How do you stay motivated - 8 weeks down 30 lbs still see fat guy in mirror and get discouraged

LER67
LER67 Posts: 31 Member
in Motivation and Support
As subject states I'm 8 weeks in yesterday, I've lost 30 lbs and quite a few inches, need to lose another 40 to 50 lbs depending on how much muscle I put on.

So I'm seeing results (3.75 lbs a week and I'm putting on muscle isn't shabby), but I still look in the mirror and see a fat guy. I find it very discouraging. Gone is the memory of how crummy I felt 30 lbs ago so I can't really leverage that, I'm seeing results on the scale two weeks ago I lost 2 lbs, last week four and as I said I'm losing inches but I still see the same guy in the mirror as when I started and it's discouraging.

Has anyone else dealt with this or something similar? I'm starting to think I'll just stay away from mirrors. How did/do you combat this?

Replies

  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
    Mirrors and the scale. My bedroom mirror and gym mirror are not in sync and somehow that crushes myself confidence. Don't get me started on the scale. I am of the type that loses inches before the scale decides to move.

    If you clothes feels good and starts getting roomy, you are on the right track. Good luck.
  • smit7633
    smit7633 Posts: 182 Member
    Staying motivated is tough I've been acquiring active MFP friends from the community here and they keep me motieby plastering my wall with how many calories they've been burning all day doing different things.

    Good luck!
  • GreasyGinger
    GreasyGinger Posts: 1 Member
    I hear ya. I'm down 20 lbs in 8 weeks. Right on track to what I wanted to be. Been working hard at the gym, watching everything I eat and just putting in the work but not seeing the aesthetic results I want.

    I've lost 2.5 inches around the naval and all my gym gear is looking too big. My sister in law commented on a photo as well, how thin I looked. So things are working but we're just not seeing it like other people.

    Taking a light week at the gym this week and eating just below maintenance so hopefully next week I can be on a motivational high and kind of kick start it again. This i feel will work for me, I know it might make other people go on a downward trend but maybe something to think about.

    Keep up the good work and I'm sure it'll pay off before ya know it
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,213 Member
    Those are impressive results. Is the problem that you are finding the process too onerous? Maybe you need to slow down the weight loss and enjoy the journey a little more. Personally, I feel like I could do this the rest of my life, but I'm losing a whole lot slower than what you are.
  • ScoobaChick
    ScoobaChick Posts: 186 Member
    I look in my deep freezer at pounds of butter (I bake a lot so I always have pounds of frozen butter) I make a little pile of some of them to represent the pounds of fat that used to be on my body and when I am tempted to deviate from my plan I go and stare at them: Do I really want all that fat back on my body?

    I pick up weights equivalent to what I lost and walk around the room with them until I tire a bit. Do I really want to put on that weight and make it harder to move?

    I also set mini-goals that are manageable to hit within a 2-4 week period. I tell myself once I hit the next one I can chose to stay at maintenance at that weight or set a new goal (I always pick setting a new goal but I know I have the option not to!).

    I look at my MFP feed and at all the friends I have made on here. Reading their stories and sharing mine with them helps keep me motivated :)

    One day at a time, one meal at a time, one decision at a time and you will get to where you want to go!

  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    I'm down 90 pounds and sometimes I don't even see it. Everyone else sure seems to. But with the weight loss and the working out, I can notice results. Four flights of stairs only slightly raise my breathing, I could still have a conversation just fine, rather than gasping like a dying fish halfway.

    For me, though, this isn't something that has an end. Sure, at some point I'll switch from losing to maintenance, but life is really going to be about the same - I am going to do the same habits and eat the same kinds of foods, just somewhat more.
  • LER67
    LER67 Posts: 31 Member
    Thanks all, don't take this wrong but it's nice to know others struggle with the same issue. In-fact its really the only issue I've been struggling with. Diet piece of cake, going to the gym piece of cake other healthy changes piece of cake, mirror not so easy.

    @ScoobaChick When I hit 25 lbs of weight loss I picked-up a 25 lb weight and couldn't believe how heavy it was. Need to do that with a 30 lb dumbbell tomorrow and carry it around for a few minutes to remind me. Also, my Doc cut my blood pressure meds in 1/2 because it was getting so low on the full dose, need to remind myself of that too.

    @rankinscet yea same here, it's for life with me. I'll open my diet up a bit, start drinking booze from time to time again but it's really part of an overall active lifestyle change. Not going to go back to the way I was. Approaching 50 and want to be in good health as I enter what will more than likely be the final 1/3 of my spin on this thing we call earth.
  • joverine
    joverine Posts: 28 Member
    Take pictures im down 46lbs and still see the chubby guy in the mirror untill i look at my beggining pic and realize yeah i still have some to lose but damn i lost a lot.
  • BeYouTiful94
    BeYouTiful94 Posts: 289 Member
    First off, congrats on your achievements thus far!!

    Old clothes. That's what does it for me. I felt discouraged just like you because I felt like I looked the same size, if not bigger, scale be darned. I pulled out some old pants to wear to something and was shocked to find they wouldn't even stay up. The waistband in no way touched my body anywhere, they were so loose. The thing is, we look at ourselves in the mirror everyday and see these changes take place so gradually that it doesn't look like anything changed at all. Just know and believe that you are making positive changes in your life, believe that the results are real, and keep on being determined and doing great!
  • kmfeig87
    kmfeig87 Posts: 1,990 Member
    I know the feeling. It's a bit of a roller coaster ride. I hate the mirror. And the scale, too. I'm deliriously happy when the scale shows an unexpected 1lb drop. And thoroughly depressed when I eat two cookies (within calories) and gain 2 lbs. Look at a before picture. Walk around for 5 minutes with that 30 lb weight. You're doing great and we can all do this together!
  • kmfeig87
    kmfeig87 Posts: 1,990 Member
    Add me as a friend! I've been doing it 4 weeks. Lost 10 lbs (before I ate that darn cookie) and have another 40-50 to go.
  • Onamissionforfit
    Onamissionforfit Posts: 90 Member
    Feel free to add me I just joined this app yesterday but been at it for one year and three months and yes I used to do that too.
  • rachfking
    rachfking Posts: 40 Member
    I agree about taking photos! Do you have s photo of yourself 30lbs ago that you can tape to the mirror? Now that should make you feel better!
  • LER67
    LER67 Posts: 31 Member
    Thanks for the friend offers, I'll add later.

    Unfortunately I didn't start taking pictures until three weeks ago after 21 lbs of weight-loss. I wish I had taking a starting picture in the beginning. I have a picture of myself taken Christmas day though that I'll print out and post on the mirror, not a body shot, me in a chair but could work. I'm taking pics now for the six week shred program I'm doing that I submit to the trainer but 6 lbs loss in the two weeks I've been doing it isn't showing a lot of change.

    Grabbed a 30 lb dumb-bell this morning at the gym and walked around with it, damn that was heavy.

    Like I said earlier, the process hasn't been hard for me, I've had one treat meal in 8 weeks (and even that was healthy LOL), every day my calories are at or below 1,500, I haven't missed a single day at the gym, on my optional exercise day I go on a 4+ mile walk. Today was a rest day and I couldn't sleep so I went to the gym early and did 55 minutes of cardio just because I wanted to . . . it's that damn mirror!

    Thanks again for all the input!
  • danacondah
    danacondah Posts: 57 Member
    Progress pictures. I'd look in the mirror and see zero progress. SO then I started taking full body pictures every 4 weeks... put them side by side and HOLY *kitten*. Progress. Motivation followed.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    sign up for a race. it'll keep you focused.
  • Mapalicious
    Mapalicious Posts: 412 Member
    edited March 2016
    You have lost the equivalent of:

    ...30 guinea pigs
    ...6 chihuahuas
    ...20 large eggs
    ...1 cinder block, minus the weight of a human brain
    ...Half of an Elephant's penis
    ...Your average-sized 2 year-old + 3.33 Krispy Kreme donuts


    You're doing great. Just keep your chin up :)
    It takes time!
  • Unknown
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  • missyfitz1
    missyfitz1 Posts: 93 Member
    I went through this exact experience. I was so frustrated that I was eating and exercising like a thin, fit person, but I knew I wouldn't look like that person for months, regardless of the weight I had already lost. For me, I just had to make a concerted effort to change my focus. I stopped thinking about the number on the scale week to week, and I stopped really looking at myself in the mirror. I focused on how good I was feeling and how much better my energy levels were. That became my entire motivation. It was hard at first, but when I got the hang of it I was really able to change my mindset in that sense. I think it was when I finally fit into a particular pair of pants that I snapped out of it and realized the person in the mirror was starting to be the body I had worked for.

    Analyzing it every day was killing my motivation and didn't make me want to deny myself sweets or get to the gym. But when it became my lifestyle and I just accepted that, I was able to distract myself as time passed and I lost the weight.
  • Billy323
    Billy323 Posts: 182 Member
    I knew the feeling bro. The mirrors always seem to betray unless you get that perfect down lighting that helps pop any muscle definition you may have. When I made my initial loss I relied mainly upon measurements and how clothes fit.

    My ahh haa I think I finally made it moment happened when I fit into a certain size pair of jeans and how lean my face looked in pics.

    Nice work on the average weight loss and I am curious how you are measuring muscle gain through this process.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    LER67 wrote: »
    As subject states I'm 8 weeks in yesterday, I've lost 30 lbs and quite a few inches, need to lose another 40 to 50 lbs depending on how much muscle I put on.

    So I'm seeing results (3.75 lbs a week and I'm putting on muscle isn't shabby), but I still look in the mirror and see a fat guy. I find it very discouraging. Gone is the memory of how crummy I felt 30 lbs ago so I can't really leverage that, I'm seeing results on the scale two weeks ago I lost 2 lbs, last week four and as I said I'm losing inches but I still see the same guy in the mirror as when I started and it's discouraging.

    Has anyone else dealt with this or something similar? I'm starting to think I'll just stay away from mirrors. How did/do you combat this?

    I combated this with the knowledge that it was going to be a long haul, not a matter of weeks. I focused on the process...not only of becoming leaner, but becoming more fit and healthier. I signed up for various races and events...I focused on educating myself about nutrition and how I could apply my new found knowledge to my goals...and in that regard I established goals that went beyond "I want to look a certain way" or "I want to be some arbitrary number on the scale".

    I focused my energy into the process of all around wellness and betterment of self and let the rest run its course. Embrace the process and understand that ultimately, the process goes into perpetuity...
  • LER67
    LER67 Posts: 31 Member
    edited March 2016
    A couple people mentioned a race, I can't run but I could sign-up for some sort of walk. I'll check into it, that or some other fitness challenge. Good idea. I also like the idea of adding some different goals e.g. amount of weight I'm benching, curling etc. endurance, how long I can hold a plank etc.

    I remembered a pair of pants I bought a couple years back, very nice jeans normally something like $400, even though I couldn't fit into them I bought them on-sale because they were such a great price, I really liked them and thought they'd motivate me to lose some weight. I'm going to pull them out tonight and see how close (was going to use the word far, I like close better) they are from fitting. Thanks for the idea BeYouTiful.

    Billy323 For now I'm going by pure feel, however, I'm getting my lean body mass, fat % etc. tested tomorrow so I'll be able to really track it.

    Oh and I think someone said avoid the mirror, unfortunately the mirror in my bathroom is 16' wide and my shower is walk-in 3/4 of the wall glass, not much I can do to avoid the mirror
  • LER67
    LER67 Posts: 31 Member
    So here's what I'm working with; these are photos I'm taking for my six week shred program. I see a difference in these pictures. Really wish I'd taken a picture on 1/4/16 prior to losing the original 21 lbs. Need to print out one of these pictures and post it on the mirror each week maybe.

    cza33bvyra7f.jpg
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    bfcxcffk33ws.jpg
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    kmfeig87 wrote: »
    I know the feeling. It's a bit of a roller coaster ride. I hate the mirror. And the scale, too. I'm deliriously happy when the scale shows an unexpected 1lb drop. And thoroughly depressed when I eat two cookies (within calories) and gain 2 lbs. Look at a before picture. Walk around for 5 minutes with that 30 lb weight. You're doing great and we can all do this together!
    What hit home with me was when I was doing yard work and carrying around 30 pound bags of sand. I was really tired by the end and then it hit me. I have a ton more energy now and can do much more because I don't have to lug those extra 30 pounds with me where ever I go.

  • LER67
    LER67 Posts: 31 Member
    Printed out this picture and will update it weekly. Posted it over. My sink on the mirror. I think it will help. Also noted inches on it. In this picture I'm down 6.5"

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