Any tips on staying focused when the excitement fades??

deonbfit

So I've been following CICO and logging since about mid January and I'm down 22 lbs so far. I still have about 40 to go but I always fond when I get to this point the excitement fades and my brain wants to revert back to old habits. I've lost 20 lbs several times in my life and once the sense of urgency passes and I start to feel better in my skin I start trying to justify this splurge or that cheat. It's beyond frustrating because I still have a ways to go!!
I'm wondering how those who reached their goal got over this hump that I'm experiencing without totally blowing it?

RunsWithBees

I used to go to the supermarket and pick up meat that weighed what I had lost. Seeing a visual representation of what you have achieved can be quite powerful. And just think... regaining that weight would be like carrying that meat around on your body 24/7 again. I wouldn’t ever want to go back to that so I gotta keep moving forward!
Eventually I lost 2 large turkeys and a chicken!

Adc7225

Not sure if this will help but as I went down, I either took up my clothes or got rid of clothing that was replaced by smaller sizes so there was no real option to lose focus and gain back any weight.

It might also be useful if you are exercising to challenge yourself, when you can find something other than food/diet to focus on it helps. I challenged myself doing body-weight workouts/exercises at home. Usually things I hated initially I made it a goal to overcome them and beat it . . . things like push-ups, bicycle crunches, lunges (burpees won). Try doing things that you can see yourself doing in the long run. As for the splurges and the cheats, earn them.

Best wishes.

JeromeBarry1

Buy 22 lb of butter. Put it in a bucket. Curl it. Don't you want to show somebody how much stronger you're becoming? Curl more.

girlwithcurls2

Train for a fitness goal. My first one was a 5K five years ago. I’m getting ready to climb Mt. St. Helens in a month. I also tried something new (learned to swim!)

And I make myself do the exercise because “it’s what I do.” I need to do it if I want to be strong. Giving up is not part of that. Have a plan, and then a Plan B for when things get derailed. This is why you keep reading that it’s a lifestyle change. Lose the mentality that you’re only doing this until you lose the weight.

I feel for you. I was exactly the same way.

Wendyanneroberts

I had lost & regained several times in the past, sometimes before reaching "goal" or at some point after acheiving my ideal weight.

There are 2 major changes for me this time round, which I feel has made all the difference. I've lost 50lb, through diet alone and successfully maintaining a healthy weight.

1) No more "diets" for weight loss, no "good" or "bad" foods, no cheats. Anything that fits into my calorie allowance.

2) Developed new habits gradually, small changes here & there, that add up, over time and have become my usual WOE.
By setting a higher calorie allowance, with a small deficit. It was easier to be consistent through weight loss. Then just transitioned into maintenance, with no big changes, to throw me off course.

88olds

Forget about how far you have to go. Or even what you’ve done. Plan a menu, keep counting and logging in what you eat.

Cheat? There is no such thing. There’s no ref, scorekeeper, or teacher to give you an F.

Keep doing the work and solving whatever issue is in front of you. You don’t need to feel excited. Folks come on here by the boatload and say they want to quit emotional eating. But want to be all emotional about losing. Just keep at the mundane routines.

And what happened before doesn’t matter. The past is not the future.

pinuplove

I don't depend on excitement and motivation to get me through. Just focusing on sustainable changes and forming new habits that I know I can stick with into maintenance

kommodevaran

I too had a bout of "diet fatigue" when I was closing in on the final laps, but I was tired of being too heavy, not of what I was doing to lose weight. But I had also, very early this time around, come to terms with this: sustainable weight management is not supposed to be exciting, it's small everyday efforts you just do without much conscious thought. And I had picked new habits that I like better than my old habits, not just habits that make me lose/maintain weight if I stick to them. So I don't sneak (or cheat) at all anymore. I do, however, eat anything I want, and I eat more some days/meals and less other days/meals, and it evens out, because I overall eat just as much as I need to keep a stable, normal healthy weight.

love_yourself02

Id make a poster or something and make it creative and pretty and put what it was like having the weight and why u wanna lose the weight and sit somewhere u can see and remind yourself

Losingweightforgood2019

I stay focused by watching the scale go down and the measurements decrease😊

walking2running

Drop the splurges and cheats. Try to make it fit within the context of a week or a month. You can still live your life and lose weight.

ladyhusker39

Wendyanneroberts wrote: »

I had lost & regained several times in the past, sometimes before reaching "goal" or at some point after acheiving my ideal weight.

There are 2 major changes for me this time round, which I feel has made all the difference. I've lost 50lb, through diet alone and successfully maintaining a healthy weight.

1) No more "diets" for weight loss, no "good" or "bad" foods, no cheats. Anything that fits into my calorie allowance.

2) Developed new habits gradually, small changes here & there, that add up, over time and have become my usual WOE.
By setting a higher calorie allowance, with a small deficit. It was easier to be consistent through weight loss. Then just transitioned into maintenance, with no big changes, to throw me off course.

OP, read this one again and again until you get it.

mulecanter

Burnout is a problem when you have a sizeable distance to goal. I've always found joining challenges as a helpful way to recharge. Competition always motivates me. Setting intermediate, attainable goals helps. Fitness goals can substitute for weight goals and sort of change your mindset from calorie counting to lap counting (or whatever). Variety is key. Hit the reset button and recharge.

RodaRose

Take measurements and record them in MFP. Also take lots of pictures of progress. This way you can celebrate your success without depending on the scale for validation.

lorrpb

It took me 2.5 years to lose 150. I didn't feel excited most days. If I followed my plan only on days I felt excited or motivated I would still weigh 300 lbs. My focus was always on my results to date and what I wanted in the end. I also set goals in many areas like fitness, recipes steps etc. That way if one area wasn't going so well, several others were successful, so I always had something positive to focus on.

ChelleTrell

monkeefan1974 wrote: »

I used to go to the supermarket and pick up meat that weighed what I had lost. Seeing a visual representation of what you have achieved can be quite powerful. And just think... regaining that weight would be like carrying that meat around on your body 24/7 again. I wouldn’t ever want to go back to that so I gotta keep moving forward!
Eventually I lost 2 large turkeys and a chicken!

This is great advice and I’m totally gonna do this next time I’m at the grocery store. I was just telling my partner this morning that I wish the 7lbs I lost showed more. He says he can see it but I just don’t see it yet. Maybe if I hold a 7lb roast in my hand it will put things into perspective for me.