Motivation plateued faster than weight

akoullias

I am 5'2 and have come from an all time high of 181 down to now 153lbs. I obviously feel a lot better at this weight but as I lose more weight my body image seems to decrease and I feel heavier than I did before. Has this ever happened to anyone? I still have a long way to go considering how short I am and could use some motivation

kyta32

I may not be the right person to speak here. I haven't been as light as you for almost 2 decades. But I've found that I can get down over my weight loss. I found the first 20 pounds to be the hardest emotionally this time. I asked a WW counsellor about this before, and she didn't have any answer for me except "Maybe you should see a counsellor".

I do feel down about my weight loss at times. I've wondered why I don't feel more positive about it. In the media, everyone is so excited about their weight loss. But I'm not the only one who feels that there are positives that are lost with the weight.

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-13018/5-things-i-miss-about-weighing-more-than-300-pounds.html

I don't agree with all her points, but things like being worried about getting attention from the opposite sex, losing some of the strength/heft of weighing more, and just feeling more vulnerable speaks to me.

I get impatient with my weight loss. I'm not losing slowly, but it still seems to take a long time. I want my waist to be a healthy number now, not potentially in four months from now. I hate how my belly looks, and wonder if it will ever get better. I'm also getting frustrated by having no clothes that fit.

The worst time of my life was when I was 116 pounds. Not because of my weight, but because so much that was happening to me was beyond my control. According to my frame size, my ideal weight is 126 pounds. I'm too afraid to set my goal as 126. I have no happy memories at 126. When I was at 170 I had my first daughter, and things stabilized quite a bit. Most of my favorite and safest times have been when I have been overweight. Logically I know there is no connection between weight and safety/stability/happiness, but it is like losing a security blanket to think about giving up the weight. If fear is a problem, give yourself space to deal with it (i.e. journaling, talking to friends). Sometimes a fear is less scary once it has been written down or said out loud.

Weight loss doesn't make me happy, the way the media says it will. Some of the things that come with weight loss do make me happy, though. Exercise stabilizes my mood, and has become a way of coping with stress. I'm no athlete, but I'm proud of what my body can do in Karate class, and grateful for the energy to keep up with my children. I've been diagnosed with diabetes, and I know eating well and getting down to a healthy weight will help me avoid health problems in the future.

Keeping your eyes on the goal can help with motivation. Why do you want to lose weight? What will be better in your life if you stick to your weight loss goals? Keep track of your inches as well as what the scale says. Appreciate non-scale victories, like gettting through a workout with better form, lifting heavier weights, or fitting into old clothes.

There are a lot of groups on MFP. You may want to join a challenge, so you have a community to check in with. Taking a class or going to a gym could be another way to connect with other people working on being healthier.

When motivation fails, sometimes you just going through the motions until you feel it again. All you need to do is have faith in yourself and keep showing up.

If it's just a little slump, learn and move on. Everyone feels a little down sometimes. If it seems like more, talk to your Dr. You could be having a thyroid issue, or be aenemic.

Good work with the weight loss so far. You know you can do it, reconnect with why. Good luck

GaleHawkins

akoullias wrote: »

I am 5'2 and have come from an all time high of 181 down to now 153lbs. I obviously feel a lot better at this weight but as I lose more weight my body image seems to decrease and I feel heavier than I did before. Has this ever happened to anyone? I still have a long way to go considering how short I am and could use some motivation

10% loss of total weight is awesome. Even if you just hold there for several months that would be positive for future weight lose.

floridamatty

thats the biggest one for me working out is the motivation, I can go at it like a bat out of hell for months no problem then boom, i miss a day here and then I start making excuses and missing two days the next etc. But what I started doing was changing my workouts. I go six days a week to the gym and no two days are the same, every now and then ill throw in a Les Mills workout or go swimming. I feel doing the same things day in and day out is a real motivation killer for me.

cheshirecatastrophe

Are you comparing yourself to different people/body types now? That is my problem. When I am on the heavier side, I have probably a more normal or natural sense of how my body looks in space compared to random people. When I am within x pounds of what looks and feels best to me, I can drive myself crazy focusing on "imperfections" due to how I carry fat and photoshopped ideals.

Also, 30 pounds is awesome! Have you gone out and bought a cute new outfit or two yet? Maybe showing off your accomplishment would help! Do you have before and after pictures to try to convince your brain and eyes how far you've come?