Hey all.....I am in a funk and need to get out of it! I am only down another pound. Since August 1st I have only lost 9 pounds and it is so depressing. At first I was dealing fine and stayed on plan, now I am rarely tracking my calories - except in my head sort of and I haven't been checking in here which I know is a factor. I haven't gained anything, but I need to get back on plan. I feel stuck, annoyed, angry at myself.

I continue to do an exercise class 2 times a week, but nothing in between. It was three times a week, but now one of the nights my little guy has Cub Scouts and I go with him. I know in my head that if I went walking or used the treadmill between exercise classes that it might start melting off again at the 1-2 pound a week rate so why don't I do it??? I am 216 right now and so badly want to hit Onederland by Christmas.

I need a kick in the pants, some tough love (Robin!!??!) something to snap me out of this!

On the upside, I know a 42 pound loss is good, I just expected more by now. Also, my blood sugars are in the 90-115 range without any medication.....I have been out of it for about 3 weeks and haven't refilled it yet - it's only $4 so it isn't the money I just haven't done it. I am thinking as long as the numbers don't go up I might just keep trying to go without it. I feel better overall, I am enjoying wearing some clothes in my closet that I haven't been able to wear in about 5 years - so that is all good and fun, but I want more success - more relief from the fat!

Help! Talk to me!!!!

No words of wisdom--just waving at you across the bow of the same boat. My motivation is gone. I've been in a funk for months, have tried to talk myself out of it, and have given up. I have an appointment with the head doctor next week, and I'm hoping for happy pills.

How is the food side of the equation been? Exercise is good, but you get the most bang for the buck (results for effort) by limiting the calories you consume.

How many calories do you consume a day?

I agree with Matt. I exercise for my health, but I calorie count for weight loss.

I calorie count in my head too and I'm good with that as long as the scale is cooperating. When it isn't, however, I have to be more strict. I love Robin's advice to write it down BEFORE you eat it. I haven't actually tried it...but it's awfully good advice.

Txmary - so sorry to hear of your funk. We have all been there at times in our lives.

Just keep trying, friend. Plan, plan and plan some more. We can never stop trying....because the next time could be THE TIME that clicks in for long time food sanity. Check and see if your calories (or however you are counting your daily food intake) are at the right place. Keep track of everything that goes in your mouth.

You CAN do this.

Writing it down before you eat is very good advice...that's what I do, too. Sometimes I'll log the whole day in the morning, so I'll know exactly what I'm going to eat. Helps me to make sure I don't go over my calories. Also, measure and weigh everything! Don't just eyeball it. Not measuring your food correctly can add A LOT of extra calories. For instance, I thought I was getting a tablespoon of peanut butter, but when I finally put it on a scale, it was closer to 2 tablespoons...that's almost an extra 100 calories!

Your post makes me think of something that kaplods keeps saying, many people give up, not because they are not succeeding, but because they are not succeeding fast enough.

It is great that you are seeing improvements in your health, etc. You are having positive outcomes. If you want to speed up the rate of loss, I would encourage you to track your calories more carefully. I think that would help even more than increasing your exercise. Of course, you can do both.

However, be kind to yourself. Even if you keep losing slowly, give yourself a pat on the back. You could very easily be gaining weight instead!

Thank everybody. My calories on average are around 1800 although I am pretty sure in the last week or so they have been more like 2000. I know I should be stricter and I am pretty sure if I drop it to 1600 and pick up my exercise that I would see some movement on the scale.

I am exercising for health (high BP and blood sugar) as well as fat burning.

9 pounds in less than two months isn't bad at all. I don't know how long you've been at this but at some point the weight is going to be more difficult to lose. Maybe stop weighing yourself for a couple weeks and concentrate on logging your food.

I know for all those years I went to weight watchers the first thing they said to someone who usually lost weight and didn't that week was "did you stop measuring your food?"

Well, for me it took 4 months to lose 18.4 pounds. I'm keeping my cals between 1200-1400 and walking 5 days a week. That took forever...but I didn't give up and I have a long way to go. I know you can hang in there too! I wanted to hit onderland by the new year too, and now...I realize that probably won't happen unless I change some things around. So my question to me is...am I happy with slow steady losses or do I want to hit a goal and burn out and go backwards. I think I've settled on the slow go. My true goal is 5 pounds a month. For many many months! I will eventually get there! YOU CAN TOO!!!!

I am taking a nutrition course at my college, and the topic today was treating obesity. One of things discussed was that slow weight loss was usually related to an actual change in lifestyle and habits, rather then a quick fix or temporary diet to drop the weight. The nutritionist actually said that a 5-10% loss over a course of a year is really good and steady weight loss.

I know that most of us don't lose quite that slow. However, my point is that we are all different and some people consider it a good thing to lose slower.

If you are unhappy with the results right now, try to change something up. However, some people just lose weight slowly.

You have inspired me many times and I will be thinking about you and sending you hugs.

Oh I know all too well what you are going through. I had the same funk - I'm still trying not to slip back into it. My weight stayed the same for months...I only lost 10 lbs from February to August. But when I look back I can see why - I was self sabotaging. Then about September I said forget it and did a whole lot of things I shouldn't...and was up 16 lbs.
Instead of being happy I lost 70 lbs I spent all my time being mad I was stuck in the 250's and could not get to 249. That was really self destructive - it made me go in reverse. When was the last time I could say oh gee I lost 70 lbs and now I am stuck. For me, NEVER. I never really tried to lose weight before last year.
I also agree with someone above - if you lose it slower you are more likely to keep it off. Super fast huge losses (unless you are on biggest loser) are usually achieved unhealthily from fad or crash diets and can often just be water and comes right back on. I see people on here who did lose a lot fast, and are keeping it off - and I say dang I wish that was me. But its not me, I have to work with what I have. Maybe they have a faster metabolism, maybe they were more focused, maybe they ate less....I just know that I can't acheive those results that fast. I just bought some new clothes. The 16 lbs didn't make me really change sizes - I'm still large enough where it does not make a big difference. I said I am going to enjoy being this smaller size instead of being mad I am not even smaller. Last year I was a size 26/28 and sometimes that didn't even fit. This year I can wear a 20/22/24 depending on the brand - I need to take notice of that and acknowledge what I have already done instead of being upset over what I still have to do.
So keep on trucking - and don't be like me and self sabotage yourself. I am going to lose this 16 lbs (3 gone already) and keep on losing. But if I had never played these stupid head games I could start losing again at 254 lbs instead of at 270 lbs.

Chin up! I'll make you feel better instantly. The last time I was on the 3FC's site, I was 215, now I'm 245 so I would love to lose 42 pounds. Enjoy that victory! Revel in it! Cheer in the streets! Compare some old pictures to now and pat yourself on the back. Then, dust yourself off and get back to it. Best of luck to you!

Here is the good news:

You are recognizing you are slipping NOW, and asking for help. More than I did last time around, I had to regain 25 lbs of the 40 I had lost before I found my way back here! So great job!

I have to run and get a shower before the guy downstairs starts his and there is not hot water, but I"ll type more later!

feel better hon!