The Curse of "Who Am I Kidding?"

Go have a look in the "Success Stories" section. Then report back. ^^

I'm always thinking that as well when I start, after the first 10 kg I switch to "Fk yea this time I can do it! Really!" - this is a great Feeling, unfortunately, it doesn't take long, as I'm an emotional/stress eater -> jojo! When I can finally get my a** up again, I'm back at "who am I kidding?"

I think people often sabotage their efforts by thinking that way. You should certainly have the big goal, but focus on smaller goals that you know you can accomplish like losing two pounds.

For me it helps to not focus on losing weight. I try to be more process oriented. Its about the kind of person I want to be rather than the amount of weight I want to lose. I want to be the kind of person who eats healthy (and the proper amounts). I want to be the kind of person who gets regular exercise. I want to be the kind of person who takes care of herself rather than mocking those who do because I feel guilty/ashamed. I want to be the kind of person who lives life on her feet rather than sitting on her butt. That kind of focus keeps me going when the scale doesn't move like I think it should. So what if I'll never be skinny? So what if I have tons of loose skin? So what if I always look gross? Being skinny or sexy or looking good naked was never my goal to begin with. Also… it helps that during that "honeymoon period" of high motivation when I was all ready to get out there and kick some *kitten*, that I used that time to create habits and routines for myself. Those habits and routines carry me through when the motivation wears off or when I'm wondering what good it'll do. I still do it because… well, what else would I do? It's just what I do now. I would feel lost and bored and wonder what to do with myself if I didn't go workout when I wake up.

Currently on day 278, only been over my calorie allotment 2 times, lost almost 110lbs and I still wake up and think who am I kidding. I am still that 300lbs guy. But I soldier on and hope that when I get these last 20 or so lbs off I start to realize I actually did it. In the meantime I focus on my fitness goals as best I can

Heya! I want to come in from the other direction, because comparing myself to others is *my* kryptonite:

While other girls get to be effortlessly thin, I'll always be gross and that's just a fact of life.

So I am not and have never been "effortlessly thin"--I didn't even get a "skinny phase" as a kid; I went straight from baby fat to puberty. I worked really, really hard in college and afterwards to stay small mostly via diet, moderate cardio (30 min elliptical or 60 min walking). I wanted so badly to be the "effortlessly thin" people who did not have to turn down the cookie or the beer and who got to be the cool "one of the guys" chick tossing back White Castle sliders.

Well, I'm now working in a university setting, and it turns out--there really *aren't* "effortlessly thin" women after high school, at least not very many of them. They're the ones passing by the candy bowl in the office without grabbing a chocolate, they turn down cupcakes passed around in class, their dining hall plates have a couple sprigs of lettuce. The ones who eat like the guys? Generally kinda look like it, and are usually the ones I see at the gym (I work out on campus) trying to burn off the beer and Taco Bell.

It sounds kind of dumb, but the realization that I am *not* superspecial and unlucky, that thin people *do* work hard to get and stay that way, kind of floored me. I inadvertently gained some weight over the past year or so, and taking it off is psychologically easier this time because I don't feel like I'm being punished for having a fail body or metabolism or something. I'm a normal human who ate a little too much and is now eating a little less than ideal. Like normal people can do, and do.

Hope this helps a little.

Don't fret if the scale doesn't give you the results you want right away. I went 3 solid weeks with either zero change or a slight upward bounce, and then FWAM, week 4, six pounds off and haven't been back above that number since.

I cannot relate to that way of thinking however I take it one day at a time. Not sure if that makes the difference.

That's the mentality that I had ~2 years ago. I just gave up and thought I should just accept being fat.

But I wanted to be as healthy as I could, so I started exercising. I didn't lose any weight, but my fitness improved.

Then I figured, I'm doing all this exercise, if I just controlled my intake, I would lose weight. And I knew that I could. If I had been so diligent in my exercise that I had gone from not being able to run for 30 secs to being able to run 5k, I could count calories. It would be easy in comparison (I really really really hated exercise before).

So last May I started counting calories. I'm now **almost** out of the obese BMI category.

My biggest reason for being able to stick to it this time around was believing that I could. Whenever I didn't think it was possible, I failed. Thinking that I could actually do this made it so that I could actually do it.

I second the above poster who said to read the "success stories".

lookitsnicky wrote: »

Did anybody here, very early on in their weight loss journey, find themselves thinking, "Who am I kidding? I'll never lose all that weight? Why can't I just accept that I'm a fatty and always will be?"

This is my fifth day in, and although I'm pretty determined and not doing too badly with cravings so far (touch wood) I honestly do find myself worrying that maybe I'm just kidding myself, I'll never lose the weight and even if I do I'll only put it back on again anyway so what's the point?

It's a weird feeling because I feel like I'm doing well at the moment. I generally keep between 1200 and 1500 every day and I've been pretty good at avoiding junk food so far. But at the same time I just know I'm going to step on the scales and see absolutely no change because that sort of thing doesn't happen to me. While other girls get to be effortlessly thin, I'll always be gross and that's just a fact of life.

It's a rubbishy feeling, but did anyone else feel this way at the beginning? How do you feel now? What was it that changed your outlook? How long did it take to change your way of thinking?