Continued scale victories, but not feeling any success
TL;DR: Over the past 5 months I've lost 1/7 of my starting weight but I'm not seeing or feeling any changes.
= Background: =
I'm in my forties and I've always been fat. I've always been tall, and I've generally been fit enough that, whilst I wasn't going to win any races, I was able to play rugby and swim long distances. Through a combination of several terrible experiences all colliding at once throughout 2019 and 2020 my mental health took a nosedive and I ended up putting on even more weight and generally starting to struggle. When I left my job at the beginning of 2020 (which wasn't the wisest time to leave employment) I spent the best part of a year and a half doing nothing but sleeping and eating takeaway (i.e. "delivery food" in the US) and really getting in to a bad place physically and mentally. I was finding it generally a struggle to walk for the first time in my life. I was finding it painful to sit up for a few hours.
I was finally able to get myself out of the funk, get a new job (at which I can work from home), and move house all at the end of 2021. As a result of all these changes I got a new GP ("primary care physician" in the US) along with the mental fortitude to seek help, so I was finally able to get referred to several specialists at a local hospital, including one of the leading departments in obesity treatment.
= The Change: =
Under the care of specialists I've not only had a 10 week group therapy session for binge-eating, but, since October last year, I have been on an intensive weight management diet. The diet is usually a 30 week plan*, split into three 10 week plans that follow one after the other, but as I have so much to lose, and needed to get below 225kg (approximately 500lbs (US), or 35.5 stone (old UK)) for a CT scan (to look for problems inside my brain), I was allowed to keep on the first part of the plan for the first 20 weeks or so, and will continue on the plan for as long as I'm able.
It's now been 22 weeks and I've lost over 35kg (77lbs (US), or 5.5 stone (UK)), from a starting point of 253kg (about 557lbs, or 40 stone) - I was weighed the day before I started the diet plan, and had already been able to lose some weight from my absolute highest by then.
= The Current Situation: =
I am still incredibly fat. I don't feel any better, even though I'm back to where I was before it all went so badly. I still struggle to walk. I still get really bad back pain that lasts several days if I am sat up all day. I'm not going to stop the plan, if all goes well I should be able to get down to 200kg (440lbs, 31.5 stone) before the end of the 30 weeks and even at that point I have no reason to stop, but I am just feeling like I'm broken. I am not "disheartened", per se, but I am definitely feeling frustrated with the situation and as it's hard to talk about intentional weight loss in lots of places, and where it is safe it's hard to say "I've lost a lot but it doesn't help", I figured I'd vent here.
I'm not sure if I'm looking for advice, or for support, or I just wanted to express myself somewhere that I won't get judged, but as I've taken the time to write I'll post.
^^* ^^I'm ^^not ^^going ^^to ^^go ^^into ^^the ^^details ^^or ^^specifics ^^of ^^the ^^plan ^^as ^^I ^^don't ^^want ^^to ^^encourage ^^anyone ^^to ^^try ^^to ^^go ^^through ^^it ^^without ^^the ^^level ^^of ^^support ^^that ^^I ^^have ^^- ^^I ^^am ^^seen ^^every ^^two ^^weeks ^^to ^^get ^^weighed ^^& ^^have ^^my ^^blood ^^pressure ^^taken, ^^and ^^discuss ^^how ^^I'm ^^doing ^^on ^^the ^^plan ^^with ^^one ^^of ^^the ^^specialists ^^on ^^the ^^team, ^^as ^^well ^^as ^^being ^^able ^^to ^^contact ^^them ^^at ^^any ^^time ^^if ^^I ^^have ^^any ^^queries ^^or ^^concerns.
Posted Mar 30, 2023, 6:04 PM UTC
I am glad for you continuing on with the plan even when you are feeling so disheartened. It takes a lot of courage to push on when all your effort seems to be for naught. I sincerely offer you my best wishes for your ultimate success and I get a strong sense that you are going to make it.
Thanks for the comment - I appreciate the fact you read this and took the time to reply.