Weight loss is suppose to be slow
For as long as I can remember, the ultimate goal was weight loss. In retrospect, as a teenager and young adult, I was at a normal weight (incredibly unhealthy, though, with all the junk I ate) but as time continued, I slowly starting gaining more and more weight. It didn't happen overnight, it barely happened over the course of a year. It was over years and years (dare I say two decades) of interconnecting layers of habits and choices I've made. The choice to drink soda instead of water, eat out all the time with my new paycheck from my first job, trying to get "my money's worth" at the buffet, or getting sugary lattes every single morning before my sedentary desk job. It all added up over time and suddenly I weighed the most I've ever had before in my life and felt awful and self esteem was non-existent.
I've tried multiple times to lose weight, I wanted it off as fast as possible and to just figure out how to keep it off later. I would do keto and anything else to avoid counting any calories and did nothing in the realm of exercise. I was told you can't outrun a poor diet, so I assumed that meant there was no point in moving my body if it wouldn't help in the first place! I would be semi-successful, dropping some water weight to boost my confidence but then immediately gain it all back when I would slacken or even just start my period. I would ultimately give up or just convince myself that I really didn't eat THAT MUCH food (sure, but it was hella caloric dense foods all the time).
I didn't start losing any significant amount to weight until last year, and before that I just kept creeping up in weight slowly and hitting above and beyond my "I won't ever let myself weigh this much in my life" weight. Even before that, I was working out and getting into weight lifting but just kept on gaining weight (some muscle but still a lot of fat). It wasn't until I finally decided to start counting calories that I noticed any difference or negative trend in my weight. However, the downward trend has been creeping along for a year.
We often see so many things about losing 'x' amount of weight in 'x' amount of days or months. Trying to lose as much possible as fast as possible. Doing extreme things that aren't sustainable in order to drop the weight quickly but hitting the first plateau and doing more unsustainable things or just giving up entirely. Or sometimes the opposite, where people embark on their weight loss journey to then see that 2 weeks has passed and they only lost half a pound or even gained a pound! When this happens, the blame gets put on genetics or that they've tried everything and nothing ever works!
It's suppose to be slow, you're not meant to lose a pound or even a half pound every single week. Sometimes (especially if you're menstruating human being), you'll gain a pound or two every so often. If it took your entire life to get to your current weight, what makes you think that it'll take you less than a year to get to your goal weight?
My ultimate goal is to never gain back the weight (of course there will be fluctuations), but I want to slowly get to my goal by building sustainable habits that will last me a lifetime. If I hate doing cardio all the time, but I use that to lose weight and will suddenly stop when I hit my goal? Your body is also fighting against you the whole time, it wants to stay at the same weight and doesn't want to budge (in both gaining and losing weight), so whatever you do, you have to make sure that it's sustainable and something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life to maintain that goal.
It's meant to be a journey, a journey that should be enjoyed because, honestly, it's a never-ending journey. Your "why" will need to be more than skin deep, a desire to become healthy rather than just "looking good at a smaller size". You need to find movement that brings you joy and healthy foods and alternatives that you love, or else what's the point? Weight loss is suppose to be slow, it's suppose to be difficult but not miserable. Take your time.