What is YOUR "achilles' heel"?

I hate to be a total downer, but I would like to hear about the main issues you've had or are having with weight loss, and how you've overcome them. Also, I apologise if there's been a topic like this recently but I'm new :)

My achilles heel would probably have to be my impatience. I start out with high hopes, I feel great and very motivated, but as soon as soon as the honeymoon period fades, things get a little harder.

Today, I weighed myself for the first time since I started my plan (I had weighed myself exactly a week ago today) and had lost 2.4 pounds. Which is awesome. But now, I fear I am going to start getting greedy, and if I have lost, say 1 pound next week, I will probably be disappointed. I know it's stupid, because 1 pound is a healthy amount to lose in a week, but I can't help it.

This is the disappointment that could potentially sabotage my attempts, as it has in the past. As for overcoming it, my only strategies right now are to keep constantly reminding myself that it will take a good 6 weeks to start visibily seeing results, to be patient, and that the only other alternative to this is getting fatter. Daily exercise has also helped, because I am starting to find that if by the end of the day I have not exercised yet, I crave it. So that helps me to keep going.

How about you?

Chips are my downfall.

I also have a tendency to start out something with much enthusiasm (like an exercise routine) only to lose motivation awhile into it.

Complacency.  I start to feel satisfied with my body long before I'm done with weight loss.. then I get lenient with my food and gain weight back.  Happens pretty much every time.  I'm trying to fix this by becoming enamoured with running... if I gain weight, I can't run as fast.

My mother.  I get off the phone with her, and I want to stuff my face with everything, as long as it is junk food, especially anything chocolatey.  Funny thing is, she probably thinks we had a pleasant conversation.

I know how you feel.


I lose about 4 pounds every week.


If i was to just lose a pound i would defently disapointed.


Im getting realy close to my goal weight now so im prepared for that since i dotn have much to lose now.

Ive lost 92 pounds as of now

Original Post by puh8suwrux:

My mother. I get off the phone with her, and I want to stuff my face with everything, as long as it is junk food, especially anything chocolatey. Funny thing is, she probably thinks we had a pleasant conversation.

I can relate to this!! Same with the occasional conversation between hub and I.

great job on the weight loss res!

My major downfall is snacking after I get home from work before dinner. If I can...I would eat a normal dinner size portion of snacks.....then I eat dinner on top of that a few hours later. I have to really control myself when I get home.....I'm just so hungry usually. I've started working out right after work so there is no option for snacking. So far so good!

Hopelessness. At first, I'll lose about 4-6 lbs a week for the first few weeks. Afterwards, I've noticed that I slow down to about 1.5-2 lbs a week. Before I learned that this was actually an acceptable amount of weight to lose a week, I would get upset because I thought my diet wasn't working correctly. That would cause me to just give up because I would think "I've always been this way and now I'm not losing weight so I'll probably never change".

Also, the occasional midnight meal has thrown me off also.  

Original Post by puh8suwrux:

My mother.  I get off the phone with her, and I want to stuff my face with everything, as long as it is junk food, especially anything chocolatey.  Funny thing is, she probably thinks we had a pleasant conversation.

 same.

Papa Murphy's stuffed pizza and Ben and Jerry's Half Baked Ice Cream...

Original Post by puh8suwrux:

My mother.  I get off the phone with her, and I want to stuff my face with everything, as long as it is junk food, especially anything chocolatey.  Funny thing is, she probably thinks we had a pleasant conversation.

 OMG!! Do we have the same mother? LOL

I get so impatient and that really sucks because I've hit 2 significant plateaus so far. But I'd still rather be imperfect at this weight than gain back all I've lost and ever face having to do this all over again... that thought keeps me going.

Original Post by puh8suwrux:

My mother.  I get off the phone with her, and I want to stuff my face with everything, as long as it is junk food, especially anything chocolatey.  Funny thing is, she probably thinks we had a pleasant conversation.

 ROFL!!  This is absolutely hilarious!!  And I can totally relate. 

My mom has been obsessed with weight loss for years, but with as much as she whines about her 60lb weight gain, the complaint is usually accompanied with mouthful of ice cream, or a plate of ribs.  I try to encourage her, but she would rather continue in this pattern she's become comfortable with.

The kicker is - she takes every opportunity to jab at my health efforts (I'm 5'9" approx 145lbs and determined not to follow in her footsteps), where I can't take even the smallest bite of anything remotely unhealthy without hearing (in a pleasant tone of voice) how I may not fit into my jeans if I "keep that up." 

She thinks she's joking, whereas I hang up and head for the nearest gallon of ice cream - armed with a spoon in each hand!

But back to the OP and topic at hand - the biggest habit I had to break was when I'd wake up in the middle of the night for a potty break (sorry if that's TMI), and start thinking about food.  Of course at that time I'm too tired to be reasonable with myself, and before I know it I've eaten half a box of cereal or two bowls of ice cream!

I have a very supportive husband at home, so that definitely helps.  I'm still slowly learning to overcome the constant desire to have food in my mouth!  :)

My best friend (yes, I know, kinda sick). But she's about as supportive as some previously mentioned moms. She's in the higher end of the "healthy" BMI, and I'm so close to "healthy" it hurts (Ok, a little under 10 lbs), and she get this prissyness about her because she thinks she looks so great.

I've gotten some rather unkind words from her... ie "well, you'd lose more weight if you upped your exercise". I went from never exercising to working out for ~1 hour a night, 3-4 nights a week. I'd say that's a pretty darn impressive change in a month. There's also the occasion where me and some friends were eating and I got chicken and broccoli. She was our waitress. When one friend asked if I was getting chese on my broccoli, before I could even respond, she butt in "No, that just adds points". First off, my counting calories is none of her business, secondly, I can eat cheese if I want to eat cheese. I only ate 600 calories that day because I was so frustrated... then there was the time she was bragging about how she could eat all of her reeses peanutbutter cup icecream with carmel and chocolate sauce... while I'm sitting there eating my 1/2 cup low fat, double churned icecream. ... I think you get the point...

Luckily, I have the most supportive boyfriend on the planet that I can go to when she frutrates me, or else, I'd either never eat or eat 24/7.

Impatience. I want to see results now. Physically I mean. I've lost weight, but I want to see the changes, to look thiner, and it's hard when you're losing only 1-2 pounds a week and everything looks the same. Not to mention that I used to lose 3-4 pounds a week, so that's a little unsettilings.

I want the thinness now. Lol.

I'm with foffles!

I definitely appreciate supportive people (ie. my hubby, as she has her bf), but when anyone tries to jump in and tell me what I can and can't do - that is the ultimate frustration!  If I want to eat ice cream - it's my choice!  If I want chocolate - let me decide!  If I want a freakin' jelly donut - I'll take the consequences!  But don't step in and take control for me.  That's like confirming I'm unhealthy, and you see it, too!  Either way, let me get there the best way I know how and be my cheerleader along the way! 

Of course, said frustration is also the ultimate diet!  I totally lose my appetite because it makes me so mad! 

Then I come to my senses and get back on track ;)

Original Post by puh8suwrux:

My mother.  I get off the phone with her, and I want to stuff my face with everything, as long as it is junk food, especially anything chocolatey.  Funny thing is, she probably thinks we had a pleasant conversation.

 Wow, sounds like you and I have the same mom - only I go for the biggest cheeseburger I can find.

I have to stop answering the phone...

Every so often I get fed up with weighing and measuring and logging.  I take a vacation from it, and every time notice a slowly creeping weight gain. 

This has gotten better over the years however.  I've developed what I call my internal portion control meter.  I might take a large portion, but I feel satisfied with only part of it.  If I weigh what's left, it always turns out that I've eaten is just the portion I would have measured.

So there is hope!

Original Post by jaefuma:

Impatience. I want to see results now. Physically I mean. I've lost weight, but I want to see the changes, to look thiner, and it's hard when you're losing only 1-2 pounds a week and everything looks the same. Not to mention that I used to lose 3-4 pounds a week, so that's a little unsettilings.

I want the thinness now. Lol.

 

Ugh, me too. Not physically seeing results is really unmotivating.

Don't know if this is what you mean or not but...The unnervingly intense craving to binge eat when I wake up in the middle of the night. Often times it is so strong that I literally rush to the fridge. My plan to fight it, which is often workable, is to grab a fruit bar or orange or something healthy rather than spoonfuls of peanut butter. There are days I do so well and kill my entire progress by one binge at night, nearly half asleep.

Fried food (I'm southern)

I still allow myself the occassional fried chicken, french fries and fried fish because I really have NO desire to cut that out of my life permanently.  I fry it in canola oil and strain it as much as possible so it's not all terrible.  If I even start feeling "deprived" of foods I love I get really down and cranky and it throws me off plan.  I exercise 4-6 days a week and eat pretty "good" most of the time so it balances out.

Saturday is my achilles heel.  I think I've got it pretty much tackled though at this point though.