Being Too Hard on Myself (Anyone Else Do This?)

So I became serious about trying to lose weight the first of June. I had tried before, but I didn't really stick with it. This time, I wanted to do everything right. I weighed/measured my food. I had a healthy calorie deficit, etc.

And it worked! I've lost weight, and it's been steady. There's always been a little more weight gone when I do my weekly weigh in. I can even wear a pair of pants I hadn't been able to zip in over a year. It's all awesome, and I should be happy.

Yet there are times I still feel discouraged. It's completely irrational, and I know that, but I feel that way all the same. I feel like I should be losing more, faster, or that I should be able to see more results in the mirror. Instead of congratulating myself at the weight loss, I just keep thinking about how much more I have to lose.

This doesn't happen all the time. For the most part, I am happy, and I know I'm doing well. I just can't seem to stop those negative feelings from rising up ever so often.

Does anyone have this issue?

Replies

  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Weight loss should be a slow process. The less you have to lose, the slower it will be. You want your weight loss to happen at a reasonable pace, and if you're in doubt about what a reasonable pace is, slower is better unless your doctor says otherwise. Slower weight loss helps prevent undereating, and is easier for most people to sustain long term.

    You may not notice any difference in the mirror for a long time. That can happen because your body is burning fat from places that aren't obvious, or because it's burning fat proportionally from everywhere and making the change hard to see, or just because you look in the mirror at least daily and that makes gradual change hard to spot.

    The scale will not go down every time you weigh yourself. Sometimes it may be the same for several weeks at a time, or even go up. That's normal and doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. The less you have to lose, the longer you may go without seeing change on the scale.

    Everyone's body weight fluctuates every day due to doing more exercise, eating differently, being a bit constipated, hormonal cycles, and more. That's why people in maintenance usually have a weight range of about 5 pounds rather than a single number that we must always see on the scale.

    Understanding those things helps with the frustration.

    If it helps, don't think about your goal as the total amount you want to lose. Think about it as the next 10 pounds, or next 25 pounds, or whatever makes sense for you.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,970 Member
    edited July 2019
    You should be very proud of yourself. You're making lifestyle changes. That's a big deal and, yeah, sometimes it's overwhelming.

    My goal is always the next 5 pounds. It keeps it exciting and doable.

    Sending you a gentle hug. ❤
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Terytha wrote: »
    I was just having a whine about this last night at my husband. I'm 33% of the way to my goal. A third. That's a lot! But it feels so... not a lot, a lot of the time. There's a long way to go still.

    Still, every bit of progress is a step forward, and taking steps forward is more than I was doing this time last year. Stop comparing yourself to possible future you. Compare yourself to last month's you. You're doing great.

    If we were completely content we probably would not be pushing ourselves to lose weight. Since we are discontent it shouldn't be a surprise that it boils out of the pot a little here and there. The secret, as you know, is to keep it in check and not make poor choices because of it.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,476 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    You should be very proud of yourself. You're making lifestyle changes. That's a big deal and, yeah, sometimes it's overwhelming.

    My goal is always the next 5 pounds. It keeps it exciting and doable.

    Sending you a gentle hug. ❤

    I second focusing on a smaller amount, I too focus on 5lb increments.
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,983 Member
    Totally understand. We have to trust the process, but I am a little "known" for my tendency to be my own worst critic. That's not always a bad thing, as it pushes me to keep trying, raise the bar, and to accomplish things most people don't/won't, but it isn't always good, either, when you can't realize everything you've accomplished thus far.

    Taking a moment to recognize everything I've accomplished at this point helps me gain some perspective when I'm spending too much time with the "negative" thoughts, and helps turn those thoughts into something more useful than to put myself down.