36 pound loss- why am I so down?

Yes it is a lot! Congrats on all of your hard work!

I totally understand how you feel! I have over 100 pounds to lose and I have lost 30. It just does not feel good enough! I try to look at other things, like my before picture and my picture now. Yes, I am still fat, but I am not as fat as I was. My 4 year old weighs 30 pounds, and I think, wow, I lost a whole 4 year old. That was a lot of hard work.

I have also had to buy new clothing, and I feel so much better than I did 30 pounds ago. I add new challenges to my workout, like working out 4 days a week, and reaching 10,000 steps a day (to achieve this I have to do 90 minutes of cardio a day, I take walks with the kids, and go to the gym). I celebrate those small victories, knowing that a year from now, the picture will be very different!

Try to see the positive, I bet is more noticeable than you think!

I have lost 43 so far ... && is really feeling down today. I know that I've come a long way becasue I am able to work out like I never did before .... but for some reason i feel really bummed that i have JUST as long to get to my goal....

I can definitely agree with this statement! ^

I'm ALMOST in Onederland though. That makes me VERY happy! I'm maybe 2 lbs away. However, I'm thinking I still have another 40 lbs until I feel like "I may be happy with what I see in the mirror"!! *SIGH*

I have lost nearly 50 lbs and I still don't see a HUGE difference. Not like I thought I would. And to make matters worse, I'm still sometimes wearing size 16's. WTF?! I started out wearing 16 & 18's. GRR!! /

I started at 250 pounds. I'm now down to 185. THere is a HUGE difference in someone who will meet their goal in a few months to a year and realizing that with 100+lbs to lose you have to be in it for the long haul. It has taken me over a year to lose 65 pounds. Sometimes I get discouraged because I just get tired. Just tired of doing it. Seeing other people meet goals (especially on here) after a few months can be really discouraging. BUt I just have to look at it like this: Everyday you have a choice to either stop and be fat or keep going and know that it will eventually stop being true. There actually IS an end. I also look at it like the previous person mentioned. its 65 lbs that I don't have to carry around everywhere anymore! in your case 30+. That's HUGE!

36 pounds is great! Keep it up and I'm sure you will feel like a million dollars in no time! Don't get yourself down about your weight! Just think about how healthy you are becoming and how you probably extended your life just by losing these first 36 pounds! You should be so proud of yourself! I'm definitely proud of you!

oh no! 36 pounds is amazing! don't let yourself get down. just keep up the good work and when your under 200 im sure you will start feeling like AHA! wow! im sure you already look noticeably different. just don't give up!!!

I felt exactly the same. I took a before picture and I took a 20lb loss picture and then another at 30lbs down (and will continue this until I reach goal). Seriously......I never even realized the change was that dramatic. When you look in the mirror, you sometimes can't see beyond who you were. Pictures don't lie!

That is substantial weight loss.

But, you want to feel better about your self? I will tell you how.

1) Drive to your local Wal Mart, Target, K-Mart, etc.

2) Buy a mid-sized Microwave Oven.

3) Carry it with you every where you go for one week.

See, a mid-sized Microwave weighs about 36 pounds.

You will realize what you have done then.

I PROMISE.

That is a good loss! I do know what you mean though. I've lost 33 and still feel the same. A friend of mine posted a paper towel analogy that i really like. I'll see if I can find it. I really like it, I think it helps me a lot with understanding.


Paper Towel Theory by Bob White

Let's assume you go out and buy two rolls of paper towels, each with only 84 paper towels on it (one for each day of the challenge). You put one aside, and keep it for future reference (your before/ picture).

The other one represents you (I'll call your paper towel you "Ed"). The core represents the lean Ed. The towels represent the fat that is covering the lean Ed. For sake of argument, let's say that Ed wants to lose 21 pounds of fat, so (84/21) each sheet represents a quarter-pound of fat lost. Let's also assume that Ed loses his fat equally during each day of the challenge.

Each day during the first week, you tear a sheet off of Ed, representing the fat he has lost for the day. Next, you put Ed next to the full roll ("Big Al") for comparison. No noticeable difference!!! Even at the end of the week! This can't be working for me!

But, being a good Ed, you continue to follow Body-for-LIFE. At the end of weeks two and three, you continue to compare Ed to Big Al, and still notice very little difference. That stinkin' Bill Phillips MUST be a liar!

But Ed is determined! He works hard! Three more weeks go by, the sheets peeling off day after day, before Ed gets up the courage to stand next to Big Al again. Holy Myoplex! Ed is skinny! OK, not skinny, but less huge!!!

By the end of the 12-week Body-for-LIFE program, Ed is down to his lean dream, or somewhere near it. Ed is happy. We are happy. Big Al - well he's not so happy.

The lesson to be learned is that fat, like paper towels, comes off in sheets. When you are heavy, you are big around. And when you are big around,that fat is spread over a MUCH larger area - just like that outside towel sheet. The closer you get to the lean you, the more each lost pound of fat shows, because it is spread over a smaller area.

While the outside sheet may only cover 1 layer of the roll, the inside sheet may go around 4 times. That last sheet looks like it gives you 4 times the results of the first sheet, but in reality, the results are the same - your perception is just different! And you'll never see the inside, if you aren't patient while the outside is coming off! - Bob White

i have been the same. 33 lb loss and i am feeling bigger then ever.