[Jen24]

Tonight I was just thinking about my expectations of my body, and how they've changed in the last few weeks/months. Very early on in my weight loss journey, I was "nicer" to myself than I am now. What I mean is, when I hadn't yet seen much visible progress from working out, I didn't think about it much.
Now, with over 20 pounds gone, and visible results showing, it seems like I'm overly-anxious to see MORE & MORE visible results! I sometimes feel like I'm expecting too much, too soon, of my body.
Anyone else have any thoughts on this topic? Just wondering if any of you out there have thought about this stuff.

Jen

[sunseeker_ak]

Hey Jen, I was thinking about what you posted. I think that if you can use that desire to see more results for different things like motivation, dedication, self-esteem/ positive body image I think your ok. Just make sure that your not beating yourself up- be gentle with yourself. I realized that when I was all stressed out about lossing weight and working out I was actually hindering my progress which in turn did a number on my motivation, dedication, self-esteem/body image yadda, yadda, yadda. Almost everything I've read says that 1-2lbs a week is good progress and healthly, plus it gives you a better chance at keeping the weight off in the long haul- most important. Congrats on the 20lbs! I sometimes think back on the weight I have lost in bags of sugar.... weird I know but think about it you've lost 2- 10lb bags. Awesome!

Let it go. Living well is the best revenge.(my mantra right now, I really need it.)


Jamie
highest 235
current 210
goal 150-155

[Athenaphoenix]

Yep, I worry about this some too... I'm getting frustrated that my boobs are disappearing while the gut seems to want to stick around! GRR!! I've become a bit of a workout fanatic now and that lazy part of my brain keeps screaming at me that getting up at 4:30 am to exercise is ridiculous!! LOL!

Congrats on the 20 lbs!

[Tummy Girl]

Jen, you said it girl. Before, i.e. 45 days ago when I was chubby tummy, I just wanted to stop gigling. Very vague goal at best. Now (and I began the exercise thing a week ago) I want abs! Not just to get rid of this little pouchy thing but I want that line down the middle dang it all! So far so good, it's coming but I do have higher expectations of myself now. For me it stems from the fact that when I was a lot heavier I couldn't properly visualize what my body would look like thinner and toned. I was heavy all over. After the first 30 pounds I'm starting to see what a thin me would look like and where my body carries weight and so on. My expectations are high, but they always have been in every other area of my life except for my body. Personnally, I think it's time I put the energy I've invested into my career and relationships into my body as well.

Tummy

[mocha74]

Oh that is so true what Tummy said. A lot of the time we don't take care of our bodies as we do other things like education, relationships, etc. Our bodies deserve a little loving too. Of course when you see results you are going to want to see more. It's human nature. It's also called improvement. Just as long as you don't have unrealistic expectations then it's all good.

I know that when I first started losing weight I just wanted to be able to wear cute clothes. I hated that I could never shop at the little stores at the mall. Everything I liked was too small. Now that I can wear those clothes that I wanted to I have now changed my expectations into wanting to be more healthier and be at least 90% comfortable with my body. I don't want to be worried about my rolls when I sit down at a restaurant. I don't want to take 10 minutes deciding what I'm going to wear because it might be too tight or look wrong on me. I just want to be in my clothes and not have to think about it all day long.

[Justlikeabirdie]

I agree. For me, the more weight I've lost, the more I want to lose. Sometimes I wonder how I managed to live day to day at my top weight. I don't understand how I could have been happy about my body then when I can't be now.

I remember getting under 200 lbs and being so excited. Now, the thought of being anywhere close to 200 lbs scares the crap out of me.

[Jen24]

I appreciated all the thoughts you ladies shared. It helped me to think this whole issue through more! It's crazy how our mentality & expectations can change so quickly. I do feel that, overall, I'm being gentle enough with myself, and am staying pretty positive. I've just noticed the impatience rising up more & more. I just gotta keep pluggin' away at it!

Everyone have a great Labor Day weekend!

Jen