Any slow loser success stories?

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rutkowsm
rutkowsm Posts: 43 Member
I've been trying to lose weight for a while now (on and off probably most of my life) and it seems that I'm just losing weight really slowly. This hasn't always been the case as there have been a few times that I've dropped ten or twenty pounds with relative ease and quite quickly, but I always hit a point where the weight either stops coming off or slows considerably. This has been really discouraging to me in the past, because I always get to this point where I think "why bother trying when it's not working?"

I really don't want to go down that path this time around. I guess I'm looking for some encouragement. Are any people out there with similar stories who have succeeded in losing weight?
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Replies

  • lizluvs3
    lizluvs3 Posts: 21 Member
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    Not myself personally but I have a friend who lost 80+ lbs but it took a year. Just go at ur own pace. :)
  • cuatesmom
    cuatesmom Posts: 173 Member
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    my size 4 friend was a size 12...she has lost 30 pounds over the past year slow....but her body is chiseled...she works out hard, eats back most of her calories and loses fat while building muscle. her calf musles are SO cut.
  • elsham
    elsham Posts: 549 Member
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    I've only lost 18 pounds and I've been at this since last May. I kept plateauing, no matter what I do (exercise more, exercise less, more calories, less calories, zig zagging, eating back, not eating back, believe me I tried it all), but I've accepted it and I'll take what I can get. Compared to 18 pounds ago, I'm stronger than I've ever been, so that's a real plus too.
  • Athena413
    Athena413 Posts: 1,709 Member
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    I've been actively trying to lose weight since last November/December and have lost almost 70 pounds. In the past, I would hit that point where it slowed down and got harder and would just give up and gain it all back and then some.

    I decided this time around that I wasn't going to do that. When I got to this point this time, I hired a personal trainer who got me set up with some nutritional goals and some weight training exercises and a workout schedule. I don't work out with her, but I check in with her once a month, take her my MFP logs, she weighs and measures me and looks over my logs, tells me what I need to change for the next month, and off I go. The weight loss has been pretty consistent for me and the inches seem like they've melted off. I've gone from a 24 to a 16-18.

    I just keep telling myself that I didn't get fat overnight and I'm not going to get skinny overnight. Permanent change takes time, hard work, and dedication.
  • Athena413
    Athena413 Posts: 1,709 Member
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    I understand that hiring a personal trainer isn't an option for everyone, but it's the best investment I have ever made - myself!

    For this reason, though, I did put my food list and workouts in my blog if you ever want to check it out!
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
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    I've averaged 7 lbs. per month since January. I'm right on target. It may not be slow but it certainly feels slow some days! As much as we would like to magically be at goal, it just doesn't work like that so we've got to stay focused and celebrate our little victories. :) You're doing great!
  • rlecount
    rlecount Posts: 1 Member
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    That sounds like me! I was getting really discouraged because I just wasn't losing, even with working out 3X a week and eating under 1600 calories. What happened was I was gaining muscle and not losing weight, but losing fat. But what really helped me shed more weight was adding more cardio to my workout (I had been just doing weight lifting).

    I do interval training (running sprints) 2X a week and that was helped a lot!
  • wondergirl1003
    wondergirl1003 Posts: 138 Member
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    I'm not necessarily a slow loser, because I've tried medifast and lost 30 lbs relatively quickly, but gained it back. This time around I know what my goal is and I'm taking my time getting there. I first signed on here about a year ago and have only lost about 20-25 lbs. But I'm not killing myself, I have good days/weeks and I have bad ones. But I roll with the punches and the trend has been downward, even if it's painfully slow.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    I don't focus on scale weight. I'm focusing on my body fat percentage and pounds of fat. I'm on the slow route. To get down to my body fat percentage goal, it will take me a year to over a year and I'm okay with that.

    Please try not to focus on the scale, because the scale doesn't give you the whole picture. Just because you aren't losing scale weight, it doesn't mean you aren't losing fat. Start tracking your body fat percentage, to see how your body is changing.

    Formula:

    Weight x BF% = Pounds of fat
    Weight - Pounds of fat = Pounds of lean body mass

    You can do this.
  • VenturaGurl
    VenturaGurl Posts: 413 Member
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    I've only lost 18 pounds and I've been at this since last May. I kept plateauing, no matter what I do (exercise more, exercise less, more calories, less calories, zig zagging, eating back, not eating back, believe me I tried it all), but I've accepted it and I'll take what I can get. Compared to 18 pounds ago, I'm stronger than I've ever been, so that's a real plus too.

    That's how I am, too! I'm so glad I read your post. Sometimes it's so frustrating, but when I look back at 15 pounds ago, I'm glad I'm on this journey even if it's taking longer that many MFP friends. I'm healthier, happier and my clothes fit better...
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
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    I've lost 34 pounds since April if that counts?
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    It took me about a year to lose 25 pounds, 14 of those pounds were lost in the 6 months I used MFP. I'm currently pregnant so I'm not trying to lose, but my healthy weight loss and overall good eating/exercise habits have prevented me from gaining too much weight while pregnant. I'm 33 weeks and have only gained 15 pounds. I still have about 40 pounds to lose (besides the baby weight) and I'm figuring that it will take about a year for that to come off. Slow weight loss can be frustrating, but it's a healthier way to do it. Make sure you're eating enough and when you start to plateau you should give your metabolism a jump start by changing up your exercise routine (every 4-6 weeks is a good idea) and by eating a little more for a little while. Or, you can do like some people do and give yourself a day or two "off" every week. Allowing your body more calories, even if you go over your maintenance amount, will keep your body burning fat. The extra calories let your body know that you have access to enough food, that you won't be starving any time soon. I know it sounds like the opposite of what you should be doing, but you really do have to eat in order to lose weight.
  • TheFitHooker
    TheFitHooker Posts: 3,358 Member
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    I've been losing weight for a year and half, I say that but see I lost 70lbs in a 10 month period while pregnant with my daughter, I gained 25 of it back because well I had a c-section and being a new mom puts a lot of ware and tare on ya. I've almost lost that full 25lbs I've been going for nearly 2 months now, I am not trying or wanting to lose it really fast, I want to lose it at a good pace, but I want to be able to keep it off.
  • andreacord
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    I've lost 25 lbs in a year, with breaks in between for various reasons. Plus my birth control was making it really hard to get the weight off.
  • jellyfishjen
    jellyfishjen Posts: 1,787 Member
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    49 LBS IN 12 MONTHS.

    I WOULD LOVE TO BE ONE OF THOSE WHO LOSES BIG NUMBERS EACH WEEK BUT ITS NOT FOR ME IT SEEMS. I HAVE LEARNT MOST IMPORTANTLY IS TO LOOK BACK OVER THE WEEK AND ASK MYSELF CAN I CONTINUE TO LIVE THIS WAY FOREVER. IT HAS TO BE A LIFE CHANGE, SO IF SLOW IT HAS TO BE SO BE IT. NOW AND THEN I TRY TO BOOST IT BY HAVING A SUPER GOOD DAY OR GOING FOR A BIG CALORIE BURN. MOSTLY I TRY TO JUST KEEP GOING AND ENJOY THE PROCESS.

    ALL THE BEST TO YOU. NOTHING WRONG WITH BIT BY BIT.
  • sonotphat
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    I know what this feels like! I've completely changed my diet and have been excersising more and haven't lost very much at all, while I have a friend who went on a protein diet and lost 6kg in 12 days! But I realised I was feeling better, my skin was better, I was happier and sleeping better and I started to get muscle definition. So I decided to lay off stepping on the scale for a little whie because it kept discouraging me and focus instead on fitness, which motivated me to excersise so much more. Because progress in fitness can't be defined by numbers but by feeling better I wasn't so easily discouraged and after about a month I stepped on a scale and I noticed a much bigger loss then I had previously had. I'm not saying stop weighing yourself all together, but if it's dicouraging you, don't make your goal numbers on a scale. Make it a distance you can run or an incredibly healthy diet. Work towards feeling better generally.
  • Leanne3552000
    Leanne3552000 Posts: 395 Member
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    I've been on here since July and only lost 10lbs. I don't have that much to lose so I'm ok with doing it slowly. My goal is to have a hot bikini body for next summer (next December) :)
  • Gee45
    Gee45 Posts: 171
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    I will be one of those stories.
    Lost 25 lbs almost two years ago. Maintained for over a year. Got serious again May 1st to lose the last twenty two pounds. Lost 9 lbs by Sept 1st. Have been going up and down the same two pounds for two months. Hopefully things will start moving again.
    My muscles are definitely bigger especially in my legs. I'm alot more fit.
    I like eating healthy and getting stronger. Definitely will stick with it...what's the alternative. Get less fit and eventually gain, no thanks. :)
    Having patience is a must.
  • KavemanKarg
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    Started losing late 2008, got off track and back on a few times, usually do to injury. Once deliberate bulking up to build some strength quickly to achieve a goal I had.

    Weight loss is a long process. Sometimes it is 2 steps forward and one back.
  • aegira
    aegira Posts: 204
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    Yep slow losing here (puts hand up).
    I've lost 33kg (73lbs) since January this year and have plateau d for the last 3 months. I even moaned to my doctor about it lol, only to be told that it was normal, it was just that my body needed to adjust to the weight loss. Doesn't mean I'm giving up trying to move the scales :wink: just means they aren't quite as important at the moment as my measurements are showing things are still moving, in fact I've lost 2 dress sizes in the last 3 months, so I'll take it :bigsmile:
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