New to this site...already disgusted with myself

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Weight loss has been a life long struggle for me. I have dieted as long as I can remember. Now I am trying it again because I have developed Type II diabetes and i don't want to spend the rest of my life on insulin. I have been dieting since October and so far I have lost 27 pounds. It seems as though the harder I try to lose the weight, the slower it comes off. I am already digusted with myself. I weigh in once a week. This week I lost 1.9 pounds since last week. My caloric intake is well below what is required, so why is this weight coming off so slow? Will I always be overweight? Please give me some words of support because today I am really struggling with myself.:frown:
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  • foxxybrown
    foxxybrown Posts: 838 Member
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    1.9 lbs in a week is good. Losing slowly is the best way to keep it off.
  • midgetrapper
    midgetrapper Posts: 60 Member
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    sounds like you've hit a wall. you may be building muscle while you're burning fat. muscle weighs more than fat.
  • BriannaSkye
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    YOu are not eating enough so your body will hold onto the fat. You need to eat your entire calorie allowance
  • gr8grl68
    gr8grl68 Posts: 417 Member
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    1.9 is PERFECT! You want to lose it slow so it becomes a permanent part of who you are, not a quick-fix deal---we all know those don't work (this is not my first attempt at this either, btw). Be proud of your loss and keep on truckin! If you want, add me as a friend and I'll cheer you on!

    Sharon
  • sammyjj53
    sammyjj53 Posts: 54 Member
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    Hey, keep your head up. 27lbs since october is super good. Jus try to look at what you have already lost and not what you need to lose. It really helps. Just keep doing what ur doing and try not to get discouraged because from personal expierence, when discouragment comes so does the food and I give up. Hang in there. You are doin great!!!
  • CountrySweetheart
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    You are doing great! I know it's hard, but you have to remember that you didn't gain it all at once, and you're not going to lose it all at once. One thing though, you need to make sure that you are eating the recommeded calories for your height and weight. If you come in a little under that is fine, but if it's a significant amount, you need to eat more. Not eating enough can actually cause you not to lose weight as well.
  • mapinkerton
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    You are doing fine! You are more likely to keep it off if you change the way you eat PERMANENTLY and lose it slowly! You didn't gain it overnight; so you can't expect to lose it overnight either.

    Good luck and keep plugging away! Slow and steady wins the race!

    Mary
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
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    Welcome and good for you! Ok when you say it's under what are we talking about? The site gives you a set amount of calories to eat and lose weight. So you need to stick to that number. If you go to low your body could switch to starvation mode. Ok next water water water. When you think you've drank enough water have another glass. If you eat foods high in sodium then you can be holding onto water weight. Are you moving at all? Maybe 5 min of some sort of activity every day will get things going. Start slow and add. You'll feel better for it. :)

    Ok next! 1.9 lbs for a week is nothing to sneeze at. Way to go!

    Third you have to remember that you didn't put on weight in a week or two it took time. So taking it off is the same way. I mean it's not like a 5lb box of chocolate only caused you to gain 5 lbs. It's all calories. :)

    you're on your way and it has hills and valleys. Just hang with it. Have fun becoming the new you. Check out new recipes, new workouts, and lots of people on this site.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    1.9 pounds in one week is wonderful - there's NO reason to feel upset about that. You may have lost quicker initially, but healthy weight loss should be a fairly slow, drawn-out process. Plus, the more you lose, the slower/harder it will be to lose what is left - it's just how it goes.

    Congrats on your 1.9 pounds this week and your 27 pounds total - that is fantastic. Keep it up!

    I highly recommend you check out the links in the 1st post to this thread - they'll answer many questions you may have about how to go about this the healthy way.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

    Here is another one - very good:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/69708-calorie-deficit-for-dummies-a-little-long
  • melindapipkin
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    try eating all your calories, dont deprive your body it will go into starvation mode and hang on to whatever you eat. dont give up, you are not alone in this weight loss journey. start strong, stay strong, and finish strong!!!
  • syl312
    syl312 Posts: 31 Member
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    DONT LOSE FAITH! :wink:
    You need to make sure u eat every few hours to keep ur metabolism going.. that's what I've read anyways..
    IT keeps ur body burning calories! as long as ur fueling ur bod with good foods , it will keep burning..
    Are u walking and exercising?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    You should not eat below what MFP suggests, you should eat what is suggested, any less and you may not be getting the proper nutrition and nutrients your body needs.
  • LFern
    LFern Posts: 141
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    Don't get disgusted - get DETERMINED!! 27 lbs is a GREAT success!! 1.9 in a week is still better than a gain! Focus on the positives! You didn't gain wieght over night and your not going to lose it over night - much as we all would love for that to happen, it just doesn't.

    Your body is adjusting to all the new things you are doing - it will come back around :)

    Good Luck on the rest of your journey!:happy:
  • bparr
    bparr Posts: 246 Member
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    Weight loss has been a life long struggle for me. I have dieted as long as I can remember. Now I am trying it again because I have developed Type II diabetes and i don't want to spend the rest of my life on insulin. I have been dieting since October and so far I have lost 27 pounds. It seems as though the harder I try to lose the weight, the slower it comes off. I am already digusted with myself. I weigh in once a week. This week I lost 1.9 pounds since last week. My caloric intake is well below what is required, so why is this weight coming off so slow? Will I always be overweight? Please give me some words of support because today I am really struggling with myself.:frown:

    Eating BELOW you calories will keep you from losing weight. Track every crumb you eat and eat up to your calories. Most of all EXERCISE-- any kind-- doesn't have to be fancy-- just get moving. It will happen. Don't give up :happy:
  • Leannek74
    Leannek74 Posts: 374 Member
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    Don't be so hard on yourself! 1.9 pounds in a weeks is awesome!
    That adds up to about 100 pounds in a year, how great would that be?!
    I know it may not feel like it but you are doing it the right way, and the healthy way which is super important! Especially with the diabetes, it has to come off at a slow and steady rate, too fast means your body is stressed!
    1.9 lbs is super good!! :happy:
  • xTry2Defyx
    xTry2Defyx Posts: 24 Member
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    It sounds like you're doing a really great job! Don't get down on yourself!
    Truthfully, from what I hear, the weight comes off faster in the beginning because that's when your body is making a change. As your body gets used to the change, it becomes harder. Harder doesn't mean you should be discouraged!
    Maybe change up your exercise routine? Try and work out longer...take a new class or push yourself to do extra reps. And like everyone else said, don't go too far below your calorie goals...you'll end up in starvation mode and you'll be tired, your metabolism will go down, and you'll be stressed like you are now- which is never good.

    It sounds like you've made some great changes and are on a steady path to success. Keep it up!
  • Angel1116
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    Don't give up! It takes longer to lose the weight...I've been working on my weight loss since July and have seen little in terms of weight but I've increased muscle mass and my cardio endurance is pretty good! You should read Tosca Reno's Book "Your Best Body Now" very enlightening and to see where she started to where she is today is amazing. I've really taken what she said and have focused on eating clean. Every day focus on being healthy and not dieting. Monitor your progress on you insulin level. Have faith and stay focused.
  • TrainerRobin
    TrainerRobin Posts: 509 Member
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    Welcome. Don't be so hard on yourself. I suspect you'd be much more kind toward a friend. Be a friend to yourself, too. :) Your progress is wonderful. So pat yourself on the back first of all.

    First of all, be sure to eat all of your calories. You don't need to eat your exercise calories, but you MUST eat your basic calories every day! I don't know how tall you are, or what you weigh, so it's hard to be specific in terms of helping you out. I can tell you that, primarily, it's a number's game. There are 3500 calories in every pound you want to lose. So if you undereat by 500 calories a day (from what it would take to maintain) then 7 x 500 = 3500 = one pound per week. If you exercise off another 500 calories a day, then you'd lose two pounds a week. That said, WHAT you eat does matter too. Eating the right amount of calories in food that's high in fat, very processed, low in fiber, low in protein or healthy carbs will slow your progress down. Plus, if I don't eat "clean" and start to snack on processed foods (even if I stay within my calorie range) my progress slows because I'm simultaneously losing lean body weight, which actually reduced the calories I burn every day. If you eat clean, nutrition foods, and keep your carbs at a reasonable level (and be sure they are healthy carbs), you'll maintain the lean and the fat will start to drop off.

    Try to think of it not so much as losing "weight" but losing pounds of fat and KEEPING pounds of lean muscle mass. The advantage of being heavier is that you probably have a kick-butt lean muscle mass under the fat you're not happy with. I can speak first hand because I'm almost 100 pounds lighter than I was four years ago. Seeing a fat picture of myself did it for me! Keep up the exercise and don't be afraid to lift weights to hang onto that lean. Small, slender women have to work like maniacs to put enough muscle back on that they can eat like human beings -- and that's the goal in the end, right. To be at a healthy body composition and be able to eat and not have to starve for the rest of your life.

    So be patient with yourself and keep on the right track. You're doing the hardest part -- tracking your food. I will say that I advise all of my clients to measure their food to ensure they are actually eating what they are logging. I demo this for my clients -- showing them that weighing food is more accurate than measuring. I'll pour out a cup of corn flakes and dump it in a bowl. They think that's one serving size. Then I weigh it. And holy cow -- they learn the broken chips allowed more to fit in to that cup than they thought and would have consumed 1.5 servings.

    Plus, for me, I feel like I'm on a "diet" when I measure. It feels restrictive!!! When I put my bowl on the scale, hit "tare" so it zeros out and then add my cereal to the level I want (not what a "serving size" dictates, and then I log that in My Fitness Pal journal. I hit "tare" again and add the milk I want and enter that amount of milk into MFP. That way, for me, it's not like dieting. Instead it feels like I'm eating what I want and tracking it, and then when I have to stop, I'll either stop or exercise a bit to earn a few calories back. It's a subtle psychological "trick" but it is important to my own success. And several of my clients have finally found success through that method too. :) Maybe that'll work for you. OFTEN it is the case that folks are estimating servings and are sabotaging their own progress unwittingly! Measuring (weighing!) helps to counter that. I bought a pretty, modern, kitchen scale from Target that's cool enough to leave on the counter. That way I use it every time I eat something and it's super fast!!

    Hope that helps. Keep it up. There is a beautiful, fit (and strong!) woman ALREADY underneath any fat that you aren't happy with. Your journey is nothing more than helping to uncover her! Keep it up. it took awhile to get to where you are and it will take a while to find the real you underneath. And, make no mistake, it will be a lifelong journey that will cause you to slip and fall along the way. I still have days like that, but what's important is that you're "on" 90% of the time. :)

    Hang in there. Good luck!!!
  • t7mitch
    t7mitch Posts: 23 Member
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    I think the key to being successful at ANYTHING is a positive attitude. Something someone told me once, holds true. I didn't gain the weight overnight, so I shouldn't expect to lose it overnight. Losing weight is NOT easy. All of us who are on this site know that first hand. It's why we're on here because we struggle with our weight. But, I find that I do best when I stay positive and set goals for myself. If you don't hit the goal you've set for yourself, don't get discouraged and quit. Just work harder. Stay at the gym a little longer or walk on your treadmill a bit faster. But the main thing is believe in yourself; trust in God and keep eating smart. And celebrate that 1.9 lb weight that you lost. Don't look at the glass half empty. Look at it half full. Wouldn't you much rather LOSE 1.9 lb. than to have GAINED it? Keep up the good work. You've lost 27 lbs! That's AWESOME... I'd also suggest if you have never tried group exercise to give it a try. Zumba is one of the best cardio workouts. It's latin dancing and it is fun. You don't even know you're working hard because it's so much fun. I'd say just try something new to see if you can jumpstart the weight loss again! You can do it!!!
  • redruthie
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    I, too, have struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. I can understand and relate with you so much. I was once reminded that I "didn't gain all of the weight overnight, so don't expect to shred off the pounds quickly." Those words keep me from kicking myself in the butt. It took years and years for me to get at 270. I keep telling myself that, and it reminds me that I should keep up the efforts and exercise because this is a lifestyle change and not a fad diet. Keep your head up girlie :) try and think positively, and remember that we are all here for you!