I've been officially off the wagon for the past couple of weeks due to an injury. I dislocated my shoulder... this is really embarassing... I dislocated it while I was sleeping How does that even happen, right?! I was in tons of pain, so any kind of exercise was completely out of the question for over two weeks. Today is the first day I'm even considering going to the gym.

The thing is, with my inability to exercise came this total loss of motivation for everything. It's like all my energy was focused on just getting through the days, keeping up with the kids and the housework and there was nothing left for bothering to count calories or cook healthy or anything. Ugh. Now I'm so disappointed with myself for losing focus and making so many bad food choices.

How do you ramp yourself back up after this and get that motivation back?

I have given myself a black eye while asleep, so I feel your pain. Sometimes coordination is not my strong suit.

For me, whenever I get an injury (and again, since I am not coordinated, this is not unfamilar territory!), I focus on what I can do. Can't run? I can shadowbox. Can't lift upper body? I can do squats, lunges, and other LB exercises. Can't move? I can still control my eating.

It's so easy to feel powerless in the face of an injury, which can lead to backslides like what you experienced. I had to take that power back by putting focus on what I COULD do. And no matter WHAT injury I have, I CAN control my eating, so I do.

You'll feel so much better if you get back in control of what you are able to control. And that makes dealing with the injury and the stuff you're unable to control so much easier.

So embrace what you have control of, and focus on that...don't let go of that focus! It'll help push you toward where you need to be.

I completely agree with what Mandalinn says - no matter what injury you're suffering from, you can always control your calories and your diet.

As for getting back on track after a little backslide: just pick up where you left off. Don't beat yourself up about gaining a few pounds. You can't hang on to the guilt of going off plan, because that will just make you feel worse.

Put it behind you and start off with a new, fresh motivation and the experience of having "fallen off the horse". Get back on the horse! Get back on plan and know that we all will have little set backs. The ones who are successful are the ones who consistently returned to the eating and fitness plans that worked for them. Good luck!!

I think Mandalinn and Danielle have given you great advice! And remember lots of folks say weight loss is 80% eating, 20% exercise (or I have seen 75%/25%) so you have the most control over the biggest part of it even when you are injured/recovering! Just pick up and move on! Good luck! We are all pulling for you!

WOW! I can completely relate to losing motivation after an injury. I tore my ACL & MCL back in OCtober. I'm still not completely recovered. I had one surgery in January and they removed my ACL because it was torn in such a way that was inhibiting my Range of motion. So now I will be having another surgery to replace the ACL. BUT I have to have full extension. Which I yet have.
So this long journey has totally weighed in on my motiviation. I never thought of myself as a "Depressed eater" but during all this thats exactly what I do. When I have a bad day and my knee hurts I think icecream will make it feel better. So I eat some. Then when I have to eat on my own because my husband has a late day at work, instead of cooking up chicken I think "ehh, my knee hurts, I'll just get a pizza, that'll make it feel beeter". I began to feel sorry for my self because I walk with a limp so I don't want to go for walks. Plus I can't walk to far anyway because my knee realy will start to hurt... SO not only am I eating when I feel down, but I'm not even moving to help counter act it all.
Everyday I wake up thinking this is the day I will start. But I always find a way to screw it up. It's not that I don't want to either, it's just I've lost motivation to do anything.