Losing weight can be one of the most important things you can do in your life, but if you are impatient with weight loss, it can feel like it is going to take forever.
Is there anything you can do about it? How can you learn to be more patient in achieving your weight loss goals?
When it comes down to it, you have to train your brain to help you overcome being impatient and learn how to change the way you think about losing weight.
I am going to be sharing with you my ultimate list of helpful tips to help you learn how to train your mindset and help you to become more patient and help you meet those goals.
You are impatient with weight loss because you want a quick fix.
Don’t we all? There is nothing wrong with feeling this way. It is completely normal.
Waiting isn’t fun and the truth is that losing weight is a waiting game. You have to be patient and trust the process, but how can you learn to be patient?
The reason you are impatient is because you want to see results now and you don’t want to wait weeks to months.
I get it. We live in a society that is all about instant gratification. We want things and we want them now.
I certainly felt this way when I set out to lose weight myself. I remember checking the scale over and over again, only to find things weren’t happening as fast as I wanted them to, and I would go to bed hoping I would be three pounds lighter the next day.
Unfortunately, weight loss doesn’t work this way. Weight loss takes time. It took me about 8 months to finally lose my weight and reach the goal I had set for myself.
The body is amazing, and you can’t expect the body to shed the amount of body fat you want to lose overnight, and not even in a week.
But I promise you that if you just stick to your plan, you will see results over time. It may not be overnight, but you will get there.
How Long Is It Going To Take To Lose Weight?
The amount of time if takes for you to lose weight is dependent upon many factors including:
Gender (also determines your basal metabolic rate)
How strict your calorie deficit is
How compliant you are with your calorie deficit
Everyone loses weight at a different pace, because we are all different people and have different sized bodies as well as different rates at which we utilize calories.
This is a safe amount of weight to lose in one month. Losing 20 pounds in one month is not a realistic goal by any means. Slow and steady wins.
It is impossible to give you an 100% accurate and on point answer because you could potentially lose more than this, or even less than this.
What is most important is not how long it takes you to reach your weight loss goal, but that you are losing weight in a way that is both sustainable and doable for you.
You need to develop a plan that you will be able to stick to.
You should avoid rushing things when trying to lose weight, because if you do, you are likely to not stick to your plan and if you do lose weight, you will likely gain it right back.
When you try to lose weight too quickly, this is not sustainable in any way.
It is not a plan that you are actually going to want to stick to for a long period of time because let’s face it, you will be miserable because you’re being too restrictive in order to reach your goals at a very fast pace.
Also, if you are someone who crash diets and restricts calories to an unsafe level in order to lose weight faster, you can risk making yourself sick and also lose a ton of muscle mass in the process.
It is better to lose weight in a way that allows you to make being healthy a lifestyle.
I want to now share with you my ultimate list of top tips on how to become a more patient version of yourself when trying to shed that body fat.
I have used many of these tips myself when I lost weight, and I think they will work great for you too.
19 Top Tips For Dealing With Weight Loss Impatience
1. Ditch The Scale
Yes. I mean it. It’s time to put that scale away for a little while.
Your weight is going to fluctuate by the day and even by the week. You may even find that you didn’t lose any weight some weeks and maybe even gained a pound.
This is completely normal and has to do with water weight and other things that your body is going through during this process.
It is best to weigh yourself once per week MINIMUM. Also, make sure it is at the same time on the same day every week and after you have used the bathroom.
Once you stop obsessing over the dreaded scale, you can learn to be more patient and focused.
2. Get Outside More
Make it a point to get outside more and enjoy nature and some fresh air.
This will help to take your mind off of things and also help you to appreciate the process more.
You can go on walks around your neighborhood. This is one tip that I used…a lot.
I still love to take walks because it takes my mind off of things. What else do walks do? Burn calories.
So not only will you be helping to clear your mind, but you will be burning more calories in the process and on your way to reaching your weight loss goal faster.
3. Set Shorter Goals That Are Actually Realistic
Setting shorter goals is a great idea when losing weight because it allows you to feel you are making little bursts of progress instead of waiting months to make progress.
You also need to make short goals that are realistic.
For example, it is not realistic to set a goal of losing 40 pounds in one month. This is just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Instead, set a goal like this: I want to lose 2-4 pounds in one month.
You are now setting a goal that is realistic and attainable, which will help you to stay patient throughout the process of losing weight.
4. Reward Yourself
Each time you reach a small goal, start giving yourself a reward for all of your hard work.
If you reach a goal of losing 2 pounds in one month, make sure to claim your reward. Go out and have an ice cream sundae with your friends or have your favorite dessert.
Buy yourself a new outfit. Just give yourself some props for doing what you put your mind to.
You may find that doing this will help you to stay motivated and excited about losing weight and will help you to remain patient with the process.
5. Explore New Hobbies
Now is a better time than ever to start exploring new hobbies. There are many benefits to starting a new hobby when trying to lose weight.
These benefits include:
Taking your mind off of weight loss
Reducing stress and anxiety
Giving you a sense of accomplishment
Making you happier
Do you have something you always wanted to try? Maybe it is painting, hiking, biking, or cooking.
Whatever it is, make sure to give it a try and explore it now. You will find that this new hobby will help you quit stressing over the timing of your weight loss.
6. Join a Club
There are plenty of clubs to join, both in person and online. These clubs will give you support, motivation, and advice from others who are going through the same thing as you.
They will be filled with people who you can relate to.
How do you find a club to join? Look online or in your local area postings.
A quick Google search will bring up many different options for you to choose from. You can also use an online service such as MeetUp.
Also, you can look into joining an exercise class or an aerobics class at your local gym. These classes are filled with people who have the same goals as you do, to be healthy and get in shape.
7. Take Weekly Progress Pictures
Not only is taking weekly progress pictures fun, but it is very enlightening.
It is such a great feeling to see the progress you are making in picture form, and it helps you to stay motivated.
If you are not seeing the results you want on the scale, looking at your progress pictures may give you a different perspective and help you to realize that what you are doing is working.
And no, taking progress pictures is not weird. So, do not let anyone make you feel that way. Just make sure to keep them on your phone in a place where only you can see them. Try it out!
8. Wear Bigger Clothes
This might seem silly, but trust me it works. If you are overweight and are currently hating how your clothes fit, start wearing your clothes a size or two larger for awhile, or even oversized.
I used to do this strictly because I felt like I didn’t like the way any of my clothes fit me at the time and I was very self conscious.
But, once I did lose weight and started wearing my old clothes again, I was shocked at how differently they fit me and how much looser they were.
What happened then? I got flooded with motivation and happiness because I finally saw that what In was doing was working.
9. Start Strength Training
Strength training is a great idea to help you deal with feeling impatient. Not only will it help you to take your mind off of losing weight, but strength training will also allow you to:
Reach your goal faster because you will burn more calories.
Feel stronger as you gain muscle.
Create more goals related to your strength training routine.
When you start lifting weights, this will of course burn more calories. But also, muscle burns more calories at rest. So, the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn even when you are not working out.
Lifting weights has so many benefits. If you are a woman who is worried you will become “bulky” by lifting, this is farthest from the truth.
Building muscle mass is important whether you are male or female and putting some muscle on your frame as a woman will make you feel more confident and strong.
10. Start a Weight Loss Journal
Starting a weight loss journal is easy and fun. All you need is a notebook and a pen, and you are on your way to starting one.
There are many benefits of starting a weight loss journal, including:
Tracking your progress
Helping you to stay accountable
Allowing you to look back and see how far you have come
What should you write in your weight loss journal? Anything you want really.
You can write how you were feeling on certain days and you can also keep track of updated goals in the journal.
You can also keep track of your current weight and body measurements if you want to.
Starting a weight loss journal is a great way to help you stay on track and beat the frustration of not seeing results as fast as you might want to.
11. Learn to Cook
Not only does cooking your own food take your mind off of losing weight, but it also can help you save money.
If you already know how to cook, it is a great idea to start cooking your own meals because you will have more control over the ingredients and calorie contents that are going in your food.
Cooking is a great way to take your mind off of your weight loss while also being able to control the calories in what you are eating in an efficient way.
12. Find a Weight Loss Buddy
Losing weight is a lot more fun when you have someone you can count on.
You both will have something in common and can share your goals with each other, motivate each other, and also console one another if one of you has a slip up or doesn’t meet a specific goal.
You can pick anyone to be your weight loss buddy, it can even be a family member or your significant other.
13. Teach Others
If you are seeing success in what you are doing, share it with others who want to achieve what you are achieving.
You can even start your own weight loss support group. This will help you to feel more accomplished, and it also helps other people.
If you found out that you can make losing weight work for you, why not help others around you who might be struggling?
14. Forget About That Summer Beach Body
This is an important one, and I think it is the root of a lot of problems when it comes to losing weight and getting in shape.
Why can’t we be in shape and be healthy all year round? Why do we have to always try to get in shape for summer every single year?
If you make it a priority to try to stay on track all year, even in the winter, you will not have to keep trying to get that summer body at the same time over and over.
This way, you will be able to focus on the change of the seasons instead of cramming in a weight loss goal at the same time every year.
This is why losing weight and being healthy should be a lifestyle, not just something you do for a specific season.
15. Don’t Be Overly Restrictive
When you are overly restrictive on what you can and cannot have when trying to lose weight, it is not going to be a very appealing process for you.
It is a good idea to allow yourself to enjoy the foods you love, and you will find that losing weight does not have to be so hard.
I have a great article about this where I talk about this a little bit more in depth and how to eat foods you love and still lose weight. Feel free to check it out below!
16. Understand Weight Loss is a Lifestyle, Not a Quick Fix
Losing weight is really all about lifestyle change, not trying to hurry up and reach your goal weight and forgetting about it.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to make some changes to your lifestyle that you can stick with for the long haul.
If you learn to think of it in this way, there will really be no feeling of impatience because being healthy becomes habit for you.
17. Adopt Positivity
This is a biggie. Try your best to take a positive approach not only with losing weight, but with life in general.
When we are positive, everything becomes easier. So, if you can find a way to be positive throughout your weight loss journey, it will make the process that much more enjoyable and you will not feel like it is a daunting task.
You are doing this because you want to become a healthier version of yourself, so why not reflect that on the inside as well?
18. Realize Unmet Goals ARE NOT Failure
If you do not reach your goals you have set for yourself, it does not mean you have failed. You may have just set your sights too high or something may have come up that got in the way that prevented that goal from being met.
Just remember, it is okay to adjust your goals as you go along. Do not get too discouraged if things do not go exactly as planned, because that is part of life. Adapting is part of the journey.
19. Make Small Changes First
You can start by making small changes at first instead of large changes to your diet right away.
Once those become habit, then you can start to focus on more changes.
One way to do this is to start cutting out sugary drinks and switching to diet drinks. This alone is a small change, and you will save calories this way.
Maybe instead of starting with a 500 calorie deficit, you want to start with a 200 calorie deficit. Start small and work your way up.
You can still see results with a slightly smaller deficit, and you will not be as overwhelmed and impatient with getting results.
Last Words
Being impatient with reaching your weight loss goals is common, but it does not have to be if you use your mindset to your advantage.
If you are having trouble with weight loss impatience and it is starting to take a toll on you, try out some of the tips that I have had success with.
Try your best to focus on the process and not the end result. This will help you to enjoy the journey more and appreciate all the changes your body is making, even if they are small.
Remember to be positive and take things one day at a time. Before you know it, you will reach your goals!
