[Sweatintotheoldies]

Hello!! Just a little background about myself. I am 30 years old and started my weight loss journey in August 2016. I weighed in at 304. I felt like crap every day and avoided photos and mirrors at all costs. Today I am down to 236 pounds. 68! My problem is that I don't see any results when I look in a mirror. No ones really mentioned my weight loss either. A couple have said my face seems smaller. I hoped that 68 pounds would show me some results but maybe because I am only 5'4 and weighed so much to begin with it's different? My biggest issue lately is bloat. It seems I only lose two weeks a month. I bloat the whole week of my period. And then again for 10 days when ovulating. Does this happen to anyone else? How do you not get discouraged? I work out 4 days a week and eat 1100/1200 a day and will not lose a single pound those weeks. Thank you!

[Princessroja]

Wow, 68 pounds! That's a lot, good for you!! Actually, I have the same issue and just posted today in another thread about it. It seems like the first two weeks of the month the scale just plummets downward, and then the other two weeks it just bounces up and down and stays basically where it is. I'm wondering if, since I lose weight SO fast the other two weeks, I just hang onto a bunch of water but keep losing. I just don't see the fruits of all that work until the water weight comes off later. Anyway, all that to say, I have that problem too! And it's super discouraging, so I totally hear you!

[marshallisfab]

I bloat like crazy, personally. I can change sizes of pants within an hour! Here's a small list of things that I've noticed helps with bloating. I'm sure you've tried a lot of these, but it's worth a shot, passing on advice. Even if it doesn't help you, it might help somebody else.
1. Water! Oh my goodness, I cannot stress this enough. You should always have a water bottle next to you. It may increase bloating the first few days of really drinking tons of water, but it will help in the long run. There's a very helpful app called Plant Nanny which makes sure you drink enough water a day and makes it a fun, interactive game as well.
2. Fruits and vegetables. If you fill up on salad, you won't be filling up on carbs/fats that can bloat you.
3. Avoid carbonated drinks. This sounds obvious, but I didn't realize it until recently.
4. Talk to a doctor. If your bloating is causing you pain/discomfort and/or you are having other digestive symptoms, you may have a sensitivity to something you're eating.

[msgooch]

Congratulations!! You are doing amazingly well. I think people don't like to comment on someone's weight. I bet people have noticed, but it's such an awkward thing to point out. This is for you, no one else.

It just stinks that this journey isn't just a steady downward line, but our bodies don't work that way. Perhaps view your success on a monthly basis if you can? Easy for me to say - I weigh myself every day and get frustrated when the scale doesn't budge or goes in the wrong direction.

I'm also now on the lookout for non scale victories. What's better for you now than it was 68 lbs ago? Do you have more stamina? Are you in smaller clothes? Has your blood pressure gone down?

I'm really very happy for you.

[bloominbutterflies]

First of all congrats for your loss! I was just wondering the same thing today, it's weird timing. Us women have it SO hard. I take birth control pill contiously and they are triphasic. It's such a pain in the a$$ to have to go through an entire week (sometimes 10 days) of bloating after only 2 weeks or less off from bloating before it happens ALL OVER AGAIN. It feels ridiculous sometimes. I've thought about asking my doctor to switch brands or type, but I'm so terrified the new pills will be even worse and throw off my diet even more.

[JulesMarion]

I used to weigh in weekly but I noticed a trend of loss gain loss gain and it was discouraging to me. When I ovulate I retain water, and on my period too. So... 2 weeks out of the month I'm bloated! My solution was to move my weigh ins to once a month (when I know I'm not bloated). So far it's been very encouraging! If you have solid habits and know you're doing well, weighing once a month would be a good idea (or twice a month) that way you're not getting the bloated weigh in discouragement.