Hello ladies,

I was wondering do you all remain patient throughout this weight loss process?
I just started a diet (SB) 3 days ago and I keep looking at myself and wondering if I look skinnier. And, I get so easily disappointed when i realize that I still look the same. Sometimes, I think: "what's the point of all this effort if it is going to take forever?" or "what if I can never loose weight?". Of course I should not think like that, but i can't help it!

Anyways, I was just wondering how you stayed focus and motivated? How do you NOT give up when it gets tough? Do you look at pictures, read success stories?

well..you have to remind yourself that 3 days will not show a difference..i say, stop focusing so much on it, just follow your plan and things will fall into place

Well when I started I promised myself that I would commit for at least a year and if I wasn't happy with the results after a full year then I could quit. I figured I can commit to my husband, and school, and a job, and whatever else so why can't I commit myself to improving my health and appearance.

With that said I do get impatient but I know that it's going to take time and really what's the rush? You WILL reach goal if you don't give up! It's been about 4 months since I made that commitment to myself and I've already lost nearly 40 pounds. With 8 months left to go I think I'll be just fine.

right now it seems like time is going by slowly and it's gonna take forever, but soon a month will go by and you'll have lost 10 pounds. and then another month... it becomes easier. stay in there!

its hard for me, but this is what i keep telling myself:

time is just going on and on and while i wont see a difference tomorrow, the onyl way to see a difference ever as time goes on, is to keep doing what im doing because its working, and itll keep working if i keep it up because its the best i can do.

i hope that makes sense...it makes sense it my mind and its been quite helpful to get me through almost 5 full weeks of this lifestyle (and from 10s to 8s!)

yeah that too, after awhile time does seem to fly by and you don't even notice. it becomes routine and you begin to see results!

I'm not patient - I have to give myself stern talking tos. I'm losing about 1lb a week, which is totally great! but I'm impatient. Every few weeks I have to sit myself down and be like "Jennierose, stop it, you're doing really well, keep it up."

It helps a lot to think about what you will be like in one year if you don't make any changes, as opposed to what you'd be like in one year if you lost 1 lb or even 0.5 lb a week. That's a 25-55lbs!! That year will go by regardless of what you do, decide what you want the outcome to be.
In my case, I'm focusing on a shorter time period, right now it is 6 weeks. Some days this is gonna suck, but I can live through 6 weeks of it!

It definately gets easier as you go along. You learn that you DO get results if you wait, which is a lot easier than at the begining when you're wondering if you will ever see any change. I try to make small goals- like improving on the distance i ran or cycled, or increasing my weights, so that i am focused on progress there which happens a lot faster than changes in appearance do

Yes, I think you guys are definitely right. It is hard to see results at the beginning but I'm sure in a month or so I'll start seeing some changes (I cannot wait!!). One thing that may work for me is setting up small goals and reading success stories. I tell myself "if they did it, you can do it too!".

This is definitely hard work, but hey it is going to pay off!
Thanks ladies for your advices, I definitely needed them!

I can't. I expect to wake up and have the scale say i lost weight. It's messed up thinking, I need to stop! Great advice everyone!!!

One of the hardest things for me is I have lost 30lbs. The only appearance related difference I notice is I had to buy jeans in a size 16 because my 24s no longer fit. Other then that I don't notice a change at all, I don't look thinner, I don't feel thinner, I don't notice any appearance change.

One of the best things, I notice many physical changes. I can walk to the mailbox without feeling like I am going to pass out, I have the energy I have always wanted without having to drink 2 POTS of coffee a day.

The greatest thing is I notice great emotional changes, I feel more self confident, I feel pretty, and I take better care of myself (grooming wise).

I took me until this week to go through this "change" (started to lose May 9th) where I actually notice the changes in myself. Its still hard, and I try not to live and die by the scale anymore, but its nice to see the little changes. Your moment will come where everything just kind of clicks.

This is something I am still working on... Being impatient has been one of the main reasons my past diets failed. This time I am just trying to stay focused on the bigger picture... Time is going to pass either way; I can get thinner and healthier along the way or I can stay fat the whole time. It sounds like a no-brainer, but it's mental and physical torture at times.

You have to be, it's a lifetime commitment to keep weight off. If you stress about it, you will have a harder time losing it.

I just committed to a time period and said i would stick with it no matter what- even when i mess up i just have to get up the next day and get back on track. Usually i give up after about a month or so, after having lost a bit of weight and feeling a bit better i get too relaxed :-) but then gain it all back usually. So some things i am doing differently this time:
-i took my measurements at the beginning (idea from 3fc)-- this has really helped- i have lost about 10 lbs which isn't so much but i have lost 9 inches including 2 off my waist so that is really encouraging to me and makes me see that all that exercise is really doing something!
- i am trying to visualize success! It's like someone said above (sorry i cannot see the thread!) the time will pass if you do anything about your weight or not and i am going to go back to school in September and see everyone i know and they will all think, damn, that girl looks GOOD. That is the plan and i know i can do it! Rather than going back, feeling chubby and gross and unconfident, which is the other option. So i will just follow the steps to take me to that point ( and it's not like i don't know what i have to do--stay away (mostly, except for the occassional treat) from the sugar, fries and beer!)
-focus on the positive- I am starting to see a collarbone LOL! Applaud what you HAVE achieved so far and do not discount it!

DON'T GIVE UP!! Someone has a signature here that says "Perseverence not perfection". So true. Hope this helps.