Hello fellow 3FCers! In general, I'm feeling pretty good about sticking to my New Years resolutions and taking on some healthy eating and exercise habits. And 3FC has been a great source of support and advice thus far! I'm really hoping to make some strides towards my goal weight by the end of the summer. But on a day to day basis, I'm feeling really impatient! Granted that seeing results often takes time as well as hard work, how do the rest of you keep your perspective and be happy with these not-so-instant results??

Hey TigerS:

I completely empathize with you! Gaining patience to realize that it's a process/life change and not a race to some imaginary finish line can be extremely trying, even maddening. I am in the process of re-losing weight that I lost (then gained back) a couple years ago. Ugh, seeing my clothes waiting for me in storage, thinking "just ten or fifteen more pounds and this pair of jeans will fit", kind of drives me nuts! Especially since I know what it feels like to be smaller, and especially because the weight came off much quicker the first time around.

How am I staying focused in light of the process being slow at times? This time I'm focusing on small goals - 5 or 10 lbs at a time - as a measure of my success. While I do have some bigger goals in mind, this really helps me from thinking "UGH, it'll take forever to lose 90+ pounds, I might as well give up!"

In the beginning, when the weight was coming off a little faster for me, it was easiest just to say "Yay! Another 5 lbs off!" (Little weight goals at a time.) This has shifted some. Instead of "another lb" I celebrate a "perfect" day. Where I get in all my water, eat within my points, and get in my exercise. I feel accomplished when I've covered these three bases. I'm in a transition mode, right now. So while I'm still looking at the pounds, I'm trying to switch the focus even more so to the nutrition and exercise.

Believe me, knowing I have yet 105 lbs to go until I'm about where I'd like to be healthy-weight-wise, is daunting. And, omgosh, I DO feel impatient some days. But those are the days when I FORCE myself to think about how much water I'm drinking, and how long I'm going to be walking on the treadmill.

One lb at a time... you'll make it. Patience takes practice.

Those seem like good ideas, I'll have to try to keep them in mind! I also can relate to 8mickey's feeling like just making up for lost time / gained pounds, since I still haven't shaken the pounds I gained during my final semester in college and I have a drawer full of pants that were always a size bigger than I was happy with but now are too small for me anyway!

I also bought some yoga, pilates, and hula dance DVDs (there's a sale going on at the Natural Journeys website haha) that will hopefully serve to distract me the next time I feel myself getting angry at waiting.

My weight's coming off pretty slowly... But I'm not measuring my success in terms of pounds lost, and I think that really helps with the "motivation" -- every little good choice I make, every time I exercise instead of popping in a movie, every time I walk instead of sitting in the break room at work -- all of these things I see as successes, so I've got a constant barrage of "yay! I'm doing awesome!" moments.

Aside from that, I'm just plain committed to this. No matter what it takes I'm going to get myself healthy. If it takes three years I'm going to do it.


PS Now I have Tom Petty stuck in my head

it is frustrating seeing how slowly the pounds drop sometimes...especially when I watch that biggest loser show and see a girl drop 10 pounds in a week or something, and I've lost half a pound in that time. Granted, its tv....I'm sure they're all working out all day with trainers and eating specially designed diets and all... I'd probably pee myself with happiness if I lost 10 pounds in a week...I will take what I can get though, as long as the weight is falling off, even if it takes me 5 years to get to goal, its all good. I'm less than 5 pounds from a healthy BMI at this point....thats my short term goal.

It doesn't strike meas normal to lose 10 pounds a week, even with a 24/7 personal trainer. Surely they'd gain muscle from day-long excercise, no?

I never watch that show. I don't know how I feel about it, though I'm glad its inspired others to be healthy.

TigerSiup: You have to fnd satisfaction in something other than the scale. I'm happy I'm learning to cook

I know, it's hard for me too. Sometimes it seems like I am stuck at the same weight forever but then I think about what I accomplished overall and it helps. I am stronger I can see definition in my arms that wasn't there 6 weeks ago. And I am down 16 pounds. So I think of it as the next few months are going to pass at the same speed no matter what but the choices I make today can either make me closer to my goal or further away.

And as for the biggest loser, those people can drop pounds that fast mainly because they have so much to loose. The closer you are to a “healthy weight” the more your body will fight to hold onto the pounds. Stick to it and be grateful that you didn’t start off with as far to go