Does anyone else feel this way?

I started at 339 lbs. I am now 250. I know in my head that this is fantastic progress. I know that I could never have done it without the surgery... I also know that In order to be satisfied, I need to see the scale dip back under 200. That is 50 more pounds and I am just not sure if I am ever going to get there. For the past week and half I have been up and down the same pound and a half... I am only averaging 1-1/2 pounds a week at this point and I feel like I have the "one year" mark hanging over my head as if it is my deadline. I read all the suggestions...go back to basics and I do the best I can. I am just wondering if anyone else is as scared as I am that they will not make it to goal...That they willnot be able to maintain their new habits... Don't get me wrong I am very committed to my new lifestyle I am just nervous that the success is coming to an end to early.

Hi Vicki you and I were pretty much close to the same weight. I was 322 and now 220. Before surgery I gave myself two full years to lose the 182 pounds to my goal of 140, or an average of 7.57 pounds per month. I am at about 15.5 average per month. Maybe I'll make it sooner, maybe I won't. But my point is, who said you had to be at goal in one year? I think setting up these goals can be setting ourselves up for failure. With the amount of weight we have to lose, maybe 2 years would be more realistic for you, after all, it's not a race and you are still losing at a great rate of 1-1.5 per week, that's about 78 lbs in the next 52 weeks. not bad when you see it that way, is it? Don't be hard on yourself, you are doing really great and if you just keep on track with that 1.5 lbs a week, you WILL GET THERE we're here for you, Vicki!! Inky

Inky, In theory I know you are correct...It is jsut so hard when it is coming off so slow and when the scale stalls for weeks at a time... Do you mind if i ask what you all are doing to have your monthly weight loss still be above 8-10 pounds. Does it take a lot of exercise and very few calories?? I average about 1200 cal per day. My exercise is haphazard and I know that this is a problem...I am struggleing with my motivation.

Hi Vicki, This is my regimen: 1. calories at 1000 to 1200, protein at 70 to 80 2. I walk 3-5 miles about 4x week, sometimes 5. I recently started walking much harder and faster, and I even briefly jogged so I am starting a walk/jog routine now. The jogging part is just a few feet, but eventually it will improve. It's so hard to get motivated, there definitely are days that I just don't want to drag myself outside, but I know that when I do it at least a few days in a row, I suddenly feel like walking more and longer and faster. My pattern is like this: April 2007 - 13 May 2007 - 28 June 2007 - 10.5 July 2007 - 12 Aug 2007 - 10 Sep 2007 - 7 Oct 2007 - 11 Nov 2007 - 10,.5 (so far, official count will be Nov 26th) So you can see it does go up and down, but over time, those numbers have a BIG impact. Sometimes when I feel it's not going fast enough, I whip out my little calculator and realize, hey, this is working after all. We just forget, Vicki, and we shouldn't. You are doing really well, I don't know when april your surgery was, but but we've both lost 89 pounds since surgery (I count the 13 hard-earned pounds i lost before surgery too, because my surgeon does as well). So see, you are doing great - get out there and take a walk and breath deeply today. Just for 15 minutes if you can, then 20 tomorrow - 25 the next day- go for it!! YOU CAN DO IT!! And your weight loss will increase, if it worked for me, you can do it too. big hugs, Inky

Back 22lbs. I thought this is it I am not going to lose any more...but you know what I am still losing. I think that if you are worried about going back..you will be fine....because you will always be aware of it.....

Vicki, You have lost 90 lbs in 7 MONTHS!!! That is a HUGE success. Just hang in there. It does take time and you are getting there. You are doing wonderfully.