Small Vent-Weight Loss Stories
Options
HappilySingle
Posts: 149 Member
I am a sucker for reading all the weight loss stories that appear on Yahoo, Today Show, etc. You know the ones. They people had been overwight their whole lives, and then made a decision to cut out soda, drink more water, walk, yada yada. and they loose 100 pounds in a year!
Well I just need to vent. I rarely drink soda, I walk, a lot, I eat veggies and I'm not loosing at the rate these people are.
OK, rant over.
Sorry!
Well I just need to vent. I rarely drink soda, I walk, a lot, I eat veggies and I'm not loosing at the rate these people are.
OK, rant over.
Sorry!
0
Replies
-
Losing 0.5 = 1 pound a week is a fantastic rate. Just stick with safe predictable results.0
-
HappilySingle wrote: »I am a sucker for reading all the weight loss stories that appear on Yahoo, Today Show, etc. You know the ones. They people had been overwight their whole lives, and then made a decision to cut out soda, drink more water, walk, yada yada. and they loose 100 pounds in a year!
Well I just need to vent. I rarely drink soda, I walk, a lot, I eat veggies and I'm not loosing at the rate these people are.
OK, rant over.
Sorry!
Those stories are like the budget stories that tell you to cut out cigarettes or daily lattes to save $5 a day and end up with $150 extra money at the end of the month. They might work for a certain subset of people but not for everybody.
You're doing great, though. It looks like you are over 1/3 of the way to goal. Congrats!0 -
Take these stories with a HANDFUL of salt - many of these are legit weight loss success stories but I have no doubt in my mind that a lot of them are followed by an advertisement for a weight loss product or something of the sort. Shows you see on TV like 'The Biggest Loser' for example, seem totally inspiring from the outset but dig a little deeper and you'd realise how unsustainable their 'plans' are for your average person like you or I. Be happy and safe in the knowledge that you are doing this the RIGHT way, the SAFE way and the PERMANENT way
Or throw darts at the TV screen!0 -
There's a woman I know of who has lost a tremendous amount of weight. It took her something like four years. Periodically someone steals her photos and attaches them to a "See how she did this in just six months!" story. It's infuriating. Ignore the stories, you're doing fine!0
-
I understand. I get jealous of fellow MFP users, most of which can lose much faster than me. I have a friend IRL that lost faster than most MFP users - he lost something like 280 lbs. in a year and won a triathlon in April. He and I talk sometimes about how it is easy for most people to lose weight, but not so much for me (for some reasons that are known and other reasons not known).
The difference between my friend and most "normal" people trying to lose weight is that he said it would be easy from the beginning. When I come here, I see a lot of people talking about how hard it is to lose weight when they are starting or currently going through the process. Then, once they are at a healthy weight, they tell everyone how easy it was. That's my observation, anyway.0 -
First of all, you need to have more than 100 pounds to lose and then realize that a lot of these stories are not all truth. The media needs things to be "amazing", "shocking", and "the best ever" to get people to click on their headlines. They don't want to tell you that it was through dedication, perseverance and that it was difficult at times. So, how long did it really take to lose that weight? Did the person really just cut out soda or was there more to it than that? While the recent story about the woman who "simply" quit drinking 4 liters of Coca-Cola per day read like that in the headlines, if you ready a little deeper she actually cut out sugar pretty much altogether which means she was eating a LOT less calories than she had been. So she lost weight. She didn't do anything differently than you and I'm sure it was hard at times
I frankly get a little irritated with those stories and that people like that are held up as some sort of example for the rest of us. I will never have a story like that partly because I've simply never been that overweight but no one wants to read an article titled "Woman realizes clothes are getting tight, cuts out 250 calories per day by simply counting calories and loses 10 pounds in 6 months."0 -
First of all, you need to have more than 100 pounds to lose and then realize that a lot of these stories are not all truth. The media needs things to be "amazing", "shocking", and "the best ever" to get people to click on their headlines. They don't want to tell you that it was through dedication, perseverance and that it was difficult at times. So, how long did it really take to lose that weight? Did the person really just cut out soda or was there more to it than that? While the recent story about the woman who "simply" quit drinking 4 liters of Coca-Cola per day read like that in the headlines, if you ready a little deeper she actually cut out sugar pretty much altogether which means she was eating a LOT less calories than she had been. So she lost weight. She didn't do anything differently than you and I'm sure it was hard at times
I frankly get a little irritated with those stories and that people like that are held up as some sort of example for the rest of us. I will never have a story like that partly because I've simply never been that overweight but no one wants to read an article titled "Woman realizes clothes are getting tight, cuts out 250 calories per day by simply counting calories and loses 10 pounds in 6 months."
0 -
First of all, you need to have more than 100 pounds to lose and then realize that a lot of these stories are not all truth. The media needs things to be "amazing", "shocking", and "the best ever" to get people to click on their headlines. They don't want to tell you that it was through dedication, perseverance and that it was difficult at times. So, how long did it really take to lose that weight? Did the person really just cut out soda or was there more to it than that? While the recent story about the woman who "simply" quit drinking 4 liters of Coca-Cola per day read like that in the headlines, if you ready a little deeper she actually cut out sugar pretty much altogether which means she was eating a LOT less calories than she had been. So she lost weight. She didn't do anything differently than you and I'm sure it was hard at times
I frankly get a little irritated with those stories and that people like that are held up as some sort of example for the rest of us. I will never have a story like that partly because I've simply never been that overweight but no one wants to read an article titled "Woman realizes clothes are getting tight, cuts out 250 calories per day by simply counting calories and loses 10 pounds in 6 months."
But they should!!!
The problem is the weight loss or fitness industry. They want to sell something! They want to convince us that it can be done in 90 days! So we turn away from the tried and true processes that have worked for ages, BUT take time and sustained effort! So they use every trick in the book to get you to believe that a moderate deficit with healthier choices and more activity won't do it near as well as this supplement, shake, program, clense, wrap or surgery!
Understand that they want you to be jealous, angry, envious or feel like a failure. That's how they trick you into buying the new greatest thing!!0 -
It's taken me a year and a half to lose the weight that I have. It's not just "Oh, drop the soda and you'll lose pounds" glory story you see in the media. Because that's just what it is: media. These weight loss stories are written through rose-tinted glasses in order to reinforce the industry. I'm pretty sure the people in those stories all had experiences that were glossed over in the process of making a shiny print. Like others have said, take it with a grain of salt.
Focus on your own success story. 0 -
The weight loss industry doesn't know what to do with people like me, lol.
a: I don't want to lose the weight quickly. (My whole family has had gallbladder issues and only one of them is obese. I'm genetically screwed, so why encourage gallbladder problems with rapid weight loss?)
b: I've tried just about every sort of gimmick short of surgery in my youth, so there's not a pitch out there that can hook me without a truckload of third-party research and peer-reviewed result studies.
I do occasionally watch My 600-lb Life, so I get where you're coming from on watching other people succeed in these major ways. Emotionally, it's refreshing to see someone who has many of the same issues I've had with food (though in a much, much more extreme sense) deal with and heal from them. On the other hand, there's not a single aspect of their lives I would want for myself (the sagging skin, the growths, the follow up surgeries), so why would I want that kind of result?
I'm not going to say I wouldn't love to be in a size 6 tomorrow, if I could somehow get a hold on the DragonBalls, but I'll happily take the success I've had in the rate I've had it.0 -
I honest to god have a friend that did the 100lbs in a year thing. He did it the right way be deleting all the soda, candy, beer, chips and empty calories and replaced it with a sound diet of just the doctor prescribed daily calorie allowance. He didn't exercise until he was healthy enough to do so and I remember the day he broke the 100lbs category.
No fads or anything just cutting out all the crap that was his normal and making the good stuff his new normal. The great thing is he still ate food a parties and birthday cake and such, he just ate a small amount and was sensible. His big crutch I think was soda.
It could easily be one of these stories, he just was in it for himself and didn't care what others thought or whether he could be motivational, he made it about himself.
And in that success I was finally motivated enough to make the changes that have gotten me 45 lbs down.0 -
Congrats!! It's amazing how seeing others succeed can motivate a person, isn't it?davidmanfred wrote: »I honest to god have a friend that did the 100lbs in a year thing. He did it the right way be deleting all the soda, candy, beer, chips and empty calories and replaced it with a sound diet of just the doctor prescribed daily calorie allowance. He didn't exercise until he was healthy enough to do so and I remember the day he broke the 100lbs category.
No fads or anything just cutting out all the crap that was his normal and making the good stuff his new normal. The great thing is he still ate food a parties and birthday cake and such, he just ate a small amount and was sensible. His big crutch I think was soda.
It could easily be one of these stories, he just was in it for himself and didn't care what others thought or whether he could be motivational, he made it about himself.
And in that success I was finally motivated enough to make the changes that have gotten me 45 lbs down.
I made the decision to lose weight and a co-worker of mine noticed and decided he needed to do the same. He's now lost 50 pounds and has been weight lifting so looks even better than that. His wife saw his success and realized she really needed to lose some weight.... and it goes on.
0 -
My weight loss took me 2 years - I've lost just over 150lbs. But it wasn't a miracle "I cut soda and see what happened". It was hard slog. I also ate veges and walked a lot BEFORE but it was everything else that I ate, and my portion sizes were far too big.
You don't get overweight/obese by accident - if you have weight that you need to lose then your calorie intake has been higher than your body needed. Weighing and tracking food was a real eye opener for me. I lost the weight by applying moderation, and doing far more exercise than the average person would expect. No miracle involved. Am I less of a "success" because I didn't drop 150lbs in 9 months? I don't think so. I've learned how to make sustainable changes and I have maintained my loss for over a year. The time it took me to lose the weight was going to pass anyway.0 -
If one drinks 2 litres of pop a day( 6700 cals a week) , and has 100 lb to lose, just cutting the pop would get one close to that goal in a year. That is why it is a headline grabber. It is a possibility, and there are a lot of people who do consume 2 litres a day.
Small example: I was in Europe travelling and soda water was easier to tote around than pop.
By the time I got home my taste had changed. No 2 cans of pop a day. That was a deficit large enough for me to lose weight.
It is the miracle hype that is annoying, it is actually just plain old cico- no headlines there.
Cheers, h.0 -
It took me about 18 months to lose 100lbs, and nothing about it was easy. Tracking my food and adding exercise was how I did it, but tackling the emotional part of why I had been overweight in the first place is how I've kept off the weight for a year now.
Every one is different, so comparing your weightloss journey to someone else's journey can be damaging instead of motivating. My advice is to be kind to yourself.0 -
HappilySingle wrote: »I am a sucker for reading all the weight loss stories that appear on Yahoo, Today Show, etc. You know the ones. They people had been overwight their whole lives, and then made a decision to cut out soda, drink more water, walk, yada yada. and they loose 100 pounds in a year!
Well I just need to vent. I rarely drink soda, I walk, a lot, I eat veggies and I'm not loosing at the rate these people are.
OK, rant over.
Sorry!
The thing you have to keep in mind when reading those is that it may not have happened the way the journalist would like you to believe. Sometimes those articles are twisted to the author's beliefs or to make something seem more appealing.
Why do I point this out? I myself had it happen to me. A blog featured my story, but the writer made some creative changes that made it sound like I lost all of my weight in the 10 months or so I was using the phone app that the blog was tied to and that I was extremely into "clean eating" (if you ever look at my diary, you will see that is a flat out lie). They did however link to several of my own social media accounts, where if people venture, I did put up posts that say the author of it made some creative changes to my story. I tried posting a comment on the blog itself, but it kept getting removed.
0 -
Congrats!! It's amazing how seeing others succeed can motivate a person, isn't it?davidmanfred wrote: »I honest to god have a friend that did the 100lbs in a year thing. He did it the right way be deleting all the soda, candy, beer, chips and empty calories and replaced it with a sound diet of just the doctor prescribed daily calorie allowance. He didn't exercise until he was healthy enough to do so and I remember the day he broke the 100lbs category.
No fads or anything just cutting out all the crap that was his normal and making the good stuff his new normal. The great thing is he still ate food a parties and birthday cake and such, he just ate a small amount and was sensible. His big crutch I think was soda.
It could easily be one of these stories, he just was in it for himself and didn't care what others thought or whether he could be motivational, he made it about himself.
And in that success I was finally motivated enough to make the changes that have gotten me 45 lbs down.
I made the decision to lose weight and a co-worker of mine noticed and decided he needed to do the same. He's now lost 50 pounds and has been weight lifting so looks even better than that. His wife saw his success and realized she really needed to lose some weight.... and it goes on.
I have been getting comments at work from coworkers and I hope some of them jump on the healthy eating healthy living bandwagon, it'd be nice to pay it forward, but I didn't do this to motivate anyone, just make myself happier and healthier. If someone uses it as motivation all the more better however!0 -
There's a woman I know of who has lost a tremendous amount of weight. It took her something like four years. Periodically someone steals her photos and attaches them to a "See how she did this in just six months!" story. It's infuriating. Ignore the stories, you're doing fine!
Whaaaaaat? Man I would be pissed! Is there no copyright that protects her?
0 -
I took me almost a year to lose 50 pounds ... that averages to about a pound a week weight loss. Slow and steady won the race for me. I had people exclaim about how long it took me. Wow! Berating me for losing the weight too slowly? Hmmm ... with some health issues against me, I considered it a huge win on my part. A year was going to pass regardless of whether I tried hard or not. I might as well lose the weight!0
-
rhtexasgal wrote: »I took me almost a year to lose 50 pounds ... that averages to about a pound a week weight loss. Slow and steady won the race for me. I had people exclaim about how long it took me. Wow! Berating me for losing the weight too slowly? Hmmm ... with some health issues against me, I considered it a huge win on my part. A year was going to pass regardless of whether I tried hard or not. I might as well lose the weight!
I think people just want to hear you lost it in a short amount of time because they themselves are desperate for that quick fix! I love when people post on facebook that they've lost x amount of pounds and everyone posts how'd you do it? Like there's some sort of magic thing they did. OH you, watched what you ate and exercised some? Boring! That sounds like work! haha
Congrats to you!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 394 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 944 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions