OT Hitting a Slump

Rachel0778

I've been in a bit of a malaise lately. Workouts aren't sounding exciting and I'm less ambitious at work. This weekend's rainy/cloudy weather definitely isn't helping. I'm still those few pounds up from the holidays but I haven't had the ambition to drop my calories down. How do you work out of a slump when you hit one?

Calvin2008Brian

I think I'm working my way out of my slump, but up until a week ago I was right there with you. It's hard. No easy answer. For me, I think I just have to be ready and there's not a lot I can do to push and pull myself out of a funk. Your mileage may vary, but I like to remind myself of what worked before.

Al_Howard

In baseball, when a hitter is in a slump, he "goes back to the basics". Reviews his stance, step, swing, and follow-through. The latter is no more or less important.
I get back to a 24/7 all in. Doing so seems to snap it. Of course, I prefer the relaxed for the weekend and straight and narrow during the week.

minimyzeme

I don't have a lot of experience with slumps @Rachel0778 but two suggestions from my WW meeting. First, try to avoid your short-term slump turning into a long-term slide. Realize you have choices to make at every turn. Do them consciously and consistently with your weight goals. Doing otherwise just makes more work for you to take the weight off later. Remember your "why"; why do you want to weigh less? I'm not talking about the number on the scale but the quality of life that goes with weighing less. It might help you jump-start back on-plan.

The other suggestion is to do at least one part of getting back on-plan if you can't do the whole thing. For example, track one meal daily for a week if you mentally can't do them all. If you don't do your normal exercise routine, do something or part of it to bridge you back. The adage that this is about persistence not perfection rings true. Doing some of the work is better than doing none of the work.

From my own experience, I've been surprised to learn how weather relates to my desire to stuff my face. Grey, rain or snow days are still hard on me. I keep fruits, veggies and lean proteins on-hand so I don't go completely off the rails at those times. I don't mind using food as a crutch, but anymore, I deliberately choose most of the time not to just add to my problems in the process.

I hope you can work your way out of it. You've come a long way to let that slump turn into a slide... Keep us posted, eh?

linmueller

This might be too extreme for you, but here's how I got out of a 1 year slump.

On Jan 1, I committed to send a pic of every food I ate and beverage I drank (that had points) to a friend. Also read daily an email (freedom tastes better). And I tracked. The accountability worked! I've been back on track ever since, even with a 12 day vacation break in early February. Came home late at night and was right back the next day thanks to freezer meals I'd prepped.

A bit extreme for sure, but it's what I needed. And as a side note, I've been losing really slowly since I got home, put still plodding along.

Good luck!

misterhub

I agree with the idea of concentrating on fundamentals. But, even further, concentrate on a specific aspect - like your exercise. Just agree with yourself to do it "this time." Don't put any pressure on yourself for anything else. Just the one thing. Once it's back on track, move to another aspect. This is a turtle crawl, not a rabbit race.

MurpleCat

I revisit my list of reasons for/ against. If you haven't tried this, it might be worthwhile.

Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left side, write down all the reasons to lose weight. Look better, new clothes, meds, etc. They don't have to be nice reasons, just honest ones (look better than his new gf, or, be thinner than 'the thin sister', etc.).

On the right hand side, write down all the reasons not to. And yeah, there are reasons. No one else is going to see this list, so be honest about what's holding you back. Sure, its effort. Sure, it can feel like deprivation when we want it all. Sure, food tastes good. But there may be some things below the surface too. Concerns, or fears, or other avoidance mechanisms. Write those down as well.

Then look at the two lists and decide which side of the line you want to live on. Sometimes, the right hand side wins -- in which case, its okay to set weight loss aside for the time being. But sometimes you'll realize that none of them are really obstacles, and you'll decide to live on the left hand side of the paper.

I revisit the list periodically, because my reasons for/against losing have changed quite a bit over the course of the last few years (and 150#). I've removed some things, and added new things, the important thing is to keep the lists relevant and honest.

Rachel0778

Thank you everyone for posting and your insights! I am still tracking and I am still doing my scheduled activities but my normal joy for them just wasn't there and I wasn't being very mindful about what I was tracking. It really does boil down to the reasons why and the fundamentals. I have a large fear that these 2 pounds will turn into 4 which turns into 6...you get the just. I'd rather get ahold of it now than let it sit and wake up back where I started. Now to get the motivation to reduce my intake to loss mode and stick with it...yuck...

minimyzeme

Whoa! @Rachel0778 , you're feeling this way about 2 pounds??? I thought you were talking 5-10 or something. Maybe it's a matter of perspective but I can fluctuate 2 pounds in a day. After maintaining ~80 pounds gone for almost a year and a half, I've gone up and down 2 pounds or more several times.

Again, a lesson from my WW meeting: Our leader reminds us at times that we are our harshest critics. We will do everything "right" in a week but for some small exception and all we focus on is the exception. We will have lost significant weight and we gain a pound or two and all we focus on is the gain. We beat ourselves up without putting the change in proper context.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting just dropping everything and going back to the way you were. But I do appreciate our leader's suggestion to use appropriate perspective and not be too hard on ourselves for small fluctuations in behavior or weight gain.

I don't pretend to know your full situation but is it possible that more than anything else you're being overly self-critical? To me, your story sounds like maybe you're tired of the program (raging against the constant vigilance?) but for the most part you're still doing it. While I understand worrying about the slump turning into a slide, the fact is, you're prevented that from happening.

We've all seen the graphs that (jokingly) show weight loss as a constant downward sloping line while in reality there's all kinds of scatter, ups and downs--at least mine shows that. I would just caution you to go a little easy on yourself about a minimal gain. It seems to me you're still very much in the game, even if you're going through a period of not liking it...