The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Sylvia]

As some of you know, this journey to thinville hasn't been a completely smooth or easy one for me. While I have been entirely compliant, my body seems to lose weight in fits and spurts - a S-L-O-W five pounds and then a lightning fast five. When I'm in the fast phase, all is right with the world. But during the slow phase which seems to last FOREVER I sometimes begin to doubt that this will work, that I will ever make it to goal, that this is worth it, etc. I thought I'd share with the group some of the things I think about when I'm talking to myself that keep me going...

1) I have lost 42 pounds in 14 weeks for an average of 3 pounds a week. I have never lost this much weight in my life on any other program.

2) In addition to staying on my plan, I have been exercising just about every day for the past month - moderate exercise for 40 minutes to an hour per day. Believe me - I am not a gung ho exercise person and am very challenged for time, but I have made a commitment to fit this in. As a result of my complete plan - MF and exercise, I feel absolutely wonderful - better than I have in years.

3) Yesterday I fit into pants that I have not been able to wear for 13 years! They were the only thing I kept from the last time I got down to a near-reasonable weight. They're still a bit snug (which will soon change) but that was also 13 years and 2 kids ago so I'm feeling pretty pruod!

4) A bit over a month ago when I had lost around 30 pounds, I HAD to buy some clothes. Everything I had was really getting too big to wear. One of my favorite stores was having a big sale so I went in. I decided that I would buy things a bit on the snug side since I was confident I would keep progressing. Now, a little more than a month later, the snug things are comfortable to loose. The couple of things I bought that fit me perfectly are now too big to wear. Expensive but happy.

5) I live in Houston. Houston in the Summer is hot like you just can't imagine if you haven't tried it. I've noticed a huge difference between this Summer and last. First - and this sounds gross - I am not sweating between my rolls of fat. No rolls anymore, so I'm feeling much better and am spending more time outdoors. Second, I am now wearing shorts in public. My legs have always been a problem area for me - even at my goal weight, but they are now presentable enough for me to feel comfortable in shorts.

6) When I went to buy some shorts last weekend, I fit into a size 10 - that is not my usual size (although I am very happily into a 12), but the fact that I could wear a 10 - even in something that obviously ran large - was very motivating (and of course I bought 3 pairs and considered leaving the size tag on so everyone could see it).

7) In the first 6 weeks or so after I started the program, I thought about food a lot. I think about it a lot less now. It has become much less important to me. So now in those hard times when I despair of ever being done with this, thinking about what i could be eating really doesn't tempt me anymore. This has become habit and it seems easier to stay with it than to stray.

There is a woman I work with whose clothes I often admire and compliment. She told me that she shops at Chicos - a store I had never shopped in (probably b/c I couldn't have fit into anything there in the past). If you haven't shopped there, they have a unique sizing structure that goes from 0-3. I finally went in last week and loved everything. I instinctively starting grabbing things to try on in a 3 - their largest size. After pulling a few things off the rack, I started thinking that some of them looked pretty large, so I grabbed a couple of 2's. The bottom line is that teh 3's were all huge. I wore a 1 1/2 or 2 in most things and even a 1. It just sounds great to say I can wear a 1 in something!

9) At one point when I was getting frustrated because it was relatively early on and I had lost "only" 2 pounds a week for a couple of weeks, I changed the way I was looking at things. Instead of making a commitment to lose 75 pounds, I changed the commitment to one of time - I would do this until November 1. While I still am focused on how much weight I'm losing and hope to lose, I took away some of the pressure and strain by changing my focus from one of pounds to one of time. This is working well and I am on track to achive my goal weight right about the time 11/1 rolls around.

As the subject line suggests, these are random thoughts and ramblings but they all point to the fact that even though I am sometimes frustrated, I am the happiest with myself that I've been in a long time. Nothing - certainly not a few bites of some forbidden food - is more important to me than that. So that's what keeps me going and makes me confident that I will get to where I want to be.

Happy shaking!

Sylvia

[LongWay2go]

Sylvia -

You have a lot to be congratulated for! With all the difficulty you've had, you still stayed focused and are still losing weight. HOO-RAA!

What a great suggestion you made to not set your goals too high. Unrealistic goals are one of the main reasons that people get frustrated and give up on weight management programs. We all have to go one day at a time, and it is best to set mini-goals along the way. As I stand now, if I looked at my starting weight (last friday when i started the program I weighted 472) and my goal weight (225) that seems crazy! I listed it that way as suggested in the FAQ's, but I have mini-goals too. My first mini-goal is to break 400. I haven't weighed less than 400 in about 9 years! At the rate I'm going, I should make that goal in less than 2 months. Then I'll go for 350, then 300, etc. Who knows, I may not even stop at 225!

I'm so happy you're finding happiness in shopping. You deserve it! Just save some money for our proposed get-together group vacation next year, ok?

- Gerald

[Sylvia]

Thanks Gerald,

You're doing great and I am really looking forward to your weigh in results on Sunday! Getting under 400 will be wonderful and you will definitely need to think of some special way to celebrate - perhaps by doing something you weren't able to do at your starting weight!

I've tried to come up with new ways to celebrate my successes (other than the traditional way of food). I've been doing the program with a friend and we buy each other little gifts for every 5 pounds - smaller ones for the 5's and larger for the 10's. It is fun and somehow more exciting to get a gift from someone than it is to buy the same thing for yourself. I also shop - my only remaining vice. I am somewhat of a shopaholic and this is giving me all kinds of fresh reasons to indulge.

Sylvia

[LongWay2go]

What a great idea! Little gifts...who can I get to buy me little gifts...

I'll have to think about that one!

- Gerald

[hawaiiwhatnot]

Sylvia,

You've got some great ideas girl! -- Focus on a date rather than numbers and a reward system of gifts! Your progress of 3 pounds a week is sheer inspiration too. Bet like me, you check yourself in the mirror every time you go to the restroom to see where the pounds have fallen off. Pre MF, I NEVER looked in the mirror but it's now one of my motivation tools!

Here's to MF!
Camille

[Sylvia]

Camille,

You know me so well. I'm so used to not looking in the mirror that sometimes I still don't. Then I catch a glimpse of myself and it's still a pleasant surprise. Now I usually smile when I look.

You're doing great too! I so look forward to hearing your monthly results (and am still amazed that you have the "willpower" to only weigh that often).

S

[hawaiiwhatnot]

Thanks Sylvia,

After reading your post, I realized that weighing once a month IS my reward, and that's why I don't attribute it so much to willpower but to my upcoming gift.

As for getting in front of the mirror - well yes I know where you've been and where you're at. Hey, once I reach my goal, I'll probably be spending most of my time there! HA!

Let's keep shakin and bakin that fat off!!!
Camille

[Simmshe]

Sylvia,

You always seem to express something that is exactly what I need to hear! Even this early into my plan I have sometimes found myself being impatient, thinking that I'm losing too slowly because the scale doesn't budge for 4 or 5 days. What you wrote reminded me that this is more than just what the scale reads--how fast I'm losing weight. It's good to focus on changes that don't show on the scale (like my calves touching now when I get on the scale and having clothes fall off of me!).

And it's reassuring to know that your thoughts about food decreased a lot after six weeks of being on your plan. I don't think about food obsessively now, and have only felt tempted a couple of times to eat something off plan, but I am looking forward to becoming even less food/eating-focused and having fewer thoughts of the food that "I'm missing." I've already realized that about 80% of the food that I used to eat (binge on) I didn't even enjoy--I was usually too full to even taste the food after five-ten minutes, or felt so sick, and yet I would still be stuffing food down my throat.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts--it's great to hear of your growth and new insights . What you wrote has really helped me to keep things in perspective more!

Sheryl

[Nancy]

Hello-o-o-o, Sylvia and others!

I averaged 3.5 pounds per week - some weeks were more, then there were those weeks of hardly anything...

I weighed a million times a day during the weight loss phase - every time I went to the BR...still do. I'm O-C...

I love lookin' in the mirror - can't believe that is is really ME! after all the years of being the porkster, i am finally thinner!

Yes, I know all about Chico's...dangerous place for me to enter...my friend Bon Bon told me all about it - we were garage saling and she found a skirt with a Chico's label marked for $2. It was a size 1 and she said, "Here, Nanc, try this - it'll be perfect for you and it is such a good price!"

I thought, "yeah, right - size 1"

She explained their sizing system to me - where was Chico's when I weighed 265??? I might have worn a size 12 in their clothing store instead of a size 22 or 24 at Catherine's, The Avenue and Lane Bryant!!!

Gifts make GREAT rewards! I had a Body Buddy when I was in the weight loss phase. She weighed about 318 when she started, I gave her my clothes as prizes - I also had some nice little gifts for her desk at work to remind her of her good progress.

Terry bought me little surprises as I reached different weight goals, too - it sure motivates ME!! Still does!

All of you Forum Friends are GIFTS! I think you are so wonderful to each other. It makes it a pleasure to log on and read the things you write.

You are the glue that holds each one to the task at hand. We don't want to let each other down in any way, do we?

Shake it up, shake it off!