# Forum > Discussion > Friendly Banter >  Had to buy a new belt!

## truemane

I am a fat guy. I show my weight entirely in my belly. And I do not like it. At all. My primary issue, historically, has been my diet. Which, as fitness nerds know, is impossible to counteract with exercise (which, to be fair, I also wasn't doing).

In August I joined one of those little bootcamp gyms. It's five minutes from my work. They have class every weekday at noon and I've managed to go to at last three class classes each week (and more often four or five) every week since I joined.

And, having been diagnosed with ADHD last year, and subsequently gotten myself a therapist to help work through what that means for me, I've also managed to put some routines and controls into place that are really helping me control my eating, and that look like they'll be sustainable long-term.

As a result of that one-two punch, I've gone through four belt notches in the past three months. And last night I had to buy a new belt! A shorter belt! The last time I bought a new belt it was in the other direction.

Lots of work left to do (I'm still a fat guy, just less so). And I'm trying to focus on process rather than result (because if I get too excited by the results, I'll stop doing the work once I achieve it). But all the same, actual objective fat loss is pretty exciting.

truemane's old belt:

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## Peelee

Back about a decade or so in Korea I discovered the absolute delight of ratcheting belts. I highly recommend checking them out.

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## Radar

I may not know you, but I feel happy for you anyway. Tightening the belt is not always a negative term.  :Small Smile: 



> Back about a decade or so in Korea I discovered the absolute delight of ratcheting belts. I highly recommend checking them out.


I have one and it does allow for a wider range of sizes as well as more precise pick of said size, but at least in my one the button for releasing the belt is not always working smoothly. I very much like the general idea though - definitely worth checking out.

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## Khedrac

Congratulations!

The other answer is to get a leather punch and just make new holes in an existing belt - of course, it doesn't work for all type of belt...

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## Manga Shoggoth

> Congratulations!
> 
> The other answer is to get a leather punch and just make new holes in an existing belt - of course, it doesn't work for all type of belt...


That's pretty much what I've had to do with nearly all my belts.

Still, that's a decent chunk of mass lost - well done Truemane!

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## snowblizz

I should buy a new one too, I tore apart the leather belt I use on my "working pants" that I bought slightly too large and can't keep on without a belt. So I tend to pull the belt kinda tight and now tore off part of the fastening mechanism. Never could find a proper hole to use either slightly too tight or slightly too loose. 

Had a friend who was on a similar journey. Emphasis on was, because in the middle of it his blood-work came out wonky and they found he had the big C.

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## Kesnit

> As a result of that one-two punch, I've gone through four belt notches in the past three months. And last night I had to buy a new belt! A shorter belt! The last time I bought a new belt it was in the other direction.


It's a great feeling, isn't it?  :Small Big Grin: 




> Lots of work left to do (I'm still a fat guy, just less so). And I'm trying to focus on process rather than result (because if I get too excited by the results, I'll stop doing the work once I achieve it).


I've found having lots of mini-goals help. Rather than saying "I want to drop 100 pounds," start with "I want to drop 5" or "I want to lose 2 inches off my waist." Also, be willing to adjust your goals. (I had a goal of dropping another 10 pounds, which would put me back to the weight I was in high school. I've had to adjust that since my weight seems to have plateaued, but I'm still slowing losing inches. So my new goal is to get to the pants size I was in in high school.)




> But all the same, actual objective fat loss is pretty exciting.


CONGRATS!!!!!

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## truemane

> I've found having lots of mini-goals help. Rather than saying "I want to drop 100 pounds," start with "I want to drop 5" or "I want to lose 2 inches off my waist." Also, be willing to adjust your goals. (I had a goal of dropping another 10 pounds, which would put me back to the weight I was in high school. I've had to adjust that since my weight seems to have plateaued, but I'm still slowing losing inches. So my new goal is to get to the pants size I was in in high school.)


I've tried that (and many other, similar things) but that sort of thing rarely works for me. I am almost never able to psyche myself up for a goal. Which is a common way that ADHD presents (especially in adults).

In this case, however, I was motivated by one thing that does motivate me: my partner's happiness. We had a three-week vacation planned that would involve a lot of walking. And I was determined not to have my fitness level be the limiting factor on anything we did. So I joined the gym about six weeks before the trip hoping to put down a 'base coat' of fitness.

(more the fool me, because I wound up getting a really bad chest cold halfway through and was an absolute mess for about four days)

And then, after the trip, now that the habit had been established, I focused on process to stay on track. My 'goal' is just "go to the gym at least three times a week." That's it. Fat loss or fitness or pushups or anything else is merely a byproduct.

And then, since I was doing all this work on the fitness, I was able to finally get together the wherewithal to focus on the best way to manage my diet. It was no fun putting in all that work and still be a fat guy.

But anyway, even with my focus on process rather than result, a whole new belt is very exciting.

(also, as of this very morning, I think I'm officially down one notch on my new belt, too)

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## Kesnit

> I've tried that (and many other, similar things) but that sort of thing rarely works for me. I am almost never able to psyche myself up for a goal. Which is a common way that ADHD presents (especially in adults).
> 
> (snip)
> 
> And then, after the trip, now that the habit had been established, I focused on process to stay on track. My 'goal' is just "go to the gym at least three times a week." That's it. Fat loss or fitness or pushups or anything else is merely a byproduct.


You are still focusing on something, and that is the idea. You have a goal and it is clearly one you can make. So CONGRATS!




> (also, as of this very morning, I think I'm officially down one notch on my new belt, too)


YEAH!!!!!!

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## Caedorus

I once got a belt with a costume so wide I thought noone could fit it. We all laughed.

I personally use those woven belts where you can insert the catch anywhere along between the threads. It avoids the bad safety catch issue, but a poor-quality one will stretch out and become ugly quickly.

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