I have a history of crash dieting and obsessive exercising, which wasn't very fun, so trying to lose my pregnancy weight and then some, I'm deliberately holding myself back and making sure I don't do anything excessive.
Anyone else striving for that as well?
My goals are to just slowly build in healthy habits so that I lose weight but can then maintain the loss without effort. So I'm on purpose not doing anything that I know I wouldn't be able to, or want to, keep up on a long-term basis. So still going out to eat, eating with friends whatever they serve, eating what I really want to eat, but just eating when I'm hungry and trying to not eat out of just plain boredom or stress, not eating so much that I feel uncomfortable, and doing fun exercise when the mood strikes, being active every day because it feels good.
I like the way it seems sustainable and easy and doesn't make me backlash and binge, but after in the past seeing results so fast, dropping 10 pounds in a week or whatever, sometimes it's hard to keep myself from going extreme again just to see the scale drop! Anyone else out there experiencing the same?
Great plan, mottainai. I've been down that road of overrestricting, bingeing, and exercise bulimia too. I'm trying hard to focus on the process over the result and it seems to be working for me.
I've lost 72 lbs over 10 months, which isn't really all that slow. Still, I have had times, especially more recently, when the scale hasn't moved for weeks. I haven't gone the route of upping exercise or dropping my calories because I'm at a happy place with those things. I like to eat out weekly and I want to exercise because I enjoy it, not because I feel like I have to to maintain a certain rate of weight loss.
As long as we get to our goals in the end, what does it matter if it takes 18 months or 3 years?
Me!!! In the past, when I've had a good amount of weight to lose, I've been very restrictive and often over exercised. I didn't even increase my calories to account for the extra activity. I decided this time, Im going to attempt to lose the weight simply by being smarter about what and how much i eat. I know that exercise, for me, isn't something i enjoy and i only do it to drop the pounds faster and then stopping when i get to goal. I want to focus on changing my eating habits so that when i get to goal, like you, i can keep the weight off with little effort. So far, just a diet change is working for me. Ive lost 8 lbs in about 5 weeks and I'm happier with myself now so I'm honestly ok with the weight loss taking a bit longer than it has in the past. Good luck on your journey and keep us posted on your success!!
For me, the only way I can succeed at losing weight is to not really try to lose. I have to make slow, small changes or my appetite backfires.
Whenever I try to lose faster than a snail's pace, I end up bingeing.
I'm just starting to relose the weight I gained trying to lose weight for my sister's wedding.
I lose best when when I'm not trying to lose at all. Instead, I focus on "not gaining" and on increasing exercise. Every time I do lose a pound it's like a prize and it becomes another pound I try not to regain.
For some reason "not gaining" feels easy, but losing even a quarter pound feels hard. And when I'm trying to lose, even 3-5 lbs seems like too small a weekly loss, but losing even a quarter pound when "not trying" seems like this monumental reward.
It's like I have to "sneak up" on weight loss, because if it seems me coming, it runs away.
Same here. I usually go on a crazy 1200 cal nonsustainable diet and get burnt out after a month and go back to my love of beer.
This time, its been slow, 1600 to 1700 calories a day. Exercise most days, not any specific diet, but tying to focus on good real food. Even if I just get 15 minutes on the elliptical at the gym. Im good.
But yeah, seeing that half poind or pound of weight loss deives me mad.
Im doing more weights this time because my big focus is "tone." Im honestly debating taking away my weight goals completely and just focusing on how clothes fit, etc.
im trying to embrace my new stronger self. I couldnt do a squat when i started, but with practice and training i can now do 50.
Yeah, I feel the same way as all of y'all! I really do have to let it "sneak up on me" for it to stick. Otherwisd I just get obsessive and overly scared about it coming back on, which eventually leads to rebellion!
I'd love to loose quicker but I've only been loosing the recommended 1-2 pounds a week, and had the occasional week of maintenance cause of parties and holidays. I shouldn't be disappointed cause its healthy for me and I haven't really had any struggles this way... Eating habits are better and more natural, exefcise is fun, My choices are sustainable long term. I feel a bit in a funk the past few days but I've had the flu.
I'm losing slowly, and this is the longest I've kept with a lifestyle change, probably cause this time around that's what it is. I don't stop myself from eating things I know I'll eat when I'm done losing weight. I do restrict, but not by a whole lot. I lose about 1lb a week. It'll take probably 2 years before I'm at my goal, but I'm okay with that.
My goals are to just slowly build in healthy habits so that I lose weight but can then maintain the loss without effort.
I lost crazy fast - 4lbs a week all the way down from 281lbs to 180lbs-ish when it started to slow. But at a heavier weight I could do that and have the time to do exactly as you described...which is the main thing.
In my experience it was not just about habit building, however. It was also about experimenting during that time to find stuff that works for your body and your mind. That was the key to maintenance for me. Finding foods/exercise I really enjoyed that were good for me and my weightloss effort. It's tough to build habits around things you really do not like. So use the time to play around. It's like dating as a teenager (if you don't go to church).
Which is why I dislike branded diets because they often do not allow for experimentation.
Yeah I have to go slow if I don't, I start not eating. That's my biggest problem I over eat and then I will severely under eat. Before I had my baby I lost 60 pounds in 2 months, I was basically living off of coffee tea and maybe 200 calories a day so I have to be super careful with my speeds.
I'm trying to do about 1 lbs a week, is that slow? Around that, I've been adding more exercise (anything was more exercise when I first started, now I run/do yoga 3x a week) and cutting back on how much I ate. At dinners, I was probably eating two serving of everything. Now, I am changing my eating habits to include more good-for-you foods, mostly veggies.
I have to hold myself back from getting too obsessive though. I won't overexercise (has to do with my mom being a massage therapist and knowing that the muscles need to relax) but I would over restrict my calories. I've only done 1200/day for a quick four day fast after the holidays.
I also remind myself that it took my grandmother nearly 2 years to lose 75 lbs. She looks great at 73!
Same here! I hear that, if you lose more than 1-2lbs per week, it's very very likely you're also losing muscle mass, so if you start eating regularly again, your body is going to try and rebuild that and you can gain it right back. Also, with slow changes in habits, I find it much easier to hold back and not to give up too easily! I tell myself it's a slow process, and one day isn't stopping me, so I'm not giving up on the first binge like I did before.
I'm going slower than the usual recommended/healthy 1-2lbs per week, but I've still seen progress and I've very happy with it! It's hard to be patient, but it's great to be able to trip sometimes and still get up again (:
Yeah. I've lost 35 lbs before in just a few months,but I overdid it. My schedule got crazy and because everything was overboard I regained it all and then some.
This time I have 13# down in 3 months. Which is about the timeline I'm happy with. I'll pretty much be at my goal if I can do that three more times.
I don't freak out if I have a cheat day, or a beer. It's life, we should still enjoy it. I mainly focused on incorporating vegetables. I can't remember the last time I had fast food. I don't even crave it because of how crappy I always felt after the carb buzz. Glad to know I'm not alone!
Anyone else deliberately going slow?
