so shy about my weightloss, I don't tell anyone about being on mfp and I don't have any friends here or pictures. I just feel like this is a very personal struggle and one I've had all of my life, changing the way I think about food and health is going to be a lifelong battle and one I feel I needed to start alone. Seeing how others have overcome their own issues and succeed is so encouraging. I'm slowly starting to open up and talk to friends about it. Also I'm trying to contribute a little to these boards that have helped me so much.

I wish you the best of luck. I want you to know that if I can get this far you can too!

X

Here are my two cents. Obviously not worth much....

I think the answer depends on two parameters: your diet and exercise. IF you are having a perfect diet and say working out four times a week. Like no sugar, cardio..perfect macros. Then I would take a look at your diet in detail, maybe check on hormones like thyroid, hours of sleep. It could be simply your body changing composition.

But if you are simply cutting back a few calories, are very comfortable with your current diet - then awesome - keep on the same path. Great work already as showing in your profile picture.

I have been losing weight slowly over the period of 2 year.

Why not be more aggressive? Go 2 months being very aggressive with weekly refeeds and then go on maintenance for a month or two? You will see large drops and then eat normally getting excited to diet again. The maintenance will also help teach you how to eat at the lower weight, which in my and most everyones experience, is the reason for the yoyo.

Just a thought.

i have been seriously logging since Sept 13 2013 and have only lost 17lbs, i get frustrated at the slowness but try to accept it but it is hard when you see others losing 2-3 lbs per week



good luck with your journey

I just wanted to say that I am so proud of you - 25 pounds is an amazing accomplishment, and you are doing it in such a healthy way. I have lost and gained and lost and gained weight throughout my life, and now I've talked a registered dietician, I'm eating more, and I'm losing weight slower, and with 100% emphasis on nutrition. I'm expecting a much slower weight loss too.

Stories like yours are even more inspirational to me than stories about quick weight loss, so thank you so much for posting this thread!