Weight Loss Is The Cumulative Effect Of Tiny Decisions Throughout The Day

Rather than thinking about weight loss as this lifelong discipline that is so hard to sustain, what it really comes down to is making split second decisions in the moment.

I know when I'm losing weight, I get very demotivated if I think of it as having to stay dedicated for 6 straight months or a year. But I get joy out off accomplishing numerous small tasks during the day.

You're cooking steak in a skillet. Do you grab the A1, or the pepper? If you're at Subway, do you get a chicken sandwich, or a chicken salad? It's just moving your hand one centimeter over to the pepper, or making your mouth easy salad instead of sandwich.

By the time that decision is made and it's long gone, it's not on your mind anymore. The suffering of having to make the right decision is fine, so your mind is fresh and ready to make the right decision this next time.

Just today, I had such a desire to eat the cookies my roommate made. I thought about my end goal, and realized it wasn't worth it. It took very little physical effort to shift my eyes a foot over to the cabinet, and grab brown rice instead. That decision was easy. But if I told myself that I had to make 30 right decisions each day until the end of time, it'd feel a lot more overwhelming, and analysis paralysis would cause me to binge.

Hell, tomorrow I'm going to IHOP with my girlfriend's family. All it'll take to keep my diet in check is to say "extra eggs instead of pancakes, please." I'm not even the one who has to make it or serve it, making that decision that much easier.

What right deciding have you made today? Doesn't even have to be weight loss-related, since ANY good decision will put you into the right mindset needed to make good dietary choices.

Hell, I told myself this morning I should probably take a day off of studying. But I once again thought of my end goal, and studied my butt off, feeling GREAT about it afterwards.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2xaVeGN

Acceptance, the first step in my weight loss journey

I’ve accepted where I am. I’ve taken my weight and my measurements and I’ve accepted them. I’m tired of trying to squeeze into clothes that are too small and make me feel more uncomfortable because I’m constantly tugging and pulling them away from my skin and stretching them out before I put them on just so I can say I’m a certain size. I am 100% a 2XL too and XL or size 18 pants. I’ve come to accept that. I got some new scrubs that are my size and that I actually feel comfortable in today for work. Next up is some new cute clothes for my vacation in August and some workout clothes that fit. I’m going to dress for my size and get clothes in my correct size and not feel ashamed when I’m wearing them.

I haven’t done much in ways of planning and buckling down to lose weight, but I feel like this is a huge first step for me because in the past it was “if I could lose 10lbs this outfit would fit better” but then I’d push it off. I’m drinking more water and planning out a meal list with calories. I have a long 100lb weight loss journey to undertake and just feeling comfortable at whatever size and weight I am along the way.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2x4jVVx

Does anybody else hate getting touched by others commenting on your weight loss?

My coworker is, in all respects, a wonderful woman. She's hard working, kind, and fun; definitely the loud and boisturous type. Lately she's taken to pointing out how much weight I've lost (not too much so far, but combined with the physical aspect of the work I'm doing I've toned up noticably), which is great and all, but when she does this she tends to slap or grab my tummy and yell about how much smaller it's getting.

Theoretically, this would be awesome, lol. It makes me happy that someone is noticing my weight loss since I have a hard time seeing it myself still, so having my efforts acknowledged is a motivation boost for me. However, I really hate it when she touches me like that. It feels condescending, and it's embarassing being called out like that in front of all my other coworkers. Like, it's no secret that I'm overweight and that I'm working on that, but my weight/weight loss isn't anybody else's business.

Has anybody else here ever dealt with this? How do you politely ask them to stop? The women I work with have a very "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" sort of attitude, and don't take well to people who are sensitive or easily offended. I have a feeling my coworker would react negatively if I confronted her. I appreciate the sentiment, but I really hate her touching my stomach.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2x1rhsW

For anyone who wants to start losing weight but hasn't quite got there - PLEASE START! My self confidence and happiness has doubled in just 6 months and I'm so glad I started (40 lbs down, ready to share my first progress picture)

Okay, when I started losing weight I was only planning on uploading progress pictures once I actually hit my goal weight but this progress picture, from 4 weeks ago, was the first time where I was really convinced I could see some small difference. I know it's not much, and the pictures are different angles/lighting but why not: https://i.imgur.com/x9q128z.jpg - it's worth noting the purple shirt is a 2XL (UK) and the red shirt is a 1XL (UK).

I "officially" started losing weight this year on January 15th weighing in at 295 lbs and as of last week I am currently weighing in around 253.6 lbs putting my total weight loss at 41.4 lbs. Currently my goal weight is 175 lbs so I'm just over a 1/3 of the way there. In all honestly, my progress isn't that much visually, at least not to me but mentally, I feel SO much better.

Seriously, for the first time in years I am actually excited for the future, instead of being terrified by it. I can't wait until I hit my goal weight! I can't weight till I improve my fitness! I can't wait to put on muscle! I can't wait to not feel self conscious about about my fat! And even though I have a long way to go and a lot of weight to lose still, I just feel so much happier. I'm 18 so quite young still, I've really started getting into going to clubs and dancing, last year I was so self conscious and scared I'd be mocked for my movement but now I love going out because even though I still look somewhat the same, I am NOT the same. I'm a better version of myself. I'm becoming the best version of myself. It's a cliche but if I can do it, you can too.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2MUmaFA

To all the losers I've lurked before

This is my first post to r/loseit. This lurker is evolving.

​

For most of my life, my body tolerated whatever I ate and drank. I was extremely slim in high school, and never truly understood any of the frustrations of friends who were overweight. I'd wonder "what the big deal was about" and eat sour candy washed down with soda. I did struggle with my appearance in my own way, though. Severe acne left me with both emotional and physical scars I still wear today, in some capacity. But I was confident in my body. I didn't think a boy would find me unattractive because of my body - it would be my face, if anything.

​

Something changed, though, when I stepped on the scale four years later and saw a shocking number. 185 pounds. In a relatively short amount of time, I had put on 30 pounds. I feel like seeing that number on the scale unlocked some Matrix-like awareness of myself I didn't have before. I could now see the extra weight. I felt a bit lost for a while, having lost what I thought was my most valuable currency of self-worth. Pride approached that summer and I didn't go. I didn't feel happy. I didn't feel beautiful before, and now the idea seemed ridiculous.

​

I don't know when I found r/loseit, but remember two things distinctly:

1. Learning weight loss was the result of a calorie deficit
2. How incredibly supportive, motivating, and kind the community was

​

I downloaded MyFitnessPal and started slow. I wanted to go so slowly that nobody in my life would know I was making a change. Up until this point in my life, I had truly never made a goal and plan to follow through with said goal. Beforehand, I fell in the trap of thinking the number of days in a row you do something is somehow better than the percentage of time you do it. This made it so hard to recover from nights of overeating or failing to meet a daily goal. Challenging this insidious thought really made a undeniable difference in almost every part of my life.

​

It was tough to crack the solid foundation of distorted thinking I spent my entire life creating. I sought therapy and medication for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. I spent a lot of time unlearning automatic thought processes that only hindered me. I slowly began adding in exercise that didn't test my discipline too much. Simple walks, occasional body weight exercises. I found the more I did it, the more I liked doing it (as annoying as that is to hear - I was irritated by this idea at some point).

​

I was able to lose about 20 pounds in a year. I didn't change much of my life at any given point, because I stopped and asked myself where I wanted to be one year from now. I reverse engineered what I needed to do to get there. Honestly, I think this quieted the "getting to your goal FASTER IS BETTER!" part of my brain and allowed me to focus on consistency.

​

Now, I know that I started closer to my goal weight than most people on this sub. But I just wanted to give as much of a heartfelt thank you to everybody who posts pictures, gives compliments, and offers encouragement. I know that your words have not always been for me, but they definitely helped me. I truly hope I can motivate or inspire someone in life like you all have inspired me.

​

I'll be attending pride this year with a lighter heart (and body) - although I've recently started doing weight training to get that booty. I'm definitely nervous, but waiting for the correct time is sometimes anxiety preventing you from doing what you want. And if I've learned anything from the past year, the correct time to begin to try to love yourself is right now.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2x49std

What are your motivational mantras?

We all have those corny phrases that keep us going. I’m someone who needs to have phrases to repeat (or to program as reminders in my phone) to keep me motivated and feeling positive. Getting those reminders when I’m feeling down and out about myself is like getting smacked by a future, more determined me. And we all know that half of the battle is changing our mindsets—that’s what makes this sub and other fitness/weight loss subs so effective.

Right now in my phone I have “Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of doing it; the time will pass anyway”

and

“Your future self will thank you”

Saved as reminders but I’m curious what everyone else says to themselves to keep themselves going!

When times get tough, what words of wisdom pick you back up?

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2x5TuyK

What are your motivational mantras?

We all have those corny phrases that keep us going. I’m someone who needs to have phrases to repeat (or to program as reminders in my phone) to keep me motivated and feeling positive. Getting those reminders when I’m feeling down and out about myself is like getting smacked by a future, more determined me. And we all know that half of the battle is changing our mindsets—that’s what makes this sub and other fitness/weight loss subs so effective.

Right now in my phone I have “Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of doing it; the time will pass anyway”

and

“Your future self will thank you”

Saved as reminders but I’m curious what everyone else says to themselves to keep themselves going!

When times get tough, what words of wisdom pick you back up?

submitted by /u/Aghbugs
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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2x5TuyK