I know this comes up frequently, but I had a few thoughts I wanted to share regarding the SPEED of weight loss.
When I first began my weight loss journey, I downloaded my little food tracker and scale apps and plugged in my goal weight and weekly deficit and they both spit out a little "projected goal date." This felt HUGE to me at first - I kept staring at that date, imagining myself at that point of the year that many pounds lighter. It actually lined up perfectly with a camping trip I have planned so I really clung to this idea that that weekend I could be thin and happy in my swimsuit in front of my friends.
As I continued updating my daily weights, that projected date would fluctuate a few days sooner/later depending on my rate of weight loss. I was never SUPER stressed about it, I understood that it was always a rough estimate and that if I was a couple lbs over my goal at that point that was obviously still a win. But I was still VERY MUCH focused on getting to my goal weight as fast as possible (within reason/in a healthy way, you know what I mean). But I started losing weight back in January, when the US was still very much locked down in quarantine. I was working from home, it was freezing outside and I was unable to really do anything or see anyone besides my partner. Because of this, I was very much in a weight loss "bubble." I had pretty much total control over what food would be in front of me every day. Sure, there might be some junk food in the house or I could overdo it on portions of healthy food if I didn't have good self-control, but all my meals centered around what I chose to prepare.
Because of this, my little projected weight loss date continued to stay more or less right on track. I was losing at a good clip, about 7-8 lbs a month. And then... my situation changed. People started getting vaccinated, the weather got warm, and my world opened up. I mean, it was thrilling and exactly what we had all been hoping for the past year. But from the perspective of my weight loss journey, it was a huge adjustment! I had maintained from the beginning that I never wanted to be that person that can't enjoy food. We've all known that person that constantly whines about their diet, or loudly bemoans how they can't have a piece of cake at a party or whatever. I knew that for my long-term success, I needed room in my diet to live my life. To eat a plate of food at a barbecue, to have a couple beers on a warm night on a friend's balcony.
So I had to adapt. I started going to gatherings more regularly and while I wouldn't binge, I didn't restrict myself to celery or whatever - I enjoyed the hell out of cheese platters and grilled meats and other tasty stuff. And I saw that projected goal date getting further and further away. But I've also continued to see the average on the scale go down. Yup, it's slower. Sometimes I have a week or two now where I bounce around between the same 3 lbs and don't really make "progress." But I have such a different outlook on success at this point. Success is that I spent a whole weekend seeing friends and family I've been missing for the past year, enjoying delicious food and having a drink in the summer sunshine without feeling shitty about my body.
Because the thing is, I've already lost about 35 lbs. In the beginning, I was so laser-focused on just getting to my goal weight as fast as possible that I fully neglected to realize that even part of the way there would still feel amazing. I never thought about how GREAT it would feel to essentially have a "joyride" in my body even before my goal weight! Like yup, I still want to drop some pounds, and get more buff... but my body has absolutely noticeably changed, clothes fit better, and I'm having a blast getting compliments from folks and living my best hot girl summer life NOW even if I'm not "finished."
So I just wanted to give a shoutout to reframing your expectations around the speed of weight loss. I see a lot of posts about how slow and steady wins the race, which is valid, but I want to also plug that YOUR RATE OF WEIGHT LOSS CAN FLUCTUATE, and that's not only okay but also potentially a great thing! If you're losing slower, or maintaining, or even gaining a little, all because you're enjoying the shit out of your life? You're a goddamn champion.
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