Going to give it another try....

kathyschance
kathyschance Posts: 10
in Introduce Yourself
Hello everyone...

I'm 48 and I've been overweight for most of my life....since puberty. Even though as a teenager I wanted to lose weight, I used to get so discouraged by everything I always heard in the media and read in research journals.....how most people who try to lose weight only end up gaining it back all over again. So I decided when I was young that I wasn't going to let that happen to me. I was NOT going to be a "yo-yo" dieter. Once I decided to put forth the serious effort and change my life, that was going to be it.

So finally...when I was about 24, I decided I was going to do it. I had a great job and was financially stable, I had a lot of freedom in my life and VERY little stress. I figured that would be a great time to do it because I wouldn't have to worry so much about "stress eating" (which I know I do). I cut out all the junk food I ate, and I started working out in a gym. Over 6 months, I lost 35 pounds. I went from 205 to 170.

What I didn't understand....and what I wanted to ask if anyone here has had such an experience....is that even after losing 35 pounds (and I'm only 5'2") I still didn't slim down much at all. I was a size 20 when I started and while things got a "little" looser (and they were never really tight to begin with) I still couldn't get into an 18. Unfortunately, that's what caused me to lose my motivation. It drove me completely batty how I would see weight loss commercials on TV that said "I lost 8 pounds and went down 2 sizes!" How does someone lose 8 pounds and go down TWO sizes....when I can't go down ONE size after 35 pounds? Even though the number on the scale was changing, I wasn't SEEING anything....and neither was anyone else for that matter. Where did that 35 pounds come from??? My fingers and toes??? My eyelids???

So....after 6 months, I gave up. And I kept with my promise to myself that I wasn't going to "yo-yo" and told myself that I was going to wait until I was good and ready to try again. Well....after many years and a lot of emotional turbulence, things in my life have stabilized again and I'm ready to try again. Only this time I will be prepared and I won't expect to even start to see any change until I get WELL below 170. I'm just going to have to stick it out and not have very high expectations.

So that brings up my question to everyone. How much weight did you need to lose before you first really started to notice it somewhere else besides the number on the scale?

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,956 Member
    It's never going to be linear for everyone. Some can lose 10lbs and have a big difference and some will lose 10lbs and there will be no noticeable difference.
    IMO, the mirror and how your clothes fit are the best indicators. Scales lie. Drink a liter of water after getting on the scale and you'll show an increase in weight. So don't rely on the scale.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • khanthro
    khanthro Posts: 2 Member
    I know what you mean about being disappointed when you don't feel your clothes looser. But the people who lose 8lbs and drop 2 sizes are slimmer. I've been a size 14 all these 18 lbs I dropped. The thing is, I took a picture of myself before I started with just my underwear on. There's a huge difference that I wouldn't have noticed without my before picture. I can see it in my face, my arms, my legs, my back and my rolls. Don't be discouraged just because you can't see your results. I look in the mirror and still see myself as before, but pulling up that picture grounds me every time.
  • mikevandewetering
    mikevandewetering Posts: 155 Member
    Well the tricky thing is, you don't really notice because you see yourself everyday. Often the first thing you notice is your cloths, not even how you look. Other ppl can see you lost weight, but often you yourself cannot.
  • shadowjack1965
    shadowjack1965 Posts: 107 Member
    What did it for me was putting up a picture of me before the weight loss and a pic of me at my current weight. I was amazed at how much it showed, though I was still overweight with a long way to go.

    Pant size is nice but shouldn't be the measurement because that will all come in time. Focus on the continuous efforts toward reaching your target weight and the clothes will follow along in time.
  • jsalzat
    jsalzat Posts: 225 Member
    Hi Kathy!

    I can totally relate to the discouragement... One of my biggest character flaws that keeps me from making progress is overwhelming myself with too much and failing to look at my daily progress. I have had to force myself to look at the good things and to keep my goals small and simple. I know that I won't see what I want to see when I want to see it, so instead of looking at that I've made myself focus on little things like logging in daily and sticking to my plan for 24 hours. I try to notice when I accomplish something small like being able to do jumping jacks without as much effort or being able to do a stretch I couldn't do before. I'll never be satisfied with the scale so I try not to look at that too closely, but I've learned to find small amounts of satisfaction in seeing muscle tone where it wasn't before and in choosing healthier portion sizes at meals.

    I wish you the best in accomplishing your fitness goals-- You're gonna be awesome !!!!! :happy:
  • kathyschance
    kathyschance Posts: 10
    *Sorry....delete post"
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    It's different for everyone.

    For me, my heaviest weight was 307 - I wore size 22, and I had to get down to 240 lb before I could get into 18-20. So that's almost 70 lb to see a big change in clothing sizes! I weigh 177 right now and I wear size 12, and getting into a 10 in some things. You mentioned still not getting into an 18 at 170 lb so I assume you are much shorter and have different proportions. But generally speaking the lower you go, the more quickly you will see a change. As I said, it took 67 lb to go from a snug 22 to a snug 18. But going from 14 to 12 was a matter of maybe 10-15 lb difference. It goes more quickly as you get closer to whatever your goal size is.

    For some women who are 135 lb for example, they may wear an 8 and then wear a size 2 or 4 at 119 lb. That is probably what you're seeing the sensational brags about in weight loss ads. Or someone who was 210 lb and wore a 24-26 and now at 150 wears a size 10. I hope this makes sense.

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