I am feeling completely awful today. I don't weigh in officially until tomorrow so there might be a change but I feel like I'm just NOT losing pounds. I was really excited last week when I cheated and weighed myself on my . and it was only 287 with that. I was sure when it was over I'd be less... I cheated and weighed myself again today and NO CHANGE. I've been working at this for almost 3 and a half months now and I've only lost 12 pounds. Most of which came off the first month. I feel like such a flippin' loser right now. Everyone else on this forum seems to be losing weight EVERY WEEK but not me... People have been commenting that I look like I've lost and I have lost some inches but overall I feel like the biggest failure ever today. And, I know I shouldn't be complaining and that 12 pounds is still really great but it just doesn't feel like much. I'm still 287 huge pounds... Okay, I'm done venting. Sorry guys!

Ah, Sarah, you are having a down day. I'm sorry you feel so blah.
I don't know if I can find the thread but last week TMunday was soooo certain she wasn't losing weight that she switched plans .... worried and compared plans and spent about two days second guessing herself and anything she'd ever known about losing weight. When her weigh-in finally came ... she was down almost a pound.
You might have a pleasant surprise tomorrow. It could happen.
And twelve pounds is twelve pounds. To brand new people who are just starting, twelve pounds seems insurmountable.
Keep your chin up and go ahead and vent at 3fc anytime.

Hey there Sarah - chin up now. You said it yourself, you've lost 12 pounds and that's great! Doesn't matter if it took you 3 months, on average that's a pound a week and that's very healthy and sensible.

You've been wonderful in sharing encouragement and support with everyone here. You need to refocus some of that positive energy and enthusiasm back on yourself. Maybe you need to take a couple of weeks off from weighing yourself and concentrating on the number you see on the scale to notice the positive non-scale things that you are doing to change your lifestyle and become healthy. It may give you a whole new perspective.

We're here to lend a helping hand and a shoulder to cry on if you need it.

~Dee

Newfie is right--give yourself a break from the scales. I definitely allow myself to be enslaved by it if I'm not careful. Just like being conscious of what goes in your mouth, be conscious of weighing yourself too much.

Hang in there sweetie!

Aaah Sarah, sorry you are feeling a bit down today!

Don't worry about the scales not shifting - this happens with me all the time! I now look at my loss over a month and it always averages out to 1.5 - 2 lb a week. I think the thing is us women have so many hormonal changes going on in our bodies, which can lead to water retention etc that it is hard to get an accurate reading.

Hang in there!

Love Amanda x

I agree with the scale break. Just keep yourself honest by journaling your food, counting calories or whatever method it is you're using. Drink lots of water, do what you know's right. Really, the eating reform and exercise ought to be our focus, anyway -- even if we were at healthy weights, we'd need to do that. If you stick to your plan for a month or so before next weigh-in and still don't see a change, then maybe it's time to reconsider your methodology and try something new. (((hugs)))

I feel your pain. I, too, am losing veryyy slowly but here is my outlook, on most days anyway ...I can either rejoice in losing 1 lb. or less a week, or I can quit and gain it all back plus some friends, I'm sure. I gave up countless times over the years because if I didn't lose every week, or ENOUGH every week, I'd feel it was hopeless, but it's NOT. You can either pass time slowly losing weight or you give up & gain weight.

If there are little changes you can make, like giving up a snack or choosing a better one, do so. If you feel you are doing all you can, be patient. Trust me, I know patience is very hard, but it probably took you years to gain the weight; I know it did for me, so it'll take awhile to get it all off. But YOU are worth it!

Sarah, I am sorry that you are in a funk. We all get that way sometimes. I sometimes play the head game myself, "Why am I not losing as fast as others?" Pat on yourself on the back that you have lost 12 lbs! That is an accomplishment in itself, and you have made a concious effort to change your lifestyle. I know for me, changing a lifetime a bad habits takes some doing, and there are times when I question what I am doing because it is so hard. But then I realize that it will take time to lose the weight, just like it took time to gain the weight. Sometimes, for me, when I am in funk and not losing the way I would like to see, I actually go back to the basics. I am on a set program, so I re read the material. I make a concious effort to journal, and or course check in a 3FC. Sometimes, I actually take a complete break and just try and maintain. When I change my routine I find I get a pleasant surprise on the next weigh in. By mixing it up, I think it helps as well. Remember, it is just a number, the fact that you are working on being more healthy is fantastic!

It is so hard when it is slow. Is it at all comforting to know that slower is better for you and better for your overall lifestyle change and success?

That said, I do wonder if you might need to tweak something or other in your lifestyle. Do you count calories/fat/etc. at all? Are you keeping a food diary? I am not doing that this time around, but pre-pregnancy, when I lost weight, I did -- mostly because I guessed I was not estimating accurately. I was right. I also discovered I needed more fat calories than I was getting in order to lose weight.

Could your workouts have become stagnant? Are you shaking them up at all? Weights? Are you varyng what you do and what you eat?

I haven't actually read all the responses as baby keeps waking up from nap, but just wanted to throw in a few cents from my own prior experinces.

Oh....and there's always the reason I suddenly plateued...a surprise pregnancy??

Oh, Sarah. Please don't get discouraged. The others are right--12 pounds is a great achievement in that time scale. And it's true that hormonal changes have our weights up and down like a tart's knickers. Unfortunately that's just something we have to live with.

Try to remember you are far more than the number on the scale. Treat yourself with kindness, stick with it, and you will be rewarded.

Oh Sarah sweetie (((hugs))) I know how you feel. But remember, this isn't a race. You're in this thing for the long haul, regardless of how fast (or slow) the weight comes off. Believe me, I know how frustrating it can be, but as long as you keep at it, day in and day out, you WILL get there, I promise! So please don't succumb to the negative thinking, it will only prove to weigh you down. ( hmmm, no pun intended! )

Beverly

I think all of the most important advice has already been given. But, I'll add this. Aside from giving yourself a break from the scale be careful not to compare your progress to anyone else's. What we see can be SO deceiving. It may seem that everyone else is losing weight each week but we all get stuck sometimes. Since we aren't all stuck at the same time it seems like everyone's scale is moving but ours.

I know that I'm guilty of doing the same thing and if I don't stop myself I create a ton of undue anguish. Stick to doing what works and give your body a chance to catch up. If it doesn't, take Kimberly's advice and rethink your plan. If you've lost 12 pounds, though, you are doing something right.

Sorry you feel so bad. Like said above don't compare yourself. Besides I think the last few weeks there have been a few of us who have gained. It's all part of the journey. I myslelf have had several weeks where I gained but I stuck with it and over all continue to lose. So don't give up. Just keep going and use the advise you got above. Take a look at my weight chart. Out of the last 72 weeks I gained weight on 12 weeks and maintained another 6 weeks. Over all it adds up so try and cheer up.

http://www.thehman.com/WeightChart/

You're so good at putting things in perspective, H. That weight chart was such a good idea.

I second how good an idea a weight chart is. I keep one too, and lately, it has really kept me from getting discouraged. I went a stretch of time weighing daily and recording the results. It really put me in tune with how my body fluctuates over the course of a week or month - it is pretty cool that I was able to identify a fairly reliable pattern. Plus, it helps me see how insignificant those weeks of no losses and gains really are becuase it is easy to see that on AVERAGE I'm still losing 1-2 pounds each week.

I may go three weeks without the scale moving and then, when it does move, I'm up a pound. But, all of a sudden and out of nowhere I'll be down 5 the next week. So even though it seemed like I'd had a dry spell I was actually right on track. It makes it it much easier to ignore the scale when it doesn't tell me what I want to hear. As long as I've been on plan and exercising like I should I know it will even out eventually.

The first few weeks were tough because the fluctuations were really frustrating but it didn't take long to establish a pattern and it saved me a tremendous amount of stress in the long run.