I am so frustrated right now. I want/NEED to lose 23 lbs by June and with everyday that goes by it is obvious that this is not going to happen. I have lost 32 lbs since February 2006 which I suppose I should feel good about but I am not there yet. After hitting a plateau I greatly resticted my calories (1300 a day) and started really sweating it out. As I type this I can hear my stomach growl. So, to keep motivated I set a mini goal to get down to 155 by Easter but that probably isn't going to happen either unless I can lose 3 lbs in 6 days. Bleh.

I just feel like no matter what I do and no matter how hard I work, I will always look like this. I was perusing the Victoria's Secret website today and I just felt depressed. I want to wear a two piece at some point in my 20s. I can't spend another summer as a fat blob! I feel that I have wasted my youth looking like this! It needs to end but I am running out of steam!

Hmmm .... I'm not sure just what part of that to address. Do you want to talk about what you're eating? I like tweaking foods.

Well, for the last few weeks I have been very strict about how many calories I am consuming. I have even been recording each days foods in a Word document on my laptop. Lots of veggies, low-fat proteins, cut out wine (sad) and all sweets. I didn't really eat a lot of simple carbs or sweets anyway. I am a converted low-carber.

Maybe my expectations are too high? Was it unrealistic to expect to get down to 135 by June 1st from 158?

It's pushing it. A safe weight loss is 1 to 2 pounds a week. April 1 to June 1 only allows for about 18 pounds IF you lose 2 a week. But as you near goal, it gets harder to lose that 2 a week. You may be stressing yourself by setting such a close goal and might want to focus on something smaller and more realistic by that date.

As for logging food, have you tried www.fitday.com? It's much easier than Word as a food logger.

Ally, Ally, Ally........163 is SOOO much better than 190......and losing 32# over a year's time is "real"...real behavior change and a new "set point", I bet.....take it one day at a time......life is so sane one day at a time........I am missing my goal, too, and it is a big one......it is coming up in 10 days, and I am heavier than I want to be, but I think once it has past, it will actually be easier to just focus on one day at a time.....hang in there, don't back slide, don 't back slide, and don't give up! We are so happy for your success. Mary

Bikini weather doesn't really start until end of June early July, so you really have about one month more to meet your summer goal. At least that's the way I'm looking at it. That buys me a bit more time before it is hot as you know what and I've got to wear more revealing clothing just to keep cool. That's when I really would like to reach my goal.

What are you doing for exercise? It sounds like you've got the calorie counting worked out, though it could be a tad low depending on how much exercise you're doing.

The other thing is you may be smaller than you think by June, even if you only lose ten pounds.

I like fitday too, you can link it here.

Do you lift weights or do some kind of resistance exercises?

My exercise regime is 30 minutes circuit training with resistance bands, and treadmill- alternating days. I work out at least 5 times a week. I also ride horses and that makes me more sore than anything else I have done! Since I have started the resistance training, I can feel muscles and I think that I look better. I just wish I could lose more fat. I feel like I have this layer of blubber.

Almostheaven- You have a good point. It just seems to get harder the more weight that I lose.

Mary- Thank you! You totally motivated me to not snack before dinner!

Susan- That's a good point. I am not sure what I will look like after ten pounds. (That is frustrating!) I choose 135 as a goal weight because it is in the middle of my 'healthy' weight range for my height. I just assume that is the number on the scale I need to look the way I want to but maybe I will have to courage to wear a bikini before then!

Mami- True! I am in Chicago and it always seems like it stays colder longer than I remember from the previous year. Wishful thinking I guess! Okay, scratch June 1 and I'll go with July 1st!

Awww...you are being really hard on yourself!

Hey, I get frustrated with my weight gain, too. Unfortunately, I cannot lose it as fast as I gained it!

How about working on being healthy, okay? Make time to get some exercise, anything you like...walking? Exercise videos? Putting on music and dancing? and picking good stuff to put in your body to energize it! It is about being good to yourself, because YOU DESERVE IT!

You may just be surprised when you start dropping those inches, while being good to yourself!

) Best of wishes to you!


A BLESSED EASTER TO YOU!

Hang in there and believe in yourself!

P. S. Your dancing kitty is adorable!

I used to set time-lines, and when I (repeatedly) failed to meet them, I just ended up frustrated, generally with my head in the cookie jar. I no longer worry about time lines, and it's very liberating. I'm just doing my thing, and as long as the trend is downward, I don't care how long it takes. Somebody wrote a really insightful post on "goal-bys" just today - does anyone remember where, off the top of their heads?

You've done great - celebrate that, instead of getting bummed out by the fact that you probably can't make your time-line goal. You can make your goal weight, of course, but to lose that much weight by June, I think you'd have to be doing something drastic and unhealthy. Do it sensibly, the weight is much more likely to stay off that way.

I lost almost 20 lbs. about 3 yrs. ago. My goal was to be down to 150 by Christmas. Started in mid-June. Took me that long to lose the weight. I weighed 150 for like a day or two but because it was Christmas it sure didn't stick. It settled at 152. I was so frustrated that I had "missed my goal" - stupid scale - that I started eating more and exercising less. Here I am 3 yrs. down the road losing the same exact weight all over again. I wanted to be down to 140 by mid June this year. I changed my exercise routine to include strength training and adjusted my goal to be 145 by mid June. If I hit 150 by then I'll be happy and I'll take the summer to get to 145, and reassess when the kids go back to school. It may take me till Christmas to hit my 130 goal. It doesn't matter; the weight will be off. Setting goals is fine by knowing when to tweak and readjust them is just as important.

Don't get stuck on the numbers on the scale. Two wks. ago my weight was 3 lbs. higher than it is now. There was absolutely no change in my measurements from when I started. I took them again today and behold, they are going down! Just keep up the good work; the weight will come off. And if you're only down another 10 lbs. by June, so what? Isn't it better than being where you were a year ago?

BTW, I am a HUGE fan of the kitty cat dance!!! Cat, I'm a kitty cat and I dance, dance, dance and I dance, dance, dance!!!


Jo

Ugh. I went through the same thing. In college I went low-carb and the weight poured off (I didn't exercise once). I got down to 142. Then I went to grad school. By the end of the first year I had gained most of it back. Then, I gained some more. I was just so stressed. So, basically all this time I am re-losing the weight! That is why I decided to go with a low calorie diet. I just cannot maintain with low-carb. The worst part is that I to this day I can't look at any photos from my wedding. It makes me so incredibly mad at myself that I let myself look like that for a once in a lifetime/very expensive day.

I love the Cat dance! Someone sent me the link to that video and it cracks me up. Something about dancing cats...

and carrots...

I'm home from work now ... bad habit visiting 3FC while at work.

I can't say enough about lifting weights. The first time I got down to 130 lbs I wore a size eight. Now I wear a 4.

Learn to use every tool at your disposal. Body fat percentage, BMI, the pants o'meter, measurements, the scale .... there's always progress of some sort. Stamina?

Go try on some bathing suits. What's wrong? It is fat? posture? design?

I'm with Janie. I've never met a timed goal ever. But being a size four is fun.

What is your weight lifting routine? I don't have a gym membership and I am not very knowledgeable about it. It is a little intimidating. That is why I started getting into the resistance bands. They are so user friendly although the chick on the DVD is annoying. I haven't paid attention to my measurements. Going to fish out the tape measure....

Congrats on being a size 4! Right now I am wearing a size 10. The lowest I have been down to was a size 8.

I did. I've not reached my goal yet, pregnancy and several other things kinda stopped my loss. But I'd made it to 140 before pregnancy and went ahead and got a bikini. I thought it looked just fine.