Trying Not to Look at the Big Picture

Oinkstop

Full Member
I had a really good loss this week. I'm down 5 lbs for a total of 19 since I started CD and a total of almost 27 lbs from my highest weight ever.

That being said, I'm struggling with trying not to look at the big picture here. Even though I'm losing weight at a fantastic rate, I realize that I'm going to be dieting for at least another six to nine months, and that's starting to feel pretty overwhelming.

I'm also feeling pretty frustrated because I'm not noticing any real changes in my body. My clothes don't fit any better, my stomach still gets in the way of everything and I have to lift it to wash, and I am definitely not feeling the surge of energy that most people claim to feel when they start losing weight.

I took pictures and measured four weeks ago and again today, and though the tape measure does show a few inches lost, I really can't tell much difference when I look at the photos. I don't see much in the way of shrinkage, and instead I just see a rear end that goes on forever!

Anyway, I know that I should be celebrating the fact that I've lost 19 lbs in 4 weeks, but instead I'm feeling pretty discouraged knowing that I'm going to be at this for what seems like forever!

I'm trying really hard not to look at the big picture and to be happy for the small successes along the way. Unfortunately, this morning I'm just having a really hard time with it.
 
Hey losing that weight is fantastic! I know what you mean though, I've lost a stone so far and I don't see any difference in myself. Just think of how you'll feel when you're family and friends start noticing. Dieting for 6 months is far better than feeling horrible about yourself for the rest of your life. It seems a long time now but just think about how long it would take you if you were calorie counting.
 
Well done on your weightloss so far, you are doing brilliantly. Sometimes the body just takes time to adjust to the change and will eventually catch up with your weightloss. Also instead of thinking about the dieting for 6 months just take it a day at a time hun. Good luck for your next weigh in. x
 
Oinkstop, your weight loss so far is fantastic, and you should't forget that.

Try to remember how long you have been unhappy with your weight, and then compare that to the time you estimate you will be on CD...when you think about it, its a drop in the ocean...6-9 months out of your life is nothing in comparison!

Whats the alternative? Go back to your old ways and put back on the 19lb's you have lost? NO WAY! Its coming off and thats the main thing! And you will start to feel and see results very soon of you keep going the way you are!

Stay strong, and DO think of the bigger picture, the one which features you in a bikini on the beach, strutting your stuff!! :D

Cat Bee x
 
Hi.. 1 thing is for sure.... time passes to quickly, and if u stick with it, the weight will soon be gone, on this diet u have to lose it so as said before.. just take 1 day at a time. Good luck and well done on ur loss so far.
 
Stay strong, and DO think of the bigger picture, the one which features you in a bikini on the beach, strutting your stuff!! :D

No way are you ever going to see me on a beach in a bikini!!!

I figure by the time I lose all this weight I'll have so much loose skin I'll look like a big flabby white deflated balloon!

That would scare everyone off the beach, and that wouldn't be very nice at all. Think of the children! LOL

I'll just be happy if I'm healthier and can buy my clothing at a regular store. I'm well past the age of aspiring to be beautiful.
 
I'm also feeling pretty frustrated because I'm not noticing any real changes in my body. My clothes don't fit any better, my stomach still gets in the way of everything and I have to lift it to wash, and I am definitely not feeling the surge of energy that most people claim to feel when they start losing weight.

Yeah, I didn't get that surge of energy. Most people do, some don't.

Neither did I 'feel' different for a long time, and certainly couldn't see the changes. But you do need to focus on some present positives otherwise it'll do your head in ;)

For me, it was the fact that I was in control. Enjoying the day that I was 100% and feeling strong doing it. I had to do it that way because the goal seemed too far off.

You're doing really well...that's got to make you feel good? Okay, you know what you want at the end, but focus on the positives of doing something towards it today...this moment in time :)
 
To my fellow Yankee :) (I'm from Kansas and that is how I am sometimes refered to in Texas, go figure) Anyway, I know what you mean about the big picture. I had to get that out of my head because in the beginning my first goal seemed sooooo far away that some days I felt I would never get to where I am today and I still have a ways to go, so I had to go one day at a time. Someone in my group said he thinks of it like that movie "Groundhog Day" ie. do the day, go to bed and get up and do it all over again. That thinking does help me most of the time but those big picture days can get you down.
Hang in there you are doing well!
 
19lbs is a brilliant loss so far - well done:D
I think you have to take this diet one day at a time and I remember not really noticing any inch loss until i hit the 2 stone mark and then I seemed to suddenly drop sizes really quickly!
Just remember as well that you will be working through the plans at some point and so its not going to be sole source forever. Theres also the option to go up and down the plans as you go along if you become bored and you will still lose weight.
Hope this helps and hang in there! X
 
the time does pass quickly hun, i've been on CD for more than 7 months (well, it was that long because i've been doing SS+ and then 810kcal for quite a while instead of doing SS), and to be honest, it flied by so quickly that i barely noticed:)
i didn't feel the surge in energy either, i mostly felt tired and slept a lot, but i think after around a month or two the energy came back:)
when it comes to the clothes, i could only see a real difference in one pair of trousers, which were too big to begin with, so i think after 2 weeks they were already falling off of me:) but i also couldn't see much difference in my appearance at first, so don't worry about it:) it all comes in time, and you won't believe how quickly time goes by:)
 
I didn't really notice any loss until the past 10 pounds or so but I kept telling myself that it would take me much longer on weight watchers or the alternative of going back to being 20 stone something is too horrible to contemplate! Just take it one day at a time and think that this is the fastest way of getting it off!
 
Thanks to everyone for your kind words of encouragement. I'm feeling a bit better now, though I'm really wondering how long it will take before I can get into some of my older clothes. I just dug through my closets and found all sorts of stuff that I've long since outgrown, and I'm very curious to see how long it will take before I can wear some of it again.

Of course the sad thing is that there isn't much there that I really want to wear. Most of it is pretty large, so I suspect it won't be until I lose most of my weight that I'll be able to get back into the nicer stuff I have stashed in my garage.
 
Thanks to everyone for your kind words of encouragement. I'm feeling a bit better now, though I'm really wondering how long it will take before I can get into some of my older clothes. I just dug through my closets and found all sorts of stuff that I've long since outgrown, and I'm very curious to see how long it will take before I can wear some of it again.

Of course the sad thing is that there isn't much there that I really want to wear. Most of it is pretty large, so I suspect it won't be until I lose most of my weight that I'll be able to get back into the nicer stuff I have stashed in my garage.

Be sure to try stuff on from time to time. I missed out on some articles of clothing i had been waiting to fit into because when i remembered to try them on they were too big. I have to always plan what I am going to wear to work now and make sure things still fit and are not too big. It's a pain to walk around work all day pulling up your pants. lol
 
Oink, think of the bigger picture a different way... it's the picture you see when you look at photos of yourself a month ago. But now, although you may not see much difference yet, you are 19lbs smaller and slimmer and healthier, and when you look in the mirror, that's the SMALLER picture, right?

And what is the alternative to 6/7 months on CD? Stay as you were, eating the way you did... and watch the lbs pile steadily on until that bigger picture gets REALLY scary. Not an option. You have to change, have to sort this, & look at the reasons you put on the weight in the first place, so you can make sure those patterns never reappear.

For me, starting CD was pretty close to being a lifesaver - I was at rock bottom, not just with weight, but CD gave me control in one area of my life and that was a great feeling... You have to try to see CD as an ally and not an enemy, a tool you are using to turn things around. And it's not an overnight fix but it is faster than the alternatives.

The bigger picture? Keep on keeping on, and it will soon be a distant memory.
xxx
 
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