Biggest Frustrations?

Hey guys - I'm new here.

I would like to ask for some help (I hope this is okay). I'm just getting into the fitness industry and want to learn as much as possible before i get started.

If it's okay could you improve my knowledge by answering any these quick questions?

1 What are your biggest frustrations with weight loss? What is constantly on your mind?

2 What are your stumbling blocks?

3 What are your reasons for wanting to lose weight? What's your WHY?

4 What do you aspire to achieve from exercising and eating well?


Would really appreciate any help.

Thanks

Tim

1 - Biggest frustration - that I can't spot reduce the areas of my body that I dislike most. Specifically stomach. I have lost 70 pounds, have under 40 to go, but I look pregnant! What's constantly on my mind? I'll admit I'm pretty self-conscious about my stomach, I suck in a LOT. It's not necessarily *constantly* on my mind but it's pretty frequent.

2 - Perfectionism. I have a very All-Or-Nothing mindset that I fight constantly. If I am not doing something absolutely perfectly, then in my mind I've failed. Often this leads me to not even start something (for example, i've been wanting to start C25K for about 3 months but haven't done it yet because conditions haven't been "perfect")

3 - Reason for wanting to lose? I'm tired. Tired of being out of breath at the top of the stairs. Tired of low stamina. Tired of unsatisfactory sex because of limited mobility. Tired of being fat. Tired of being asked when the baby's due (THERE IS NO BABY!!!). Tired of wearing baggy, unflattering clothing. Tired of being the one in the "swim dress" at the pool because I'm disgusted and embarrassed to share my body.

4 - I aspire to achieve some self confidence, a bigger selection of clothing I can choose from (and therefore, cuter styles), to give my kids a better example of fitness than I have in the past. I aim to achieve health, fitness and energy too.

What are your biggest frustrations with weight loss? What is constantly on your mind?

I wouldn't say that I have calories or anything in particular constantly on my mind. There are a few things that I had to come to terms with (and once I did, it made it much easier):
- Not enough time to count calories....or so I thought...(before MFP, I thought counting calories was time consuming...when I discovered the phone app I realized that it might take 10 mins out of my day at most)
- Need to eat next to nothing to lose weight.....or so I thought....(a lot of false information concerning weight loss is spread in my family. The biggest false hood being that if you eat more than 1200 calories you won't lose weight. After a lot of reading here on MFP, I discovered I could eat a lot more than 1200 calories to lose weight. I never liked the whole starved feeling and this made it so much easier for me to sustain for a long period of time)
- Weight Fluctuates....(once I came to terms with this, I started weighing in daily. May seem weird, but now that I know fluctuations are perfectly normal, I like to see what causes them. Sodium, TOM, not enough water, etc. I also now understand that it isn't always the best way to judge progress and the number on the scale isn't going to define what clothes I fit into or how I look to others)

What are your stumbling blocks?

- Pregnancy (lol)....pretty big stumble right there...I was getting close to 100lbs lost when I found out I was pregnant
- Family Events/Holidays....I try not to stress these to much anymore, but in the beginning it did make me feel guilty if I went over calories during these types of things...I had to realize that as long as I continued on my normal deficit the next day, it wouldn't completely undo everything I had done.

What are your reasons for wanting to lose weight? What's your WHY?

- To improve my health (it's working...I started after a horribly complicated pregnancy and now a little over 2 years later, my health has improved greatly. I'm pregnant again, but with none of the complications I had with my first)
- Pictures from when I was in high school and from when I first met my husband (I wasn't always fat...I let myself get this way and I need to fix it)
- My 2yr old son and little one on the way (I want to be healthy for them, so I can see them grow up and get married)
- To prove to my mom that I can get to a healthy weight for my height (ya, my mom told me I wouldn't lose the 60lbs I gained with my son and has said I will never get back to what I weighed in high school which is the high side of a normal bmi for someone my height....so far, I lost the weight I gained with my son and plus some before becoming pregnant again...once the baby is here, I will continue to prove her wrong) **I recently learned that I have inspired her to work on her weight as well **
- To look hot in a bikini again (stretch marks and all)

What do you aspire to achieve from exercising and eating well?

Improved health, better endurance, and a better role model for my kids.

What are your biggest frustrations with weight loss? What is constantly on your mind?

How slow it takes to come off versus how quick it goes on. My biggest niggle at the moment is eating right, training hard but getting very little results. Other people can see the changes but being hard on myself, I can't. You need the results to stay motivated. Slow and steady wins the race but I want to reach the finishing line NOW!

So this leads to the doubts and that is what is constantly on my mind. Am I doing it right? To many calories? Not enough calories? To much cardio or not enough? There is to much info available and it all contradicts each other.

What are your stumbling blocks?

Emotions and bad knees. Emotions affect my cravings and bad knees affect my level of training. My knees also affect my emotions which brings me full circle.

What are your reasons for wanting to lose weight? What's your WHY?

To try and be happy in my own skin. I'd like to be able to look in a mirror and actually like and admire what I see. Boost my confidence.

To improve my health and mobility. I want to be able to do things people my ages do without feeling old or restricted because of knee pain. Weight loss won't cure it but if it can reduce the pain then all the better.


What do you aspire to achieve from exercising and eating well?

Improving my overall health and well being. Less lbs equal less pain! More muscle equal improve strength, fitness level etc.

Frustration - I have good weeks and lose nothing, with no reason. Permanent, life changing, big weight loss requires dedication but mainly patience and I have no patience.

Stumbling - I love pizza. I have health issues meaning sometimes exercise isn't possible, cooking isn't easy and healthy food isn't digested well.

Achievements - To hit my goal weight & be a healthy BMI/weight for the first time since I was about 8. Certain fitness goals I wish to keep private.

I think about food 24/7. Constantly, obsessively.

What are your biggest frustrations with weight loss? What is constantly on your mind?

What are your stumbling blocks?

What are your reasons for wanting to lose weight? What's your WHY?

What do you aspire to achieve from exercising and eating well?

- Biggest frustrations: It is going very slow. I have 10 pounds to lose and a body that looooooves its fat, so it's taken me as much time as it takes overweight people to lose around 40 pounds (5-6 months). And I have to constantly try to keep it together so I don't have a meltdown every time I don't lose weight. I thought with a pound a week, I could lose the 20 in about 5 months, but here I am, only halfway done and working my butt off
- Stumbling blocks: My environment is all about eating out and very unhealthy, so I have to constantly go out and not eat, or be extremely picky with my orders. That just makes me sad because I do miss that kind of food, but know I shouldn't have it. So I just save it for my cheat meals, which are foods that I love. Also, my sweet tooth and making sure that I don't go back to starving and then binging, so I have to constantly push for those 1500 calories.
- Reasons: Finally be healthier, look better, feel better. Being able to do something (running, doing weights) and not being the slowest or the weakest. Not feeling weak wasn't one of my primary goals but now is, because I've gotten so much stronger that I just love it.
- Aspire to learn: Learning a different lifestyle, in which I can eat what I want but then balance it out without having to starve. Learning to incorporate exercise as part of my daily routine. Learning to love my body the way it is, treat it well, but don't expect/want it to be a different body.