Just here to vent. Not everyone can understand my frustration expect all you folks on the same path.

I have been really good about eating and fairly good about exercise but the progress is so frustratingly slow. I have lost about 15 lbs but still have 18 more lbs to go. I know I should feel really good about the weight I have already lost and I do, but I also wish things would move a little faster. To top it off over the long weekend we had guests and it was TOM. I ended up eating out more than I wanted to and exercise schedule was also off. After all that is past, at today's weigh in I was a lb over my ticker weight

Anyway am off for my walk right now. Giving up is not an option, right?

Are you feeling something like..."This is so UNFAIR!! I've been eating right and working out, so why doesn't scale budge?" If so, then we're definitely soul sisters! I read other posts of people dropping 3-4 pounds a week and I'd kill to have just one pound a week!

That said, you and I have lost close to the same amount of weight and that's a big deal! Don't ignore the good things you've done. Besides, even with TOM and getting a big off track, you're still doing fine. (I know this because you're going for a walk!) That pound will go away plus probably another one or two after TOM.

Take care and don't sweat it. The way I view it this time (when there's not a lot of "pound droppage") is prep for the time when we go into maintenance mode. Now, there's uncharted territory! EEK

Kylie

The problem with being a featherweight is that you always feel like you are so close and yet so far from your goal. The fact is, people who can safely lose 3-4 lbs per week aren't featherweights; they have a lot more weight to lose. And once they get down to featherweight status, they'll be in the same boat as the rest of us--thankful for a lb per week, if that!

When I hear about someone losing 3-4 lbs per week, there's always that moment when I'm jealous. But then I think about the long road ahead of him/her and I'm thankful I'm not able to lose that much (because it would mean that I have a lot more weight to lose).

15 lbs is a great achievement and if you just keep at it, you'll get to your goal.

And giving up is an option. It's something I remind myself of all the time. The fact is, I don't have to be thin--there's no law; I can quit any time I want. As a featherweight, I'm already thinner than a lot of people. But this is something I want for myself so I consciously choose to continue my diet and exercise program instead of quitting. When I'm really frustrated and really craving something that will put me over my calories for the day, it helps to remind myself of why I'm doing this and that it is my choice.

That's a good point, Barbara. In fact, I just feel better when I eat right and workout regardless of what the scale says. Another thread on the board is discussing the rather disheartening statistics that say most people who lose weight will gain it back. So, I think that unless you are doing it for a reason like you mention and any loss regardless of number will be a short term one.

Thanks for this! I'm printing it out and putting it on my fridge!
Dagmar

So, forgive me for barging in, but since when is a weight loss goal of 33lbs being a "featherweight"?

Besides my question - 15 lbs is great! It doesn't always go as smoothly as we would like it to be, nor does it go as quickly (who WOULDN'T want the weight to fly off and stay away forever???). Patience is really hard during any weight loss journey, but we have to remember that LIFE sometimes gets in the way of our own personal plans... and we have to let go sometimes... and we have to just MOVE ON each day as it comes to reach our goal.

Definitely look at all of what you have accomplished! And don't worry about what happened recently... just move onwards and downwards!

Thanks for all the posts. After the walk yesterday and my yoga class today I feel much better. Much better not just coz I am getting back on track but the just being active helps me feel better. That if what I need to focus on. It is not just what the scale reads, but doing all this makes me feel good.

I just finished cooking a whole bunch of dishes for the week and chopped/planned for lunch and snacks too. Back on track!

Every time I hear that statistic it causes me to feel a little panicked. I try to remind myself that there's nothing magical or mysterious about losing weight and maintaining the loss. I control whether or not I gain the weight back. Remember that a lot of people lose weight in unhealthy ways or following a plan that they can't maintain for the long-term. It is inevitable that those people will gain weight once they return to their pre-diet eating/exercise habits. What I've seen on this forum and with people that I know that have lost weight is that if you make a lifestyle change, if you don't go back to those pre-diet habits, you can maintain the loss.

And who knows, maybe at some point I'll consciously choose to gain some of the weight back. Since I started my "lifestyle change," I've said that when I hit 80, all bets are off! I'm going to sit around and eat Entemann's coffee cakes, just like my 103-year old grandma (bless her chubby soul)!

Velveteen, being a featherweight is based on where you are now, not what your original goal was. I would not have considered myself a featherweight when I had 30 lbs to lose, but now that I'm down to the last 4, I consider myself a featherweight. BabyFat is down to her last 20 lbs, which would also make her a featherweight in my book.

Really? I'm so honored! Thanks!

You know, I am one of those people that has lost and then gained it back, but I did do it right the first time and I think it helped me to not gain it ALL back. I have had a VERY stressful year and looking back I can see that that's where I fell off track, but what helps me now is knowing that I've done it before and I can do it again.

Happy to report that the scale is budging again. Yesterday the scale read 144.4 but it is reading 145 today. Still I will take any loss!!!

Wow - so true. I've never thought about it like that before but it's so on point. I need to stop whining and fretting about what I "can't" have because I can have it if I want it. I just want to be thin more than I want the cookie. Well, most of the time anyway Thanks Barb.