Anxiety over seeing results

Hi all, I've recently started up on MFP. I used to use it a good 8 years ago. Today is the year I want to get comfortable in my own skin, but I'm impatient. I have a goal of 1293 cals and I aim to go the gym just a couple of times a week. I want to lose at least a stone but aiming for stone and a half. I get obsessive over how quickly I'll start getting changes and weight loss. I just want some encouragement or stories that reassure me that it will happen and it will work.

Thanks to all 🙏🏻

Replies

  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,479 Member
    If you stick to it, you will see results. It will work. But you need to be patient. You didn't magically start carrying around an extra stone (+) overnight, so it's not gonna come off overnight either. Trust the process.
  • Beautyofdreams
    Beautyofdreams Posts: 1,009 Member
    If a stone is 14 pounds then you don’t have a lot to lose. Set MFP so that you lose at a rate of 0.5 % to no more than 1.0% of your bodyweight each week. This may be slow but will avoid cutting your calories too low and make adherence easier. Also the less you have to lose the slower it will come off so don’t get impatient. We want to lose and maintain weight loss not drop quickly and bounce back up cuz we are too hungry. The slower loss will give you more opportunities to practice and perfect healthy sustainable eating habits for maintenance.
    Wishing you success on your health and fitness journey.
  • Barbo100
    Barbo100 Posts: 9 Member
    I understand your impatience. I was new to MFP this last year and had a stone to lose. I hadn’t calorie counted in 40+ years so it was all pretty new to me.

    As soon as I started, all I could think about was food ha ha! However I became a mindful eater and I lost my stone in 3 months. I logged my food, tried not to eat back exercise calories, and it worked! I am pretty sedentary but I took up doing regular walks which I still do.

    I weighed daily and that worked for me. Sometimes the weight goes up but you just have to trust in the process and I have a wiggly graph to show it works.

    Now, 4 months on from reaching my goal, I am maintaining without logging my food. I do keep an eye on my weight and weigh most days.

    I had a 3 week holiday where I gained back some weight. I started to log again but lost impetus as it was dropping off anyway and I’m now back to my goal range.

    Good luck on your journey. I found these forums really helpful and particularly from some of the experienced members like Ann above (thank you @AnnPT77 !)
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,881 Member
    I would suggest focusing on the process and not so much the results. I know, easier said than done :smile: The idea is to lose weight AND create habits that will allow you to keep the weight off once you reach your goal. Focusing on the results increases the risk you'll make temporary changes to lose the weight and then 'go back to normal' afterwards and regain the weight you lost.

    I focused on logging everything I ate, staying (just) under my calorie goal most of the time and being more active (increasing my step count) and later on exercising and improving my fitness.
    I weighed (and still weigh) daily to keep my head in the game and I log my weight in Libra to keep an eye on the trend.

    1293 calories sounds very low, I wouldn't be able to do that. Personally, I prefer choosing a slower rate of loss and not going hungry: I lost 70+lbs eating 1700 calories or more.
  • Kandisn29
    Kandisn29 Posts: 92 Member
    It will definitely work, but like everyone else has said, I encourage a slow approach! I was on here years ago as well, and lost like 40 pounds in a few months. But guess what, it was not sustainable and all came back. Over the last year, I very slowly lost 19 pounds in a sustainable way and have settled into healthier routines. Taking pictures and measurements is such a good way to be able to see your progress, especially when it’s slow. Best wishes to you!!
  • MegaScorpion
    MegaScorpion Posts: 48 Member
    Show and steady wins the race!!
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,333 Member
    Eat less and move more. That's always the quick sound advice on weight loss . But no one ever adds another crucial element and that is "time." It takes time for the body to shed weight.. adjust.. change.. and get fit. You can't fast track that. Put your anxiety and need to see fast results aside.. it is just a way you could end up sabotaging yourself because things didn't happen as fast was you wished or dreamed. Give it time..and it will happen if you eat less and move more.