As I have lost weight, I have learned that you have to protect your energy from negative influences, both internally and externally. This past year, I lost 48lbs so I have just 27-30lbs left and it’s been a growing experience.
From an internal perspective, you need to be kind to yourself as you lose weight. It likely took you a couple of years to put on the weight, so it will take at least a couple of months to get it off. Remember that the average weight loss is 0.5-2lbs a week. In my case, I lost the 35lbs I put on over 3.5yrs in college and then some. I haven’t been this small since my sophomore or junior year of high school! Being hard on yourself as you lose weight will be counterproductive. It’s hard but you need to be patient because consistency will get the weight off and there is no need to hate yourself along the way.
I only learned about the external perspective recently. I had seen many posts on here about being told you’re getting “too skinny” as you get close to your goal. Luckily I haven’t experienced this irl but I’m in a few weight loss groups on Facebook for motivation. I mainly lurk with the occasional progress pic but I’d gotten positive feedback on those so I was excited to share an entire year of progress... but it didn’t go as well as I thought it would. There were many comments questioning how I could possibly have 30 more pounds to lose. Some were polite I suppose, just wondering if it was possible for me to lose that much weight and still be healthy. But there were a lot of body shaming comments saying I’d be “skin and bones” if I lost any more weight.
All the people who commented negatively on me wanting to lose more weight were just going off of a picture and a number. My caption for the post just said that I lost 48lbs in a year and that I wanted to lose 30 more. It did not mention anything about my height, weight, BMI or personal goals. They didn’t know that I had just hit 127lbs and that I am 5ft, so I am barely in the “normal” BMI range for my height (97-127lbs). They also didn’t know that 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with insulin resistance at 140lbs. So one of my weight loss goals has been to get down to 120lbs to be far enough away from 140lbs and in the normal BMI range.
They also weren’t aware of my final goal to have a flat stomach and a toned body. Initially, I wanted to lose any amount of weight since I hadn’t been able to lose weight in the past. As I saw that I could actually lose weight, I finally had the confidence to work towards having the body I had always dreamed of. So my goal is to get down to the bottom end of my normal BMI range so I have as little fat as possible before I start lifting weights and recomposition to sculpt my body. Won't be worried if I gain muscle weight.
So just remember to protect your energy as you go through this journey. It is as much an emotional journey as it is a physical one. Be kind to yourself and surround yourself with positivity. I left the group with the most nasty comments and have since stuck to a more positive FB group as well as this sub. I have also leaned on my friends during this journey as well. Find what works for you and find people/commmunities who support your goals.
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/faljzi/protect_your_energy/
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