I've been on and off diets forever. I don't remember a time when I wasn't on a diet. A few weeks ago I decided I can't do it on my own so I started seeing a nutritionist.
Following my personalized menu and working out almost everyday, in 7 weeks I lost 16 pounds, which is great right? Wrong, I just realized I have such a long way to go. I still need to lose more than 50 pounds to reach my goal weight. It's so discouraging, I think I'm doing good and then I see myself in the mirror and I can't see any difference!!
I know it took years to pile up all this weight and I can't expect to wake-up thin one day, and I'm supposed to give myself credit for sticking to a diet for so long but I'm getting discouraged!!
Help!

Hi Confuzed

Try to make some mini-goals for yourself instead of letting yourself get overwhelmed by the big picture. And 16 pounds is FANTASTIC! be sure to seriously acknowledge that!

Are you from the UAE or a transplant there? I have a friend who taught there for a few years -- he says there are tons of ex-pats working there.

Hi Confuzed! Good job with the 16 pounds and sticking to your diet! I know it's fustrating to me when I have to tell people I lost 20 pounds and they don't see it.

Just keep at it! You're doing a great job!

Like Kate said, the first thing you should do is seriously acknowledge the 16 pounds you've already lost. That is no easy task and is to be commended. Secondly, don't get to far ahead of yourself. When you have a lot to lose you've got to break it down into manageable pieces. Don't worry about the next 50 pounds. Worry about the next 10. Finally, when you get frustrated remember that the only sure way NOT to reach you goal is to give up right now. I mean, even if you never lose another ounce aren't you still better off where you are now than when you started?

And don't worry about not seeing any changes. Most of us don't have an objective view of our appearance anyway. The first few pounds I lost were obvious because my face was the first thing to slim down. The next 20 seemed invisible. After the next 10 I had to buy new clothes and wham! all my hard work could be easily seen. The bottom line is that you WILL see a difference if you keep at it.

Like they told me yesterday, don't look at the big picture. It's to big and can be scary (read VERY unmotivating). I have made my first goal to lose 5 pounds in 2 weeks. I think that I can manage that. The best thing to do is keep chugging along. I lost 50 lbs and have kept it off with just a changed diet (no exercise) it took about 7 months, but I've still kept it off two years later. You can do this. It's hard, but you'll make it with support.

hey, 16 lbs is amazing!

believe me, i know how frustrating it is to look at how much weight you have to lose and to want it all off now! but if you keep doing what you're doing it'll come off. you just have to take it one day at a time. and really, if you think about it... you know how to lose 16 lbs. you just have to do that 3 more times (plus a little). that's really not so bad!

it's almost a year since i started losing weight, and if i'd concentrated on how long it would take me, i probably would have given up. and the year would have gone by regardless. and i'd be a year older and still fat and still unhappy. instead i'm a year older and healthy and thin and happy with how i look (with my clothes on anyway, lol).


you're doing great.


kristin

Congrats on the 16 pound loss. That is wonderful. Like what was said earlier, set mini goals (and reward yourself for achieving them) It will help you stay motivated. Get one of the weight loss trackers, they are wonderful. It helps you get a visual. I think I have one of my loss only (for my goals) and my total weight for "the big picture" I sure like to see them moving...Im sure you will also. Good luck to you, we are all here to support you.

I agree about setting smaller goals, but I'm going to take a couple of steps further. First, I think deadlines can be a bad idea -- sometimes we don't lose weight "on schedule" and not reaching that deadline can lead to those "what's the use?" thoughts. Second, you'll notice I DON'T have a weight tracker. The less I focus on the numbers on the scale and the more I focus on my BEHAVIORS which made me overweight, the better I do. For the first time in my life I'm not seriously obese, and I'm even within about 5 pounds of being "normal." I got here by realizing -- finally -- that losing weight and keeping it off is a byproduct of successfully dealing with my food issues. I realized that I would be eating this way and dealing with my compulsive overeating for the rest of my life -- in that context, whether I lost the weight in a year or 5 years or 10 really didn't matter. Conventional wisdom says that we "diet" to "lose weight" and we depend on "motivation" which is derived mostly from seeing steady, rapid declines in the numbers on the scale. Each of those points is a booby-trap. Free yourself from them, don't worry about the numbers, just work on YOU -- the weight loss will come sooner or later.

I know what your feeling.. I have lost a small child and I have another one to go. But I think we are our own worst enemy when it comes to keeping our motavation going. We talk ourself down and out. If you can just keep reminding yourself how much you have done and how hard you have worked and that You need to keep going and you want this more than anything you have ever wanted. Dont give in to yourself. You are on a life style change for the rest of your life , for the better. And you have to keep reaching for the next day the next meal the next pound. Dont let go and dont think its out of your reach. It's not you can keep going.

on hon, I know we live in a instant society but our body just doesn't work that way. but by changing today you get to change your future. How do you want to look and feel 3 years from now 5 years. it is so worth it