How do you handle blah/discouraged days?

Hi,

I'm new here, this is my first post.  I've lost 11 pounds since November, I've been losing about a pound a week with a small stall out in December/January with the holidays.  I'm 5'3 and 136 right now.  My goal is around 120, when I get closer I'm going to reevaluate.  So I'm almost but not quite halfway there.

I know that a pound a week is a good loss, but some days it just feels like I've got so far to go and it's happening so slowly that it's not even worth it, and I should just go ahead and pig out.  It doesn't help to hear about people losing 3-4 pounds in a week. 

Today I saw a pic of myself and I really can't see much difference from 11 pounds ago, so I'm feeling kind of crappy about it all.  Realistically I know that I look different, my jeans fit way different and I'm about to have to get new ones, so I know it's working and changing, but sometimes it's just so tough to keep sticking with it. 

So what do you guys do on days like these to keep motivated? 

Whitney

Hi - am new too, first post/reply.

I've lost 9 lbs since Dec. 19, picked up 3 again last week at a conference (NOT fair), and am experimenting with ways to stay motivated. I'm 5'4" and 164 lbs, horrifying, as I'd always been a really fit, muscular person. Turning 50 SUCKS.

But back to motivation. I want to get back to 135 lbs, and normally if I say the word "diet" I get the opposite effect and eat badly.

This time, having gotten a Wii Fit Plus for Christmas, I'm having much more success. The daily logbook on the Wii when I exercise each morning makes a difference to me, especially watching the weight and BMI graph. I enjoy the workouts, combining yoga, strength and games for balance, so I get up ready to go. That, combined with the calorie counting here, is giving me the incremental updates I need, it seems. Now whether I'll still feel the same in a few weeks, we'll see. But I'm enjoying the current program so far.

I take my dog for a walk, it perks me up, plus if you meet someone you haven't seen for awhile, it always puts a smile on my face (sometimes they even notice my weight loss and make a nice comment). If you don't have a dog, just take the walk anyway, or ask a friend if you can borrow their dog, most dogs don't get walked enough either

Whitney,

Congrats on those first 11 lbs!  Especially over the holidays.  I started out with a high-reaching goal of going from 144lbs to 115lbs (I'm 5'2"), which was very discouraging when I first got started (OMG, how am I going to lose the 30 lbs that I put on over 5 years?!).  Eight months later I'm at 125lbs with 10 more to go, and those last 10 are just as tough as the first 10. 

My solution is to set mini-goals, since weight loss is not a smooth downhill drive but more of a bouncy downhill bus ride.  Break up your last 16 lbs into mini-goals of 2 lbs in 2 weeks.  This might work to motivate you to stay on track for those last 2, then start with another 2 the following 2 weeks.  Pretty soon you'll be at your long-term goal of 120.  I like this goal because you get to celebrate more often and success is a really good motivator to keep pushing yourself.

What really motivates me is the way my clothes fit now.  I'm down to a size 4 from a size 8, and my size 4 jeans aren't even tight!  Just think about how good it feels to buy new clothing and look as good on the outside as you feel on the inside - all because of your hard work that contributed to your weight loss.  You might not see the 11 lbs lost when you look in the mirror, but I'm sure other people do - even if they don't say it.

Good luck with the rest of your weight loss.  Let me know how it goes for you!

Aside from kicking stuff... I focus on the present. 

When you think about how long it took to lose x amount of weight, how much you have left to lose, how many more months that could possibly take etc it can get VERY overwhelming. 

Instead, think about what you can do RIGHT NOW to do something good for yourself.  Or what you can do this afternoon, or what you can plan for tomorrow, but don't think too far ahead or too far behind. 

double post

I used to have a professor who would tell me (repeatedly, to my great annoyance) that motivation was a much smaller part of the equation than we tend to believe when dealing with long-term goals. It irritated me at the time because I felt like he just didn't understand my perspective (and yes, that's embarrassing to admit), but I can now see the truth in his words, and how they apply to many different areas of life. It isn't motivation that keeps me going when I'm feeling down and discouraged, it's discipline and (eventually) habit. The truth is that I don't always feel like going to the gym, especially when I'm depressed, but doing it anyway often helps to improve my mood a little bit, and maintaining good habits definitely helps me to feel better about myself overall.

It sounds so simple but it's still hard for me to maintain healthy habits throughout my bad spells. I think that's another important piece of the picture for me - forgiving myself for the slip-ups and getting back into the swing of things as quickly as possible.

Nancyambro- I was 167 at my highest and lost 20 pounds from getting a really active job in 2008, but then when it was over I just maintained instead of keeping up with losing, until November of 09 when I decided to get the rest off.  So I've been there and not very long ago.  I thought about trying the Wii Fit but just don't have enough extra money right now to buy both. 

I might start going for walks when I'm feeling blah, just as soon as the snow melts!  I live in the country and don't have sidewalks but have a field with a pretty nice hill that I walk in sometimes.  And the dogs loving it does cheer you up, they get so much joy out of the simple things like that.

I set my goal to lose a pound a week, and I'm always happy to step on the scale and see any kind of a loss at all.  Lately I've been setting mini goals like my newest to workout 5 days a week.  I do think I'm about to go down a jean size which is awesome, and in the last month or so I wore two new pairs of jeans that I couldn't wear when I bought them. 

Thanks for the tips, I'm going to be sure to try to use them today.  And I'm going to go workout before too long maybe that will cheer me up to have it over with at least. 

Speaking from a point of view from a person who has 2 large weigh goals to reach, I know what BLAH feels like...

I am 5'11" started ccing in late Nov 09 SW: 263 CW:250...

First GW: To reach 190 then once that is reached to slim down to 160 then maintain.

How to I beat the BLAH'S?? I take 10lbs at a time. If I continue to look at it like, "I just want to lose 10lbs, I am good. If I looked at it like I have to lose almost 100lbs I freak!

My advice: Take a few lbs at a time and move forward..

on days like that i just go through the motions. i count calories, maintain a deficit, get in a short workout, and follow the routines that are getting me the results i want. even if i wish those methods were working faster, so long as they are working i stick with them through thick and thin to get where i want to be. it takes discipline to do the right thing even when i'm not jazzed about it. i just do what i need to do to keep moving towards my goals and not backsliding & ruining the progress i've made.

you're doing great. don't compare yourself to others, especially if their stories discourage you. stay on track and you'll be at your goal in May - that's not very long at all!

I've lost 6.8 lbs. since joining cc. jan. 10th. If 1 lb. a week seems like you are never going to reach your goal, have you tried 2 lbs. a week? Instead of eating 500 calories less than you burn, can you eat 1000 calories less than you burn? This would help you lose 2 lbs. a week instead of 1 lb. it works for me, however at no point should you eat less than 1200 calories a a day, it is not healthy and will actually slow down the weight loss process. Good luck and keep up the good work! I know it can be discouraging as I have another 45 to go but I'm taking it 10 lbs. at a time instead of 52 thats enough too make anybody cry!

I just started counting calories in the last few weeks, right now I'm eating about 1200-1500 calories on the weekdays, mostly close to 1200.  I go over that some on the weekends, but still nothing too bad most of the time.  Usually one day a weekend I might hit around 2000, and the other is pretty good around 1500 or so.  I did just recently step up to working out 30-45 minutes every weekday, and I'm going to aim for about 20 on the weekends, but probably at least one day on the weekend will be a rest day. 

Maybe now that I'm working out more often I'll start to see faster results, last week was the first full week I exercised regularly, and I missed the weekend because I spent it at my boyfriends house because I was snowed in with my car if I stayed here.

I'm feeling better and back on track today, thanks for all the tips guys!

I don't know why for me but when I'm feeling discouraged it actually helps to motivate me even more even if it's little things like eating more healthy in a day.  Like having unsweet tea instead of a diet coke.  It may seem small but it helps me at least with morale. I also of course avoid sweets.

Whitney,

I've enjoyed reading these responses and I appreciate your honesty.  I agree with some of these people, and I think everyone who loses has to do the same things;

1.  Although you need a big goal, you need the smaller ones too.  I once heard someone say, 'go as far as you can see, and then you can see to go farther.'  I started at about 275 (I'm 6'2 with a big build, so I carried it fairly well) and my first goal was 205.  I was ecstatic when I reached 250.  I woke my wife up and hugged her (it was 5AM).  But then when I reached 205, I knew that I could make it the rest of the way.

2.  Habit does become the key.  Motivation can only carry you so far, and after a while habit has to kick in, because the motivation doesn't carry every day, and its those days when habit has to take over.

3.  Remember your health and mortality.  One of the things that has kept me going is remembering that both my father and grandfather passed away from diabetes-related heart troubles.  I want to see my grandchildren grow up and be there for them to help them learn and grow.   Overweight people have a much higher rate of diabetes, and besides diabetes, there are a myriad of diseases attributed to obesity. 

4.  Do it for yourself.  When I got to 205, the overweight people in my life said to stop.  But NIH says that I should be ideally 172.  So I keep going.  I am down to 175 as of this morning.   I do this for myself.   I want to live.  If a bus comes my way, I want to be able to get out of the way.  If my grandchildren fall down a flight of stairs, I want to be able to respond.   Besides, I just plain want to live.  I want to go to the beach and take my shirt off.  I want to be able to ride my bicycle with the wind in my hair at 15-20 miles an hour for 2-hours.  I want to be able to jog 5-miles without collapsing.   So I tell myself these things again and again when I get discouraged and want to reach for a brownie, chocolate eclair, or even worse, a Hardees Mushroom Burger.

I hope that helps.