Trying to find motivation again

CLICit

I had lost 8 lbs between Feb 17th and March 9th, then caught pneumonia around the time the world went crazy with the pandemic. I got depressed and ate when I couldn't do anything physical, I've recovered from pneumonia and I'm trying to get my motivation back but I gained 4 lbs back. It's disappointing to say the least. Goal weight is still 135 lbs from now 186 lbs, at the rate I was going before it should take 6 months. Just feels so long and I could already be a month ahead... It feels extra depressing not being able to go to the gym and having to avoid my old running routes due to lack of social distancing. Any tips or tricks from what you guys are doing during this time?

Unicorn_Bacon

Have a goal to reach but never bank on it because a lot can happen in 6 months, but.. all those months are going to pass regardless on if you keep trying or not.. so you might as well get back at it

PAV8888

Have to strike a balance here between being motivating and what I am saying sounding as if I am not being motivating.

--you absolutely CAN lose the weight. just put the preconditions into play so that you're creating a reasonable deficit, and you will get there.
--the easier it is, the more likely you'll stick to it, the more likely you'll be able to continue the same way indefinitely.
--the goal is not just to get there; it is to get there and stay there--indefinitely. Most of us get there... and don't stay there.

While there exists no known secret sauce on how to for sure not regain, I figured that stacking the odds in my favour was probably not a terrible plan in terms of increasing my chance of success.

--stacking the odds in my favour involved slowing down my weight loss by not applying a deficit that was larger than 25% of my TDEE while obese and very overweight, and then slowing down to well below 20% of my TDEE as I approached normal weight. In retrospect I pushed on at 1.5lbs a week a bit longer than I should have and should have slowed down to below 20% of TDEE at about BMI 27 as opposed to doing so at about BMI 26.
--stacking the odds in my favour involved eating and moving in ways that I thought I could continue doing indefinitely. Have some things changed over-time? Absolutely. But a core of these behaviours and selections of satiating and/or satisfying for the calories food combinations and similar "tools" remains and is incredibly useful at maintenance.
--stacking the odds in my favour involved being prepared to continue "working" and doing what I was doing well into maintenance... and in fact for a time period that would be much longer than the "rapid" weight loss time-frame. I did not find continuing to do so onerous or restrictive because I used my time of weight loss as an experiment to figure out ways of making things less restrictive and onerous and more appropriate for my daily reality.
--most people regain what they lose within 2 years. I would not plan on making too many changes between end of weight loss and the first 2 years after that. The odds continue to improve the longer we don't regain, and get better for those of us who make it to 5 years. That's why I like to talk about doing things that I can see myself doing for five years. I am not quite there yet... but I'm getting closer

--your 4 lbs "gained" are probably, at least partially, lbs you never lost in the first place. There is some water weight loss usually associated with the beginnings of any diet.
--water weight is being used as a generic term to indicate non fat weight. though it often does involve water and the body's water balance it is not necessarily water you drink nor something you should most probably be seeking to manipulate--it is enough to be aware of it and the scale changes it causes.
--measurement issues make it very hard to see your underlying weight trend during shorter time spans especially for women with a monthly cycle. 3 weeks was not a long enough time period for you to fully know your rate of loss.
--if 8lbs in 3 weeks was correct, you were going unsafely fast and you would most certainly NOT continue to do so into normal weight. And if you did, it would not have been a safe thing to do.
--you may want to check out some weight trend apps or web sites in addition to using the wonderful reporting features and averages available though MFP.

Set the preconditions. Work on YOUR process. Lose the weight.
Ditch the timelines. Time will pass regardless.
Concentrate on the process and the setting up of the preconditions.
You will profit!


Glad you're recovered. Now's a suck-y time to be dealing with things like pneumonia!

Ddsb11

Same. Literally- have a goal every week. That’s it. If I make my .5 lbs a week, I’m ecstatic. Period. 1 week at a time.

AnnPT77

CLICit wrote: »

I had lost 8 lbs between Feb 17th and March 9th, then caught pneumonia around the time the world went crazy with the pandemic. I got depressed and ate when I couldn't do anything physical, I've recovered from pneumonia and I'm trying to get my motivation back but I gained 4 lbs back. It's disappointing to say the least. Goal weight is still 135 lbs from now 186 lbs, at the rate I was going before it should take 6 months. Just feels so long and I could already be a month ahead... It feels extra depressing not being able to go to the gym and having to avoid my old running routes due to lack of social distancing. Any tips or tricks from what you guys are doing during this time?

Eight pounds in 20-ish days is a fast rate of loss, but probably includes some water weight loss. The 4 pounds you've added is probably at least partly that water weight. That's how it works, as PAV says.

I think your goal is aggressive. You have very close to my starting stats. I was 183 pounds. I started weight loss in mid-April (of 2015). By October-ish (again, 2015), I had hit your goal weight. At times, I lost too fast (got weak and fatigued, took weeks to recover even though I corrected as soon as I realized). Truly, you don't want that. I'd suggest not having a "final deadline" kind of goal at all.

PAV is giving you excellent advice: Seek a sustainable, even easy path. Set yourself up for a strong, healthy, slow glide into long-term weight maintenance. Make good and sustainable habits your goal. Figure out the right amount to eat for gradual loss that keeps you feeling strong and energetic, that gives you good well-rounded nutrition, that's tasty and filling to you personally (whether anyone else agrees or not ), and that includes some treats for joy.

Find an approach to exercise that you enjoy (at least tolerably well ), and that fits into your life in a practical way. Challenge yourself a little, but keep it energizing, not exhausting. Be flexible with what you do; any kind of movement can be good, vs. sitting around.

In the current situation, try to figure out some ways to take the lemons, and make lemonade, to turn difficulties to your benefit.

For me (now in long-term weight maintenance, BTW, 133 pounds this morning), my desired exercise isn't possible (I'm an on-water rower, and my boathouse is closed). I'm working out less (volume-wise) but experimenting a little more, trying some new exercises, reviving some old ones, breaking out some underused exercise tools at my house and playing with them (hula hoop, anyone? ).

On the food front, I'm seeing some advantages in not being able to eat out as much, as I'm less likely to over-indulge. I still work in some treats, but it's a little easier without the restaurant meals in there. As long as I plan ahead (given limited shopping outings), I can experiment with trying some new foods or different ways of using ones I already like.

Overall, to be at a healthy weight long term (which is our real goal, right?), it's necessary to learn how to enjoy life, and have it be not just enjoyable but nearly automatic. In some ways, this period of isolation can possibly create some opportunities to experiment with some different kinds of activity, some different foods or meal timing, and find strategies that will help move us along that path.

Focus on what you can do, what you can control; not the things you can't control. The stuff we can control is our levers for change. Beyond some brief thoughts about overcoming obstacles, focusing on what we can't do is a non-productive dead end. Controlling the things we can - especially as we begin to see results from that, even rather slow ones - is empowering. Moreover, learning skills for achieving gradual, long term goals (like weight management or fitness), gives us self-management skills we can then transfer into other areas of our life, to reach goals there, too - in areas like career, finances, education, complex hobbies (art, music), etc. Patient progress can be a powerful thing, in a lifelong context.

Just my opinion, obviously.

Wishing you the best! :flowerforyou: