Patience and Weight Loss

I was watching TV this morning and a commercial came on with a man and a woman wearing white lab coats said that if you contact their group they could teach you how to lose a pound a day.

I just had to shake my head. You see ads like that all the time, but the truth is real weight loss doesn’t work like that.

With a lot of programs you will see a quick initial weight loss. Most of the time that initial loss is simply excess water weight. After that water is gone things will slow down.

Two types of Transformations

When I started my journey I joined Instagram to seek out others losing weight and to share my journey. I came to realize two things.

First was that the transformations of those who’s before and after pictures were only 8 to 12 weeks were those who only had a few pounds to lose. Losing those last couple pounds really makes the muscles pop out but 8 to 12 weeks is not a realistic goal for someone who wants to loose 80 or 100 pounds.

The second group of pictures is what was to me an eye opener. The before and after pictures of the ones who actually lost 80 or more pound were not weeks or months apart, they were 2 and 3 years apart.

That is when I realized real weight loss takes time and patience.

Losing weight too fast is dangerous

I know a lot of people, who when they decide to lose weight, want it all to come off quickly but that is a mistake.

In the first place, losing a lot of weight quickly can be dangerous for your heart. Too much change too quickly can be too much for your system.

Also losing your weight too quickly may be too quick for your skin to react and tighten around where you have lost.

I have a little bit of sagging skin after losing my weight, but nothing like I have seen by those who have lost the same amount of weight in six months rather than two years.

Another thing that happens when someone tries to lose weight too quickly is when it doesn’t happen they lose heart and give up.

Accept that you are in this for the long haul.

Instead of trying to lose your weight too quickly, getting frustrated and quitting, only to repeat the cycle again later, decide you are going to lose weight no matter how long it takes.

Us Americans are not known for our patience. We want everything now. But the old saying ‘good things come to those who wait’ really does apply to losing weight. Patience and making the right decisions most of the time will eventually get you to where you want to be physically.

“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:4 NKJV

How much weight do you plan on losing? Let me know.