getting harder?
I posted this on my blog, but I wanted opinions, so I am posting here.
When I began this in May it was so easy to stick to it, I began exercising more and more. But now that I have lost 65lbs I find it harder and harder to get motivated. I have slipped up a few times in the past 2 months, and have problem getting myself to get the umpah to exercise. Last night I went overboard with fresh pineapples and fresh dates( better than going overboard with cookies I guess).. Did you feel like this? What did you do?
tia Cheryl

I came here just to whine about this very thing (hi! I'm new here and I'm gonna start by griping! LOL)

I'm doing it on my own. I've been eating well, but not denying myself anything, and exercising at home on my treadmill and with a swiss ball. I've come to a major plateau, though, and have been stuck since late July-early August. I don't want to have to start obsessively counting calories because then it will feel like I'm "on a diet". The scale isn't moving though, and I'm losing my motivation. I don't ask for a 2 lb. a week loss (though it was in the beginning) but even a pound or so a MONTH would be enough to keep me going.

*sigh*

Cheryl - Ah yes, the dreaded "Wow! I look so good now! I'm sure I can have an extra bite of this or snack of that. I've been working so hard and I DESERVE it". I definitely had that experience, and it WAS hard to break through.

It took a REALLY strong will to not give in. I just kept repeating to myself "I have more work yet to do". Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I used my slimmer body to try different and new forms of exercise, so I'd be able to burn some extra calories and have fun. I kept lots of high volume low cal snacks on hand so that if I really wanted to eat something I hadn't planned for that day, the calorie damage could be minimized.

Eventually I got revitalized and back in the game. The phase, for me, lasted about a month.

for you!

I seem to be stuck in the 190s for a bit, but I've been consistent for the most part and the clothes are getting looser and I've had several people tell me I look like I lost weight. I'm just going to keep up with what I'm doing, but maybe add some variety to the exercise.

Like many here, I've had my starts & stops. I started in May 2004 at 250 pounds. I look at it this way, I didn't gain the weight overnight, I'm not losing it overnight. A big part of it is learning new habits re: eating & exercise. That's ultimately what I need to do to maintain once I get to goal, so I think that's even more important that what shows up on the scale. My blood pressure readings have improved since I've been losing weight (dr. was telling me to work on it or I'd need meds). Different things work for different people.

Some tips that I've found really helpful are:

1) Get rid of clothes that are too big once you get down to a smaller size. Having them around creates extra temptation to slack off. Following that advice has made my slacking periods much shorter. When the pants which fit got tight, I knew I had to go back to my routine.

2) Break it down into minigoals. Even though my ultimate goal is 150, I'm concentrating on 190 now & then 180, etc.

3) Reward yourself (with non-food items) for minigoals. Rewards can be a manicure, new music, a new item of clothing, but setting up a reward reinforces the behavior.

I'd like to get an ipod shuffle for the gym, etc. I like that it just clips onto clothes. I haven't decided if that will be my 180 reward, which is when I can start jogging again (due to foot problems dr. & podiatrist had advised lower impact until 180) or my 175 reward (which will mark the 75% of my goal mark).

I have been on my weight loss journey for a little over 3 years and I'm not at goal for the very reason that I had stops along the way. I had mental issues to overcome or even some period of times when I thought I didn't want to lose any more weight.

For me, I ended up maintaining my weight loss until I refound my motivation. Sure it would've been nice to lose 200 lbs in 2 years instead of 4 (I'm hoping by my 4th anniversary to get to 164) but it really doesn't matter how long it takes you as long as you do it.

You can look at your motivational factors, what started your weight loss in the beginning? What can keep you going? Do you need a break for a while? (A break doesn't mean going back to the way you were but just not thinking too much about the weight loss aspect while maintaining)

On other weight loss efforts, yes, this lifestyle change, no, not really. I think the difference is food-related, I like the foods I eat so much. I like the nutritional benefits I am giving my body, I never wanted to stop!

I am occasionally frustrated when I yield to unplanned temptations, but I have really worked on this issue. I KNOW that life is messy and unplanned and I am occasionally going to eat offplan food (either crackers and cheese in a meeting or too many lime chili mango slices - like last night). As long as I get right back on plan, occasional slip-ups aren't going to derail my efforts!

I have definitely had times over the course of my journey where I am so gung-ho, that nothing tempts me. Then of course there are times where I want to eat everything in sight, including the paper plates, if that's all that's available. I find that it is a constant up and down, even during maintenance. I suspect it will always be this way. When I'm in a want everything in sight phase and then it passes it is SUCH a relief.

But regardless of what I am feeling, whether I am motivated or not, whether I like it or not, or even if I'm tempted to overeat my very healthy foods, I've made the commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Having made that decision, I don't ALLOW myself to live any other way.

That being said, there are times when I need to regroup and refocus and remind myself just why I'm doing this. And then I think about just how miserable I was prior to this lifestyle change and how my quality of life has improved IMMENSELY.

Hopefully this phase will pass quickly for you. Hang in there and remember that it really is worth it. Remember that the struggles of staying on plan is waaaay better then the struggles of being morbidly obese.

I have been able to get down to the 250s, but never lower. I pause there, and the pause gets longer, and then I start gaining again. Usually I can catch it before it gets too bad, but this time it took my foot starting to hurt again (back to the 290s) before I "woke up".

I guess I see this in two ways. Yes, there have certainly been times when it seemed more difficult for me to stay on plan. I'm quite single-minded about this weight loss though, so those times are infrequent and I usually can move past it in a matter of a few days. The biggest reason I find it pretty easy to move past it is that I'm NOT where I want to be. I know others say they get to a weight/size that they are pretty happy at, and they can slack off some. I haven't hit that weight/size yet. There is also a huge amount of fear lingering in the back of my mind. Fear of regaining weight, fear of never getting to my goal, fear that if I go too far overboard, I'll drown. That all tends to keep me on the straight and narrow dietwise. I did try a mini-maintenance break in the spring for a couple of weeks. It was quite refreshing at the time, and I gave myself a deadline for when I had to actively start trying to lose weight again, just in case I found it difficult to restart.


To answer the other way that I view this question; there have been times when weight loss is extremely difficult. My body seems to be very very very happy in the 190s - 180s. This was the weight that I seemed to hang around when I was in college and when I first married. My body seems very comfortable at this weight. It is extremely difficult to move past this stage. I've been at this weight since June. So physically there is definitely a point where weight loss becomes more difficult for some of us, but I'm sure that varies as well.

I have this same problem too. I got down to 202....so close....and then things piled up...work, life, busy schedule, and although I didn't get totally off track I did get to a point where I was just maintaining for a few months. Now it's October, and I've gained back a few pounds and am back up to 212...this is my put on the breaks weight....for some reason it always routes back to 212. I've now found some new motivation and set some mini goals and am back to committing to counting and working out etc (which i never really stopped doing, I just did less). I know that if I go any longer that I'll keep on packing on pounds and be back where I started. Lifestyle changes are hard, I think that having those moments where you slip and get comfortable really show you how much this is a lifestyle and something you need to do forever. Right now I'm working on going back to the original changes I made and trying to find new habits that fit into that lifestyle so that it evolves with my actual life. With any hope that will push me over this hurdle. I would almost pay to start 2008 in Onederland!

You betcha! After I weighed under 200 lbs., I had a harder time not giving into the "bad" Sheila that wants what she wants when she wants it. I was feeling good, looking okay, and, hey, I'd lost over 60 lbs. But. . .I never lost sight of my first goal (100 lbs. lost), and I was determined to make that goal no matter what. That was my commitment. It took me a long time, but for me there are benefits in taking that long.

Nylisa has some great tips that might help you along the way. I had to resort to writing contracts with myself to do certain things for four weeks, and I'd actually print, sign and post that contract (for me to see only, however). That's something that worked for me. Regarding the exercise, I've made such a habit out of it that now it feels weird when I don't go to the gym. What helped me in the beginning and along the way when I didn't want to exercise was having my gym bag packed and waiting by the bedroom door and also setting my alarm (I exercise in the morning).

I think that the majority of people get in a funk every once in a while. It's okay to maintain for a while; it's not okay to slide back into the abyss of bad eating and not exercising.

Oh yes.. Im right there with you. I try to find ways to remotivate myself. I look at peoples before and after pics, try on a pair of jeans that I know are too small or some that use to be tight but now fall off of me, look at the biggest loser website, etc.

I am approaching my 50lb mini-target with some trepedation. I both want it and at the same time don't. Why don't I? As this is the point where I seem to start to struggle. Seen it happen 3 or 4 times now. I've lost a few pounds more and maintained a 50+ lb loss for over two years but have never reached 55. Its such a mental barrier for me and I don't know why.

Currently I've not reached that point and can't see it happening but I sure haven't been able to see it in the past either, so who knows?

Kitty

I'm right there as well. With everything going on I have a bit less control about my calorie amounts, so I am and have been maintaining. So far I've gotten down to 171, although I think I'm back to 173.

As long as I haven't gone back to my old habits I think I'll be fine. I'm still running 5 days a week, I'm still lifting weights 4 days a week. I'm just eating 200-300 more calories than I should for weightloss. Argh, it'll come though.

I definitely hit some snags along the way, but I lost pretty consistently for the first 100 pounds. Then I stayed around 172 to 175 for a month or two. I had a really hard time losing while I was training for my half marathon, both because running so much made me really hungry and because I was home all summer and it's easier to eat more when you aren't as busy. I worried that I would get that close to my goal and then never make it. But after the race I got back on track for a few weeks and blasted those last 10 pounds. Well, now I feel like I'm entering another snag... Partly it's stress (both job-related and family-related), and partly it's just getting kind of tired of counting points. I know, however, that it's sooooooo worth the trouble! What makes it difficult is that you don't have that urgency anymore, because you feel like you finally look pretty good, you can wear regular sizes, you have energy, etc. I could stay at this weight and be ok with it, but I'd really rather lose some more. It's just hard to get motivated to do so. I'd love to see those 150s, but I have to psych myself up for it.

Anyway, good luck to you. The good thing is -- we know if we've lost a large amount of weight that we're more than capable of doing it. We don't have to question if we have the strength to do it, because we've already proven that!!