How do I get out of the mentality of wanting to lose 5lb a week

i know that a healthy loss is 2lbs a week but I can't get out of the mentality that I need to lose so much so fast aha!
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Replies

  • JoshuaMcAllister
    JoshuaMcAllister Posts: 500 Member
    Change your parameters on MFP diary and just enjoy the extra calories :)
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    It's called impatience.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    Hang on... I'm confused now after what Josh wrote and re-read your post.
    The thread title is kind of incongruent with your actual post. Do you think 2lb a week is too fast a loss for you?? In that case do what Josh says and simply reduce it to 1.5 or 1lb a week.
    If (how I interpreted your title) you want to lose a lot more than 2lb a week, you need to have a look at how realistic and sustainable your expectations are. What is seen a lot here is that people starve themselves and then can't sustain it and pile it all back on. I assume you want to lose weight and keep it off.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,041 Member
    So your one post said you want to starve yourself and now this.

    Seek help.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,953 Member
    Just keep in mind you didn't gain at 5lb a week, so losing at that is not sustainable.

    You've got a little one, think about what they've learned from you, without you even trying to teach them. Then remember that they are learning from you constantly, and when you do something extreme, or dangerous or unsustainable, they're there, watching you, and learning that what you're doing is what they should do, because mum's always right in their eyes.

    Losing weight can be a wonderful thing for your health. Losing weight unhealthily can be devastating not just for your body, but for those who watch you do it and might grow up and do the same things.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    You didn't put on five pounds per week so don't expect it to come off that fast. Besides, to be direct, you're going to look like crap. Rapid weight loss means loss of lean mass, so you'll be thinner by the number on the scale but your body won't look that great unless you're clothed and even then it depends on what you're wearing.

    There was a poster here a while back that had a similar mentality. She was 108 pounds but honestly looked 130+. Her stomach was inflated looking and her body composition needed work. She thought she needed to be 90 pounds, but after reading our posts she finally realized what she actually needed was to lift weights and stop eating 800 calories per day.
  • zenthebird
    zenthebird Posts: 46 Member
    But, but, but people-- I *swear* I put weight on that quickly. Every time I hear that saying I shudder!!!
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    zenthebird wrote: »
    But, but, but people-- I *swear* I put weight on that quickly. Every time I hear that saying I shudder!!!

    I agree. I'm not trying to make fun of anyone, but whenever I read stories about how someone put on 20+ pounds overnight, it gets annoying. I know they don't mean it in a literal sense, but for 90% of people a 20 pound weight gain is noticeable. It doesn't just happen. Either own up to the fact that you knew you gained and didn't care or weren't in the right frame of mind to address it at the time. What matters is what you do now to fix it.
  • BoogeyBrat
    BoogeyBrat Posts: 212 Member
    I've been guilty of wanting the weight to fall off faster as well. I think we've all wished for it at some point. As other posters said, it didn't all come on five pounds at a time, and it's not gonna come off that quickly. Not in any sustainable way, anyhow

    One thing that has motivated me from trying to drop more than 2 pounds a week is the fear of baggy, stretch-marked skin. I've definitely noticed a difference in how I looked after fad diets where I lost very quickly and how I looked after losing the same amount over a longer stretch.
  • GeexJai14
    GeexJai14 Posts: 44 Member
    Thanks guys! I do know what is healthy I honestly do but I just want it all to happen over night. I'm still new to all of this and learning everyday I make bad choices and feel terrible but I am trying my hardest to change my mind set . Hopefully I will get there.
  • samgamgee
    samgamgee Posts: 398 Member
    It is hard to break out of the 'I want to magically be slim right now' mindset, but it's worth it. I've been doing this for almost a year and have only got about 15 lbs left to go, and some days I still want to snap my fingers and be at my goal weight. It's easy to get fed up with the sustained effort it takes to change your habits, your body and your life, but it is so, so worth it. Something that always resonates with me is the phrase which is popular here, 'time will pass by regardless of how you spend it' - in a year's time, you could be where you are now, you could be bigger, or you could be somewhere amazing! It's all down to the little choices you make all day every day. Most weeks I've only lost half a pound, and some weeks nothing at all, but you know what? Those half pounds add up over the months and the years. Good luck!
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    2lb is not a blanket healthy weight loss for everyone

    Education is always the best way

    So in its simplest and paraphrased form, and aiming for the info that will probably resonate for you

    All scale weight loss is a mixture of body fat, water and LBM (lean body mass which is your muscles including your heart)

    You can only catabolise a certain amount of fat naturally within a time frame before the body starts to take more from breaking down muscle and other tissue

    Other tissue includes how healthy your skin looks, how your nails and hair look ...after all if your body is starving it is gonna take from what it needs to save essential systems, cardio-vascular, brain etc from the bits that don't really matter to its ongoing survival and how you look really doesn't matter

    You do not want to lose muscle ...that is bad ...losing muscle may make your scale weight drop, you may even look better in clothes but makes you look awful naked ...also heart is a muscle (I think I mentioned that ...heart attacks are also not pretty)

    A good rule of thumb is 1% bodyweight per week

    If you are a few vanity pounds away from your goal then closer to 0.5lbs per week than 1%
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    GeexJai14 wrote: »
    Thanks guys! I do know what is healthy I honestly do but I just want it all to happen over night. I'm still new to all of this and learning everyday I make bad choices and feel terrible but I am trying my hardest to change my mind set . Hopefully I will get there.

    IT WONT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT..cos you didn't put on the weight over night ! time to change your thinking.
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    There's nothing wrong with wanting to lose lots, I, myself believe i need to lose quite a bit, however the time it takes is another story..
    Just know that anything done quickly will be lost just as quick. Same goes to fat. I've tried the 'fast' approach, it took me 2 months.. it took me less than that to gain it all back.. fun fun!
  • arj5150
    arj5150 Posts: 21 Member
    I am struggling with the impatience as well. I remember being able to drop weight very quickly in my early 20's, while eating anything I wanted, drinking, smoking, etc. Fast forward 20 yrs and I eat well, live a healthy lifestyle and curse at the scale every few days! Frustrating, I know, but slower is better....
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    I'm a sluggish misery guts if I am losing more than one pound a MONTH!
    Thank god I've learned some patience as ive got older.
    Also thank god for Lycra
  • elaineamj
    elaineamj Posts: 347 Member
    For me, it's because I want this to be sustainable. I want long-term results and I've seen too many people drop weight fast and pile it back on even faster. For some inspiration - check out Oprah's yo-yoing story lol. That really inspired me to stick to slow and steady. This is the last time in my life I ever want to be this big.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    When I first started with MFP, I put too aggressive a weekly deficit and what got me out of the mentality of wanting that was trying it for a day and suffering too much. When I losing at a sustainable rate and eat foods that satiate me, I don't feel like I'm dieting.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    We all "want" to lose weight that quickly! You need to educate yourself about what is safe, healthy, reasonable, achievable, and sustainable. That is your 5 year old self talking. Put on your big girl panties and deal with reality. I don't mean that harshly, just thinking maybe you need a little jolt!
  • aub6689
    aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
    Don't watch the biggest loser or any other tv weight loss shows for starters.