Today is the day!

GW4321

I’m posting this to motivate myself. I figured if I say this publically, then maybe it will make me own it.

I lost 125lbs after starting a diet in 2015. As of today, I’ve gained exactly 25lbs back (not sure how accurate my scale is). I’m sure some of that weight is muscle because I’ve been working out 6 days per week. However, I’m tired of seeing the scale continue to climb and undoing all of my hard work. I need to start making better food choices again and stop snacking so often.

Does anyone have advice for getting motivated again after previously losing a lot of weight? It seems like I’m fighting against that “well, I’m still 100lbs down” mentality. I don’t want to be satisfied with that.

steveko89

Interesting video I came across some time ago, very counter-culture to the MFP forum but worth a watch regarding goals and talking to other people about them:https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself/transcript?language=en

Regarding the motivation piece, I ultimately found I needed to separate my scale weight from my goals if I ever wanted to really be happy with how I looked. I've always been somewhere between 159 and 185lbs as an adult; within the "normal/healthy" BMI range for my height. However, I was overweight throughout adolescence which continues to shape how I view my body, even now at age 29. There are times when I get complacent trying to cut fat so I can be appropriately lean to most efficiently bulk. I'll lose a few pounds, stall, and think "pudgy-15-year-old-me would be proud" despite being a weight 5-10 lbs heavier than I ultimately need to be. That old mindset of "Just don't be fat" is counterproductive to my current physique goals, which I could not have fathomed having as a overweight pre-teen.

Ultimately, I think you need to think in terms of a renewed baseline, not continually looking over your shoulder at +100 lbs ago. I'm not at all suggesting that you forget being that heavy or the process of getting to where you are now, but this new phase should be viewed in it's own context if considering the previous phase is hindering your efforts.

GW4321

steveko89 wrote: »

Interesting video I came across some time ago, very counter-culture to the MFP forum but worth a watch regarding goals and talking to other people about them:https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself/transcript?language=en

Regarding the motivation piece, I ultimately found I needed to separate my scale weight from my goals if I ever wanted to really be happy with how I looked. I've always been somewhere between 159 and 185lbs as an adult; within the "normal/healthy" BMI range for my height. However, I was overweight throughout adolescence which continues to shape how I view my body, even now at age 29. There are times when I get complacent trying to cut fat so I can be appropriately lean to most efficiently bulk. I'll lose a few pounds, stall, and think "pudgy-15-year-old-me would be proud" despite being a weight 5-10 lbs heavier than I ultimately need to be. That old mindset of "Just don't be fat" is counterproductive to my current physique goals, which I could not have fathomed having as a overweight pre-teen.

Ultimately, I think you need to think in terms of a renewed baseline, not continually looking over your shoulder at +100 lbs ago. I'm not at all suggesting that you forget being that heavy or the process of getting to where you are now, but this new phase should be viewed in it's own context if considering the previous phase is hindering your efforts.

Thanks for the response. I think you are correct. I need to completely separate my current goals from my previous diet goals and successes. For example, if I lose a pound, then I should think of it as one pound lost instead of a total of 101lbs.

I'll check out the video too. Thanks.

tulips_and_tea

Great job on both losing 125 lbs and realizing the small gain before it gets out of hand. Don't look for motivation. Look for new goals to set that excite you and make you want to keep seeing progress.

You said you're working out 6 days per week. Do you enjoy what you're doing? Are you making progress? Sometimes finding new activities helps, but either way, focus on what your body can achieve rather than the exact number on the scale.

I like the advice by @steveko89 to view this as a whole new chapter instead of an extension of an old one.

GW4321

BZAH10 wrote: »

Great job on both losing 125 lbs and realizing the small gain before it gets out of hand. Don't look for motivation. Look for new goals to set that excite you and make you want to keep seeing progress.

You said you're working out 6 days per week. Do you enjoy what you're doing? Are you making progress? Sometimes finding new activities helps, but either way, focus on what your body can achieve rather than the exact number on the scale.

I like the advice by @steveko89 to view this as a whole new chapter instead of an extension of an old one.

Thanks for the advice. I lift weights 6 days per week at home. I'm happy with my strength improvement and muscle gains. My exercise is on track, but it seems like the more I workout the more I want to eat. It becomes a cycle of working out to counteract the eating, and then eating more because of the workout. That never works because the diet part is far more important for weight loss.

The good news is that my eating isn't totally off track. I'm still conscious of what I eat, but it just seems like I eat slightly above maintenance every day, which added up over 1.5 years. It's just a few bad choices and too many snacks. It frustrates me that i lost 125lbs so easily, but now I struggle to even stick with a deficit for a week. Hoping today was the start of a new mindset.