so I did great and lost about 60lbs in a year (started at 222) then I kinda stalled and was still working out but not losing. So the progress stop showing up then I stopped showing up (at the gym that is) now I've lost all motivation with still needing to lose 20. I have been eating great (not bad, but not great either) and working out only once every other week or so. But fortunately no gain. I just cant get motivated when there are no results as award. Anyone else having this issue?
The last few pounds are the hardest to lose! The last 10 or 20 were the hardest and took the longest for me to lose. It's easy to lose motivation and patience, especially when you lost so fast at first. I had to clean up my diet and stay active. If you don't love to go the the gym, take a walk, push mow the lawn, clean out your closets, anything to get moving. Try something new for exercise. I had to realize my motivation was to be healthy, stay healthy and keep the healthy habits. Be consistent and the last 20 will come off.
Trying some new healthy recipes helped me, too. I tend to eat the same things and boredom with food sometimes caused me to go too much off plan towards the end. I try to do a new recipe once a week now.
I can't really talk, because I've gained and lost probably a dozen times, but the time when I lost the most and kept it off the longest, it was because I had integrated exercise and minimal eating into my life. I found a sport I liked, and made friends with people who did that sport. So I really think support helps, and working out because you inherently enjoy it helps. Maybe get a workout buddy for something that is inherently at least a little enjoyable? Bike riding maybe? Badminton?
I did the same thing. Lost 50 pounds, still have 15 - 20 to go, and stopped losing. I have maintained at this current weight for several months, which is not a bad thing, but I still have a way to go. I have been very careful about my diet and exercise these past several months but I have apparently been eating at maintenance level, since I have been maintaining and not losing, in spite of exercise and eating a healthy, low-carb diet.
I need to get back in the game to lose those last pesky 15 pounds.
I think coming back here and starting to post again will help.
I started with a week long cleanse to kick-start me into this latest effort.
It takes less calories to feed the new, smaller you than it did to maintain your larger body. Maybe that's why weight loss tends to plateau as we reach goal. There are some tools to calculate your TDEE, Total daily energy expenditure (calories), based on age, height, activity level, goal weight. It seems unfair that you get to eat less if you are shorter!
I know there is truth to starvation mode because many years ago I struggled with anorexia. At one point many years ago (I was NOT underweight at the time; I was still at the upper end of my healthy weight range) in my disordered eating I was consuming - I kid you not - less than 400 calories a day and working out 2 -3 hours a day... yet I stopped losing weight. It was terrifying and bizarre how I descended into starvation: no matter how few calories I ate, I could not lose weight, so I ate less and less until I was barely eating at all. And even then I didn't lose weight. It was very weird and eye opening.
I have learned that I must use a different technique and have a different goal: my goal is to build my metabolism so that I can eat normally and not gain weight now that I am at a reasonable BMI.
Anyone who says starvation mode is a myth has never actually starved themself.
Last edited by shr1nk1ngme; 09-10-2014 at 11:50 PM.
Anyone who says starvation mode is a myth has never actually starved themself.
Sorry to hear you struggle with anorexia. There is no question that "starvation mode" exists but the way most people use the term is entirely inaccurate. You were in starvation mode. Most people are not. Most people their bodies just retain water for a while. In women this can last for a long time. One can be losing fat but not weight as water builds up. This is not starvation mode.
At the end of the day the body has energy needs. The majority of these needs are essential functions such as your heart pumping and your lungs breathing. This is where BMR comes from. If you google If you google "minnesota starvation experiment" you can read all about it the study and how those mens bodies dealt with starvation but the relevant point for "starvation mode" is that dispite being on diets that were starvation level their bodies still had energy needs that were being met by burning fat and muscle.
lost motivation for a year
