How to get over the "wait" to lose weight? feeling overwhelmed
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Think in terms of something else you've earned that took time.
Few people think of academics as "Oh lord I have 12-16 years of education ahead of me" It's focusing on the year, the semester, the class.
Don't focus on the goal - focus on your behavior in achieving the goal.
Age certainly imparts a benefit. It's quite different to think of a year at 20 or at 50, simply due to experience.9 -
BecomingMyBetterSelf wrote: »How to "get over" thinking.. I have 6 months to one year to lose my almost 100 pounds of fat.. it seems like FOREVER away. I am not gonna give up.. but it just seems so far away.. what do you guys do?
In addition to the many useful perspectives others have posted, here's another thought:
Essentially, you're telling us that you're impatient with the process, and just want to reach the goal quicker: Near intant gratification, more or less.
Here's the thing: There are many, many good things in life that are going to take slow, patient, consistent, persistent work. It might be building a successful career; it might be raising happy/healthy children; it might be learning a skill like playing a music instrument, dancing well, or drawing/painting well; it might be saving money to buy a house or for retirement; it might be developing skill at some athletic ability; it might be achieving an advanced academic credential/degree or certification; there are lots of other examples.
As you go through process of losing weight, persistently and patiently chipping away slowly at it over quite a long period of time, you'll also be learning and practicing subtle skills that will help you achieve other long-term goals, and learning how to harness your personal strengths (and overcome personal limitations) to do it.
Learning how to patiently pursue life improvements is a transformationallly useful thing. Weight loss is a practice/learning opportunity.15 -
For me the first few weeks were hard but because I didn't know how to start. But on myfitnesspal site it help me see what everyone did. I saw some do CICO, change eating habits, fasting, or more exercising. Really once you realize what is the best for you it will become easier. Plus the small changes you will see will keep you motivated. I set mini goals that i could accomplish and make this long process pretty enjoyable.4
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I take it one day, even one meal at a time and don't put a time frame on my weight loss. The time will pass and a slower loss is much more enjoyable and sustainable.
I just set my calorie goal and stick to it the best I can. If I "mess up", I think about WHY and then think about a possible solution for the future, and every day I get BETTER. If I overeat, I don't sweat it. The next day, even the next meal, I hop back on the horse and continue with my plans. I don't restrict or punish myself. And I've still been able to lose 65 lbs.
I have started to think in terms of permanent lifestyle changes. If I can't do it forever, then I don't do it (I eat chocolate every day, don't restrict any type of food, etc.) I started listening to the podcast Half Size Me and highly recommend it. She talks about maintainable weight loss.
The "hard" work you put in day in and day out (it will get easier) will not correlate to how fast the scale drops, which will be slow. But slow is good. Just focus on the daily habits you are trying to execute (tracking, high protein, frequent meals maybe?) and the weight will come off as a byproduct.8 -
Celebrate the little wins... tightening my belt one notch, t-shirt fitting better, getting into the next size down jeans.
Irrelevant of how much you lose, if you are well in a week without eating something you didn't plan congratulate yourself as it's a win! Keep a diary and each day give youraelf 3 ticks, 1 for being in your goal, another for eating what you planned, 3rd for choosing healthy options. If you got at least 1 your on a positive if you got all 3 celebrate another day doing really great things5 -
When I wonder "how much longer" I also realize, that when I was gaining all my weight I never thought: "How much longer will it take, until I end up on 170 kg (375 pounds) ??? With this in mind, I take it day by day, meal by meal and I trust the MFP calculations. 540 days gone and lots more of fat to shift.8
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I didn't give myself a deadline and really didn't have a goal in mind at first. I started the middle of January and knew it would be a journey. 91 lbs down since.8
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Whatever your motivation is to lose the 100lb is also your motivation to lose 50lb, or 10lb, or 2lb, just on a smaller scale. There will not be a magical switch when you hit 100lb where you go from unhealthy to healthy, or unattractive to attractive, or whatever it is that you believe losing weight will change for you.
The truth is that every pound is a small improvement. I've lost ~40lb and was just today thinking about how nice it is to be able to climb 2 flights of stairs at work without being too out-of-breath to hold a conversation when I reach the top. I'm still very much overweight and have another ~50lb to lose, but this is a win! I've still got a jiggly belly and my thighs chafe when I wear a skirt, but I no longer have skin folding over itself around my waist.
Embrace the little victories on the way!10 -
I've spent much of my career as a project manager (not these days, but a while back). As I grew into the field, the size of the projects got bigger. And as they got bigger and more ominous because of their size and duration, a mentor told me something I'll never forget:
"A huge project is a bunch of related small projects put together."
This applies to just about every facet of life.13 -
You don't have to wait 6 months or a year to enjoy your success. Even the first 20 pounds is going to make a difference in how you feel. You don't have to wait till all the weight is gone to feel the difference. And remember, that time is going to pass whether you are losing weight or not - make it your goal that a year from now you are much happier with your health and how you feel. Short term, achievable goals really work.8
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For me the attitude I took was "if I keep it up, a year from now, I'll be smaller". And it was true.
It took me literally years (yeah YEARS) to get down to my goal range...the first couple years despite working hard at it, I lost only a little weight...maybe 8-12 lb. However, the year I started using MFP, I lost about 90 lb and that put me where I wanted to be. The odds of similar success are good when you are consistent, dedicated, and track your intake.9 -
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moonangel12 wrote: »I am like you - I wish I could fast forward just to see what I will look and feel like! I am an instant gratification type person (and diagnosed ADD, I think they go hand in hand). Too many times I don’t do something because of the wait involved... if I had planted that fruit tree that takes x years to mature and produce, I would be enjoying the literal fruits of that labor by now! But so many times I don’t because I don’t want to have to wait that long... so what do I do? Nothing. And that is a ridiculous mindset to have! I see my body that way as well. Too often I don’t start something because I don’t give myself enough credit to stick with it. It’s day one of the rest of your life. Next year when you look back you can either see how far you have come, or wonder why you didn’t start sooner and live with that regret.
Take GOOD before pics (as in, good quality, angles that accurately show what is there, not necessarily ones you want to see). Even when I don’t necessarily feel huge changes I can look at my pics and see those subtle shifts...
Oh my god this is perfect. EXACTLY THIS 100%, I could have started sooner(In fact I wanted to but then... i guess I didn't even try because it felt so "Out of reach") Thank you for replying to me. I am new here. I just felt a bit discouraged because it does seem sooooo long for me to lose 100pounds.. and realistically.. probably over a year but if i'm just sitting here not doing anything about it i will be in the same-or worse position.2 -
Little goals. I remember thinking oh nooo more than 100 pounds. Then said ok, how about instead my goals I will break down into 8%. So each time I lost 8% of my weight, I set aside $50.00 to spend how I wanted it. I used to waste much more than that on junk food.
So that is how I have been working on it.
And yes it is taking more than a year, I stopped for awhile, but am back.
If you do not have a food scale, it really is a must, and will be so helpful.
And log, log, log. Often times we do not really realize/want to accept just how much/calories we are consuming.
But when we are consistent, we will see exactly how much, and how many calories.
When first starting out, I admit I did not exercise, just moving around was tough. But by 3 months I really started walking miles per day.
So many different ways to become active, and get moving. It all helps.
Lots of support here on MFP. Lots to read for help too. You can do this.3 -
I suggest using Happy Scale (app) to track your progress. It’s easy and fun to use and you can set it to break your long term big goal into smaller mini goals. I had about 140 lbs to lose and spread mine into 10 mini goals. I’m already past 1/10! That feels really good to see incremental progress. You can do this! You’ll be amazed at how you feel and look in one measly little year.5
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I'm pretty sure every one of us here knows that feeling! I don't think I have anything new to add, but I'll sure echo the people who recommend focusing on smaller goals that you can get to a lot faster (like 5 or 10 lbs at a time), and focusing on NSVs ("non-scale victories" such as loose clothing, physical achievements, etc).
This isn't easy. No matter how long it takes, the most important thing is that you DON'T QUIT.
I wish you all the best as you start on this journey to a healthier you!
In the meantime, one of my favorite memes:
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Warning, a little long winded.
I love the positive comments. I lost weight quickly when I first began at 326.2lbs. It's not suprising, especially when I was eating 3200+ calories per day (and it was all fried, dressed or simple carb baked). I saw myself looking at where I wanted my final goal weight to be. I lost 28 lbs in almost a month. Seeing those results, wow..... I wanted to get there as fast as some of those TV shows, but you know what? For me it is unrealistic. I could not keep up the caloric restrictions that I set for myself, and my body was also telling me that 1000 calories was not enough. I was tired, my sleep suffered, my focused dropped, my emotions were scattered, and (TMI) my bm's days in between. I had done this before and my history was rewriting itself again. I have lost the same 75 lbs probably 7 times (probably more like 10 times).
I would diet until my hair would begin to thin, I'd have an small injury (like a twisted ankle- get hurt because i would just be axhausted and mistep) or I would end up getting sick). Once that happened, my Physician would tell me "What are you doing to yourself?" " Why are you eating all of this chemical cr_p food, where is your nutrion, how are you being healthier?" He's right, but yet I still want that quick weightloss.
This time when I began to feel that need for Instant Weightloss, I started reading comments and stories from others, as they have/had similar stories. It wasn't just one person, but many. This is a journey, not race. I am changing my relationship with food and learning to fuel my body. You can do it... I am now looking at what I need to lose in 5 lbs at a time. I have almost 140 lbs to go, but I will get there in time:) I hope that you find the motivation and support that you need.
To the Group thank you for sharing your stories, support and letting us borrow some of you motivation and determination when we need it. You are all awesome and brave for putting yourself out there. Even when we silently read your comments but not reply, it helps others:)11 -
Thank you everyone, these comments helped a bit!2
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100lbs in a year is about 2lbs per week, every week. That is not impossible, but it's not quite realistic either.
Having a timeline is great - it helped me lose 70lbs in my first year. But make sure it is realistic and attainable for you. Hindsight is 20/20, but I can't believe it has been almost 2 years since I started losing weight. The end goal is a great motivator to keep going. It was so hard for me to see the "finish line" (my 12/28/2018 wedding day) when I was 200+lbs barely able to do 30 minutes of cardio. My lowest weight was 145 and a full hour of cardio now feels *almost* fun. I've gained a bit back but still am much healthier than I was before, something I NEVER thought possible during the years of hating my obesity and never doing anything about it.
I always kept this in mind: "You always regret not working out, but you'll never regret working out." That helped me on the days that I really struggled to get myself to the gym after a long day at work.
Good luck, and celebrate the small victories. Every time I dropped to a new '10s range (199, 189, 159, etc) I congratulated myself and made sure I celebrated the little victory.3 -
one day at a time doing the right thing. its a journey not a race i lost 100 in 11 months and despite what people say it wasnt to fast0
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