I just needed to vent for a bit.

I have been so excited seeing a lot of new and returning faces here on 3FC. I know how hard it can be to begin or begin again and I'm so happy for all of you.

I started thinking about when this all started for me, and how disappointed I am with my progress thus far. It's been 2 years since I joined 3FC. The first year I fell off the wagon early in the year and ended up maintaining for the entire year. I restarted at the beginning of 2014 and have been making slow but steady progress. One of the quotes I lived by:

"A year from now, you'll wish you'd started today."

I remember how hopeful I felt a 1-2 years ago. I wanted to become a completely different person. Yea, I'm glad I started a year ago, but I'm also nowhere near where I thought I'd be. I know that I should be proud of myself. I've met a few mini weight loss weight, I have more energy, and I feel better. Since I've been obese for my entire life, this is the lowest weight I've probably seen since high school.

I just can't help feeling like it's not enough. I should be doing better, moving, faster... Maybe I have unrealistic expectations for myself.

I guess I'm just tired. And impatient.

Sorry for the sad posts so early in the year. This is usually a time where everyone feels excited, motivated, and hopeful

I think you're doing great

So many of us (and maybe you in the past) fall entirely off the wagon onto our butts and don't get up again. We gain back everything we lost, then half again. You've managed to maintain a good chunk of weight loss, given your body time to adjust, and maintenance will be that much smoother for you later.

I think it's natural to want to lose quickly but your way is more sustainable. I think you should pat yourself on the back

Hello there. Maintaining for a year sounds pretty good to me - it sure beats gaining during that year, which is (if you're like me) what you did the year before, and the year before, and the year before.

Also you've lost more than 50 pounds - and from your post, it sounds like you've lost most of that in 2014, in one year - that is not slow weight loss and it not something to berate yourself about - it is an accomplishment to be proud of, one that few people who attempt a weight loss program achieve in any amount of time.

Please try not to be so hard on yourself.

I just wrote something about patience a week or two ago, because I find it is so important and yet so difficult to have during this process. Please read the post. I hope it helps you gain some perspective on everything you are doing so, so well.

I agree with what carter has said. 50 lbs is a lot in one year!

An exercise I really try to do is talk to myself how I talk to others... and try to think how I "preach" others to think. What that basically means is.. if I was talking to someone else about weight loss, and they told me they lost 50 lbs, I'd be amazed! I would be happy for them, that's a major accomplishment. Why treat that accomplishment any differently just because it's you who achieved it?

The same goes for maintaining, losing slowly, or even going off plan. We're all here for support. We aren't going to berate anyone for those things. Maintaining is an achievement in itself, and can be really difficult to do, losing slowly is still losing (heck, I lose slowly!).. and even going off plan is expected every so often. Accept that it happened and hop right back on without berating yourself for it.

Get away from all the negative self-talk.. start focusing on what you've accomplished and celebrating that. What works for me is finding things to be positive about daily. I celebrate all sorts of small things because it is very important that this be a positive journey for me. I get happy about being on plan for the day, getting my exercise in, making at least one healthy food choice, or even just logging my food intake. Yeah, I also celebrate scale victories, but that's not the only thing I make it about. Find some stuff to celebrate for yourself to turn this into something positive, and not something you're failing.. because truly you aren't failing at all. You've made amazing progress.

A salad and a dream: I can totally relate with those impatient feelings! Especially after getting to goal once before! I find myself wanting this to be over really quickly because I want to feel good again! I have to constantly remind myself that this will take patience but it sure is hard to drum up patience some days here's wishing you much success on your journey and know that you are not alone in this. We are all rooting for you as we make the journey with you. you have already accomplished a great deal and have a lot to be proud of!