I know this is a lifestyle change, not a diet, but it felt silly to name this thread "How do you avoid weight loss fatigue?" Are any of us really tired of losing weight? Ha!
This has just hit me in the last couple of weeks. I don't even know for sure that my fatigue is 100% from my healthy living changes. In fact, it's probably a combination of being exhausted with full-time work while completing my last semester of college (three classes plus a lab) while working out every day, counting my calories, and weighing myself once a week.
I've been counting calories since July and exercising regularly since the beginning of August (so, not a super long time). These changes I've made haven't been what I would call difficult. I enjoy going to the gym. I've really enjoyed changing my eating habits. In fact, the few times I've decided to splurge on some "bad food" (usually a restaurant meal out), my body has felt miserable afterward, and I knew the pain from the food wasn't worth the taste of the food.
The point is... The changes aren't hard to maintain, but two weeks ago I just started feeling blah about weight loss. Like, I'm tired of climbing on the scale every week and relaying my loss to the Internet and to my mom and best friend. Maybe it's that I'm finally happy with my weight and want to focus on the exercise/strength training more now? I have been thinking that when I get to 150, I'm going to stop with having an actual weight goal and just keep exercising and let my body find its happy place on its own. (Even though 150 is my goal weight, it's a number I pulled out of the air. My real goal was to get back into size 8s, which I'm happy to report I did about two weeks ago!)
But I don't want to give this up until I see that 150 on the scale and can say I met my goal. So how do you avoid diet fatigue? Or, if it's unavoidable, how do you renew your energy and zest for your plan when fatigue hits? I appreciate all the help/advice you can give!
Maybe just ignore the scale for a while? Like a month or more? Keep doing what you're doing but take the scale out of the equation. I don't know if I'd stop coming here because I noticed that I make bad choices when I avoid 3FC.
Maybe switch it up and focus on inches lost instead of pounds. You might go back to the scale and see that you've gone below your goal weight. Or you could try just eating at maintenance for a while, take a break from actively losing.
I've been dieting most of my life (since kindergarten, and I'm 45 now), and this is the first time I haven't had "diet fatigue."
But I decided "this time" not to make it all about weight loss. When I first started, I decided that in order to diet differently than all the previous (failed) attempts, I was going to try not to focus on the weight loss at all (weight loss wasn't "the goal" it was one of the possible rewards I might get as a result of my "true" goals the healthy behaviors).
When I started, I started with only behaviors I was willing to commit to indefinitely, even if no weight loss resulted at all. And for two years - no weight loss resulted (but I did maintain the 20 lbs I had lost "accidentally" as a result of sleep apnea treatment - and I got other rewards for my behavior - including better lab test results, more energy and mobility...).
I haven't changed that completly. I still see weight loss as a (possible) reward for meeting my goals, not the goal itself.
I think it really is the magic "lifestyle" mentality. I haven't gotten tired of any of my new habits, because from the very start I saw them as permanent, not "just until I can get the weight off," or "just so I can get the weight off and I'll worry about how to make the changes permanent later."
Even when I thought I had a "lifestyle" mentality, when my main goal was weight loss, I always got discouraged when the weight loss slowed or stopped. This time my goal is behaviors that are likely to pay off with health improvements (not just weight loss). Even when I see no weight loss, I have seen health improvements, so I'm constantly rewarded.
Also, from the start, I've been celebrating "no-gain" numbers on the scale. When I only measured losses as success, a no-loss felt as bad as a gain (and that's dangerous, because if a no-loss seems as bad as a gain, you start to think that you might as well gain, at least you'd get to go off the diet for a bit).
I can't even describe how different "this" journey has been compared to all the thousands I've been on before. I've never seriously considered giving up, I've had no serious backslides, no "surrenders." And I think the most significant difference is taking weight loss off the table as the only measure of success. It's been one of the rewards for my efforts, but it's not been the only one.
Making it about a lot of things other than the numbers helped me tremendously.
It's ironic that the only way I've been able to lose weight permanently, is to make it not about the weight loss at all (or at least, not so much as all the other rewards of healthier behaviors).
I started calorie counting and getting "serious" about weight loss in January. Around April my scale broke and in June I went back for a two-week visit to the US to see my family. Around then I decided (or just let it happen) to take a break.
So for June and July I ate sensibly- eating what I felt like I usually eat when I calorie count and eating portions I usually eat. I just didn't log everything rigorously. I exercised- a couple of fun runs every week- but I didn't follow my usual run-lift-yoga-run-lift routine every week. I also didn't hop on 3FC very much at all.
Finally bought a new scale in August and "recommitted" to losing my last 9 lbs. I found I had only gained 1.5 lbs, which was terrific news.
For me, a "break" was critical. I needed the break to try to put into practice what I learned about portion control, serving size, and discipline, without all the tools (3FC, My Fitness Pal, my exercise calendar). It was NOT a free-for-all- it was a practice in maintenance.
It was kind of like taking the training wheels off of my bike and seeing what happened. Skinned my knee a bit, but I know what it feels like now and look forward to returning to it once I hit goal
One thing that jumped out to me in your post is that the diet fatigue and meeting your "real goal" of a size 8 happened around the same time. Maybe the goal of being a size 8 was more meaningful than the arbitrary number on the scale- now that you've met it, it's harder to continue. It always helps me when I put some thought into the 'why'. Why is it worth it to put up with all the annoying and time-consuming things that go into losing weight? What is going to be better/different when I meet my goal? How will my life improve? Focusing on these things helps me do what I need to do to move forward, regardless of how much my motivation may be ebbing.
Also, as much as we all talk about this being a lifestyle change, that the changes are permanent, etc. there are several things I'm doing right now that aren't permanent. Most notably, creating calorie deficits. Let's be honest- that part of it is just no fun. Being hungry is a drag. It's tiring. At times being in a deficit more tolerable than others, but it gets old fast. Realizing that that part of this is temporary is kind of a relief to think about, as committed as I am to the long haul.
If the 150 goal is important to you, keep working until you get there. Just put your head down and do what you know how to do. Girl, you've lost 44 lb, you know what you're doing! When you get to that goal, you can re-evaluate. If there's no pressing reason to continue, don't. If there is, do. You'll figure out what's right for you.
In my experience, diet fatigue is real--but it occurs after MONTHS of dieting, not weeks. It's not that one gets tired of losing weight--instead, the body is reacting to the stress of getting by for an extended period on reduced calories.
It could be that you are just bored--the newness of it all has worn off, and so you're thinking about when you can start to "eat normal" again. That's mostly mental fatigue.
I guess if I had a suggestion to make, it would be that you change your thoughts and attitude. Don't think of yourself as "eating for weight loss" because that means you'll be "done" at some point. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, then probably you'll not only have to make changes in how you eat, but also have to keep going with those changes. Hence the term lifestyle change.
I've been dieting most of my life (since kindergarten, and I'm 45 now), and this is the first time I haven't had "diet fatigue."
But I decided "this time" not to make it all about weight loss. When I first started, I decided that in order to diet differently than all the previous (failed) attempts, I was going to try not to focus on the weight loss at all (weight loss wasn't "the goal" it was one of the possible rewards I might get as a result of my "true" goals the healthy behaviors).
When I started, I started with only behaviors I was willing to commit to indefinitely, even if no weight loss resulted at all. And for two years - no weight loss resulted (but I did maintain the 20 lbs I had lost "accidentally" as a result of sleep apnea treatment - and I got other rewards for my behavior - including better lab test results, more energy and mobility...).
I haven't changed that completly. I still see weight loss as a (possible) reward for meeting my goals, not the goal itself.
I think it really is the magic "lifestyle" mentality. I haven't gotten tired of any of my new habits, because from the very start I saw them as permanent, not "just until I can get the weight off," or "just so I can get the weight off and I'll worry about how to make the changes permanent later."
Even when I thought I had a "lifestyle" mentality, when my main goal was weight loss, I always got discouraged when the weight loss slowed or stopped. This time my goal is behaviors that are likely to pay off with health improvements (not just weight loss). Even when I see no weight loss, I have seen health improvements, so I'm constantly rewarded.
Also, from the start, I've been celebrating "no-gain" numbers on the scale. When I only measured losses as success, a no-loss felt as bad as a gain (and that's dangerous, because if a no-loss seems as bad as a gain, you start to think that you might as well gain, at least you'd get to go off the diet for a bit).
I can't even describe how different "this" journey has been compared to all the thousands I've been on before. I've never seriously considered giving up, I've had no serious backslides, no "surrenders." And I think the most significant difference is taking weight loss off the table as the only measure of success. It's been one of the rewards for my efforts, but it's not been the only one.
Making it about a lot of things other than the numbers helped me tremendously.
It's ironic that the only way I've been able to lose weight permanently, is to make it not about the weight loss at all (or at least, not so much as all the other rewards of healthier behaviors).
I could have written most of this post. I am doing so much better mentally this time around because I am focusing on behaviors. My only fear is that I'll get back into the scale-watching mentality and lose this magical place I'm at.
Katie, perhaps you might do as another poster suggested and take a break from the scale. Make a list of behavior goals you want to conquer and work on starting to tackle some of those during the next month. See where that takes you. I can tell you this: It is SO much more relaxing to focus on behaviors rather than weight loss. You can control your behavior (even though it may not seem like it at times! LOL!), but you cannot completely control how quickly your body loses weight.
Katie, I think you are experiencing just genuine fatigue more than anything. You have a lot going on and the weight loss thing, now that you are so close to where you want to be and are actually mentally happy with where you are, is just adding something to your work load/stress load that doesn't need to be there.
So... just do the best you can, one day at a time. Making good food decisions and fitting in exercise around work and classes and married life and give yourself a mental break from weighing in. When you feel more recharged, then you can start up again or stay where you are. Maybe make a vow to yourself to weigh once a month or something to see how maitenance is working, but be more low key about it all.
I don't have a goal weight number at this point because when I started at 261, I had no idea of what I'd look like at 199 let alone anything lower. So my focus is more about clothing sizes and the number on the scale will be a moving target until I am at a physical size and clothing size that I am comfortable and happy with. I want to be out of plus sizes completely, which I think will end up putting me at about an 8 or 9 on the bottom - junior sizes are cut more like my body shape, but I'm not a junior size on top so I'll have mismatched sizes no matter what! And honestly, I have no idea what the scale will say when I get to that point.
So personally, I would say that you are at goal now because you are the size you wanted to be and the number on the scale was simply an estimate of what you thought it would take to get you there. I think you should start thinking about what your life looks like in maintenance - for most people, there will be some trial and error involved in stabilizing, and of course, there are normal fluctuations involved too. But I think the biggest transition is mental, to switch out of that mindset of "being on a diet to lose weight" to "this is how I live a healthy life and maintain a healthy weight" and I think that needs to be your focus now, not specifically dropping a number on the scale.
And esp. if you are feeling blah about weight loss, then it's time to change things up and not risk blowing it and starting to gain back what you've lost, which is what happens all too often when people decide they don't want to focus on losing weight any more.
Last edited by April Snow; 10-03-2011 at 08:11 AM.
First off, y'all are so awesome. Something can be staring me right in the face. It's so obvious, but until I get here, type it out, and get some feedback, I don't see it.
I hadn't really thought about it, but I got tired of hopping on the scale at the same time that I moved all of those size 8s (which I had been hiding in my dresser drawers after Mom gave them to me from her Goodwill bag) back into the closet. It stopped being about reaching a goal I wanted to reach and started being about just reaching that number.
It's probably the one downside I've seen to sharing my goal with my mother or my best friend or my husband. Now there's this expectation that I reach my goal, whether I'm happy here or not. This weekend, I talked to my mom about just weight loss in general, and she said, "Well, I think you still need to get to 150 and then just keep going to the gym and exercising regularly." But... why? (tuende Thank you!) Why is that even something I need to worry about? Just so I can say, "Hey, everyone! I made it down to that totally arbitrary number I pulled out of my butt in July! Woohoo!"?
I stopped caring so much about the actual number once I hit the 160s, since I weighed less than I did when I graduated high school and that was such a mental high for me. But I kept chugging away because I knew a lower number would lead to fitting comfortably in my size 8s. Now that I'm here, I am so, SO happy with my body. Yes, I want to continue to tone. There are still areas (*cough* upper arms, upper thighs *cough*) that need improvement. But getting to a lower number on the scale for the heck of it? Naw.
I'm going to focus now on those things I want to do in maintenance - weight training, running, and eating moderate portions of healthy foods. I'm going to continue tracking my food because it gives me peace of mind, and I think it's something I'm going to have to do (for the accountability factor - it always shocks me back to reality when I see that "total" at the end of the day) for quite a while, if not indefinitely. (And I'm okay with that. I'm a list person, so the creating of lists - even lists of food I've eaten for the day - is fun for me, lol.) And I'm definitely going to keep coming here!
Thanks again, everyone, for helping me see what was right in front of me! I REACHED MY GOAL! :-D
Just reading your post made me tired! You are doing so much right now I think you are just fatigued in general!
If there is anything you can pull out of your life (even if it's something small) I'd try to get it out, and if you can't then just remind yourself that this is your LAST semester and push through! Once you are done with school you'll have so much more time you won't know what to do with yourself (I know that's what happened with me).
I have to agree with others and say that it really does sound like you're already at your goal. There's nothing wrong with doing maintenance now! I get what you're saying about already telling everyone else a number that you wanted to hit but why don't you just explain that you were looking for a clothes size instead and you're going to just focus on working out and maintaining your weight in the meantime.
I've always had in my mind from the beginning a few major goals: 1. reach a healthy BMI, 2. wear a size 8 or less and 3. have a 28" waist or less. So basically if I hit all of those things at 155lbs (a healthy BMI for me), I'll probably stop there and maintain, if not I'll keep going until I hit all of those things (although I highly doubt it would ever bring me below 140 being that I've been there before and I had all those things then ). So if anybody has ever asked I always said 155lbs at least and we'll see from there.
It sounds like your size 8 goal was really the major one for you and, really, what's a number on the scale after that? I highly doubt those 2lbs are going to make a difference at all in the larger scheme of things.
It is cold here...and daily headache has started...feel like eating carbs...planning a trip to India in couple of days.
I shud be feeling good but i am not...why?...i do not know...hmm
when i want to quit or feel so sick of counting calories/working out i try something on that used to be tight and see how far i've come and that can usually motivate me
How do you avoid "diet fatigue"?
). So if anybody has ever asked I always said 155lbs at least and we'll see from there. 
