Impatient with Weight Loss

[LC_Dave]

Because I have so much to lose, I often get impatient with my weight loss progress. I have to stop myself and remind myself about the baggy skin people who loose too quickly.
I can't have surgery, I refuse to have any surgery whatsoever.

You just get impatient. I've just discovered this wonderful way of eating and I want to be at goal. I've lost a bit, but it's barely registered on the radar.

I believe I'm coping with it okay, I'm more interested in hearing about your own feelings about your own weight loss.

Does this happen to any of you ?

[Mary-chan]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

I concentrate on my mini-goals that are close in reach. I tried not to think about having a hundred pounds to lose. At first I said "i want to be under 250..." then, wow fitting into those size 22 pants sure would be nice... and so on...

I also thought, any loss is good!! And it is!! I can honestly feel the difference a few pound makes on my body - every pound I lose makes me feel so lighter on my feet and so healthier! If my feet and ankles could talk they would be thanking me everyday! And one of my favorite old cliche's is .. it's not the destination, it's the journey.. It would be nice to be at goal, but taking time to get there helps me get used to being thinner and to make the adjustment.

Everyone always talks about how losing weight makes you feel great - and it does - but I think what often gets ignored is that it can be a hard emotional adjustment somtimes. Being thin somehow can make us feel more vulnerable and puts us out in the world - we lose our security blanket so to speak.. I've had to deal with my own issues surrounding this and try to work around them. So, slow isn't always a bad thing .

Either way... losing weight slowly is still better then losing no weight at all or gaining. "slow and steady wins the race"

[LC_Dave]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

Good point about the security blanket issues Mary,

I've set 150 kilos or 330 pounds as my next mini-goal. This was the weight that I started Weight Watchers on back in 1999.

A mantra I tell myself is this: "This is fattest day of your life, because tommorrow you are going to be thinner. You are never going to be this fat again"
For some reason telling myself that makes me calm down a bit and I realise where I came from and look at where I'm going.

[skinnyby25]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

I've lost a bit, but it's barely registered on the radar.

I'm sorry, did you say you've lost a bit? 86 pounds in a little over 6 months? That's a HUGE accomplishment and you should be so proud of yourself! It's amazing. I have about that much to lose and if it came off in about 6 months, I'd be over the moon! Just remember if your next goal is 150 pounds lost, then you're already over half way there.

I love your mantra by the way, you won't be as fat tomorrow as you are today! That should be on a fridge magnet!

/KIM

[Analog6]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

Yes, me too. I've lost 50 lbs and have about 150 to go, and while I can see a difference, especially in my clothes, I still have a big belly 'apron' and bugles over my hips and huge, saggy boobs, and I want to be thin NOW!! (Nice to get that frustration off my chest!)

However, from 14 Janaury I am starting fpor 12 weeks with a PT at the gym - hopefully it will get things moving a bit faster.

Hang in there Dave - we can do it!

[killerbombshell]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

I too get frustrated. I've had a frustrating week of 0 loss. I know I know, a lot of people think a week is no big deal but even when I ate pizza over Thanksgiving I managed to lose a pound and I wasn't even working out like I am now!

Getting frustrated is normal and often helpful: it allows us to reexamine what we're doing wrong and what we're doing right, as well as to consider whether our goals are reasonable and how happy we are with aspects other than weight loss. Ok you're not losing weight as fast as you may like--but it IS coming off, you DO feel better, you ARE feeling happier and more confident knowing that you're doing something about your weight other than being miserable and let it control and ruin your life. I get my head so stuck in weightloss sometimes that I forget there are other things out there! A good stall helps me to refocus, reexpand my horizons, and reexamine my other goals.

It allows us to make adjustments in our eating, to push ourselves harder in exercise, and to drink just a little more water that we may not have before.

Anyway enough of my silly preaching. You're doing great--just keep that in mind!!

(Great mantra, Kim, btw! I would buy that for my fridge for sure!)

[LC_Dave]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

I love your mantra by the way, you won't be as fat tomorrow as you are today! That should be on a fridge magnet!
/KIM

Kim, Yes that's the mantra!!! That is the best way to say it! For some reason I have had trouble trying to verbalise that mantra!

Me and my stupid brain sometimes!

[Kent]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

Because I have so much to lose, I often get impatient with my weight loss progress. I have to stop myself and remind myself about the baggy skin people who loose too quickly.
I can't have surgery, I refuse to have any surgery whatsoever.

You just get impatient. I've just discovered this wonderful way of eating and I want to be at goal. I've lost a bit, but it's barely registered on the radar.

I believe I'm coping with it okay, I'm more interested in hearing about your own feelings about your own weight loss.

Does this happen to any of you ?

Dave, I know this rings trite with me at goal, but you have written what I thought almost all of 2004. Whatever you lose it just doesn't seem enough when you still look in the mirror with fat goggles on. Having someone tell you that the weight did not come on in a day and won't leave in one doesn't help.

It does get better, but it never entirely goes away. Here's two thoughts on how to lessen the impatience - start measuring and start photographing. It's hard not to get a little proud of how far you've come (and conversely less focussed on how far you have left to go) when you've lost inches from your chest or stomach. The other one feeds the other way to demonstrate how far you've come - photos. It is remarkable some times the differences others can see between two photos that the person might never notice themselves. It never failed to lift any lingering doubt that the end would ever come to post my photos here. I have feeling that eventually people thought "gah, another photo post by the goofy Iowan," but they were at least gracious and never failed to celebrate in my losses.

Keep the faith, Dave. It will get better.

[LOWCARBINCLEVELANDOH]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

Dave,

I had a "Panniculectomy" a couple of years ago at 300 lbs. They removed 26 lbs of skin & tissue to increase my mobility. I am very short and my poor deflated stomach hug down almost to my knes.

The recovery from it wasn't bad. I felt like myself in aboout 10 days.

SInce then I am able to do things I couldn't do because of the abdomen in the way, simple things like tie my shoes while sitting in a chair that those "other folks" take for granted.

I guess my point is, if things get too bad, do not fear surgery too much.

My medical insurance totally paid for this.

[Analog6]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

The photos is a really good idea, Dave. I am taking one on teh 10th of each month (I started this on 10/09/2005) and the differences even surprise me. In the mirror all I see if the fat person, but the camera shows me progress is being made! Try to take the same pose each time, as you can see I do a full figure slightly side on to the camera so I can see if my tummy really is disappearing.

[changing]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

Oh Dave, I totally understand where you're coming from!

My numbers scare the crap out of me! I start thinking... ok... I'm losing about 100 lbs (which I know isn't very much at all to some), so if I lose 10 lbs, then I'll think YES! and be really happy and then there will be this moment of truth when I think, "Oh wait... I'm still 90 lbs too heavy" and then mope about. It really isn't cute, I know, but it happens far too often. So I go prowl on the ADBB and see what has helped other people get through these types of things and I see people talking about rewards... "at 10 lbs getting a haircut, 15 lbs buying a new pair of pants, 20 lbs new exercise tape" or what-have-you, and I'll get down because I can't set goal rewards, partly because I make no money right now (living on student scholarships and part of my husband's income) and we have no extra income for rewards, and partly because thinking about the numbers triggers my negative side that does the math and sees how far I am from even halfway (which still has me 50 lbs overweight).

The only thing that gets me through is thinking about how much energy I have, how in control my appetite is, how delicious the meals I eat are, and how I never wake up with that feeling of my pants being tighter (you all know what I mean). In short, the present keeps me going. Too much speculation on the future hurts me.

There's the old Buddhist tenet "Be here now." So I try to experience this and live in whatever joy this moment has for me.

Oh... and kinda off-topic, Dave, you have a skinny face!

[yankee]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

Seems like we all get frustrated. I find that reality very comforting. My two weeks in boot camp was great but I only lost 6 pounds and no more since then - it's been a week. I will put my blinders on continue with extended induction and continue to read here and anything else that will keep me from blowing it off altogether but it gets discouraging.

I have an OA pamphlet sitting on my bedside table. It's called "Just for Today" and I find myself repeating that phrase over and over when temptation is in front of me. I can do this Just for Today ...

[dreamof145]

Re: Impatient with Weight Loss

Another thing that I read that inspires me with my weight loss is....

Today...I may not be where I want to be....but I am thrilled to not be where I was.

I think this puts it into perspective for me. I will get to goal. It isn't going as fast as I want, but thank heavens I am not where I was 2 years ago when I began this journey.