5 Months In and I've lost the Momentum. Help me!

nkirby0617

Hey there. So I started this whole MFP, working out, eating clean thing back on Feburary 25, 2013. To date, I've lost roughly 20lbs. Woohoo, great that's awesome. Nice, healthy loss.

Thing is, I'm basically just hanging around that, gaining and losing around that loss. It's not because I've plateaued with my work outs, or even eating, but it's because I don't have that same Momentum I had before.

When I began, I took the time to walk at least twice a day, one 1 mile walk during my morning break, and then a 2 mile walk during lunch. I brought my lunch and snacks. I live in Texas, so as of right now, I can only get that 1 mile walk in during the morning; it gets too hot for me to walk during lunch. I was supposed to get a gym membership to go walk at the gym during my lunch break (it's conveniently located across the parking lot), but that just didn't happen, and it's not going to happen anytime soon.

I still run almost every weekend with my running buddy, and all is well there, but the consistency of the first few months has petered out. I've got my 3rd 5k coming up in September.

Things kind of went off course in May, when I had to do some traveling at work, so that's where my routine broke. I'm about to have to do the same thing in August, but my concern is when I go back to traveling again, I don't want to completely flat line from what I've started in my life.

How can I get that momentum back? Do any of you travel? How do you overcome road trips, overnights in hotels, exhaustion and lazy eating?

Help me!

estrange22

I carry resistance bands with me when I travel. Read up on some of the exercises for them. They can be done anywhere. When all else fails, write down a list of several body weight exercises such as push ups, planks, squats, leg lifts, burpees etc....then do each one for a min until you've done them all, rest a minute, then repeat as many time as you can. That counts as cardio and the options are limitless.

DBiddle69

First things first....we cannot help you...you have to help you.

Momentum is lost why? Why is the gym membership not gonna happen? Why does living in Texas mean you can only get a walk in during the morning?

All of these answers will be excuses....what can you do differently is what you should be thinking.

Join the gym...get a treadmill at home...(heat issue solved). Do something other than walking..(boredom solved).

While traveling I work out on the equipment in the hotels fitness room or you could look for a gym near the hotel that might offer something while you are staying at the hotel.

Even getting out and sightseeing around the area you are traveling to...at least you are moving!

Do you have any MFP friends in the areas you travel too? Ask them to meet up for some exercising together!

Just a few things for you to consider....

alpine1994

I travel a lot for work and it was really tough at first to stay on track. I would end up coming home with a gain of 2 or 3 lbs each time. I really had to work at it, but eventually I got it so that I was losing each trip. (I go for 5 or 6 days at a time).

I made it a point to order the healthiest thing I could when we would go out. I avoided pasta, heavy sauces, anything fried, the obvious stuff. Sometimes the restaurants we went to had nutrition info available, some didn't so I had to guess. I logged everything.

I also made it a point to exercise every day that I was away. The hotel gyms usually sucked, so I would bring my resistance band and look up "resistance band workouts" on pinterest. There is also one on pinterest called "the quiet workout" that you can do if it's late/early and you're not on the first floor. Oh, I usually called the hotel and requested the first floor a few days before check-in so that I could jump around without disturbing anyone. Fitnessblender.com is great too. I would just use my laptop in the room and do workouts requiring no equipment.

As far as the losing momentum thing, I definitely know how that is. I know it seems like really generic advice, but try to switch things up. If you haven't gotten into weight lifting at all, pick up a book (Strong Lifts or New Rules of Lifting for Women) and make that your new routine. Try a new class, like pilates or a dance class. I randomly joined an adult ballet class and I ended up falling in love with it and made some great new friends there. Try a new recipe every week. Get some different snacks/lunch items than the usuals. Above all, remember that motivation needs to be renewed daily.

Good luck with everything!