Loss of motivation

Gliven

Gliven

New member
This past month has been horrid to my weight loss I can't stop eating unhealthy things I'm not eating massive amounts of things at a time but I've been eating chips, pizza, ice cream, and other unhealthy things on nearly a daily basis for the last month and I can't seem to control it anymore. I started losing weight in June and I've lost 127 pounds and I've stayed that way for the past month and I know its not a plateau it's just my eating habits are going slowly back to their old ways. I need some advice on how to get back on track and how any of you with similar issues got over it. Because, up until recently I've been extremely proud of myself but I'm ruining it.
 
Hey Gliven

sorry to hear you are going through a tough time. Long, long term diets are very tough. And I am sure you are having some guilt after eating unhealthy? And that guilt can feed-back into itself (no pun intended), and cause more eating of unhealthy foods.

My advice, switch things up a little bit. In the beginning, you were motivated by losing the weight right? Probably felt so awesome to step on the scale and see the pounds shed. After a long time for me, there are diminishing returns for that type of "reward". I don't know if your brain works off of rewards, but mine sure does. You know what I'm saying? for example, I get to put on those clothes that haven't fit in a long time, that to me is a reward. But eventually, I have a lot of clothes, and that is no longer a "motivation" for me to keep going... so I move on. What's next, six pack, etc. These are just little, snippits of my "micro-goals" that I keep shooting for, but I am sure you have your own. Is there some electronic you really want, an iPad, Bose speakers... how about that? I made a deal with the wife that if I lost 40 pounds, I could rent a cabin in Lake Tahoe for snowboarding season... you best believe that I hit that goal haha....

Eventually, our intrinsic motivation is tested, and having something to work towards externally as a reward is a great way to keep going. Once you get off the current pattern, you may just find that your fire inside is burning again...

Good luck man, keep on keeping on!

-Mellon
 
Gliven said:
This past month has been horrid to my weight loss I can't stop eating unhealthy things I'm not eating massive amounts of things at a time but I've been eating chips, pizza, ice cream, and other unhealthy things on nearly a daily basis for the last month and I can't seem to control it anymore.
Click to expand...
Okay... BINGE on veggies! seriously. If you have to eat a lot... eat a HUGE salad, or veggies or whatever. It will fill you up. Drink a cup of water before you sit down to eat. Here's a few food replacements that work for me ---
NOTE: none of these replacements are particularly good for you, but they are way better than total junk.
1) chips.... Baked chips, baked doritoes, baked,... whatever and pretzels have WAY, WAY, WAY less calories, but they still fill you up.
2) Pizza - This a toughie, but lean pockets pockets are very tasty! (especially the pizza ones) they really taste like real pizza, the cheese and pepperoni taste real, and the sauce is good too! The meatball lean pockets are really good also.
3) Ice cream. Sherbet, Frozen Yogurt, reduced calorie Ice cream can really make a huge difference. Low calorie chocolate milk still has a lot of calories, but satisfies your sweet tooth, and gives you protein and calcium.
I know that list isn't going to turn you back around, but you've lost so much weight! You don't have to lose 10 lbs. every week to feel good about yourself. Slow down, reassess your weight loss. Try something new! consider visiting a nutritionist. Also, try eating protein bars!
 
Last edited:
Well, one possibility is that you sit where you are for a while. One thing I've noticed personally is that there's a difference in motivating factors once you've already lost a significant amount of your weight. It's one thing to say "I'd rather miss eating this pizza than weigh over 300 lbs" and it's another to say "I'd rather skip this pizza than not lose any more weight this week because I'm sooo much lighter than it was."

I stayed at the same level with around 26-27 BMI for several years because of this - and I know of other people who have just 'taken a break' from weight loss. It may be that you just need time to regroup and recover. In that case, your primary goal should be practicing maintenance, that is, don't gain any weight. If you can manage that, then you can just start dieting whenever you want. Maybe even go for only a month at a time, lose a few, maintain, lose a few, maintain... to help your sanity.

I won't lie, I doubt it will ever be as easy to be motivated for weight loss when you're in a much much better place than you were before - and 126 lbs is an awesome amount to have lost. But that doesn't mean you can't still make progress.

One thing I did to start things moving again was to change some of my goals. I decided I wanted to gain more muscle - so I set some goals in the gym (I'm still not quite to deadlifting my own bodyweight, but I'm getting there!) to put on muscle, and then to lean out. Make some performance goals - to walk a mile in X amount of time, to lift X amount etc. while maintaining your weight. Then pick times when it's hard core cut. Just remember not to let yourself creep up on the weight (easy to do!) and set yourself limits that if you gain 10 lbs... well, you're going to diet until you lose 15, dammit, because you earned it!

Ultimately you have to remember that you own your body, and you decide what your priorities are. Maybe you tell yourself no backsliding for a month as a mini-challenge... I'm rambling, but I do know what you're going through, and I'm throwing out some of the things that have helped me. Disclaimer - I originally thought I wanted to get down to 125 to 135. I still haven't done that. I've gotten as low as 145 and it's a royal pain to stay that low. So I've changed my priorities - I want to be closer to 145/150 but have an extra 10-15 lbs of muscle so I'll look skinnier, but also get the slight metabolic advantage from the extra muscle.

Hope that helped!
 
Thanks everyone for the replies everything you said make sense. I get mad at myself after I eat something I shouldn't have and I keep telling myself I KNOW I can continue to lose weight. Right now I feel like it is easier to eat whatever I want and in the end that is the truth. Don't get me wrong I'm happy what I have done so far I look way different feel much better and all that jazz. I haven't gained anyway I've been maintaining it's just getting frustrating because obviously I know if I stick to my guns I can drop the weight because of what I've already lost.
 
why not maintain through the holidays Gliven? I use to love to surf when I was younger, and there were some days that the current was so strong, you couldn't get into a single wave without paddling for 10 minutes... the waves were fun, but it just wasn't worth the extra work... that is what the holidays are like for weight loss... we all have holiday parties, family, friends, cookies, bake treats, etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum! The current is just so strong right now, that even if we bust our ass for the next 3 weeks, we may only lose a fraction of what we normally would. I would just enjoy the period, take a brake from weight-loss, and get through the holidays. That doesn't mean we have carte blanche to gain 20 l-b's haha.. but we can enjoy the holiday and o come out demoralized... just my 2 cents man!

-Mellon
 
I know the feeling mate! i lost 180 and kept it off, but then with injury and moving and yet another few injurys i have re-gained something fierce. Its hard to get back into it, and back on the wagon, but once you are you wont regret it!
 
maybe reward youself on a cheat day. sometimes just knowing i can go out for dinner and eat freely on that day staves off the temptation on other days.
 
First, way to go on the 126 lbs. thats a petite woman you lost. I think its getting harder cause god is just getting scared of your progress.

No one can motivate you. Only you can get yourself to stop making poor decisions. You know they are poor decisions. The only thing preventing you from stopping RIGHT NOW is you. Stop. If you don't have healthy choices, limit the consumption of food you do have so the calories are under your daily limit and next time you go grocery shopping make better choices. Eat before you go.

You have done an amazing job. Don't let all that effort go to waste.

It isn't that you lack motivation, the motivation is there. You want to look and feel good, right? The problem is your motivation isn't outweighing your urges. If you are like me, and really I think everyone wtih weight problem is in this respect, it is your depression that is working as a demotivater.

What can help with that is eating more fresh veggies and fruits, getting more sun, and exercise. it really does help. if it isn't enough, or you can't get yourself to make those changes, the depression might require professional help.

You can do it. You already have done more than most people. Keep at it. You'll get there.
 
Monster dished out some good advice on replacements for those unhealthy things we tend to gorge on...
they not only help in being lower in fat, higher in fiber, etc., but in being a more reasonable portion, which seems to be like an even greater problem than WHAT you eat, half the time.

I also agree that you need to find something that applies specifically to yourself... a particular goal, a personalized form of motivation, because it's easy to grab the standard reason out of a book... "I want to be healthier", "I want to look better", etc., but to choose one that means something to you on a personal level might help turn that push to a shove in the right direction.

Best of luck, and congrats on your loss so far!
 
I feel ya Gliven. I think every person who's been overweight for a while knows what to do, or what we should be doing. But when that mindset kicks in it doesn't seem to matter. And I still haven't figured out where I get the willpower from when I'm on track and doin great...or where this dang self destructive out of control person comes from and what triggers her to show her ugly head JUST when I'm finally gettin somewhere.

And it's frustrating,to say the least, because we have no control over what our future selves are gonna do. Even when I'm doing great I'm always in fear I'm gonna fall off the wagon. As I've said, I've done alot of soul searching and don't know what the trigger is. All I can figure is on some level I'm afraid of losing the weight or uncomfortable somehow cuz I've lost 50, 80 and even 100lbs only to have the same feelings you've described and start sabotaging all my hard work.

And it's not like its the food....the food doesn't even taste that great when I'm stuffin my face and certainly not worth bad feelings and guilt. All I can say, for ME at least is when I get on that path it's a self destructive compulsion. It's why alot of us disappear on the forums for long periods of time. If I ever figure it out I'm gonna be a rich woman though, cuz I'm darn sure gonna write a book :) I guess in the meantime I'm just gonna have to pay somebody to come over to my house, take the cookie out of my mouth and slap me silly, lol.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top