Hitting a Slump - Deja Vu - HELP

DreaFitX

It seems I have hit a motivational slump. This usually happens when I have hit a plateau in my weight loss and/or start repeatedly gaining. I don't belong to a gym ($$$) I finished a couch 2 5k program now almost finishing a 10k program and then eventually will be working on a half marathon training program. To mix things up I try to do my zumba dvds or on the wii. When I get bored with the normal routine I buy workout dvds I have tried so many I even tried the 10 minute trainer dvds but got bored of those real quick. But again thats $ that i cant really afford to just throw away. I just cant find the motivation to move right now. I have posted in other forums about calorie counting and based on people's advice I have upped my daily goal and trying to reach that goal via my net. But I feel like I am overeating trying to do that, making some not so great choices, or even overeating to try to reach my calorie goal. I know it's a learning process but I just want to see some losses like I have seen so many people on here have. Any suggestions for in home, inexpensive workouts or any kind of motivation would very much be appreciated. Thank you.

hospitalmakeout

Prisoners aren't allowed to have weights, so to increase muscle the open basketballs and pile dirt and rocks in. bam, instant medicine ball for dirt cheap! Also, go out for a jog, run up and down all the stairs, if you see a hill run up it backwords! do exercises outside, change them up often but bring back old exercises to see if your good at them The world is yur gym, go to a park use the equipment there to challenge yourself to see what you can do. It is really fun but it is really hard! it's just a heck of a challenge! believe me, im doing what your doing. i upped my calorie intake too. i feel like i gained 100lbs! its so annoying! Tho now i know theres people out there with the same problem so it's not as bad! haha. but yeah just swith it up, keep challenging urself and keep up the good work!

konerusp

Just try accepting the fact that weight loss is not a quick fix, you have to take care of your body when you are asking it to work for you.I will give you my story.....
I was 190 at my heaviest,i ate 800 cals an got to 154 in no time,i maintained there for 2 years eating around 1200-1500 cals.Last year it was my brothers wedding and i wanted to go lower than 154 and i wanted a quick fix again,so i went down to 500 cals,i got down to 147,the week of my brothers wedding i gained it all back.Then i ate 800,1000 cals and l pretty much didnt lose at all.All this time i was still starving my body and working out like crazy,and i gained another 10 pounds during my honeymoon in March landing at 164.Last month someone asked me to up my cals.Then i first upped it to 1700.I lost 3.2 pounds in 5 weeks,an now im at 1900 calories this week,But you know what my body started sweating-IT DID NOT WHEN I WAS AT LOWER CALORIES.no sweat not fat loss.Just trust the process.do not log daily activities as exercise though.You can get those Jillian micheals ripped in 30,body revolution etc,they are really effective.I have your back Im on the same boat as you.Just stay motivated and focussed and we will get there.

sfmenkhaus

For no cost videos try the public library, most of them have a variety of DVD's (some very old), you'll have to return them before you get a chance to be bored of them :-) another option, a lot of the fitness mags have web sites that include workout programs. Even if you don't subscribe to the print edition you can sign up for access to web content and get different workouts there.

DreaFitX

Thanks ladies. I have just been finding it hard to find the energy to do anything. And I got on the scale and I gained. But I am not going to give up. Just need some fresh ideas and just got to force myself to do it. Today starts a new week, so I know (or I hope) I will see results next weigh in.

Cheeessseee

Just think about that after work out feeling! I know i feel 10x better after running/working out then sitting on the couch or not doing anything. The satisfaction from people noticing the weight loss etc. Seeing a picture of myself, for the first time in 2 months has charged my motivation a 1000x time over. Stick with it, and you know you can count on MFP to help keep you motivated even if your SO doesn't want you to shed some lbs....

spiregrain

I'm a sleep deprived mom and I find usually the only thing I can handle is going for a walk. I put my son in a sling to do it, and carrying his 16 lb load ups the calories I burn on my walk. Sometimes I watch short fitness videos on youtube to try out something like kickboxing, or I jog in place while I watch a TED lecture online. All that stuff is free.

At my smallest I think I was 135. I was biking 4 miles each way to work 5 days a week and going to the gym for a 45 minute cardio workout two or three times a week, but not particularly watching what I eat. When we moved away from my beloved Healthworks gym and I bought a car, that all went to pot, but it was great, and the bike ride made a big difference, even though it wasn't a huge calorie burner. I think the best thing is to just have activity happening, to break a sweat a little once a day and then really exercise when you can get yourself to. I'm trying to work towards that now.

Some parks have this sort of rudimentary free gym thing set up in them that is great if you are near it. There is usually something like a trail you can run on and wood + metal structures for doing pull ups, crunches at different angles, those "captains chair" leg raises, and so on, arranged around the trail. There was one near the intramural fields when we lived in Athens, GA, and there at least used to be one around Jamaica Pond in MA. Maybe there is one near you?

Right now my program is to walk until I *want* to run. So I don't kick myself if I just go for a walk. At heavier weights (like mine, currently overweight), I feel like the impact is really intense for the body to endure, and I don't want to mess my joints up too bad. Walking burns great, it just takes longer. But that's okay, because it's wussy enough that I can actually deal with it right now!

Whatever happens, you are great, and you are trying. Don't get too discouraged! You are not alone. Especially here.