How to Be Patient

joridusome
joridusome Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi y'all!
My name's Jo, and I just got back from 10 months of traveling the world- eating and drinking excessively and working out minimally.
I gained around 35 pounds while I was away and now that I'm back in real life, I can't stand how my body is.
I've been going to the gym every day and following a strict calorie count, but there's lots of days where I get frustrated that I'm not seeing a change immediately (which is silly, I know) but it nearly makes me want to quit. Any help for keepin yourself motived through the change?

Replies

  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    You can either (a) give up on losing weight or (b) just keep on keeping on, counting calories, burning calories, until you get there. Most people choose (a). I hope you don't. I quit smoking, and gained a ton of weight. Quitting smoking was a lot easier as it only took three days to stop the addiction. Losing weight? Very hard; takes months and months. You have to really be determined to stick at it.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Welcome back. Just keep remembering it took 10 months to get there.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    Instead of "being patient" find ways to enjoy the process. That turns the "waste of time" that is weight loss into something you look forward to daily.
  • rebeccaEsmith
    rebeccaEsmith Posts: 1,136 Member
    You can do this, yes it does take time but it is a life style change
  • OneHundredToLose
    OneHundredToLose Posts: 8,523 Member
    I mean, you're gonna be going through each day anyway. You might as well try to do something that could improve your overall health. The alternative is to make the situation worse, and make any goals you decide on in the future that much harder.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I really am not that patient about it. Many people are and I envy them. I'm more in the camp that I feel like I've been at this long enough and deserve to be done. It doesn't come off quickly enough for my liking, that's for sure.

    I am patient because I have no other choice. I can't buy or beg my way to thin. I HAVE to wait. So, I wait.

    It's easier to develop patience than it is to be all frustrated with the slow process, that's all.

    Patience isn't just helpful here, it's required.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    Yes. It took 10 months! Give that much time to unwind. You may be pleasantly surprised if it goes quicker.
  • lemmie177
    lemmie177 Posts: 479 Member
    Learn to appreciate your body and what it can do right now, not some distant future. Really practice thinking something positive about your body everyday and you'll naturally want to do what's best for it. Celebrate small changes that include capabilities along with aesthetics.
  • mmarie_3
    mmarie_3 Posts: 57 Member
    Just remember and keep telling yourself healthy, sustainable weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week. Are you lifting weights? My biggest regret and mistake when I started my weight loss journey over a year ago was that I just stuck to cardio. I saw little to no changes until putting heavy weight lifting in my regime!!!
  • CharleneMarie__723
    CharleneMarie__723 Posts: 1 Member
    Christmas is 8 weeks away. If you keep at it and lose even 1lb a week, you will be 1/4 of your way to your goal when you open presents.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Hang in there. You are making fantastic changes and that old saying rings true "Slow and Steady win's the race". Think how incredible you are going to feel if you continue to stick to your plan. Good luck.
  • malioumba
    malioumba Posts: 132 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I really am not that patient about it. Many people are and I envy them. I'm more in the camp that I feel like I've been at this long enough and deserve to be done. It doesn't come off quickly enough for my liking, that's for sure.

    I am patient because I have no other choice. I can't buy or beg my way to thin. I HAVE to wait. So, I wait.

    It's easier to develop patience than it is to be all frustrated with the slow process, that's all.

    Patience isn't just helpful here, it's required.

    Aww, how far have you come? How far do you have to go?
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    malioumba wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I really am not that patient about it. Many people are and I envy them. I'm more in the camp that I feel like I've been at this long enough and deserve to be done. It doesn't come off quickly enough for my liking, that's for sure.

    I am patient because I have no other choice. I can't buy or beg my way to thin. I HAVE to wait. So, I wait.

    It's easier to develop patience than it is to be all frustrated with the slow process, that's all.

    Patience isn't just helpful here, it's required.

    Aww, how far have you come? How far do you have to go?

    Down 96, about 25-30 to go. It takes me a lot longer to lose now than it did before. Some days, I'm so sick of the slow process that I consider quitting. But I'm still at it. I didn't go through all of this to be pudgy! I plan to be thin. :)
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    It really creeps along sometimes, particularly as I am often fighting with my rebellious side. The solution for me is to keep forgiving myself and moving on, instead of beating myself up as I used to. I keep my "before" pictures close. It is amazing how much your body can change - long before you get to goal.

    I want to be the best I can be. I deserve that. I remind myself of this when I want to talk myself out of the last leg, when I start to feel the pressure around pushing past "good enough" (slightly chubby - the weight range that is comfortable for other people to see you in) into "great" (goal weight - not everyone will be happy for you and you will threaten a few people).
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    One thing to do so as not to risk quitting is, make sure you are not overly restricting yourself. Eat everything you enjoy, but in smaller portions.
    This process does not have to be torturous.
    If you use moderation, you will not really even feel you're on a weightloss journey but just living your life.
    If your hungry and deprived, you will certainly want to quit-I would!
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    Lots of good advice here. It occurs to me that your choices are to (a) lose weight slowly and sustainably or (b) continue to "can't stand my body the way it is." Or gain.

    Your choice.
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  • saitiffeh
    saitiffeh Posts: 251 Member
    edited October 2015
    I am not a patient person, but it's really my on fault that I am in this position to begin with. I didn't gain it overnight, and it won't be gone overnight as well. I use all the patience I can muster, because discipline is the difference between choosing what you want most and what you want now. And when I want that little snack the answer is no, that's not what I want most. I want to be healthy and I want to live longer. So I really don't have a choice. Even if I only lose half a pound a week, it's still better than sitting on my rear end and pigging out on junk food!
  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
    joridusome wrote: »
    Hi y'all!
    My name's Jo, and I just got back from 10 months of traveling the world- eating and drinking excessively and working out minimally.
    I gained around 35 pounds while I was away and now that I'm back in real life, I can't stand how my body is.
    I've been going to the gym every day and following a strict calorie count, but there's lots of days where I get frustrated that I'm not seeing a change immediately (which is silly, I know) but it nearly makes me want to quit. Any help for keepin yourself motived through the change?

    Set small goals. I have lost 20 lbs and want to lose at least another 20-25 but I do have to remember to take it one day at a time, one good choice at a time. If you think of your goal as 35 lbs, it will feel daunting and undoable. Set yourself targets like "I'll lose 7 lbs by Christmas" for example, and work from there. I give myself a small reward every time I hit a mini-goal. Rewards can include buying new workout clothes, getting hair done, getting a pedicure or something that makes you happy.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    Make this stuff just part of your day and focus your attention on a goal that isn't weight loss. It was a lot easier to be patient when I was learning how to sew. I would eat my calories and workout, but the sewing projects were what occupied my mind.

    After that, I was working on a running goal. It's fitness related, but I was working on performance, not weight loss.

    During this time I was still losing weight, but I had other things that I was obsessing over. The food tracking and exercising became more a normal part of my day than something I've had to devote all my time and energy.
  • rosnigetsfit
    rosnigetsfit Posts: 569 Member
    I've been there. Trust me it's worth the wait. ;)
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    joridusome wrote: »
    Hi y'all!
    My name's Jo, and I just got back from 10 months of traveling the world- eating and drinking excessively and working out minimally.
    I gained around 35 pounds while I was away and now that I'm back in real life, I can't stand how my body is.
    I've been going to the gym every day and following a strict calorie count, but there's lots of days where I get frustrated that I'm not seeing a change immediately (which is silly, I know) but it nearly makes me want to quit. Any help for keepin yourself motived through the change?

    Wow! What an experience! Hope you enjoyed every minute of it. Don't lose the experience by regretting where you are now. You put on some weight over 10 months and you'll take it off. Also, don't fall into the trap of the all or nothing attitude. I'm sure you ate lots of yummy food during your travels. Not sure if you like to cook, but what I'd do is experiment making some of those delicious dishes and tweaking them a bit to be healthier.
  • brb2008
    brb2008 Posts: 406 Member
    OneHundredToLose wrote: »
    I mean, you're gonna be going through each day anyway. You might as well try to do something that could improve your overall health. The alternative is to make the situation worse, and make any goals you decide on in the future that much harder.

    Amen!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    A pound a week does feel agonizingly slow, but then a few months go by and I have lost double digits, hurray!
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    Instead of "being patient" find ways to enjoy the process. That turns the "waste of time" that is weight loss into something you look forward to daily.

    Yeah, patience my rosy red bottom, I WANT to lose a pound this week, gosh darn it!

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