Hi everyone!
I’ve recently started my weight loss journey, and honestly, it’s been a lot tougher than I anticipated. I keep feeling like I’m stuck, and I’m curious if others had a similar experience at the start.
For those who have made some progress, what was the most difficult part for you in the beginning? Was it staying motivated, figuring out your diet, finding a workout routine, or just dealing with the mental overwhelm and self-doubt?
I’d love to hear what helped you push through! If you could offer one piece of advice to a beginner, what would it be?
(And if you’re also in the early stages like me, feel free to share your biggest struggles so far. Maybe we can support each other, hehe!)
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Just coming to terms with the fact that the specific day didn’t matter. I had to start right then. I’d delayed it for so long waiting for the ‘perfect’ moment.
Also, when I began, I had no clue how to even start exercising. I watched motivational videos, but nothing clicked until I saw one where a guy told himself, ‘Just do something.’
For some reason, that really resonated. I got my 378lb self up and just walked the stairs in my house repeatedly. I’d touch the living room wall, walk up, touch the bedroom wall, and go back down. I did that every day for weeks.
Eventually, I moved on to 30-minute YouTube workouts, calorie counting, and cutting out takeout. I’m down to 237lb now, with about 37lb left to reach my goal.
It all started with those stairs. It’s funny to look back on now.
I’d say the two toughest things for me were: 1. when the scale goes up despite following the plan, and 2. figuring out meals I actually enjoy while measuring everything for calories.
A few weeks in, I realized I had to simplify my food or I’d quit. So, I decided to eat the same breakfast every day, have the same work snack, and rotate through three meal-prep dinners I already knew the calories for. I’ll only add a new recipe if I’m really feeling it.
I also heard on a podcast that it takes about six weeks for dieting habits to really set in. I’m at week six now, and it’s honestly getting easier. The routine is so established now that it’s harder to break it than to keep going.
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Strength training. I just really don’t like it.
Everything else was actually pretty easy for me because I love the predictability (autism). Once the plan and rules are set, I don’t overthink it. That’s the plan, and that’s that.
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The hardest part has been the impatience—starting out and not seeing any visible changes for weeks. Then, even when progress is happening, body dysmorphia makes it hard to recognize. Another tough part is losing fat everywhere except the areas you’re most self-conscious about! That’s still very demoralizing. The actual actions like going to the gym, counting calories, and eating protein are easy compared to the mental struggle.
Understanding nutrition was the big one. I didn’t grow up with much knowledge about it, being from an immigrant family in the US. I had to teach myself about macros and calorie counting, and learn that food doesn’t have to be the enemy.
I spent months in a bit of a depression, avoiding starting because I thought I’d be stuck eating bland chicken and rice forever. I think I was also in denial.
But with practice, I’ve improved. Now, a few years later, my goal is in sight and I’m eating some of the tastiest, macro-friendly meals I’ve ever had!
Learning to sit with hunger. I have a really hard time just being hungry and not giving in to the urge to eat everything in the house. I’ve been using CitrusBurn to help reignite my metabolism naturally, but the mental discipline of not snacking is still a major struggle.
Aside from what others mentioned, it was accepting that I can’t always eat whatever I want in unlimited amounts. That’s exactly how I ended up 60 pounds overweight in the first place.
I still eat what I like without too many restrictions, but sometimes I feel unsatisfied with the portions and miss the days when I didn’t care about how much I was eating.
Accepting that a pint of vodka is 880 calories. I had switched from beer thinking it was the yeast that was the problem.
Turns out, if you’re serious about weight loss, you can’t really drink much at all. Alcohol is hard on your body in so many ways and it definitely doesn’t help with losing weight.
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For me, it was the patience. I could handle the practical stuff, but it was so frustrating when I had a perfect week and the scale didn’t reflect it. I really had to learn to detach myself from the scale to succeed long-term. It helped to look at the context—I used to only weigh myself after a bowel movement, and then I realized that wasn’t showing fat loss, just waste. It meant nothing. Realizing that those fluctuations aren’t a reflection of actual fat gain or loss helped me let it go.
I’d say the hardest part was actually what made the weight loss sustainable in the end.
The biggest challenge was pacing myself during those first few weeks of high motivation. In the past, I’d go 0-100, eating only chicken and broccoli and overdoing it on the treadmill. As soon as the initial water weight loss slowed down, I’d give up.
This time, I forced myself to pace it, even though I wanted to go all out. Instead of intense running, I just took daily walks. Instead of a restrictive diet, I started by swapping all my drinks for water and black coffee. I didn’t realize it then, but I was building habits that would last. I’ve gone from 300 lbs to 189 lbs as of this morning.