How do you stay motivated once you reach a big goal?

gettingfitter777

Hi MFP community!!
I have been kind of in a slump as of late. My main motivation for loosing what I have lost so far has been reaching a healthy range on the BMI chart, and I have just barely reached it, but since then my weight has not shifted a pound for over four months now. I still hold a lot of fat around my stomach, and I still feel heavy and not that healthy. I realize I need to switch up my diet and workouts, since I haven't been loosing anything, but I'm finding it hard to find motivation, since I have reached the main goal I was working towards.
I am technically in a healthy range(at the very top), but I know I need to lose more and gain more muscle.
Please share your experience and what motivates you!!

cwolfman13

I enjoy eating well...I enjoy riding my bike...I enjoy lifting...I don't really need much motivation, I'm doing things I enjoy. I've been in maintenance for over 4.5 years and you have to find other things to focus on rather than just some arbitrary number on the scale.

ZoneFive

Congratulations on the results of your hard work! Sounds like it's time for a new goal.

You're in a healthy weight range, and now want to change the composition of your body. Take a look for some of the body recomposition threads. We have a lot of members who are far more knowledgeable than I am about recomp, and I'm sure some will chime in here.

richardgavel

Hey, the fact that you've maintained your current weight for 4 months is an accomplishment, even if it's not your final goal weight! Depending on how long you were losing, a break is not necessarily a bad thing.

kgeyser

Pick a goal other than the number on the scale. If you exercise, create a goal related to that, such as lifting a certain amount of weight, running a race, improve your speed or coordination at something, being able to achieve a certain yoga pose. Choose something that will force you to continue to be active and have to maintain your diet.

I'm a runner, so right now I am working on more time on my feet for a half marathon I'm signed up to do, and improving my overall pace per mile. That means doing my workouts, and getting my eating in order because less weight to move around can only help me get there.

If I were just focused on the scale, I would fail miserably, because the holidays are coming and I want to eat all the pie and cookies.

lorrpb

Fitness results motivate me because then I can do more in life and I look better. Not wanting to go back to where I started also motivates me. Maintaining is a huge goal in itself. Lots of mini goals help, like one more rep, 2 more pounds, 5 more minutes, 1 more mile, a new exercise, etc. Also trying new ingredients and new recipes gives me another area of goals to focus on.

davidylin

I have a series of goals and a five year plan. Part of my goals are to do certain things at certain times and I usually have a future goal already planned.

GottaBurnEmAll

The goalposts might be moved on me due to medical conditions I live with. I keep working towards short achievable goals, fitness wise.

Another thing I do is work on goals that are outside of the realm of fitness and weight.

H_Ock12

Set a new goal! For me, it was weight loss first as I had gotten to an unhealthy weight after a medical diagnosis. I reached my goal weight while running and lifting. Then I started to set distance and race goals for my running while also working on strength and physique goals in my lifting. The goal I work on often depends on the time of year.