It's just been such a bad couple of weeks. I am proud of myself that I didn't gain over the Thanksgiving holiday, but I've also been stuck in a rut for three weeks now. That sort of stall in numbers is maddening. And it only gets worse when I look in the mirror and see that, physically, I'm still the same rotund-butt pear I've always been...15lbs in to my 50lb loss. I know I shouldn't expect miracles, but I'm getting very tired and impatient.
Also, I have to ask the maintainers, or you Chicks close to your goal weight a question: Do you ever STOP thinking about it 24/7? I'm very compulsive and obsessive by nature, and I have found that I simply cannot force myself to thinking of anything BUT my weight loss. It's on my mind constantly. Even when something more important is presented, the thoughts and hopes and memories of the journey are under the surface. I spend hours wondering when I'll FINALLY reach my goal, and how different I will look, and how much better I will feel, etc.
I don't know. Perhaps I'm just overwhelmed. But I wish I could be seeing more results just a LITTLE sooner. I feel like I'm failing.
Don't give up! I used to think about dieting and how I would look 24/7 also. Weeks would go by and I would still be stuck at some number on the mechanical mood making device. It was dissapointing to watch the number remain the same. But, my clothes were getting looser even without the number changing. Then a few weeks later my weight loss would start again.
I don't think about weight loss 24/7 anymore. I am reminded that I have lost so much almost daily. At this point I think about what I put into my mouth every time I eat and decide whether its worth it to indulge in a cookie or not. I have trained myself to make better decisions regarding food and I know that when I over do it one day, the next day I will make better choices.
Its hard to not think about what you will look like when you reach your goal. Its actually not a bad thing to visualize yourself thinner. Keep in mind though, if you are pear shaped now......chances are good that you will still be pear shaped when you lose the weight......you'll just be a much smaller pear.
Good luck on this journey.....time really does march by, you will be there sooner than you think
What's the big rush??? You're in the process of changing your lifestyle. You're learning how to eat properly. You're incorporating new and healthy eating patterns and behaviors into your life - permanently. It's not as if when you get to goal you can turn around and go back to your old unhealthy ways, right? USe and view this time as a learning process to learn which foods work for you and which ones don't. To find foods and recipes that you love. Use this time to get strategies, tips and coping mechanisms down tight. Use this time to really get your plan down pat so that it becomes automatic to you.
I understand the urgency to get to goal, but as long as you adhere to your plan, there's no way on earth that you CAN'T get there. No way on earth. So I think you may be better off not necessarily focusing on when you'll get to goal, but focusing on adhering to your plan. Focusing on eating right and exercising. Focus on creating and maintaining a new and healthy lifestyle. Because again as long as you focus on those things, as long as you continue on, there's no way you can not get to goal. So you really need to stop this give up talk. Because THAT surely won't get you to goal.
As far as thinking about my weight loss constantly, well when I was losing, it WAS on my mind constantly. I made it my job, my mission to lose the weight. It was a tippy top priority to me. When I didn't make it a priority, when I pushed it off to the back burner, when I wasn't focused on it - it was all to easy to overspend calories. And then I remained fat. Did that for many, many years. During those years, I spent time dreaming, hoping, wishing and praying to be slim and healthy. That was time wasted. The time I spend now is highly productive as it produces a slim, fit, active, energetic, happy and healthy me. Time VERY well spent indeed.
I tried to lose weight so many times in my life. This is the first time that I have actually been successful at it. I pretty much have/had the same amount of weight to lose that you do... 50 lbs. And in years past... I had never gotten past the first 15.
The biggest change between those attempts and now, is that I stopped trying to rush things. You have a lifetime ahead of you... and this is a change that is going to need to last a lifetime if we have any hope of keeping the weight off. It takes time to change habits that were a lifetime in the making. Taking smaller portions, learning how to refuse junk food (most of the time), learning how to get up an hour before I normally would to fit in a work out.... these types of habits take time to develop properly if they are to stick with you forever.
I am quite close to goal at this point... and yes, I do think about weight loss/ maintenance EVERY DAY. But, it's different now. Before, when I would be obsessing about the difficulties and how much I wanted to binge... those feelings are gone now. All that's really left is that feeling of "habit". This constant reminder of "this is what you have to do." The rest of the thinking is dedicated to "God, I feel good" and "Is that really my body?" and "These pants are getting loose" and "I am really enjoying this new workout". The nature of the thoughts change- but when you do reach goal (or see it close in front of you), nothing can prepare you for how good it feels.
I guess the moral of this story is, be patient, understand that this is going to last the rest of your lifetime... but keep in mind that it's a journey that changes with time. And, it's totally worth it!
Thanks to all of you! You are always so supportive and encouraging and it is wonderful to know that I'm not alone, and that my journey WILL get easier adn reap results.
I'm textbook OCD. I obsessed about weightloss MINUTEly from moment one. Now I'm down to obsessing maybe hourly about it. But I think of it as a good obsession because it helps keep me on track. I have compulsions to eat healthfully and just have an overall healthier life...a good thing!
Always On My Mind? (ready to give up.)
