What do you do when you lose motivation?

jasmineemmaeats

I’ve been stuck at the same weight for about four months now after losing the bulk of the weight I wanted to. I’m now about 7 lbs from my goal weight and I’m just finding I don’t have the motivation I used to. I’d really like to lose the last little bit to put me in the middle of the healthy weight bracket for my height but I’m finding it really hard to commit to it. I just keep losing and gaining the same 2 lbs.

I wondered if anyone else has been in this position and if anyone has any tips to get back on track? I know the answer is to stick to counting calories properly again but I’d love to hear any mindgames or strategies to make that commitment a bit easier to stick to!

Ddsb11

When this happened I decided to maintain for a few months, where my new weight felt very natural and steady, and then it was easier to focus and shift the last 7-10 lbs.

Sometimes we just need a break from the pressure.

cwolfman13

once I was at a healthy weight and BF%, I didn't feel the need to proceed further...after that, it's just vanity and vanity isn't enough of a motivator for me to continue dieting. I'm not fat...I'm healthy and fit...not six pack lean, but I'm fine with that.

My motivation was just getting and being healthy...once I accomplished that, I stopped dieting...because it sucks.

kami3006

This is a good thread about diet breaks: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

mmapags

I don't lose motivation. I really don't even think about motivation. I've decided on what my core goals and values are for my life and I do what is consistent with those goals and values. Motivation doesn't come in to it in any way. Motivation will come and go but goals and values and the foundation of actions.

GottaBurnEmAll

I've been where you are and just maintained and focused on fitness goals. Being excited about fitness got me my mojo back eventually.

That was an important lesson for me. I'm working on vanity weight now, and I often take long breaks at maintenance where I shift focus to things like hunting down new recipes, looking into new fitness routines, and making small tweaks to my normal habits so I develop new ones. Doing this sort of stuff always keeps me focused on the fact that it's really a big picture and the reaching of a number on the scale isn't really an end point. It's just... a number on the scale. All of this other habit stuff is far more important, because that's the part that will keep the weight off.

kami3006

I made sure it was as easy on myself as possible. No big changes. Just weigh and log my foods, didn't cut out anything and did exercise that I enjoyed. Habits don't need motivation.

Nonetheless, sometimes a break is needed both physically and mentally.

k8eekins

jasmineemmaeats wrote: »

I’ve been stuck at the same weight for about four months now after losing the bulk of the weight I wanted to. I’m now about 7 lbs from my goal weight and I’m just finding I don’t have the motivation I used to. I’d really like to lose the last little bit to put me in the middle of the healthy weight bracket for my height but I’m finding it really hard to commit to it. I just keep losing and gaining the same 2 lbs.

I wondered if anyone else has been in this position and if anyone has any tips to get back on track? I know the answer is to stick to counting calories properly again but I’d love to hear any mindgames or strategies to make that commitment a bit easier to stick to!

The most effective strategy to have some like me commit to our preferred eating plans & fitness programme, are photo proof comparisons at one's peak throughout one's latter teens & adult life Vs you at your most deplorable state and select bulk pics from the worst angles lol. Very recently for me for example, just looking at the fluffy and heavily-dense muscled me around early August, weighing 180 lbs (now 140 lbs with another 10 lbs to go +/-) at 5ft 10 is good enough to prevent me from veering off course. How it affects me works - seeing what I don't like!

An additional strategy that motivates me to outperform my goals are month-to-month targets Eg Upcoming Christmas Week wedding, the January ...., the February ...

HoneyBadger302

I'm a ways further from my goal than you are, but I find it easier to lose a few pounds, then maintain a few weeks, then lose a few more. Rinse and repeat. Not the fastest way to lose weight, but I've had a steady (albeit slow) downward trend and I don't feel like I'm "struggling" to keep going. Plus I'm gaining a pretty good idea of what maintenance will look like for me along the way.

kshama2001

kami3006 wrote: »

I made sure it was as easy on myself as possible. No big changes. Just weigh and log my foods, didn't cut out anything and did exercise that I enjoyed. Habits don't need motivation.

Nonetheless, sometimes a break is needed both physically and mentally.

Ya, I find working to create habits that will help me reach my goals more useful than motivation.

For example, while I am NEVER motivated to floss, it is a habit.

leanjogreen18

kami3006 wrote: »

I made sure it was as easy on myself as possible. No big changes. Just weigh and log my foods, didn't cut out anything and did exercise that I enjoyed. Habits don't need motivation.

Nonetheless, sometimes a break is needed both physically and mentally.

This is exactly what I'm working on. Habit of logging and habit of working out so when I don't feel like it I just do it anyway.

FL_Hiker

The weight loss is a temporary goal, look at the bigger picture. What happens once you lose all that weight, will it be sustainable? Think long term. Do you want to be able to be physically active when you're old? Is there something on your bucket list you've always wanted to do but couldn't do before? Run a marathon? Climb a mountain? You have this one life to live, don't leave it with regrets. Set a goal and good things will follow.

margbarco

I’ve been eating at maintenance for almost two months to give myself a break. When I felt I wanted to eat in a deficit again I got the app Happy Scale which broke down my next goal weight into smaller increments. It makes my ultimate goal seem a bit more attainable bit by bit.

Plus, when I see my trend weight going down on the graph, I’m less likely to be discouraged if that day I “gained” half a pound or two. I know I’m still heading down towards my goal and this helps me to stick with it.

ridiculous59

I need fitness goals to keep me motivated. Two summers ago I did C25K for the first time and my goal was to do a 5k race in the fall. Last summer I did the same thing and my goal was to better my previous year's time in the same race. This past summer I did the C210K program. There's a x-country skiing fun-type race in February where I live that I've never entered before. So that's my current motivator.

The scales were my motivation while losing 90 pounds, but as I got closer to goal, and now that I'm at goal, its fitness milestones that keep me on track.

garystrickland357

Remember that weight loss isn’t something we do - it’s a RESULT of the choices we make and the things we do. If you still want to lose those last 7 pounds, make a plan that will result in that loss. Choose to lose the pounds - or choose to take a break. Just don’t blame motivation. Decide what you want to do with your body.

Edit: That sounds more harsh than I intend it to be. Reflect on your goals. Why is losing weight important to you? How important is losing the weight? Answer those questions and then make a plan that matches your goals.

mmapags

FL_Hiker wrote: »

The weight loss is a temporary goal, look at the bigger picture. What happens once you lose all that weight, will it be sustainable? Think long term. Do you want to be able to be physically active when you're old? Is there something on your bucket list you've always wanted to do but couldn't do before? Run a marathon? Climb a mountain? You have this one life to live, don't leave it with regrets. Set a goal and good things will follow.

This resonates with me. For me, I have 2 grandchildren, 6 and 5 months and I will have more. I want to be around to see them ride a bike, graduate for high school and college, fall in love and marry. I want to share family holidays and vacations and make memories.

In many ways I feel I missed some of that with my children because of work and financial pressures. Now that I'm retired, I want to do those things as well as travel and hike and not be limited by physical challenges that I could control by maintaining fitness and health.

This is what I meant in my earlier post. These are my core values and goals. What is truly important to me. In light of this, motivation on a day to day basis is not even a factor. I'm playing for bigger stakes!

hesn92

I was in the same position as you. I got 10 lbs from my goal. I ended up losing and gaining back the same 4-5 lbs a few times before I decided to just stop and stay at that weight. I care more about being healthy and fit. I just didn't think losing that last 10 lbs to look better in a swim suit or whatever was that important. So.... I guess it comes down to your priorities and what you really want. Do you REALLY want to lose those last few lbs? If yes, then do it. that's all there is to it, really.

bestiebabe

I am 64 and lost 88 lbs. I moved my target weight for some unknown reason possibly pigheadedness I have put on each week in January and can't get my head back on plan. Part of me wants to quit and part wants to get back to where I was and then draw a line. I think sometimes we stress over our weight and that takes over

callsitlikeiseeit

motivation comes from within. what drives that motivation is individualized.

that said, when i get like that, im just happy eating at maintenance and not focusing on whatever goal it is i have in my head at the moment (i focus my weight loss in 5 or 10 pound increments).

call it a diet break if you want, many do, i just say im maintaining for awhile and will get back to it when i get back to it. i lost 120 pounds and then maintained that for 3 years. working on the last bit (about 30 pounds). ill get there when i get there. its not a race.