Hi, this is my first post. I've joined this forum because I need support and others to talk to who are on the same journey! I've been finding it really hard to stick to my weight loss efforts over the last week, and I'm disappointed in myself and need inspiration to pick myself back up.
I started eating healthily and working out back in mid-July and I've lost 30 pounds since then. I look really great and I'm really proud of myself and I'm already wearing smaller size jeans! The weight loss hasn't even been that hard up to this point, because I've come to enjoy exercising outdoors and eating clean, healthy food. I've been really revved and motivated the last few months, but for the past week it's been rainy, and the weather's getting colder, and I've been feeling "bleh" and not working out. I haven't gone on any junk-food binges because I don't have any junk food in the house, but I've spent the last couple of days overeating on nutritious food (like, I mean, yummy nutritious food - I baked a dozen spelt cookies and ate them all)
I feel like my success is almost de-motivating me. I've lost 30 pounds and I think I look so much better, so it's like "OH, I don't need to try so hard now!" although I've still got 70 pounds left to lose! Getting 1/3 of the way to goal is super, but I don't want to permanently fall off the wagon 1/3 of the way through.
I almost wonder if there's something about this time of year, with the weather getting colder that's triggering my desire to overeat and hibernate. I eat "hearty" and seasonally-appropriate meals like soups and stews now that it's November, but it's incredibly tempting to eat way too much of those foods. How do successful losers work through this desire to overeat and hibernate? I'm nervous about getting through the next couple of months of cold, dreary weather.
What do successful losers typically do to work through the times when your motivation falls off?
Well I think that fall naturally brings out the desire to cuddle up an hibernate, and all of those yummy fall foods are perfect for weight gain. Our bodies do not realize it is 2013, they still think that we need to pack on the pounds to get through lean winter times!
Staying motivated for any length of time is hard. Personally I am lucky enough to be from Southern California so we do not have the extreme seasonal change that the rest of the world has, so seasonal motivation is not an issue for me. Getting discouraged or impatient however is an issue for me and if I get impatient I lose my motivation. That being said, I get through it with pure stubbornness and pride. Every week I remind myself how much better I feel and what I loser I would feel like if I gained my weight back, and I remind myself how proud I am of my accomplishment. Is the healthiest way to get through it? Probably not. But it works for me. Whatever damage I am doing to my psyche or body image I will fix later lol. Right now I fixing my body and my goal is completely vanity related. I want to be as smokin' hot as I was 20 years ago!
Hi emilym! I find the best way to put into perspective just how big I still am and how much weight I still need to lose is to go to a clothing store, grab a garment, any garment, and go get undressed in the dressing room. Bam! The only thing that could make it worse is trying on a swimsuit! There is just something about dressing room mirrors that bring me back to reality! If you are suffering from winter depression, you can buy a natural spectrum lamp at drugstores, which can help your mood. As for indoor exercise, turn to youtube for free exercise videos. Trust me, if you stop your weight loss plan now, you are going to kick yourself in the spring and summer months when it really is shorts and swimsuit time, knowing you could have been so much thinner, but instead you gave up. Please do whatever it takes to get your mojo back! Good luck!
I totally get it. I really struggle this time of year and the holiday season only makes things more challenging. I can't say do this or that and that's what works for me because what works for me is constantly changing. I used to do IF (Intermittent Fasting) and that really helped a lot. I felt much more in control and was able to get that full feeling because I would basically save my calories and not eat in the morning. However, I'm not needing breakfast so I'm listening to my body the days that I need more food.
What I do though recently is make a large pot of vegetable soup. I throw in Onion, garlic, cauliflower, mushrooms, fennel, carrots, and one potato for the whole pot to give it some starch. Salt & pepper as well as a bay leaf. I bring it to a boil and then simmer it until the veggies are soft but not too soft. Every time I feel like something hearty, I'll heat this up and either throw dill or cilantro inside. It may not be the most savory soup but it does the job, for the most part.
Also, I'm a calorie counter and there are days (especially around pms) when I just can't eat at a deficit....during those days, I'll just allow myself to eat at maintenance.
You don't have to do full on workouts. In fact, you can just not workout at all and still lose weight if your diet is on track. I do think working out is great but if you don't feel like doing something formal, you could just decide to do some basic things while watching t.v. Maybe squats, crunches, push-ups, leg lifts, etc.
Once you get back on track and get a routine, you'll find your mojo and get back your motivation.
Remember...motivation comes and goes and it's great to have it but it's commitment that will get you to the finish line and beyond.
Hi emilym! We all hit the wall eventually, and it seems to happen to a lot of people around the first 30 to 50 pounds. I'm going through it right now, the pounds are no longer flying off my bod as easily as when I started and I'm getting discouraged. But I'm so close to getting out of the obese range and into overweight so it would be a shame to stop now.
So I remind myself that going off the diet won't mean I get to stay at this weight ... it means I'll start gaining again. And if I quit I will have a difficult time restarting, so in a year or so I might weight more than when I started. And if I gain the weight back I'll probably get diabetes ... which will mean watching what I eat ... which means being back on the diet. So if I'm stuck eating this way for the rest of my life I might as well do it now, before I have diabetes.
Another idea when things get difficult is to try a new sport or fitness class, or maybe getting a new low calorie cookbook. Treat yourself in a way that will generate excitement in your new lifestyle.
And make a realistic but compelling mini goal. You've lost 1/3 of your long term goal which is awesome, but think how much better it would be to lose a little more ... twenty more pounds would get you to the halfway mark, which is so close! Spend some time everyday fantasizing about what it would be like to achieve that mini goal, really relish the details. For an example, I have an overseas airplane trip coming up, so I like to think about how much room I will have in my seat if I am smaller.
Good luck and keep us posted! Congrats on your success so far!!!
I second tefrey's advice. I know getting healthy is its own reward, but so often our brains don't really work like that. So bribe yourself. You've list 30 pounds! That's awesome. But it's nit the end. Do what will you do when you lose 40? It doesn't have to be something big, but I think having a little treat waitng down the road makes you more likely to get there, if only do you can check it off the list, as it were. If you can, pick something that makes you feel good about your body (I just got a massage, for example) to help you link the intense good feeling with your success in changing your body.
This next bit of advice might be less mentally healthy? I don't know. But try on clothes (or some parallel activity) that are a size or two too small for you. See how close you are to rocking them. Then you'll be less likely to settle for your current size--after all, in another month or two of staying on plan, you could be the hottie in the size [#] dress! And that size is always available on the clearance rack when your size isn't! Hang in there and you can really cash in. But they won't fit or look good if you don't stick with it.
Doesn't say where you're from, but it sounds to me like you suffer from SAD and probably low on vitamin D.
I know nobody else on here is going to agree with what I do, but this time of year I go to the tanning bed, and it makes 10000% difference in how I feel. Not just because of taking care of myself, BUT because of the increase of vitamin D. That makes all the difference in the world with me.
You don't have to go to the tanning bed, it is as simple as rigging up an aquarium lamp in your house and setting with it on for an hour or so a day. There is no sunburn, or risk associated with it, but man does it help you produce vitamin D and I'll be honest, it can totally change your life.
Hi. I am so there. I have lost 30 and have totally gotten stuck. I don't have any advice cuz I havnt been able to fix myself. Just wanted to say I hear ya. I really like what has been said here though.
Thank you for all the encouraging advice everyone! Haha yes, I did buy a smaller pair of jeans and I try them on once a week! I keep telling myself "8 more pounds and I'll be the weight I was when I graduated from college!"
I'm happy to report that I DID my full run today. I've been doing Couch to 5k and I'm just starting week 7 (3 days of a 25-minute run) right now. I think taking an entire week off to laze around the house was just the thing, somehow, because I actually didn't have that much of a problem with the 25-minute run, which shocked me! One really great upside to this chilly time of year is that I don't get overheated when I'm outdoors running.
I'm thinking of starting a blog to hold myself accountable.
Also, after all this work, and coming as far as I have, what a shame it'd be to just let it all slide. Everyone, you all gave such spot-on and helpful replies! Thank you, it was just what I needed to hear to get back to work.
Last edited by emilym; 11-11-2013 at 06:44 PM.
Reason: grammar
My resolve is beginning to fail
I find the best way to put into perspective just how big I still am and how much weight I still need to lose is to go to a clothing store, grab a garment, any garment, and go get undressed in the dressing room. Bam! The only thing that could make it worse is trying on a swimsuit! There is just something about dressing room mirrors that bring me back to reality! If you are suffering from winter depression, you can buy a natural spectrum lamp at drugstores, which can help your mood. As for indoor exercise, turn to youtube for free exercise videos. Trust me, if you stop your weight loss plan now, you are going to kick yourself in the spring and summer months when it really is shorts and swimsuit time, knowing you could have been so much thinner, but instead you gave up. Please do whatever it takes to get your mojo back! Good luck!
