ONLY TEN POUNDS TO GO and losing motivation

I started here on cc in March of 09 and started at 178 pounds.  I am now 160 pounds......HOORAY!!! I have an old boyfriend back in my life and I really want to blow his mind when I see him. I hope to see him in the next 3 to 4 weeks....he is from out of town.

It has been a REAL struggle to lose these 18 pounds and I want to keep going but  it's HARD. Do you think my weight loss will continue if I watch my cals but stop exersizing??? I am sooo bored with the treadmill and HATE the eliptical...HATE IT!!

Any advice....PLEASE!!!!

Try a spin class - GREAT calorie burning exercise, plus its challenging and FUN!

You MUST try and find something that you love in regards to working out otherwise you will gain back all the weight youve lost and always struggle with this lifestyle.

I have found that having several different things (not all at the gym) is key. My favorite is the TRX because I can take it anywhere and get everything done (all muscles, core and heart rate up) in less than 20 minutes every other day but am lucky enough to enjoy swimming and have a nearly free olympic pool near me. Hiking on weekends, long walks with friends etc... If you want to know more about it, hit me up privately!

Good luck! And remember, this is for YOU, not your x BF! Its also a lifestyle, not a diet!! (Take it from me- my new goal is to have MAINTAINED a healthy weight for a year in the next two years rather than lose x amount of weight)

You absolutely must continue to excersize. Sorry for the bad news. But there are tons of excersizes that don't involve staring at a cold gym wall. Run - outside. Walk, bike, ski, swim...

Losing motivation?!? You have 10 lbs to go! You have almost completed the journey you only have a few more sit ups and salads left! You can do it!

YES exercise! Focus on this short term goal. Visualize it. Visualize yourself being how you have watned to be for so long. You can do it.

I know it gets frustrating to do the treadmil, elliptical, etc so much, but keep pushing. Do less time on each machine and supplement that with other activites that really raise your heart rate, like spinning as one user suggested above. You can do this. Keep at it!!

Well done for losing those 18lbs.  It's understandable to be bored with the treadmill and eliptical - they are boring!  I would suggest taking your exercise outside.  Time goes by so much faster if you are walking / running outdoors, and being outside is good for your mood.

I would also suggest varying your intensity - it can be really challenging.  It's unclear if you walk or run on the treadmill / eliptical, but have a look on the fitness thread for HIIT / fartlek type threads.  There are great mental and physical benefits from this and it can be done either indoors or outside,

Good luck, don't give up - you've done so well

Ax

I would not stop execising even after I meet my goal.

But you don't even need to exercise to lose weight. All you need is a calories deficit. But you can't eat as much as you do with exercise than if you stopped exercising and who doesn't like to eat.

So keep exercising just for the fact that your body will love you to death for it and also because you can eat more on days you do exercise. (500 calorie exercise is like 400 more calories to eat in my opinion)

tomtom:

The loss of 10 lbs. is about one clothing size.  Go buy yourself a new skirt/ shorts/ pants/ dress in one size smaller than you are right now.  Instead of just weighing yourself every week, try on your new outfit every week too.  When you see it fitting better and better you'll stay motivated.  Think of how hot you'll look in it when you see your ex. 

Keeping exercising!  Try kickboxing aerobics.  It's fun, burns tons of calories, and makes you feel empowered.  It's great for core/ ab toning, arms, and legs.

What about weight lifting - that has held my interest for a helluva longer time than the elliptical did.

Hey, this hits pretty close to home. I started losing weight about a year ago. I started at around 270 or so. I'm down to about 188. So I guess like you I'm only wanting to lose another ten pounds or so, but I've been hovering at my current weight for months now. I just can't seem to make the final push.

I have to tell you, it's almost completely about diet. I'm in the gym six day a week and I'm not losing anything. I just really like to work out now. Count those calories. It's the only way to lose.

If you want, we could team up. We could try to lose our last ten pounds together. I've been thinking about that anyway. Send me a message or something if you feel like it.

But you should definitely keep exercising. Just experiment and find something you like.

Hey Wild!

Yes it is very diffuicult to keep up the motivation. As someone else mentioned, I did buy myself new clothes.....which was a great motivator...just not small enough. My entire body has changed (lost more inches than I can believe)now the new clothes are to big already. Which is GREAT....yet bad!

I know it is only ten more pounds but I really only lose 1/2 a pound a week and it is REALLY fustrating. I eat around 1400-1500 cals a day and walk on the treadmill for 40 minutes 4 days a week with light strength training 3 days a week and small amount of ab work.