Do you ever feel...
 

like it's not going to happen for you?
Or it's not going to happen until you're much older and so your 20's, 30's and 40's will be spent fat/obese?
Or that you might lose it and gain it all back? (My worst fear, as I lost 60 lbs and gained it all back plus some.)

I've been feeling down lately. Trying to pick myself back up, get some exercise, eat right and work towards losing some weight but I have to say, after so many attempts, I often feel like it's never going to happen for me or I'm going to need like 10 years of cognitive behavioral therapy and some weight loss surgery before I'll ever be a normal weight.

Feeling sad today. :( Going to see a dietician about my heartburn problems and I'm going to ask about help with binge eating disorders, because I definitely believe that's my problem and I need to work out somehow. I know how to lose the weight, I just don't know how to keep doing it.

Yes, I have! Those negative thoughts only prolonged my goal because I figured I was NEVER going to lose any weight. You can do it. :hug:

pretty sure its just not in my genes

Aww, thanks for the hug. /sigh

I'm actually feeling better. I work in a hospital and today is World Diabetes day so they had this cool scale that tells you your muscle mass, BMI, lean body mass and your basal metabolic kcals. They give you a printout to take with you and so mine says 1,600 kcals is what my body burns resting. I think I'm going to start a goal of exercising 30-60 minutes 3 days per week. Exercise really makes a difference in my mood, but I have to get myself to do it. It's winter now so I'll have to get creative, but I think tonight after work I'll just walk around the mall for 45 minutes with my headphones on and do some window shopping.

It's a warm place to walk and it's free! There's also stairs so I can make a point to go up them a few times during my walk.

Right by my house too! :) I guess I need to keep my chin up and see the good side of things, and how there are so many little ways to work in exercise and good food.

Thanks again Novangel.

I know what you mean Southern.

I sometimes hear people say things like 'some overweight people are born to be overweight' but I think that just can't be true. Yes, some people will never do anything about it but they definitely could, they just don't.

You know how the saying goes: If you think you can't, you're right. If you think you can, you're also right. There is no objective reason why you can't lose the weight and keep it off. You just need to believe it. The key is to keep experimenting until you find a regimen that's comfortable enough to maintain for the rest of your life. If that means a slower rate of weight loss, nothing wrong with that. Also key is to find pleasurable activities to REPLACE binge eating.

F.

You will get to your goal, It is a hard long hard road. But in the end you will feel so proud and happy that you achieved your goal! Just push all of those negative thoughts aside or use them to fuel your workout! Stay positive!

Lol, well I love taking baths and when I'm in there I feel like I could stay there forever but sometimes binges occur when there's no chance I could get into a bath, haha.

I think I should be on the hunt for other things to be better than binging! I love to draw...I might start carrying a tiny sketchpad and when I feel like overeating pull it out and start drawing whatever I see until the cravings go away.

It actually sounds like a nice idea. I'll try that the next couple days!

I'm feeling much much better. :)

Generally I agree with this however I think in many cases true binge behavior is not a simple matter of will power. Many binge eaters were victims of abuse and whether physical or mental they might not be so easy to overcome.

OP if you're a victim of abuse you might be well served to look into some counseling as well.

Just remember this is entirely a mental game. If you are not convinced that this is entirely doable for you, it's a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy. There is NO reason you cannot improve your health in small ways, and those small ways accumulate to BIG losses. It might seem slow and like it's never going to happen, but it WILL.

My own weight loss has been slow, and it includes months of no losses or hanging on by the skin of my teeth, as well as months of speedy losses and dietary ease. But if I hadn't been convinced this was my ONLY choice when I first began, and that there was NO quitting and NO ending, you know where I'd be? At least 260 pounds, probably heavier, and still lamenting my lack of losses because I didn't even care about myself or my family enough to TRY.

Once you dedicate yourself to the pursuit, it's just a matter of finding your way. That may involve lots of time and tweaks, as it has for me, but it IS only a matter of time. Because if you don't give up, you can't fail. Keep working at it and you will be better for it. Never even try and you're guaranteed to get the outcome you fear most - no progress at all.

See? It's all in the attitude :)

I agree with what Arctic Momma said. My loss has been slow too, and getting slower. My hormones are all messed up (I'm 46) and I'm sure that's what is slowing things down. I just have to believe that the good eating and the working out are eventually going to pay off.

That is going up on my fridge tonight.

I thought that it was IMPOSSIBLE for me to become a normal weight without surgery. I started trying to lose weight for the first time at 38 years old. 2 years later I sit here weighing 117 pounds.

YOU CAN DO THIS!

You are a true inspiration!!! WOW!!

Wow, I have seen you around the runner forum but never looked at your before/after pics. Holy weightloss you're amazing, and here I am thinking I can't get to 140p. I am humbled. :^:

You have all been so helpful!
This morning I woke up and did yoga! I forget how amazing yoga makes me feel. I also took a bath and then went out to walk the mall, though I ended up spending money when I wasn't supposed to, haha. I will leave my card at home tomorrow when I go walking.

I am eating well too. I am very inspired by everyone here on 3FC. I will be seeing a dietician and requesting to meet with someone for some therapy. I have had a rough past and there are a lot of things I would like to get off my chest to someone, and maybe telling it will really help me move forward towards a healthier me.

Winter is coming fast here, we already have snow and it's been cold. I have some good winter gear though so it's not impossible for me to go for a walk around my neighborhood. I'm feeling alright, but the next 6 or so months are going to really be a test to see if I can push through. :) Thanks again everyone.

Inside exercise is your friend in this weather, though it can be lovely to get a brisk, short walk in on a snowy day, too!

This is so true! I think that's the key to most things, is to just keep trying even when it doesn't seem to make sense...because it generally still does, it's just that perspective gets lost temporarily...I think mistakes are fine, two steps forward, one step back is fine...it's giving up that doesn't work.

I used to think I couldn't lose weight and be happy with my body...but a few years ago I did, and I know I can do it again...I just need to do it in a more sustainable way this time.

You can do it! =-)

I feel that way sometimes, too. I spent my whole life being the chubby kid, then the fat teenager, and finally.. the obese 21 year old.
I cannot even IMAGINE what it's like to be the normal-sized person in the room. I've always been the fat one, among friends... family.. everyone.
But I've been feeling incredibly motivated as of late, and it comes not from others telling me I'm fat, it's coming from within. I am just so so so tired of being fat. So tired, that I'm willing to not eat that cake today. Willing to not eat a burger tomorrow. Willing to just stick within my calorie limit.
All of this just to experience being thin ONCE in my life, while I'm still young.

And because I know, for a fact, that if I remain this fat.. I will never be just this fat, I will be MUCH fatter. It's better going down than going up, no matter how slow.

I've totally been where you are. I especially relate to losing whole decades of your life to obesity. I feel like my 20's are a complete write off. I've also cried because I was "always" going to be like this. But then I did pretty much what you're doing. I started small. cut out one bad habit. Then counted calories. Then added exercise. Then I got discouraged because even though the weight was coming off according to the scale, I was soooo heavy that you couldn't see any difference after even forty pounds. I came close to giving up.

You know what finally cemented it for me? In January, long before I started dieting, I went to a comedy show at a hockey stadium. I didn't fit in the seats. I was in tears by the end of the night because My hips and thighs were so pinched and everything hurt.

Fast forward to last month, after three months of diet and exercise. I went to a rock concert in the same stadium. I dreaded it, because I remembered the seats, but I really wanted to see the band. Guess what? I fit in the seats! I may not have been able to see progress in the mirror, but that was all the proof I needed.

That was where I found the knowledge that I had a chance. You'll have your eureka moment too. :) Keep walking!

I feel if I want to lose the weight bad enough I will.
I can make a long lists of reasons why I can't lose the weight, but in reality there just excuses .
I chose to give in to gluttony and now I paying the price for my unhealthy self indulgent behavior.
I choose to hold myself accountable and believe I will return to normal healthy weight that will prevent damaging my body anymore than I've already done. Roo2 :carrot::carrot::carrot:

I've had decades and decades of being fat. I'm 61, so it amounts to my entire youth! I had a decade or two of yo-yo dieting ending up weighing more than what I did when I started. At that point I just decided to eat more or less healthy and I really didn't gain much more over about 30 years, but there was no loss. I don't know what got me going this time, I just sort of made up my mind to do it and I've been working at losing weight for the past year or so. Maybe it was just concern about how this weight was going to shorten my life if I didn't do something about it now.

I used to. Then I got a correct medical diagnosis and treatments after years of obviously incorrect diagnoses and inappropriate treatments doled out by lazy or incompetent physicians. It's amazing how much easier it becomes to lose weight (among other things) once those systemic problems are worked on. :\

It sounds like you may have identified a major underlying problem for you and are working on getting that resolved, while still plugging away with the food and activity practices that you know will get you where you want to be. You're doing great! :carrot::carrot::carrot:

Luke: I don't believe it.
Yoda: That is why you fail.

Seriously, you're doing great. Don't let your inner bully get you! Don't let her! Beat her up and give her a swirly! You can do this!