When did you first feel as though you were successful in losing weight?

The first week...When I lost at the rate MFP was set to.

This past week. I have lost 11lb since I started 9 weeks ago, which is great and all, but it's actually seeing on Trendweight that I am consistently losing at around 1lb per week that has made me feel like I'm now successful - being able to see an established, steady, and sustainable rate of loss over some time shows that I am gradually heading towards my goal, it's not just a hope or a possibility.

For me it's when I saw I had a 365 day logging streak on mfp. Before then I would obviously have the small victories of things like losing 35 lbs, or seeing comparison photos.. But when I actually reached a year of logging that's when I knew how awesome I am for being able to be consistent for an entire year. I never imagined that I would make it more than a month, because that's how my dieting has always been in the past. I am just so proud of myself for actually sticking with it!

About a month in.

When the black suit I've worn for years through weight ups and downs, was so big I couldn't wear it anymore. That was a few weeks ago and I've been feeling frustrated at the scale not moving lately when someone I hadn't seen in a few months gave me a big hug telling me how great I look and how impressed she was at my progress. When she asked what I was doing, it was great to tell her, eating right, minding my calories and exercising. She is a Physical Therapist. Hearing her positive feedback and comment that I was doing it the best way and setting myself up for long term success was encouraging.

Honestly, it never happened. The first time I lost weight (age 20) I lost 80 lbs through diet and exercise, FAST. As an undergrad university student I thought it totally reasonable to go to the school gym for 2 1.5 hour sessions per day, six days per week, and so I lost 80 lbs in about 6 months. Lowest weight was 170 but after "normalizing" from my deficit I evened out around 180. I NEVER felt like I was 180 lbs. I felt like I was 250 lbs and that everyone else was just being polite when they told me otherwise. Even after YEARS of <200 lb weight, in my head I was a 250 lb person.

Eventually I re-gained a bunch of weight. This time around I have a better understanding of health and nutrition and lifestyle changes, and it also helps that I'm 30 and not 20 - my nights are 15 beers and post-bar pizza are behind me, for the most part, so I anticipate keeping it off this time. I've gone from 258.4 to 224.6 so far - in my head, I'm still pushing 260.

I know that this kind of thought process might sound like a body image issue and, let's be honest, it probably is. But my goal is not and will never be 120 lbs, I LIVE to eat and would never want to restrict myself from the stuff I love, and as a silver lining, I think that this mentality will help motivate me to keep it off this time around.

AHeartbeatBehind wrote: »

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

About a month in.

Thank you for saying this. I am feeling very discouraged lately. I started about 35 days ago at 150 lbs. I have not lost one pound since I started still at 150 lbs! I also have been keeping tape measurements and I have lost an inch here and there. I am feeling good but just kinda sad no weight has fallen off yet. I'll keep at it and hopefully the scale will start to reflect my efforts.

don't feel discouraged hun , for ages my weight went up and up then remained at 155lbs for ages, however I was losing so much from my waist, thighs and hips! Don't give up xx

Not for a hundred pounds, when one day I was walking along and caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror and went hey, skinny person!

But I felt successful at fitness and health goals within the first two weeks. When my walks extended past 20 minutes, when I started to jog a little bit, when I noticed I wasn't dragging myself up and down stairs holding onto the rail. Many little things that added up.

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melodyesch wrote: »

Honestly, it's just been this week. I am almost 4 weeks in and have lost a little less than 10 pounds. I've tried and failed so many times because I had it in my mind that I couldn't eat any carbs or that I had to keep it under 1200 calories (even if MFP said differently). I would go off track and then not get back on because I blew it.

But after reading all of the success stories and advice on here, it finally hit me over the head that I was making it way too complicated and hard. So my goal was not to lose "x" pounds per week or whatever. My goal has been to just stay within the calorie goal that MFP set for me for one month. And I've done that and it's SO much easier.

Yes, I can have potatoes. Yes, I can eat out. Yes, I can have an occasional drink. I can even have the occasional donut. I have done all of these things this month and have still lost weight. Why? Because I weighed and counted every single thing that went into my mouth and planned ahead for when I wanted something high in calories.

I know I'm still in a honeymoon phase, but I tell ya, I think I got this!

This comment makes me so happy. I love your mentality & 100% agree.

My first feeling of success was just seeing the scale go down a few pounds, because before this MFP stint, I had never lost weight before in my life!