I joined WW last week and had my first meeting on Monday. I weighed in 7 lbs over what my home scale told me. I felt like I was off to a horrible start. I've been lurking posts here for a few hours, and everyone is so positive and upbeat. I can't seem to catch that enthusiasm. I want to lose 80 lbs, and feel like this is an absolutely unattainable goal. I've been overweight for around 30 of my 42 years. I spent my part of my childhood and all of my teen and adult years in fat clothes. Maybe because I've never been skinny, I just can't picture myself with the weight off. I've done ww before and lost a few lbs, but I just can't seem to feel motivated or enthusiastic. I just feel fat.
Any words of wisom to kick start that feeling?

our leader just told us the other night. that right now they wanted us to only be concerned about losing 5%. than once we attained that, we move to 10%. than when that is attained they meet with you and decide where you want the next reward level to be. it could be each 10% or each 10#s. she said this isn't as overwhelming being in smaller increments. made me feel better. you have to find what works for you.
good luck. it does get easier.

First of all, welcome to the WW community! Don't get discouraged because you're starting weight wasn't what you thought. Different scales are ALWAYS going to have different numbers, that's why it's important to weigh at the same time on the same type of scale every week.

I agree with chipper, start with small attainable goals. I lost 34 pounds on WW and then had to stop due to financial reasons, I just started back and instead of shooting high, my goal right now is 10%.

Don't expect to lose 5 pounds every week either. Some weeks I only lose .2, but then the next week I could end up losing 6. Make sure you're tracking everything is my best advice! The first time I did WW I would forget to track certain things and that led to okay, not great weeks.

Just know that you have plenty of support on 3FC and stick with it, I promise it's very rewarding.

Hey there Micki K, and to 3FC!

I have a couple of ideas about how to improve your WW experience.

There's no horrible start. There is only your start. Wherever it is, it's a start. That's all that matters.

So, pick a scale, one scale, and stick with it. At least mentally. I'll try to explain.

The problem when you deal with two separate scales is compounded on many levels. A) The scales may naturally be calibrated differently. One scale can easily be a few pounds off from a different scale. The WeightWatchers scales tend to be regularly maintained, so they tend to have a better chance of being accurate. B) The times you weigh. If you weigh at home, and then at a meeting, you might be weighing at home before a meal or even with fewer clothes on. This means that by the time you make it to a meeting and weigh in that the scale is clearly going to show a few more pounds merely by the fact that you're living life, eating meals, putting on clothes...C) It becomes a head trip. You think you're going to be down on one scale, then you're up on the other one. Or according to one scale you're down 2 pounds, but then the other scale says you're down 1.

Now, how to mentally stick to just one scale?

There are a few options to you. You can put one scale away entirely. Put your bathroom home scale away into your closet. Don't step up on it. If you choose the WW scale, things would be easier in that regard. You get to weigh in once a week. It'll be at a consistent place, and you have to weigh in anyways.

If you choose to weigh-in at home using your own scale, that's also a fine choice, but it's going to require that you "mentally block" the WW scale. You will still have to step up on the scale for your meetings, but it's fine as long as you prepare yourself to not listen to the number they give you.

Whatever you do, do not compare the two scales' numbers for anything other than curiosity or you're just going to give yourself a headache. And, let's not make this journey any harder than it is on ourselves. It's already hard enough.

So, Hi! I'm Lovely. I've been overweight/obese/morbidly obese for just about all of my life thus far. I never imagined myself at a normal weight. Even when I wasn't terribly overweight I just always "knew" myself to be fat. It was more than just a mental image, it was my entire self image. I was just.... fat. I always would be, no use changing things. Until... I changed things.

I began here weighing over 300 pounds. So far I've taken off about 50, and I'd really love to lose another 80-100 lbs. I say that, because when you mention that 80 pounds seems like an unattainable goal... I understand. But, it's not. It's very attainable. One only needs to look around 3FC for a few to see people in the process of achieving what they've set out to do. However, it's just as important to look at how they're doing it.

This next point might begin sounding rather pessimistic, but I want to assure you that it does get better once the point has been made.

I often don't feel motivated or enthusiastic about losing weight. Much of the time I feel rather unenthusiastic. This is just a part of life.

The changes that we need to make in order to lose weight, and in order to keep it off are going to be things that we have to do much of the rest of our lives. So, imagining myself waking up every day singing songs about losing weight just isn't realistic. And, one of the best things I can do for myself is to be realistic about my goals and how to achieve them. Else I might end up quitting. And quitting isn't an option or I'll never lose the weight or keep it off.

Motivation is a feeling. It's a fun feeling. It's good to have around sometimes. It makes certain things easier. But, it doesn't stick around forever. It doesn't actually get the job done.

The people who are making it work, the people who've gotten to maintenance, and the people who might not be at maintenance yet but are still here have made decisions to work on their healthy changes no matter what. They're people who've decided that their goals are worth the effort. Challenges, emotional and physical, are bound to be a part of this whole process. Sometimes change is slow-coming, but it's always in the works as long as we're willing to put in the effort.

But, the effort has to be made before we get the reward.

I so love the following quote that a fellow 3FCer's trainer said, so I hope you don't mind that I share it with you:

It will never work out if you wait to do something until you FEEL like doing it.
Feelings come FROM actions, not the other way around.
Do the thing to get the feeling.
Then remind yourself how it feels for the next time, but never rely on how you feel at the moment.

That can be used for a lot of things. Don't want to take my morning walk? Oh well. Get up there. Afterwards I feel great. I took my walk!

Don't feel like tracking my food? Oh well. If I don't track my food, then I can't pay attention to how much I eat. If I don't pay attention, I will gain weight. And after I've tracked my food each day, I feel proud!

Lots of things get easier over time. We fall into newer, healthier patterns. Taking that walk becomes a part of the day. Stopping off at the store to buy more fruits and vegetables in the middle of the week becomes a part of the routine.

Sure, I don't always feel like it, but neither do I always feel like doing the dishes. Still has to get done. Sometimes in order to get something done, we have to just do it. No excuses.

You can do this. I'm glad you've joined us, and I hope that you're able to find what you need on 3FC

Stick around, and best of wishes~

I have a large amount of weight to lose (80 pounds according to my ticker, but really, I"d like to lose 100) and sometimes I feel the same way you do - that it's just too much, and it's never going to happen. Just try to think in smaller goals (5-10 pounds at a time) and it makes it feel more manageable. You may have good weeks on the scale and bad weeks on the scale - don't let the bad weeks get you down. Just keep working hard, keep eating according to plan and exercising and the weight will come off. It's a marathon, not a sprint, which is something I often forget!
Whenever I find myself losing motivation, I look at old clothes of mine that I used to fit in, but don't anymore. I also look online at clothes, or just imagine myself being my ideal weight. It sounds cheesy, but it does help. Also, the Fitness section of Pinterest is very motivating, you should check it out.
Good luck! Don't give up.

Thanks so much ladies for the amazing words of wisdom. I knew I came to the right place. I know that I need to drop the 'poor me' attitude and just do it....but at this point it seems so overwhelming. I try to think about the smaller goals, but lets face it....its the bigger goal I want to achieve.
I've been trying really hard to get inspired. I love reading the success stories and going to youtube to watch all the before and after videos and thats helped alot to keep me on track this week. It proves to me that it is possible.
Now I just need to get over myself and carry on toward my first goal.
Thanks to everyone. You're all amazing women.

I think there are good things about having a lot of weight to lose. When you are serious about it, you know you are going to be on this "diet" a LONG time. Not a couple of weeks, or a couple of months, but a year or more.
The great news about this is that when you follow a habit for so long, it gets into you, and thats the way to permanently change behaviour. Its so much more than just "dieting" for a while, then going back to "normal" and dieting again, yoyoing up and down. You have a great chance to really change your lifestyle in a healthy way. It WILL be hard at times. SO is life, there will be holidays and ups and downs, and taking so long to lose your weight will give you the opportunity to eat right even when its hard to do it. You will be better and stronger for it. You CAN do, (so can I!) when you are ready to embrace that.

Micki! My goodness... get going on the plan and give it a fair chance girl! Its awesome!!! I was the typical "ugh im so big and ill never lose weight..." it affected EVERYTHING i did. I was so embarased all the time going out i thought everyone was looking at me. I just decided that I kept thinking about losing weight, thinking it was unatainable... and then thinking... WHY?? ive never tried other programs where i have that support. Girl... let me tell you, if i can do it??? surely anyone can. ANYONE. Like you, ive been big my whole life. I dont ever recall being skinny, i was always the "fat girl" in school, and ive cried MANY a time as to why i could not be like the other girls i went to school with. Just so i could experience what they did, boyfriends, wearing all the cool trends etc.

You can so do this. If you need more support at home, perhaps you could find someone to go with you, someone to push you. Think about how much you want it. It is going to be frustrating, and it will be a pain and you will think its going too slowly. I have lost over 60lbs in the last year, it will come off. Ive never been this thin in my entire life and im 187lbs. I feel like a million bucks.. truly. Just do it and try. we are all here for you.