Hi all. Ok, I've been on Weight Watchers and exercising for five years. I have had great success (lost 140 lbs) with 30 lbs to go. But to be honest, I'm just sick of it...I'm sick of having to track and plan every bite of food that goes in my mouth, I'm sick of trying to figure out how to fit exercise in my schedule, I'm sick of actually doing exercise, I'm sick of being out unexpectedly and having to find a Subway so I can have a low point meal, I'm sick of feeling a pit in my stomach when I get invited out because I'm going to have to figure out what I can eat while I watch other people eat what I really want to eat...I'm just sick of the whole thing...

Any ideas for help? Any good books on the subject of the psychology of weight loss and motivation?

I really have no motivation. I have read of people suggesting having non-food rewards for small goals but I have really been unable to come up with a reward that is motivating enough for me..

Luckily, I have not cheated and just quit but I'm not happy either...

Thanks in advance for the help...

Christine

Wow, congratulations on your weight loss!

I know it isn't easy, and I should be the one to talk. I'm on and off diets all the time. I just started WW 4 weeks ago and I'm doing ok so far. I know I have times when I get so anal about counting points I drive myself crazy. But think about how far you've gone. Think of all the feelings you had before losing all the weight. Think about all the hard work you've done. As far as keeping motivated maybe you should try eating different foods. Try a health food market like Whole Foods they have so many choices, exotic producs that can make your food a little more exciting. Change your work out routine, get dance video, or try martial arts, or a dance class.

How about a spa for a reward, or a book, or buying a CD or DVD you like, or a trip somewhere? But the biggest reward is looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing how succesful you are and all you've accomplished. You are an inspiration to others.

Have you tried switching to WW Core? I've heard it's not much counting on it. Maybe that would give you a break from counting for a while.

You described exactly what happened to me that last 2 times I did WW. I got down to just under 150 lbs after 6-9 months of dieting and couldn't take it anymore. A few years later I was right back where I started.

I am starting at the top once more and have decided that I just need the mindset that I am doing this for good. For, no matter how tired I get of watching what I eat, I will be better off not having health issues related to being obese. I want to be around for my kids and be able to keep up with them. Right now I can't run fast enough to keep up with my 3 year old when he decides to kick it in to high gear.

I think that today was especially tough with all the holiday food around.

I had a chat with one of my aunts about weight and exercise today. She is 70 and does a tough cardio workout for about 2 hours every day. She just gets on the stairmaster and races. I can't even do the low setting for more than 10 minutes or so. In the mornings (before her workout) she walks with my mom for 1-2 hours. She also has cholesterol in the 300's and eats a strict no-fat diet. She has struggled with weight and exercise for years, but kept on top of it. Her sister is my grandma. My grandma is only 3 years older, but has had 2 major heart attacks, was overweight (until the lengthy hospital stay after the last bipass), has diabetes, and high cholesterol. The only real difference I see between her and her 2 sisters is that they have been obsessed with staying a size 3-5 for the last 30 years and she hasn't. On the other hand, my grandma can barely walk a mile with me (and only on good days), while her sisters can walk my butt into the ground.

The long term effects of diet and exercise are really clear when you put them in a room together. I love my grandma's homemade cinammon rolls, but long term, I would rather be moving around 40 years from now. Long term benefits are tough to stay motivated for, but they are the ones that are really worth it.

-have to throw in an edit regarding my other aunt - she is my grandm's first cousin and aunt (not as bad as it sounds - two brothers from one family married two girls from a different family) but generally close genetics. At any rate, she walks every day - size 3 her whole life catagory. 5 years ago on her 75th birthday, her grandkids took her wakeboarding. That is the kind of old age to dream about.

I'm gonna butt in here and suggest you go read in the maintainers forum. Some of those gals have successfully been following a healthy lifestyle for years too. Maybe you'll find some tips there to help you cope.

And my favourite book is "Thin for Life" by Anne M Fletcher. I think you'll find that helpful too.

Great job but you need to remember that like an alocholic you may be in remission but you will never be cured and will always to an extent have to watch what you eat and how much. I have been doing W/W since 1985 off and on but on points since 1998. It is now almost second nature and I usually guestimate with little thought on foods and portions.

Why do you limit yourself to Subway? Have a list of things you can have at all places that keep it low in points. I have a small spiral binder with restaurants listed in it and 2 or 3 items that are all around the same number of points. Remember if you plan (this of course only works if you know in advance) there is no reason you can't occasionally enjoy those foods you WANT instead of depriving yourself.

Maybe this article can help you figure some nonfood rewards:

Eat or Treat
You know the feeling. You've hopped on the scale and WOW! it's looking good. Or you catch sight of yourself in a shop window and for the first time in years, instead of thinking “Who's that dumpy person?”, you say with an unexpected burst of pride: “That's ME!”
Or maybe you've won a prize, been promoted, come first place in a contest, beaten the opposition, or just got lucky in love. It's a human response in situations like these to want to celebrate; to feel like letting your hair down, painting the town red.
With most of us though, sooner or later our celebrating will flow on to food and drink. Of course! So what can we do to celebrate that has less calories than a box of chocolates, yet still feels like a reward? Here are our suggestions:
Instant Buzzes
• A facial can always make a woman (or a man) feel special. There is something about the smell of those creams and lotions and the clean skin we come away with that is pamper-plus.
• Go for glamour with a photo at one of those places that makes you look like a movie star or a top model. Or get an “olden days” photo to pass on to your grandchildren.
• A new hairdo is always a huge morale booster and a great reward. Try a new color, get your hair lightly waved (or straightened), braided or crimped.
• Give yourself flowers. Have them delivered or pick up a bunch at the markets. Better still buy tons and spread them through the entire house.
• Rent that video you've always wanted to see. If it's a romantic one, lay in a supply of tissues, or import a friend or two as support.
• Buy yourself a new outfit. If you’re still losing weight, you can be confident and buy it in your goal size as a major incentive to go the final distance. Or you can please yourself today with one that fits and flatters now.
• Don't wait for the overseas trip when you can get it duty-free, buy an expensive perfume and splash it around. You are celebrating, aren't you?
• Float for an hour or so in a huge bubble bath. Take that book you've been dying to read and keep topping up the hot water.
Time Treats
Of all our assets, time is perhaps the most elusive. It wastes without a trace, yet each day we have a whole new quota. But while we use it and abuse it, there often is not enough of it to do the things that really give us pleasure. So what better way to say “Congratulations” to yourself, than finding time to do the things that you specially enjoy?
• Read that new book. You know, the one that has been gathering dust beside the bed. Better still, combine two pleasures, and take it to the beach, on a picnic, or into the park and read for hours. Finish it if you like.
• Spend time with a friend that you have been promising to get together with for ages. Go shopping, take a hike, ride your bikes into the hills, even talk for an hour on the phone if he or she's out of town.
• Visit the museum, the art gallery or that new little craft store you've been dying to get around to.
• Scrap your diary and seize a whole day just for you. No plans, no pack drill. Take your watch off and just play it by ear.
• You love swimming, but somehow you never get to the beach these days. Pack a towel, sunscreen and hat, and go.
• Be a kid for a while. Go fly a kite, buy a bunch of balloons and give them away as you go, make a daisy chain, get a yo-yo and practice all those silly stunts again.
• Go through your photographs. Write on the back of them or have some fun making up silly captions. Stick them in an album or frame a whole wall-full.
Once you start thinking of special ways to treat yourself, dozens more will come to mind. Soon, rather than routinely slipping into a bakery the minute you feel a celebration coming on, you'll think again. You'll find yourself automatically popping open a bottle of bubble bath rather than the bubbly, passing the chocolate store on the way to the florist, and dialing the theater for tickets to a show rather than ordering in pizza.
And even if, after all, you choose to do none of the above, as the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “the reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.” So congratulations, anyway!