Slow weight loss
 

Hi Everyone-

I've heard so many times about how slower is better, but for some reason when I read this again somewhere and it just hit me like that totally makes sense. After hearing it for years I don't think I ever really thought about it.I just wanted to get the weight off. I had been setting a goal to lose 2 pounds a week to get close to my goal by Feb. This stresses me out because I know I'm setting myself up to binge everytime I "start over". So I'm going for a slower weight loss goal. I've made up my mind that if it takes me 2 years to get to my goal it is still better than yo-yo ing. My aim is 1/2 to 1 pound a week. Which is good I think. I know that I will get the weight off eventually but I really think slow changes will be the best ones. I realized it doesn't matter how fast I get there. I want it to be life-long. I'm tired of the diet/bingeing game. It feels so unhealthy. I feel happy, like a weight has been lifted. This is something I can live with. Why did it take so long to realize! I'm done beating myself up over simply being me.

I just wanted to know if anyone else is doing anything like this? Are there any happy slow "losers" out there? What made you realize slower was better for you?

Losing slow makes total sense - if you are making changes in your diet - and they are not extreme - but small changes eating the better foods and smaller portions, then the changes will become habit and stick with you for a life time changing habit. I have been eating better foods and much smaller portions and when eating supper last night wondered how I ever ate so much before !!

Going slow is the best plan if you want to start healthier habits and be able to keep them long term...it still takes plenty of effort - but if you go in with the mind set that you just want to lose a bunch of weight really fast for a certain occasion - it is not conducive to long term lifestyle change. If you think about it in terms of not only are you losing a pound or less a week - but you also are not gaining. If you are like me - when you aren't making the effort to lose, chances are you would be gaining...
It took me a year to lose 100 pounds - and up until lately I've maintained the loss...right now I'm getting back to journaling what I eat to get a handle on it again.

Check out the article I posted at this link:

Get Thin Slowly

;)

Thats good that you had a click moment.
I had that when I learned I didnt want to be on a diet anymore.
I started my thinking that I just need to be more healthy. Because diet is never ending but eating heathly is a lifestyle change for the better. ;)

Mrs.Jim thanks for posting the link to that article. That is exactly what I'm talking about. I read it and read it again. It makes so much sense. I hope more people read that.

Rdhdgrl1,
You know, I must agree, the slow approach does make a whole lot of sense. I’ve been trying it over the last month or so and did see some results. I had tried doing “the faster the better” thing for many years now, but now I am trying “the slower and surer” approach.
I figured, it took me 9 years to get my weight from “normal” (although I had never been really thin) to where it is now. So it makes sense that the way back should be slow too. Unfortunately I haven’t been doing it long enough to be able to offer much in way of advise, but I did learn a few things from the good folks here @ 3FC.
First – it appears that many of the successful “losers” and “maintainers” are not following any sort of a plan in particular. Instead they make up their own plan using the foods and the principles they can stick to long term.
Second – it really is different for everyone, no one plan will do the same things for different people.
Third – even if you make minimal changes in your diet and add at least some exercise, you will see results, maybe not as fast as you’d like, but you’ll see them.
And last, but not least – motivation is important, and it is almost impossible to stay consistently motivated if you’re doing it “the fast way”, at least for me.
I hope this helps, best of luck to you. ;)

I'm a happy slow loser :D. I "started" on Aug. 29, 2002. In one year, I lost about 25 lbs. That's about 1/2 lb a week. I then took a break (without really meaning to) when I moved to the UK for 18 months. I returned to the States in January 2005 having not gained or lost a single pound (although when I left for the UK I was a size 12, and I came back a size 14 so obviously I gained fat and lost muscle). I got back on the wagon Feb. 15, 2005 and have lost 14 more lbs since then. Again, that's a loss of about 1/2 lb a week.

I'm very happy. Because I KNOW it will stay off and I KNOW this is for life, not just a "diet."

I realized slow was better for me because my personal trainer told me so :s: . At least INITIALLY that's how a "realized." But as I progressed, it dawned on me that I can't GAIN 2 or 3 or 4 lbs a week without some serious effort, so losing that much is just unrealisitic.

Good luck...slow and steady wins the race. :)

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I think 1/2 pound a week is great. As chick_in_the_hat said earlier at least I won't be gaining. I'm not following any specific plan only keeping an eye on calories and making healthy choices and not stuffing myself. I really don't feel the anxiety I was feeling trying to be so strict with myself. I knew that couldn't be a lifestyle change only a temporary solution.

Slow losing is great. What should be thought about though, is that slow losing may still not fall into a certain amount on the scale per week-even 1/2 a pound. You may find that you lose 1 or 2 pounds in a week, and then don't show any scale loss for 2 or 3 weeks. It averages out the same-but the body doesn't always lose like clockwork.

Great point, aphil! Personally, I only weigh myself once every 6 - 8 weeks, so the 1/2 lb a week losses I mentioned above are an average (14 lbs lost in 28 weeks = 1/2 a week, for example). I think letting go of "scale obsession" is another key to successful and happy slow losing, too :) .

This is a great post b/c I too am a slow loser. I have been exercising 5-6 days a week plus working with a trainer for the past 6 weeks and to date I have not lost a lb. 1 1/2 weeks ago I joined WW to help me with the eating part. The GREAT NEWS is...everyone keeps telling me that I look like I have lost and I am wearing a pair of size 16 pants from Old Navy comfortably that I bought 2 months ago that I could not get buttoned....so for all of you that get frustrated with the scale...let it go. I quit weighing at home and will only weigh in at WW, but I do not care what it says...well...not that I do not care...but all I am looking for is like a 1/2 lb loss as well...I know that I am doing the right things and I know that this is for life...not just an occasion as stated above...you are so right in saying losing slow is what is best. It took me years to realize this...but I too get it now. All those days in the last 6 weeks that I was so frustrated b/c I wasn't losing...I kept coming here and reading the success stories and everyone's posts...it kept me going and now I am on my way..FINALLY I GET IT TOO! Thanks for the great post....I've been wanting to share this for a couple of days. Good luck to you!

I was really pleased when I found this thread becuase i very much believe in slow loosing... for me it was a lifestyle change which i will do (and am happy to do) for the rest of my life so pushing myself to the limit to loose it quickly wont work for me, i become obsessive. My only question about this is the plataeu thing. It has taken me a VERY long time (months) to loose the last 5kg (~11pd of my 25kg lost so far) and i want to keep weighing myself as it motivates me and i cant seem to get the scales moving again. I know that with plateau's you need to change something to get started again however i only want to make changes that i will keep for life. Does anyone know if you can break out of this naturally, its really starting to depress me as I know im being good and im getting nowhere.

I find that changing your exercise routine does wonders for a plateau. If you walk-go for a little longer distance, or the same distance at a faster time. If you lift weights, try upping the amount of weight a bit. If you do a 20 minute Pilates video-go for one that is 30 or 40 minutes instead. Just increase either the intensity or the time of your exercise (or both!) so that your fitness level increases.

Also, as you lose weight you may need to adjust your calorie level as well. :)

I totally agree with this aproach! A diet is somthing you do for awhile then you go back to eating the way you were! That's how you got to this point inthe first place! I'm willing to bet this is not the first diet for any of us. But this will be my last. Becaus I don't diet any more. I eat "healthy" I've changed the way I eat....lot of fruit and vegetables, lean meat, whole wheat bread, brown rice. And I think exercise is crucial! It has to be consistant, something you can do forever. I walk and lift weights. If you're younger you might try a sport that you love. If I were younger I know i'd be playing voleyball and soccer. I play with my grandkids now and it's so much fun! Do something that doesn't feel like "oh, i've got to esercise again". Eat foods you love, that give nutrition to your body. We only get one life, this is not a trial run!