Hayley,
I am stuck! 3 years ago I lost about 60 pounds with diet and exercise, which is great and I feel so much better. However, I still need to lose another 50 to reach my goal. I am 5'1" and around 185, with a heavy frame and family history leaning strongly towards diabetes.
My problem is that I am out of options for what to further change or do to get to that goal. I have upped my cardio (then got plantar fasciitis--no more running), cut out most processed foods & try to keep the alcohol to a minimum, worked with a trainer, gone to spin class all with few results.
I still have a BMI in the obese range and would love to conquer this before I get into my 40s. I find myself daydreaming about how great weight loss surgery would be, which to me is a giant red flag that maybe I'm not being reasonable with my expectations. Suggestions?
J
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NO! Do not go the weight loss surgery route. You have already proven to yourself that you can do it by losing the first 60 pounds, so why do you not think that you could lose another 50? I know it is hard work but you are over half way there!
Although I have never had to face the difficult task of losing large amounts of weight I have had to overcome challenge and adversity many times, so I understand how you are feeling right now. When I am competing in a race and I am finding things difficult I always daydream about giving up. At the moment of pain the easy choice is to stop and last weekend for the first time in my life I did. I gave up. I walked off a race course in tears because I did not have anything left in me, or so I thought. Mentally and physically I was exhausted and because of that I decided to make the pain stop right there rather than coming up with a new strategy on how to keep going. I was discouraged, I was frustrated and I stopped. I learned from this experience and I have been pushing myself harder than ever these past two weeks, trying to prepare myself for my next race and ensuring that I have the confidence and the game plan in place so this does not happen again.
That is what you need to do. You are going to constantly find yourself in the face of adversity and at that moment you have two choices: to give in or to push through. You have planter fasciitis so you cannot run. What else can you do then while you are rehabbing your injury? Swim? Cycle? Strength train?
You are frustrated because you know how hard these next 50 pounds is going to be to lose and you are looking for an excuse and for permission to take the easy way out. Celebrate your success every time you find yourself overcoming an obstacle as this is going to give you the strength to overcome the next.
Here is my advice: progression is your friend. Keep making things harder. Keep lifting heavier weights, keep increasing the tension on the bike, and start to rest less in between laps at the pool. Keep finding new challenges and pushing through. Keep believing in yourself and your ability to overcome anything.
And listen to your own words as well. “I’ve cut out most process foods and try and keep alcohol to a minimum.” How about cutting out ALL processed foods and keeping alcohol to zero? I know this might sound a bit extreme but you have to make sacrifices in order to reach your goal. You come from a family history of diabetes and that is the last thing you want to deal with so use that as your motivation. What is harder? Dealing with diabetes for the rest of your life or taking this next year, working hard and getting yourself healthy?
Take it one pound at a time. Once you lose one pound figure out how you are going to lose the next and then the next. If you have a setback ask yourself why that happened and do your best to not let it happen again. You will fail from time to time and that is ok, just learn from it and move forward.
The last half of anything is always the toughest because you are so exhausted from the first. But keep that finish line in your head and keep moving towards it. If you continue to sacrifice and make small changes in your life, in less than a year’s time you will be there
