Does anyone else feel like the weight is not going away fast enough? I've almost turned my entire life around, but I'm not trying to restrict to the point of misery, because I know I'll relapse. The last time I tried to lose weight with a seriousness was when I was 15, and my mother bought only salad for me, which lasted maybe the entire summer vacation. I feel like maybe I'm not restricting enough, or being strict enough as far as exercise goes, but I also feel like my motivation and energy levels are near non existent some days. I look in the mirror and all I want to do is break it, I've been fat since as far as I can remember and the limitations caused me to have a serious breakdown yesterday, over something as small as being terrified of attempting to get on the boat because it's not exactly fat person friendly. I know I've lost weight, about 30-40 lbs., but the thing that upsets me the most is as far as I know I haven't lost ANY clothes sizes. How can that be? Where am I going wrong? Sorry for the rant, but I feel like no one else REALLY understands.

You are doing awesome!! And remember we didn't put the weight on overnight, it's not going to come off overnight. I know everyone says that but it's true.

It took me about 40-50lbs to go from a 26-28 to 22-24 as I was pushing the limits on the 26-28s when I started. And most plus size clothing is sized like that, with the 2 size combinations. The closer I got to 18 and 16, it was about 20-25lbs. And it seemed like the sizes wouldn't fit one day and then I'd get a huge inches loss and the clothes would fit.

Hang in there, believe in yourself and your diet. I had clothes that I couldn't fit into when I started and now some of them are too big for me. Now looking back it seems like the weight came off fast (even though at the time it seemed like forever). Time is going to go by no matter what, we might as well lose some weight while it does!

And trust me, we here at 3FC totally REALLY understand.

I think there was something in the air yesterday because I had a breakdown too. The good news is that...well...that was YESTERDAY and today is a new day. The last time I lost weight, I started at 326 (size 28) and it took until I reached about 280/285 before I went down a size. Then within another 25 pounds I was down a size 20. So hang in there. Don't give up and don't let a bad day keep you down!!

Thanks guys I'm also BARELY a 26/28 and that's only in pants with an elastic waist. In jeans... well... if I can get some that fit me properly (being super short and fat has serious down sides) I have a size 32 jeans that are too big, and another size 32 jeans that are too small. Well they were, I haven't tried them on in a while. I didn't realize it was going to take so many pounds to get down just to a 22/24. I'm going crazy trying to find low or no fat alternatives to all the stuff I eat because I seriously don't want to be eating rabbit food but I don't want to be restricted by my obesity anymore either

For some foods I do the regular calorie/regular fat version and just count the calories. Some of the no sugar/low fat versions of food are gross and I'd rather have the good ones! It's just all about serving sizes and accountability.

But for drinking soda or juice, I only do diet drinks. There is no way I am doing 150 (or more!) calories for a regular soda, it's not worth it to me! But really, you don't have to eat like a rabbit to lose weight. I'm living proof. And with low calorie fruits and vegetables I feel like I'm eating all day long!

No need to be restricted by your obesity, we are here for you and will help you all along the way!

No word of a lie, I was just freaking out about this yesterday. I WANT TO SHOP IN A REGULAR STORE. That's all. It isn't that much to ask is it!?!?! lol Well, I haven't been able to shop in a regular store for I don't even know how many years now. 10? I should have known that I wouldn't be shopping in one after less than 6 months! I am just creeping up on the 40 lb's lost mark and have just been able to move down a size. Part of that is I decided to stop wearing extra loose clothes, and get things that actually FIT! Stick with it, you will get there I promise!

Be wary of things deemed "low fat"!!! They can be loaded with sugar (in most cases, sugar is way worse than fat!) Don't be fooled into thinking that cutting fat will make you less fat. It doesn't quite work that way unfortunately

If I may ask, what is your weight loss plan?

wheezypi i know how discouraging that can be at my highest weight i was 262 lbs and wearing a tight size 16 jeans i still wear a size 16 40ish pounds later .... i dont understand this for the life of me but i wont lie the 16s do look better on me now than they did ..... they where painted on before lol now they are comftable but i do look better in pictures ive noticed and i feel better ... hang in there it gets better !!!

You'll want to be careful with this. A lot of the low/no fat alternative type foods are chalk full of chemicals that can hinder weight loss and your body would do far better eating the regular versions.

You already lost a significant amount and it will sure show up soon in smaller clothes sizes.

I have seen rapid results in volume loss (this did not show up on the scale initially) doing the 30-day shred by Jillian Michaels. It is a 30 min exercise program that is efficient and keeps you motivated. You will loose inches quite rapidly and see some muscles show up instead.

As for weight loss, you may want to try a low carb diet. It will reduce hunger and cravings and allow you to get a decent calorie deficit to speed up weight loss.

I just want to echo what many have said before. I started at 265 and it took until 230 for me to go down a size. I was a 22 in Torrid jeans and then at 230 I could wear Old Navy size 20, which you can buy in the stores, so you can try them on.

It's hardest in the beginning because even 10 lbs doesn't show up much when you are trying to get into smaller clothes. However, know that once you get rolling, it will really pick up. I'm now wearing Old Navy 10's as of earlier this month and I had only gotten into 12s at the end of March, so that's about 15 lbs!

These are my jean sizes that I remember. I had clothes in every size from 20-28, and as I lost, I just wore what looked the best on me at the time. As stuff got too big, I would get rid of it. When I wore the same thing to work in the same week, I would "put on a fashion show" for my friends, and we would select "new, skinny" clothes from the 2 giant crates in my closet to put in rotation.

At 350+, I wore a size 28. Shirts were 30/32 TIGHT, like if they carried 38/40 in Lane Bryant, that probably would have been the correct size.
At 300, I think I wore a 26, but its fuzzy. Shirts were comfortable/loose 26/28.
At 260, I wore a size 20. Shirts 22/24
At 240, I wore a size 18. Shirts...18/20, I think
At 190, I wear a size 13. T-shirts are L, regular shirts, L/XL.

It does seem to take a long time to drop sizes when we start off larger.

You know when you are going on a long road trip and sometimes there are tons of exits on the highway and you can tell you are making progress and other times it feels like you are driving on forever inside a void of nothing (this is extra clear when you are looking for a bathroom ). However to get from point A to point B you have to drive through those areas. There is no getting around them. Dieting can be like that. There can be weird stretches where it feels like not much is happening, but you have to get through to get to the the next milestone.

I changed maybe 1-2 sizes in the whole 300s. At 330 I was wearing size 30 jeans. By 320 or so size 28s worked.

Then, when I was about 300 I made it into 26s. Since then the progress has been pretty fast.

So: last August, bought my first 26s.

late October/early November: size 24 jeans, tight but celebrat-y!

January: still wearing my size 24 jeans around, bought my first pair of 20s! What??

March/April: uh, the 18s fit?

May: the 18s I just bought last month are no longer fitted. They are loose. I have two pairs of stretchy-waisted size 16s that are in regular rotation.

So, yes. Progress is slow at first but it IS progress. And if you keep going (sailing by), you will wake up one day to realize that you have no idea how on earth you ended up with so many clothes you can't wear.

You can totally do this. Slow and steady wins.

A few things:

First of all - you're doing GREAT!!! Those numbers don't lie - even if you feel like you're not making progress - you are.

Also - I read something here a while back that made sense. If you have a new roll of paper towels and tear off a few sheets, it's hardly noticeable. But if you have a smaller roll, tearing off that same number of sheets is much more noticeable. I think at the beginning of our journeys, when we are much larger and heavier, being able to notice those changes takes a bit longer. At my heaviest weight (303), I was wearing XXXL shirts. I've only recently been able to make the move to XXL's, and I'm not going to even try an XL on for a while because I don't want to depress myself.

Last, your eating plan must be working - look at the numbers. Be careful about restricting things further, this could lead to you being too hungry and end up over eating and falling off. My plan calls for a calorie range of more than 1600 and less than 2000 per day. As I see the scale drop, I have to remind myself to stick to this, because it's working. At times, I think "I should shoot for below 1600 cals, because I'm not that hungry usually, and I would lose even faster". Well, one of the reasons I'm probably not that hungry is that I'm getting enough calories to be comfortable, but am still working a deficit. It's not broken, so it needn't be fixed.