Biggest obstacles to weight loss: Bloating, Water Weight, (peri) Menopause, Medication?

mrack1

What are your biggest obstacles and how do you keep motivated to lose when it seems like all odds are stacked against you?

Mine - I've recently moved to an extremely warm weather part of the country, and it seems I swell up like a balloon in hot weather. Exercise always makes me bloated, but exercising outside in this climate makes it even worse! To top it off, I'm taking a medication called gabapentin for a pinched nerve in my neck, and it also makes me swell up (and I swear it slows down my metabolism). My weight seems to go up and down, with an upward trend overall. Also, since I turned 40, it's so tough to lose weight.

I'll just keep tracking and exercising and stay the course . . . perseverance must prevail - let's hope.

jennybearlv

Motivation. Just logging every single bite for a week or getting up and doing whatever exercise I had planned for the day. It was so easy the first six months. Now I just don't feel like it. I'm on three different medications that supposedly cause weight gain, but that is nothing compared to my lack of motivation.

VeronicaA76

Biggest obstacle: one's own self. Self doubt is probably the biggest reason for failure.

How I keep myself motivated: by seeing all the achievements I've already made. Seeing old pictures, realizing that I'm doing things now that I couldn't do 6 months ago. And my favorite quote: "I didn't come this far, to just come this far."

wanderinglight

Biggest obstacles: age, injuries and location. I find myself desperately wishing I felt like I did four years ago, when I lived in Santa Monica. I was in my early 40's (I'm now 46) and it was before three major surgeries. I got badly injured on a job, and about three months later my husband and I moved to Atlanta to take care of his parents as they were dying. I feel tired all the time, and have no interest in working out. Staying fit was a priority to me for the majority of my life and now it feels like *poof* ALL of my motivation is gone and has stayed gone. It is miserably hot here and the gyms are just gross.

I used to get up every morning and see the ocean and walk and walk and walk and swim and I am still having the hardest time getting over it and moving on to this new life I have. So perhaps I should add "mental attitude" to my list of obstacles. I know I need to embrace what I have but it's hard to let go of what I lost.