Weight Loss Is Not a Straight Line

One of the things I’ve learned firsthand while I was in the process of losing the weight is that weight loss is not a straightforward process, or a straight line. I’ve mentioned it here before in passing, but after I got to talking with someone recently, I felt like this could be its’ own post.

We often see the stories of people who’ve lost weight in magazines, books, and on TV. Typically we’ll see a picture of them taken from where they started out at, next to a picture of them when they’ve gotten themselves to where they’d like to be.

Idk about you, but it would always leave me with the takeaway that this was indeed a straightforward or linear process, and I would go back where I started.

It kept me in that seemingly endless loop of losing weight only to gain it all back and then some, and left me feeling like this was how it had to be.

I’d never had anyone close enough to me who’d lost weight, let alone anyone who had weight in the realm of the triple digits to lose in my life and lose enough of it to give me an inside scoop.

I knew of someone in passing years back who lost quite a bit of weight, however, their photos were being used to sell some type of aid or supplement that claimed to help you lose whatever amount you needed to. At this point, I don’t even remember what the name of it was, but I do remember it was being sold at a rummage sale-type of event.

I’d never met this person, but I heard the name a time or two. Beyond that, I didn’t know them from Eve, and I never found out whether they’ve maintained where they were at when those photos were taken. I’d long since forgotten about them and the whole event up until I started working on this post, so I couldn’t even hazard a guess as to where they are now.

Nor is it any of my business, for that matter.

But back to my point here. Those photos, along with the sales pitches for that supplement again left me feeling like losing the weight happened solely in a straight line. I was still struggling with my weight at the time, and at a loss as to why.

Long after that event, I did figure out why, and that was after seeing My 600lb Life. I saw for the first time what it was like and what it meant to lose that kind of weight. I remember seeing the ones who got where they wanted to be, and what a rough journey it was for them. They had setbacks, they had successes, they had their peaks, and their valleys.

In the end, they got through it, and are hopefully now thriving in their lives. There’s a couple of them I haven’t been able to find out where they’re at now, and I hope they’re holding up ok.

Those success stories during the filming of those episodes showed me that weight loss doesn’t happen in a straight line.

Mine sure didn’t. I hit my own peaks and valleys during the course of my own weight loss. I’d lose some, stay the same, put some of the weight back on, and lose it in what’s commonly referred to as a whoosh as I moved forward to where I wanted to be.

I found it helpful to focus on the overall trend as a motivator, along with my measurements instead of the scale, since the scale wasn’t so helpful in terms of motivation for me. Your mileage will obviously vary, however.

If you’re reading this, and you’re struggling with the process, I’m here to tell you not to give up. Weight loss is not a straight line, and as long as you’re sticking with whatever plan you (or you and your doctor) came up with, your measurements or the scale will reflect that soon. It won’t be today or tomorrow, since there’s no such thing as instant gratification where weight loss is concerned.

Nor should it be.

Over to you, readers. Can you relate? Drop your comments below, and let’s talk.