Being impatient wanting to lose weight faster
nessssa36
Posts: 12 Member
Just wondering if anyone has experienced a steady weight loss of a pound or two a week and then boom! A month in the weight just starts falling off a few pounds or more a week. I'm on day 17 of calories in calories out and am looking for a little motivation to either keep doing
Things how I have been or step up my exercise to see better results. Thanks!
Things how I have been or step up my exercise to see better results. Thanks!
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Replies
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The word "steady" is a bit misleading Weight loss is not linear. I sometimes go two weeks without losing a pound (or even gaining) and then BAM! in week 3 I'll drop 4 lbs.
Over the past 26 weeks, I've averaged 1.8 lbs per week. But I did not lose 1.8 lbs every week of those 26 weeks.0 -
About 2 years ago when I had started working out and watching what I was eating, I didn't start losing a single pound until after 4 weeks! Then I finally started noticing a difference.0
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Weight can be deceptive in terms of progress. For example, if you don't have too much to lose, and exercise a lot, especially weight training, you may even gain a little bit of weight. Use other measurements as well, such as measuring your body.0
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Just wondering if anyone has experienced a steady weight loss of a pound or two a week and then boom! A month in the weight just starts falling off a few pounds or more a week. I'm on day 17 of calories in calories out and am looking for a little motivation to either keep doing
Things how I have been or step up my exercise to see better results. Thanks!
If you want to lose more weight, you have to create a larger calorie deficit. 1-2lbs a week is very good process, you should just keep at it.0 -
Stepping up exercise is always good, but don't expect your weight loss to be linear. It's the overall downward trend that counts. Here's me since June 26:
I consistently spike up at ovulation and prior to my period starting.0 -
I would rethink the "being impatient" part. You may find that by rushing you're setting yourself up for failure.
Eat at a reasonable deficit. Relax. It takes time, but you want the weight loss to last, right?0 -
I've read great things, you guys are really helpful. I do want this to last forever and it's more of a lifestyle change for me. So I get it, patience, calorie deficit, and working out is even better. I guess I do need to remind myself that some weeks I might gain not lose but not to be discouraged.
It's just I have 100 pounds to lose so it's just a little frustrating not seeing change fast.0 -
I've read great things, you guys are really helpful. I do want this to last forever and it's more of a lifestyle change for me. So I get it, patience, calorie deficit, and working out is even better. I guess I do need to remind myself that some weeks I might gain not lose but not to be discouraged.
It's just I have 100 pounds to lose so it's just a little frustrating not seeing change fast.
The idea behind "slow & steady wins the race" is that you can enjoy all the foods you love while losing. You don't suddenly impose big restrictions on yourself that can feel like penance. Who would want to keep that up? Go at a reasonable rate. You will see success.
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I hear ya.
This = me most days:
Do measurements too, just in case you have weeks where the scale is stubborn.
I have 100 to go too.0 -
1-2 pounds per week IS quick weight loss. You don't want to go any faster. I mean, you may WANT to go faster, but in terms of doing it right...
If anything, I had more instances of not losing for a week or two and then suddenly losing 3-4, and then not losing again for a while. But it still all averaged to about 1.5 pounds a week.
Just keep going. You'll get there.0 -
I've read great things, you guys are really helpful. I do want this to last forever and it's more of a lifestyle change for me. So I get it, patience, calorie deficit, and working out is even better. I guess I do need to remind myself that some weeks I might gain not lose but not to be discouraged.
It's just I have 100 pounds to lose so it's just a little frustrating not seeing change fast.
This time next year when you've lost 50 or more pounds you'll look back and say, "Wow, that was quick!" 0 -
Doesn't our bodies like to play tricks on us? Mine does.. I think it fights tooth and nail to hold on to every singe piece of fat it can.. It just lays and waits and waits..
But for real, weight loss is a funny thing and it can be a bit frustrating and I think the more you need to loose in the beginning the results start quicker than those with a lot less to loose or even just a wee bit loose it takes longer..
Think about this way, the more you want something, the longer it takes to get it. The longer you stare at the clock does not make it happen any quicker or to your pace.. When you stop paying so much of your attention to it it will happen.
I actually put the scale up for 1 month (just one month) and it was the best thing I could have done. I think hiding the scale made me more diligent about the eating, allowed me to just focus on something different so that when my husband brought the scale back (from hiding it), I knew it was going to show less.. This process works for me.
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It is frustrating that the process is slower than we would like. I try to remember that slow weight loss is much better than fast weight gain! Even if the scale is stalled, it is much better than stepping on and seeing gains every day. Sounds so sweet and nice but I will admit to saying a bad word this morning when I stepped on the scale.
I try to look at losing weight as part of my lifestyle. When I switch to maintenance, nothing is really going change other than buying clothes in a smaller size. I will still be counting calories every day. The only difference is that I will have a little more calories to work with.0 -
Think about it like this. You didn't gain weight overnight, and you can't lose it overnight either. I lost nearly 100 lbs, it took over a year. If your expectations are too high, you will get frustrated and give up.0
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Over the last 5 weeks I've lost 30 pounds. Now, to be fair, I started at 530, so a large loss isn't a shock! I'm doing it under the care of my doctor, meet weekly with my dietician at the hospital, and track EVERY. SINGLE. THING. I eat into MFP. Even over the course of that 5 weeks, eating 2000-2500 calories a day, I've sometimes gone 2-3 days with gains and no loss. There was even a 10 day period where I didn't lose anything (so we moved my calories from 2500 to 2000).
Because of that I've had to teach myself to not set goals related to the number on the scale, but instead create goals for actions I can take. So I have goals to eat vegetables with every meal, or work out 3-4 days per week, etc. If you look at my results, you'd think it was great (which it is) and it was non-stop success over 5 weeks. The reality is there were many days of feeling like you have been. And I know that a year or two from now, when I am down 100-200 pounds, I'll look back and be glad I didn't let those rough days slow me down or cause me to make bad decisions.
You can do this!0 -
I've read great things, you guys are really helpful. I do want this to last forever and it's more of a lifestyle change for me. So I get it, patience, calorie deficit, and working out is even better. I guess I do need to remind myself that some weeks I might gain not lose but not to be discouraged.
It's just I have 100 pounds to lose so it's just a little frustrating not seeing change fast.
I've lost 45 lbs in the last year or so (have another 40 to go). I'm not setting any records for speed. On a weekly basis, it is very tedious & SLOW. But I've lost 45 lbs! In the long term, a week is nothing, a month is nothing. It sounds like you are enjoying good success from the sound of your original post... rejoice! 0 -
Over the last 6 weeks I've lost 11.2 pounds. About half of that was the first week, and 2 pounds of that was this week. The rest came off at a more erratic, slower pace. I gained and lost the same pound for two weeks at one point. Just keep at it, I always try to remember that I didn't gain the weight in a few weeks, so I can't expect to take it off in a few weeks.0
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I've read great things, you guys are really helpful. I do want this to last forever and it's more of a lifestyle change for me. So I get it, patience, calorie deficit, and working out is even better. I guess I do need to remind myself that some weeks I might gain not lose but not to be discouraged.
It's just I have 100 pounds to lose so it's just a little frustrating not seeing change fast.
I'm in a similar boat. I have a lot to lose, I'm being completely honest with my logging and exercising. I've been only doing this since January 5th. It's hard to read about others having a lot to lose like us and a lot of weight coming off quickly in the beginning. I'm very resolved to get this done so I am sticking to it. I even found myself saying out loud this morning after I weighed myself to "just stick with it."0 -
rosebarnalice wrote: »Weight loss is not linear. I sometimes go two weeks without losing a pound (or even gaining) and then BAM! in week 3 I'll drop 4 lbs.
I needed to read this this morning. Thank you.0 -
niamibunni wrote: »I hear ya.
This = me most days:
Do measurements too, just in case you have weeks where the scale is stubborn.
I have 100 to go too.
I love this.
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Just be persistent and totally honest with yourself about your food intake.
When I started paying attention to my weight last November, it was slow and tough progress. Here's what helped me keep my head in the game
1. Giving up was not an option. I realized that my weight was significantly impacting my life in a negative way, and unchecked would destroy it.
2. I didn't become 100 lbs overweight overnight. It took more than fifteen years. So expecting it to come off fast was unreasonable.
3. I gave myself much credit for attaining deficit intake. Before I was eating much in excess of my needs, going to a 500 calorie deficit was a huge shock to my habits and to my hunger.
4. Just not gaining was a victory in and of itself.
5. I'm good at deferred reward. I went to graduate school... Twice. So I knew that if I hung in there, it's pay off in the long run. Compared to understanding quantum mechanics, calorie counting is a breeze.
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Because of that I've had to teach myself to not set goals related to the number on the scale, but instead create goals for actions I can take. So I have goals to eat vegetables with every meal, or work out 3-4 days per week, etc. If you look at my results, you'd think it was great (which it is) and it was non-stop success over 5 weeks. The reality is there were many days of feeling like you have been. And I know that a year or two from now, when I am down 100-200 pounds, I'll look back and be glad I didn't let those rough days slow me down or cause me to make bad decisions.
You can do this!
Well put. Good advice here.0 -
I've learnt it's not a race.... Doesn't matter how quickly you want to get there, getting there is the achievement!
I started slow, I had 100lbs too lose. I'm about 20lbs off and it's taken just over 2yrs to get to this point.
The first stone was the toughest! Kept checking my scales wishing the numbers to move daily!! They will move as long as your stay focused, keep logging & slowly you'll get there.
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rosebarnalice wrote: »Weight loss is not linear. I sometimes go two weeks without losing a pound (or even gaining) and then BAM! in week 3 I'll drop 4 lbs.
I needed to read this this morning. Thank you.
This is what I found! Still the same now!0 -
I've read great things, you guys are really helpful. I do want this to last forever and it's more of a lifestyle change for me. So I get it, patience, calorie deficit, and working out is even better. I guess I do need to remind myself that some weeks I might gain not lose but not to be discouraged.
It's just I have 100 pounds to lose so it's just a little frustrating not seeing change fast.
I lost 100lbs in less than 8 months. Then I gained half of it back. I promise you the patience is key. I'm trying to be much more patient this time around and stop racing toward an imaginary finish line. There isn't an end, only a continuation. So this time I'm just living life. I'm not killing myself at the gym, I'm not starving, I am still over working myself just to avoid sitting bored at home but it's a little less intense this time round.
You don't lose 100lbs all at once, you lose 1 pound one hundred times. Try to break it up in your mind.0 -
Don't forget "starvation mode". If your calories are too low, your body stops losing and starts storing. Your body must be consuming enough calories to encourage burning calories. Can be a bit tricky!!0
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You are not alone in your impatience! I think it is perhaps the most difficult thing to accept mentally, when going on a diet, the sheer amount of time it will take - even when you put it into context.
It's took me 3 months to lose the first 10 pounds. It felt like forever. Especially in the first two months when my weight would fluctuate up and down due to water retention and ToM etc so that it sometimes felt like I'd lost barely nothing. But now I'm thinking, okay, if I continue at this rate then I will lose 40 pounds over a year. And actually, that sounds pretty good.
The best bit of motivational advice that I've read is that in a year's time you will be glad you started now. I'm holding onto that (with both hands).0 -
Sorry but NO. No starvation mode. OP please ignore. Just keep on doing what you're doing. Be patient, expect the fluctuations, and be happy as your weight trends down.Don't forget "starvation mode". If your calories are too low, your body stops losing and starts storing. Your body must be consuming enough calories to encourage burning calories. Can be a bit tricky!!
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Great support for the OP here. I also remind her to take body measurements and photos. Sometimes when the scale is upsetting, having another metric to gauge progress is helpful. I did not, and am very regretful because I became quite obsessed with the scale for a while. I'm getting better, now.0
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