Hello everyone I am so excited I found this forum. I think this is the place for me. I have 15 pounds to go and I am at a stand still. I am at a stand still though because of me. I think I have gotton really lazy and feel like oh heck what is 15 pounds. It is a flabby stomach and love handles and jiggly thighs and part of a double chin. I don't like the weight I am at and I know I still need to lose but I have been having a hard time with the motivation to go the home stretch. I really thought this summer I would be there but that is not going to happen so I am hoping by early Fall I will hit the goal. I just don't know how to shake this funk I am in. I need to have a talk with myself I know this may sound nuts but it works for me. I need to start counting the calories again and sticking to it. I also need to up the exercise. I know all of this and yet I still don't do it consistently. Have any of you been dealing with this and if so how do you move past it and on with the process. I know I will finish what I set out to do I just hope it does not take me ten years. Well I am going to make my first priority having that talk with myself and setting some new boundries. Wish me luck!

Hi Tina,
First of all, congrats on your weight loss so far!

I have found that the best strategy you can have is to switch it up with a new approach every 15 pounds or so (more or less, depending on your metabolism). I am one not to advocate any one approach (i.e. low-carb, low-fat, etc). but rather I take what I need and leave the rest. So for the first 15-20 lb, I lost on Xenical, and now I have lost another 15 on Wellbutrin. I've been meaning to take the next step which is going to the gym twice a day instead of once (have read good things about that). The one thing I have had a real hard time with is food restriction. I can do pretty good making healthy choices but can't seem to restrict my food, or deal with hunger. So I'd rather take the increased physical activity approach-which is better for keeping the metabolism active anyways.

So, to get the last 15 off, try to read a lot of different approaches on weight loss, and consider what you haven't tried yet. For example, if you've lost on low-carb, consider decreasing your fat intake if it was high. Or low-fat, go low-carb for a while. I even had discovered Chitosan which is a natural fat-blocker. It's been called a scam, but that's because the dosage recommended is far below what is needed to be effective. Trust me, I lost 15lbs on the stuff without even trying! May try it again but big disadvantage is the number of pills.

Hello Tina!

I agree with changing things up, adding different exercises, trying a new class.

If you count calories, calorie cycling or zig-zagging can do wonders to speed up weight loss. It fools the body into thinking it actually can lose weight rather than hold onto the precious fat for times of famine.

Sometimes eating "clean" can help ie plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, less bread and crackers, more whole grains (brown/wild rice, oats, quinoa, millet, etc). Make sure you're getting enough GOOD fats from nuts, avocados, olive oil, flax oil etc, good fats can speed up weight loss too.

Also, writing EVERYTHING you do down, and looking back at it, checking, reassessing adjusting things that don't work.

Good luck!