I'm really struggling in patience with my weight loss this time around. Before, when I lost 50 lbs., I wasn't that "fat". I was 223 lbs. and on my 5'3 frame, yes, I was large- but not like I am now. I quickly lost quite a bit and was happy with myself and how I looked. I desperately want to feel that way again, to get back into my 14's (at least!!) and be more comfortable in my skin.
I've just restarted my weight loss journey, and while I have managed to lose 10 lbs. in 2 1/2 weeks (half of me feels like that's an awesome number, the other half is bummed it's not more?) I want more, more, more! My brain feels like "Ok. Doing good. Eating right. Let's not be fat anymore... starting NOW!"
haha
Not working.
How do you maintain your patience with yourself to keep going? I keep telling myself if I set small goals I can celebrate several small victories along the way (like losing 10 lbs. 10 times, instead of the whole 100, kwim?) but again, darn brain keeps mucking it all up.
I really need to join a support thread here, I know I need that accountability and "one-on-one" support!
I just have to keep reminding myself that I didn't gain all this weight in a few weeks, it's not all going to come off in a few weeks.
Also as I posted on another thread, as I've progressed, this journey is no longer just about weight loss for me. This is about being healthier and being a better person over all ... and so no matter whether or not the weight comes off, whether or not I meet any set goal or timeline has become secondary to being more in control of myself, healthier, more environmentally aware, etc.
First of all, congrats on getting started! 10 lbs in 2.5 weeks is AWESOME -- you're doing an incredible job. I've definitely found as I've been losing (which admittedly isn't that long yet) that patience is the hardest part.
During my first couple weeks, I was so impatient for the weight to start dropping off -- I wanted something dramatic to happen. I kept a whole bunch of Excel spreadsheets of my exact weight, workouts, calories in and out, measurements -- basically I was trying to find a way to spend three or four hours a day every single day obsessing over my body and my new lifestyle, just to keep passing the time until there were changes worth documenting. (Clearly this is b/c I'm a crazy person -- now I just chart all of my daily calories and my weight every morning; measurements every two weeks.)
But as you do it for longer, it all starts to feel very natural -- you don't have to think as much about what you're eating, or what you would have been eating if you hadn't committed to a healthier life. And I really think that once the healthier lifestyle becomes second nature, it's easier to be patient because you have your mind on tons of other things instead of just focusing on your massive body overhaul.
But this is just one woman's experience, so ymmv. Either way, awesome job starting out, and good luck keeping with it!
That was absolutely my problem in my old ways -- I'd stop eating McDonald's and Dairy Queen for 5 days and think "what??? I'm not skinny YET?? how can i endure this???" hahah so ridiculous!! But like everything, we want immediate results. That's why for me, diets just never worked. I couldn't maintain the level of commitment and excitement for more than 2 or 3 weeks MAX, so I decided to do something really different and see what happened. Now, i've only lost 60-odd pounds in over a year, but I honestly feely that I would have been 20 pounds heavier than my highest weight by now if i'd done nothing, and i feel that 60 pounds was shed 'painlessly' from lifestyle changes, NOT because of a diet. I eat breakfast now, I do not snack in the evenings, I eat out less, I don't drink soda (diet or otherwise) and I eat a lot more "real" food. It's not for everyone, this 'slow and steady' method of change, but it worked for me, the only thing that ever has. So hang in there. Hopefully something will just 'click' in your brain to make it easier but until then just fake it - just one foot in front of the other
I would second that for me, it's all about my everyday choices, for health reasons, more than the weight. So, I can feel good about my choices every day, regardless of the scale.
Also, it took a small plateau (3 weeks) for me to *really* feel fine with slower loss. I'm sure it also helped that by that time I had reached a much more reasonable weight for my height,159 pounds, not low enough but much more reasonable.
But the only way I got to that point was just putting in one day after another. I wouldn't have liked to start off as slow as I am now, and I'm glad I didn't. BUT ... if I had, I still would have stuck it out. Because I had just reached that point. I was going to do it, whatever it took.
Oh man, I can't tell you how many times I've said that learning patience in this whole getting healthier process is almost harder than resisting the call of a Krispy Kreme. I started out in January and was really annoyed that I wasn't at least 3 sizes smaller by February I did go through a phase where I was decidedly OC about weighing myself multiple times a day - like I thought 10 lbs might melt off in a couple of hours Helped me a lot to actually look at a calendar and remind myself that the whole year was going to go by whether I stayed OP or not - and I didn't want to wake up one morning to discover it was Christmas again and I was still miserable at the same weight (or even bigger). Even if I was only one size smaller in a year - it was still a smaller size.
I'm having a difficult time with patience!
I did go through a phase where I was decidedly OC about weighing myself multiple times a day - like I thought 10 lbs might melt off in a couple of hours 
Helped me a lot to actually look at a calendar and remind myself that the whole year was going to go by whether I stayed OP or not - and I didn't want to wake up one morning to discover it was Christmas again and I was still miserable at the same weight (or even bigger). Even if I was only one size smaller in a year - it was still a smaller size.
