Hi- I joined this community at the beginning of the summer hoping to lose 30 lbs by the end of the summer. 10 lbs a month. I thought it was a reasonable goal. I've lost 20 pounds since. 20 lbs in 4 months is about half of what I was hoping for. There were months were it felt like I was losing nothing. I've reluctantly changed my goal to five lbs a month. I want to be 190 by my birthday at the end of January. I'm not exactly happy with this goal but it's a lot more easy to manage. My current goal is to work out everyday in October and so far I have. Just going for walks, actually going to the gym, swimming, etc. At a rate of five lbs a month I won't be my goal weight for yet another year. The thought of that is quiet discouraging but I can't seem to lose weight any faster than that. I'm not on any special plan, I just eat healthy and only when I am truly hungry and exercise everyday. Can someone give me some encouraging words other than that this weight loss will last as opposed to other plans. I know it's a lifestyle change but I am really fed up with how long it's taking. Thanks guys. I'll show pictures of my weight loss when it happens. I just took a pic today. In a year I'll take another one.

46 lbs is a big accomplishment! Obviously you're doing something right . My advice would be to start counting calories. Exercising is awesome for so many reasons, but you might not be creating as big of a calorie deficit as you think you are. Being a bit more exact in restricting your calories might help you lose at a slightly faster rate. Counting calories does take some time at first, but it has been the single most helpful thing for me on this journey.

I also wanted to add that for me, deadlines have done more harm than good, so you might want to think about cutting yourself some slack there. They can be very motivating for some people, but when you don't reach them, they seem to make you feel like you've failed when you haven't. So you didn't lose 10 lbs in a month, but you lost 5! That's awesome. Awesome. I wish I could do that. You're making progress and no matter how long it takes, you're moving forward.

I think you've got to be in the right frame of mind to do this for the long haul. Things might go faster at certain points and they might go slower. At any rate, you're losing weight and changing your life for the better. That in itself is something to be proud of .

Keep up the good work!

I agree 46lbs is awesome, it never comes off as fast as we want it too but then again the weight didn't come on over night either. Take it one day one lb at a time you will get there. I have loss 88lbs in 25weeks, I am on the Ideal Protein program. I feel great and I am very surprised as to how fast I am losing. Eating healthy is great but make sure you are getting enough. You should be eating every 4-5 hours, don't wait until you are hungry because your body then goes into starvation mode and holds on to the fat. Even if you eat veggies between meals to get something in your stomach. This of course is only in my opinion. You can do this, you have your mind in the right place...Good luck

I'm sorry you're feeling bad about how slowly the weight comes off. It's really difficult to control the rate of weight loss - all our metabolisms are different, and some people just lose slower than others. For what it's worth, you're losing at about the rate I have lost for the past two years - it took me two full years to lose 100 pounds.

I would encourage you to (as you have been doing) set behavioral goals, rather than "lose x pounds by y date" goals - the former are entirely within your control, something you can strive for and achieve. The weight loss will follow from that, although it may take an infusion of patience, as you are learning.

Try not to fret too much. That year of yours will go by one way or another, and it will go by quickly - so in the grand scheme of things it doesn't make too much difference whether you reach your goal weight 6 or 12 months from now. One of the cool things about this process is that you don't have to get all the way to goal to start looking and feeling better. So even if you still have some weight to lose by the time your birthday rolls around, you will already have some success to feel good about, and you'll be will in the groove to keep it going for as long as it takes.

Even maintaining a couple pounds lost is a victory! Learn to celebrate even that. 46 pounds gone is amazing. You could still have that on you.

Kay, I applaud you. You're doing great. You've done great. You'll continue to lose so long as you continue what you're doing. And, so long as the scale is moving downward, you're moving in the right direction. You're getting slimmer, you're getting healthier, and you're working towards your goal.

You're losing sensibly. You're losing safely. You're losing. So it takes a little longer to get where you want to be...but baby, you'll get there.

As Tim Gunn says, make it work and carry on!!!!

We have very close starting weights/goal weights although I'm a year farther into this than you. Look, I've lost SLOWLY most of this time. I've had some months that I've lost nothing, my average for the year is probably 2lbs/month. Lately it's been going slightly quicker but that means about 4lbs a month.

You know what though? I don't regret it one bit!!!!!!!! Slow weight loss has helped me to change my habits. It hasn't been a perfect process. I've made my mistakes, I've had times when I've been more on plan than others. I've had a lot of stress and have learned to still lose during that. It sure hasn't been easy but it's given me time to form habits, it's given me time to deal with my emotional problems head on instead of ignoring them and I really feel like this is a permanent change vs. a quick fix. It's hard to compare the person I am today vs. the person I was over a year ago.

Look one thing that is said here often is that time will past no matter what so you can either pass it by maintaining/gaining or losing. Really, 4lbs/ month is AWESOME. Many would be thrilled at that rate (myself included).

And I get it, you want to see your body reflect the changes that you're making in your life. But I also think you need to think about realistically what you want to put forth into diet and exercise. Certainly, you can push yourself to the extreme like the contestants on biggest loser, but to what end? Really, do a few months make a huge difference in the end, another year? What about all the time you missed from working out 6 hours a day and never, ever eating out? For me it's been much easier to make realistic changes that I could stick with for the rest of my life. Sure, it leads to slower weight loss but I also get to enjoy my life in the meantime and even eat out 1-2 a week+ have the occasional treat.

This is really encouraging. Thank you all so much. You really don't know what this community means to me. Whenever I feel discouraged, this is the place I go. Advice from people who have never struggled with their weight and body image like we have just doesn't feel as comforting.
I feel very good about myself today actually. I actually feel kinda pretty and was even complimented by one of my friends on my weight loss. Looking at it, a year really isn't so long. I'm 18 currently and being my ideal weight before twenty and staying that weight would be awesome. I'm the skinniest I've ever been as a teenager and I don't remember a time where I weighed any less than I do now. Overeating is a habit I've had since I was a child and that's very difficult to change.
I love taking nice walks and have discovered I'm fond of working while listening to music and dancing. Exercise is helping me discover new hobbies. I have one issue as to counting calories. I'm currently in college and on a school meal plan. I get two meals a day every week. I usually take a banana from the cafeteria so I'm eating regularly (every 4 hours). Does anyone have any suggestions for dieting when on a school meal plan? I'm not quiet sure how to count calories, should I just keep track of the foods I eat? Any advice would be nice. Thank you all so much again.

Congratulations on your amazing accomplishment in just 4 months! I understand how amazing it is to weigh less now than you did as a child. I weigh almost 30lbs less now than I did at age 12 and I didn't think I was so fat then. Don't be discouraged. Even if you only ever lose 5 lbs a month. That's 5lbs more than you'll lose by doing nothing. And you'll be heading towards goal.

I agree that you should probably watch your diet a little more closely and suggest calorie counting just because I feel it's probably the least restrictive eating plan in terms of what you have available being on a meal plan. Personally I use an iPod app called "Tap n Track" which cost maybe $3-4, it's been a couple of years, I don't really remember. BUT I know there are several others OR you can do it online for free with MyFitnessPlan or Fitday. I don't use either of these but I know lots of people on here do and rave about them. What you do is you record everything that goes in your mouth. It might not be a bad idea to get a measuring cup (or a food scale, although since you're not really preparing most of your own food, this may not be as urgent a need) to get an idea of what quantity of food you're currently eating. Because I've found it's really easy to overestimate (or even underestimate). I don't know how large the serving spoons are at your school, but I've found 2-3 serving spoons of something like rice is about a cup depending on how large your serving spoon or how heaped the portion of rice on it. 16 Tablespoons is a cup, 3 teaspoons are a tablespoon. For calorie counting, these quantities will become very important because there can be a huge calorie difference between 1 cup of something and 1 half cup and 1 tablespoon. So it's important to track things like that.

I was on the meal plan to varying degrees throughout undergrad and although at that time I wasn't in weight loss mode, if I went back, I'd definitely make better decisions.
1.) Make lean protein your friend. Our cafeteria had like a grill stand, where the burgers were, and they also did grilled chicken breast. That was a major staple of my diet then, except I had it with other unnecessary things like the hugest greasiest slices of pizza. And whatever else. You can also have a burger if you want, but maybe without the bun. Or with a slice of regular whole wheat bread. They also usually had some unsauced roast meat/flank steak option in the main meal section. This should also be fine. Look out for unsauced, lean-looking meats. A serving size should be about a pack of cards, depending on your consumption that day, you can usually have a serving or 2 or whatever depending... Also unbreaded fish is always a good option when it is served.
2.) Get to know the salad bar. Nothing allows you have as much for so few calories as the salad bar. We had a pretty excellent salad bar at my school, and I'm sure most schools have this too. Make yourself a large salad with every meal, it will make you a little less hungry for other stuff. The caveat being you need to watch the dressings. Balsamic vinegar is a good, low-cal, tasty choice.
3.) For breakfast, wheat toast, boiled eggs (as opposed to fried or made to order omelets or scrambled) are good options. Oatmeal is a pretty good option too. You could probably have a slice or 2 of bacon (the slices served at my school were pretty small) but I'd stay away from sausage. Scrambled eggs could be ok in a small quantity (just a spoonful). I'd stay away from bagels just because they tend to be really calorie dense and not necessarily that filling in the long term.
4.) Small servings of pasta (no more than a couple of serving spoonfuls) or rice are also fine. Tomato-based sauces of course usually better choices than cream-based ones. If like me, you like a big meal, bulk up a small serving of carbs by mixing in veggies which most school cafeterias usually have by the main meal (steamed green beans, carrots, cauliflower, snap peas, broccoli, whatever), it will make it seem like you're getting a wayyyy bigger serving than you are.
5.) If your cafeteria has a stirfry station like mine did, that's also a tasty way of getting your veggies in with some lean protein. You can have it with a small serving of carb or by itself.
6.) The good thing about calorie counting is that pretty much nothing is off limits if you keep track strictly. If you save enough calories for it, a slice of pizza on occasion and small serving of some mud pie for dessert or a small serving of french fries isn't going to kill you.

You are doing GREAT!!!!!

May I just suggest... don't put a time limit on your weight loss. Just do what you do, keep at it (slow & steady wins the race) and don't worry about being a certain weight by a certain date. After all, the truly important thing is to REACH YOUR GOAL. Not WHEN you reach it.

and

That's not slow weight loss, that's reasonably fast weight loss. You're doing very well indeed, hon. I know it's discouraging to realise that it's a longer haul than you initially thought, but look how far you've come already. You can do it!