i have lost about 15 pounds, it's a huge accomplishment for me. i have never lost this much before. i do know i have a long way to go though. i look in the mirror and i get so frustrated. This is such slow work. i just want to cry at times.


Am i alone? i know i have much to be thankful for but at times, i get so down that i still have to far to go.

Does anyone have a better way for me to look at this situation?

I don't think I have any other way of looking at it for you. But I can tell ya that I hear ya! It's so agonizingly slow some times.

You could do a "what if" I guess. I was not maintaining my highest weight, I was gaining at a ridiculous rate. How big would I be now if I hadn't tried this? No matter how slow it is ... this is better than bigger.

Absolutely, all the time, especially during the first 1/2 of my journey. I'd think "oh wow! I've lost xx lbs!" then I'd think, "too bad I'm still TOTALLY fat". It was extra hard once that first whoosh of motivation wore off and I'm 20 lbs lighter and still at 200. The only thing that helps me is mini goals. If I think about how much I have to lose to get where I want to be, it overwhelms me. Instead I think about getting under a certain number. Right now I have my eye on 169 which will be 50 lbs for me. Then I'll focus on 159 which will be normal BMI. The big picture can be scary!

Go pick up a five pound bag of potatoes at the grocery - you've lost 3 of those! You've lost 6% of your starting body weight. And looking at your ticker, you're almost 1/4 of the way to your goal.

Look at the positives - and maybe give yourself smaller, intermediate goals to increase your sense of accomplishment.

You're doing great - keep going!

the slower the weight comes off, the less likely it is to come back on!

I understand what you mean! When I look at the overall picture I have about 140lbs to lose! I've already lost 25lbs but still have 115 more to go. That seems like an impossible task. But I break it down into mini goals. Right now I am trying to lose 10% of my weight which is appx 30lbs by Christmas. I have already lost 8lbs!
Sometimes, ok a lot of times, I look in the mirror and am so upset about how much I have to lose but I try to remember that I didn't put this weight on overnight and I can not expect it to come off that quickly either.

True but then again if you think about it you didn't gain it all overnight either

Ugh, I think about this alllllll the time! 40+ pounds down and I still have fat everywhere! Frustrating as heck. But I think about how much MORE there use to be and how much more there could have been if I didn't stop that lifestyle when I had.

Time is going to keep on moving forward no mater what I'm doing, so might as well make the best of it and keep on going. Not like I ever want to go back to that lifestyle anyways.

Yes, it can be SOOOOOOOO frustrating. You look in the mirror each day and say, did I REALLY lose any weight? Those little changes are so hard to see, but 15 pounds is big, and it is noticeable. You've done great already, you have accomplished something that is incredibly difficult and even though you are still frustrated, your success can carry you through it, and then, one day, your pants won't stay up anymore and you'll realize how incredibly far you've come without even realizing it and you will know that the end is way closer than you think.

I had such horrible, horrible nutriton before that I FELT better within a few days of giving up all the crap. The way I was FEELING made me continue. Once I became accustomed to feeling better, I was looking better in pictures and was fitter into smaller sizes. A size 14 was motivating, then a size 12 and it just continued. I am still feeling really good. This morning when I went for a (short) three mile run I felt as if I could turn around and run it again with no problem. I love that "feeling" of health. My self-image is coming along too.

10 lbs at a time, even 5 if you need more frequent motivation. Its the only way I could stare down a necessary 100lb loss. Reward yourself for every 5 or 10 lbs too.

i'm going to come back to this thread time and time again in these next few months. You've all given me much to think about.


i was so frustrated i went to the gym and walked for 20 minutes and worked up a nice sweat.

I understand, completely.
But I think you have to look for other victories.
I know I feel a whole lot better now that I'm actually eating good food. I hated that "too full" feeling and I don't have it any longer. Things like these haven't changed me outwardly, but I feel like a better person.
So maybe you have some of those things? Have you upped your time exercising, even just a couple of minutes? Or are you sleeping better? Feeling better? Experiencing a new found love of veggies? All of those things are part of the journey and can be something to motivate you when the mirror is being cruel.

Yes, it`s slow progress if you are impatient, but every pound less is a pound less than you weighed yesterday.

I took it pound for pound at first, celebrated grams lost and nothing else. It was a thrill when I noticed my trousers getting wider becuase I really didn`t concentrate on that bit.

Hang in there and the rewards will become large enough eventually!

Like thighsbegone, I had improvements from Day one. Day one. My constant heartburn disappeared. As did my carb stupor/lethargy that I was in., amongst other things.

I urge you to enjoy this journey. Because it's an absolute BLAST. Watching yourself shrink, finding the strength and discipline to do this, discovering who you were meant to be, the compliments, the health benefits, the emergence of muscles and bones and veins - it's all soooo very thrilling. When those rewards start surfacing, hold on. Be prepared to get blown away.

I also urge you to look at this time as very useful and very valuable. Had I woken up thin one day, I would have turned around the next day and started piling on every single pound. right back on. And probably then some. I wouldn't have had a darn clue as to what to do with my new slim self. I would have had those same horrible eating habits that led me to be super morbidly obese.

Instead I had the opportunity to LEARN how to not only lose the weight, but keep it off. The time used to get the weight off is EXTREMELY valuable. I was able to find strategies, skills and coping techniques to get me through every and any situation. I educated myself on nutrition and fitness. I discovered fabulous, fabulous foods to make and eat. I had time to tweak my plan, make it my own and get it totally and completely down pat. I had time for the old habits to die and the new and healthy ones to become firmly etched in my brain.

I urge you to find joy in this journey. It was one of the most phenomenal times of my life that I will never ever experience again.