The beginning is just hard!
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jlucas210
Posts: 43 Member
Y'all... the beginning is just hard! Not the tracking... my OCD/perfectionist tendencies help with the tracking & staying within my calories part (for now... the anxiety & frustration when I can't find exactly what calories were in what I ate at a local restaurant are another story). I am a month in & have been doing fairly well so far (299 to 285.5), but with so much to lose, appreciating & giving myself credit for the progress I'm already making is just hard when it will likely be 50 pounds before I (or anyone) can really see a difference & the goal is just so far away. I am glad I'm finally to the double digit loss because the first few weeks of "4 down 160 to go" was just not as motivating as it should have been. Logically, I know it is good & progress & more consistent than I've really ever been & logically, I know that I'm finally doing things the right way & this is the progress I'm supposed to be making. Emotionally, I'm just ready to be somewhere in the middle of my journey. I'm impatient & have to keep reminding myself that this is not a race & I am making the appropriate progress & that is good!
So, I just wanted to encourage the others at the beginning like me that the 1 or 2 or 4 pounds lost so far is great! We're on the right track. Doing things the right way for us. We will get where we need to be. This part is important. It can be frustrating, annoying and just plain hard, but it IS important & it IS good! Actually, it's fabulous! We can do this. I can do this.
So, I just wanted to encourage the others at the beginning like me that the 1 or 2 or 4 pounds lost so far is great! We're on the right track. Doing things the right way for us. We will get where we need to be. This part is important. It can be frustrating, annoying and just plain hard, but it IS important & it IS good! Actually, it's fabulous! We can do this. I can do this.
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One of the things that floats around MFP says (paraphrasing) "Having extra weight is hard. Losing weight is hard. Choose your hard."
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I do find the slow results very challenging but I've gotten past it along the way by setting myself short term non-scale goals, I set them pretty much every month and they are usually a mixture of fitness, nutrition and well-being goals:
This month I am focusing on:- Doing a 5km jogging training plan
- Getting at least 4 strength training days in over the month
- Trying to ensure that I stick to at least a 3500 cal deficit per week averaged over the month
- Doing yoga twice per week
- Doing meditation daily
Previous goals have included things like steps, adequate protein/fat/fibre intake, cutting down tv hours and getting a good amount of sleep.2 -
It’s not only the beginning that is hard....the middle and the end is difficult, too!....everyday a new challenge can throw you off track IF you let it....only you are in charge of what you eat....not one time in my life have I ever been force fed a meal....1
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it's definitely hard, all the way thorough I would guess. after 4 months I've reached the not-obsessing-so-hard state, which is awesome because I was definitely overly fixated. that's not to say I don't think about this process everyday (I certainly still do that), I'm just less constantly thinking about it. if that makes sense.
however, the intrinsically slow nature of healthy, sustainable weight loss means that looking back a day or a week can be frustrating. part of the problem is you live in your body everyday, so even if you're feeling better/lighter/different, it's a slow shift in perception.
I've been logging in to at least one of the monthly challenges over on the boards. it helps at the end of a month to see weekly numbers so I can say, "huh. there's a change, awesome!" rather than getting bogged down in the day to day. might be worth a try!3 -
@tinkerbellang83 how's yoga? I'm thinking of trying it out this winter. I'll probably need a mat... all hardwood floors at home.2
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My motto is, if it doesn't suck, I don't do it. Embrace the suck. Doing the things that are easy, rather than hard, got us all into this place.
As somebody wise once said, "Easy choices, Hard Life. Hard Choices, Easy Life"2 -
MatthewRuch wrote: »My motto is, if it doesn't suck, I don't do it. Embrace the suck. Doing the things that are easy, rather than hard, got us all into this place.
As somebody wise once said, "Easy choices, Hard Life. Hard Choices, Easy Life"
I agree to a point. There is no point in making something that already sucks even suckier though. Losing weight has a lot about it that sucks so there is no reason to make it harder with unnecessary requirements. Finding the easiest path forward helps keep you going during the parts that are hard.
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@tinkerbellang83 how's yoga? I'm thinking of trying it out this winter. I'll probably need a mat... all hardwood floors at home.
Same, I have exercise mats in the living room and a yoga mat. It does wonders for my DOMS and stretching out aches from desk job. I am definitely a lot more flexible than I was when I started doing it 3 years ago.
I have modified the moves over the years to what is comfortable/physically possible (Thicker thighs and bigger boobs have made some moves problematic).1 -
@amkita Yoga can be great, and you can find any sort of program that works for you. For myself I do DDP Yoga which is much more like a workout rather than a quiet spiritual program. But I know many people who have had much success with traditional forms of yoga.2
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@NovusDies Don't read what I say too literally. I honestly love all that I do, I love the grind itself. What I mean when I say "embrace the suck" is that no progress is made when one is comfortable.
If you are working out and it isn't a challenge and it isn't hard, no real progress is being made. Doesn't matter if it is with weights, or walking or whatever else. If the body isn't working hard, you aren't sweating and the heart isn't beating fast, progress towards growth isn't being made.
So when one becomes comfortable with being uncomfortable, and the mind comes into line, walls fall, new heights are reached and transformation occurs
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MatthewRuch wrote: »@NovusDies Don't read what I say too literally. I honestly love all that I do, I love the grind itself. What I mean when I say "embrace the suck" is that no progress is made when one is comfortable.
If you are working out and it isn't a challenge and it isn't hard, no real progress is being made. Doesn't matter if it is with weights, or walking or whatever else. If the body isn't working hard, you aren't sweating and the heart isn't beating fast, progress towards growth isn't being made.
So when one becomes comfortable with being uncomfortable, and the mind comes into line, walls fall, new heights are reached and transformation occurs
Noted. One of the older diet sayings is "if you put something in your mouth that tastes good, spit it out immediately." Some people still subscribe to these really harsh ways of losing weight. I just wanted to make sure you were not one of them.2 -
Some days are more difficult than others....the last week I have been on a weight loss “ high”.... sailing along without any struggling....this morning I hit the floor “ ugly hungry”.... I could literally eat paint chips off of the walls....I decided to eat a little more than I usually do for breakfast and all it did was make me want more food...now I am counting the minutes until lunch...hopefully, “this too shall pass”.....0
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Can you tell if they are Emotional hunger or physical hunger?1
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It was just “ I am not in the mood for this today”... but I am ok again now!...I had a lean cuisine pizza and I feel better....weekends are difficult because the entire extended family is all home....0
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conniewilkins56 wrote: »Some days are more difficult than others....the last week I have been on a weight loss “ high”.... sailing along without any struggling....this morning I hit the floor “ ugly hungry”.... I could literally eat paint chips off of the walls....I decided to eat a little more than I usually do for breakfast and all it did was make me want more food...now I am counting the minutes until lunch...hopefully, “this too shall pass”.....
Those days have never stopped showing up for me. It feels like I am just very unsettled. Luckily they don't happen often so I don't try to stop it I just try to put up a boundary so I don't get stupid. It seems like if I steer into the skid it is just one day and I get it out of my system.
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“ Unsettled” is probably the right feeling...I missed my class reunion today and I had been looking forward to attending it...a few weeks ago I opted not to go because of numerous medical tests my husband is having this upcoming week...I would have had to make the two day drive alone and I wasn’t comfortable being away at this time...I think I was feeling a little down this morning as missing it was in the back of my mind...but I took a drive this afternoon and pulled myself together...I made it through the day and stayed under my calories....I reminded myself how good I will look at my 75th class reunion!2
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Nice @conniewilkins56! True commitment!2
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@conniewilkins56 I haven't gone to a class reunion yet... and a big part of why was my weight. Maybe I'll go to the next one. 2023 will be 25 years, maybe they'll do one then.1
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This was my 50th (OMG ) and from the pictures my classmates are posting today, I look great lol....after seeing them, I appreciate how healthy I am!....the canes,walkers,oxygen tanks and wheel chairs reminded me of a nursing home!....some still looked pretty good but mostly all I could think of was OLD....I am certainly not old!....I am just getting started and now I feel very fortunate!2
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I hear you. For me, it is a really weird thing. Deciding to start back is hard. I would spend months - even years thinking everyday - this is it. I know what to do, I have done it before and managed to keep the weight off for 7 years. Having lost 355 lbs and then gained back 185 of it - it is still baffling to me the mental process that separates successful weight loss from unsuccessful attempts. The mechanics of weight loss - eating healthy, portion control, making sure that healthy choices are always easy to get, drinking lots of water, mindful eating, eating slowly and waiting 15 minutes when crazy urges hit - that is the easy part.
Keeping focus on what you really want - knowing that feeling healthy is worth more than any short term satisfaction or comfort I might get from eating is just not worth it. I do think staying active in groups like this is a huge help. If I can ever help anyone - please let me know."It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."
---Ralph Waldo Emerson2
