Weight loss blahs
 

I know this is going to sound incredibly silly, but has anyone else ever stopped being really excited about their success at a certain point?

I lost 20 pounds, which was huge, but now this week I'm down 2.6 pounds, which is great, but it'll be a while before I really hit a number that gives me that wow feeling (like 20) again.

I don't want to quit or slow down. I was just wondering if anyone has ever gone through anything like this and what some of the things were you said to yourself to pump yourself back up and feel proud and excited again?

I have not - to me every pound is a new milestone. The next pound is the only one I worry about releasing. Can you set a mini-goal that is not related to the scale to help?

I've thought about setting a new mini-goal -- my first is to be under 250 -- but I can't really think of what I would want to do.

I've gone up and down so many times that if it was clothing sizes, I can tell you exactly what I would have to weigh to fit into say, a size 18. And I have been progressive pushing myself harder with exercise.

Again, I feel so incredibly ungrateful for thinking this way when I read the frustrations of so many (which I'm sure will be me someday too) on these boards.

Yes, I get that way, probably from the first day! I have lost 30 pounds, but since no body can see the loss, not even me, it gets pretty discouraging. I have to remind myself I am doing this to improve my health so I push on.

It has helped to have little mini rewards every 5 pounds- gives me something to look forward to and a reasonable goal to work towards. Your rewards can be anything, my favorite is a new magazine- I got one on walking last time.

I dug out some old pictures too- helps me see where I am going, of course those pictures are 20 yrs old, but I wanna get back to 160 and I remember feeling good about myself then, so I just keep picturing myself at that weight and feeling better and I just keep plugging along.

I find that setting small goals is the way to go, for me it's to lose 10lbs, but really every time the scale goes down I get excited. Like my current goal is to hit 230(hopefully in the next two weeks) and then it will be to lose another 10 lbs...I usually sit with a calendar and make and ambitious time line for losing 10 lbs, I always want to lose 10 lbs in a month, then mid month I see how much progress I'm making and sometimes i have to readjust the time line LOL.!

I think setting small goals that can be reached in a relativity short amount of time really helps you stay motivated.

I've felt this way many times since I started -- more often than I really want to admit, frankly. Usually when I start feeling blah about my loss I drag out some old clothes just to see how far I've come (I'm one of those people who doesn't throw everything away, just for comparison's sake), or I try on clothes in the next size down from where I am, just to see how far I have to go. Right now I'm working on moving into a 12. That's a pretty big milestone for me, so I'm pretty excited right now, but yes, I definitely get where you're coming from.

Well, just like with anything else, you don't have to feel excited all the time to keep going! :)

That's why when motivation is low, one relies on commitment. Are you committed to losing your excess weight? Are you committed to not going backwards and regaining? Think about that.

Some folks say that weight loss isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. I imagine that every runner hits a point along the way where they are really tired and find themselves thinking maybe they don't have to keep going. Do they stop? Not if they want to cross the finish line.

So, I'd say, tough it out! Don't allow lack of enthusiasm to undermine you! If it helps to set goals and targets, or come up with rewards (non-food), do it--but don't stop! Keep on! :cheer2:

Jay

It happens sometimes....your plan isn't new to you anymore and it just becomes a part of your life instead of some "diet".

Mini-goals help keep the spark alive :lol: It doesn't even have to be scale related...maybe exercising for x amount of minutes for the week, etc. Reward yourself and it'll help!

Oh, yes. Honestly, I didn't even get excited to begin with, until I had lost about 45-50 lbs. That's when I realized that I'd really, physically changed, that's when I reinvigorated by buying an exercise bike and joining 3fc.

I didn't even try to get myself excited before that. Writing it, I see how negative it sounds ... but I was familar with going down to certain numbers close to my starting weight, and I'd gotten excited on previous attempts -- only to stop after 2 months.

So I just wasn't into the nitty gritty of weight loss and my improvements yet like I have been these last few months. I was just plodding along and gritting my teeth -- I know, fun!

I don't exactly regret it, because I think a lot of things that excite me now wouldn't have excited me earlier, with an exception being actual diet and exercise. Healthy food, farmer's markets, new dishes to cook. I cherish my eating so much, and eat so healthily.

Making activities out of meals and exercise (hiking, etc) might help you. Body exercises and hand weights help in that I feel stronger, I notice positives and wonder if they (muscles, etc) are new. Perhaps you are already exercising but could be excited by a new type of exericse or by taking an exercise class?

So not a lot of ideas here, but ... just take heart that results will become exciting, even surprisingly so, after making it through these dark days.

Those of us here in the 100 lb have a lot to lose, and it can take a long time before our losses add up to being obvious -- but when it does become obvious (only recently for me) it just gets more and more "real" -- so exciting.

I feel the same way, there are waxes and wanes in my weight loss. I am in one now where I am just going through the motions. I've lost 47 pounds so by now getting on the scale is just boring and a routine. For me though there is no choice but down so I am still plugging away. I think of it like a long term relationship. My fiance and I have been together for 6 years and there are some days I like him less and some days I am totally in love, I think it's just life :)

Ha! I love that.

Thanks for all the suggestions, ladies. I'm going to keep plodding along, one way or the other.

I get the blahs too, and boredom. But I remind myself that this is my life now, not just a diet, and that I'm going to stick to it no matter what. Then, before you know it, another big milestone will be knocking!

I guess the honeymoon period is over for me too. I am still plugging away, finding what works, but I'm coming up on month 3 and I am in a slump of sorts. I haven't lost much weight this month, so far and I know it's because of some of the crap that I have eaten. But, I never gave up and I never quit writing it down, it's just time to readjust and mix it up. So I'm kind of blah too, but I am still plodding-although a little more aggressively starting today. So, like JayEll said, this is where my commitment has kicked in, because I certainly have no motivation.

I get the major blahs and I usually pay for it. I have been losing weight at a snails pace and backslid as well in the last 2 years. What keeps me going is walking around with my list of values in my head and since I value health, I need to act like it. The need to self sabotage sometimes wins, but less than it use to.

the "weight" is a number for me.

i want to breeze up the hill on my way to school in something lower than 8th gear (when i started 5 weeks ago it was almost puking, heaving on 4th! very embarrassing....)

i put on a pair of pants today i haven't worn since last winter because they felt wrong. today they felt right.

i know that if i keep on moving in the right direction, i'm going to feel how i want to feel. and the scale will do what the scale's going to do. the number means exactly what i let it. i have number goals but they're secondary to my health and wellness goals.

i dunno. that little machine can really mess a person's thinking up if you let it.

just keep your eye on the prize. and make the prize something real, tangible and worth fighting for.

for me a number doesn't fit that description....

isolde