best tips for staying on track
 

I had my daughter over 18 months ago (she was huge - let's just say above 10 pounds) and at my highest weight in pregnancy, I was ~225 pounds. I didn't really weight myself right away, but when I did, I weighed 196. Since then, I've gotten down to 174, but now that I went back up to 180, I'm severely discouraged - even though I exercise daily and eat relatively well. What is your best piece of information when you seem stuck at a weight or even going backwards? thanks!

First off, congrats on how much you lost! :cheer: Even though the scale is being stubborn now, you've lost a lot of weight and that is definitely something to celebrate!!! Best advice is to not give up and get discouraged. :hug: It's so hard when the scale seems to be working against you, but if you stay on plan you will reach your goal.

I'd suggest setting yourself a goal like to complete a fun run or something, whatever it is that rocks your boat, to provide some external motivation. For me, it's all about mini-goals (and not just weight ones). When I focus too much on weight loss it's soooo easy to get discouraged, so I've been trying to focus on other things, like completing a 5k race this spring/summer. Plus, days when I'm feeling sluggish and want to be lazy I remember the 5k and it helps to get me moving and stay on plan.

I absolutely believe that a lot of my success is because a lot of my focus is taken up with achieving THOSE goals, so that weight loss became secondary. Also, when I first changed my lifestyle and started losing weight I did not weigh myself. I went months without seeing the scale and it helped me stay focused on getting healthy, not just losing weight. Good luck! :)