Losing the "buzz"

Panther2611

So I am in "Week 5" and everything is going great...down 9lbs...getting stronger with both cardio and strength training...however (you knew there had to be a "however"!!!) I am really struggling with motivation. Workouts have felt like a chore and for the first time since I started I feel like I am starving all the time....feels like I have hit a wall.
Has anyone else experienced this so early into the program?

aippolito1

If you always feel hungry, you're probably not getting the nutrients you need or eating enough protein to stay full. Make sure you're not just eating crap to get your required calories. Eat some fruits and veggies (start small if you need to - yogurt in the morning... a vegetable with dinner...work your way up. An easy way for me to get my recommended veggie servings is vegetable juice! 8 ounces and I just need a couple more veggies which I usually get at dinner).

StarryEyedGirl

omg it must be the 5 week curse! I am there too. even preparing my meals is now a chor whereas before I enjoyed it. we need to get through this hump!! I have 35 more pounds to go so now isn't the time to poop out! lets get through this. how much weight do you need to lose?

did you consider changing up the exercise? or cut back a day just to rest?

williams3023

Its time to switch it up a bit. Try new workouts, add a new couple meals, introduce good food you have never eaten, etc. A little variety should get you back on track. Everytime i get to a point where i feel like i am going to break i bring in a new jar of a different kind of Jelly to my PBJ's or a new vegetable to my vegetable meddly. Also, throw in a new chest workout here and there or a new ab routine. Look into and let me know if you need any workouts or foods to try!

Good Luck!

HonestOmnivore

I was visiting my sister years ago and her husband poured a wine for me that I'd never heard of... I asked what it was and my sister told me that to avoid a rut they were trying a different varietal of wine very few weeks. (at the time I didn't know what varietal meant) - the point I took away was that even people who seem to have endless choices have to make an effort to branch out a bit.

I think you might have enjoyed what you were doing early on because it was new! Try to keep that new feeling! If you go to the gym start taking a class in something you've never done (kayaking or water polo!). If you cook your own meals, start experimenting with different kinds of fish, or different cuts of chicken. Try cuisine from different continents!

Do you spend hours on cardio equipment? Get an audio book and listen to it while you work out (but ONLY while you work out so you look forward to hearing the next chapter). Download podcasts on subjects you're interested in learning about!

Find a friend or family member and have a wager on who can lose the most weight - put something on the line that you care about so you can't just give up!

Hope this was helpful

Panther2611

Wow - thanks for the quick responses! Just a couple of comments:

Overall goal is to drop 26lbs. On the calorie front I have done a good job with both the quantity and the quality of the calories I have been eating. I make sure I get as close to my allowed as possible while limiting junk although last Saturday I fell off the wagon...well more like I drove the wagon right off a cliff!!!!
We have a gym at work so 5 days a week I do 45-60 mintures of strength training at lunch and 4 days a week I do 20-30 minutes of cardio after work. Try to switch up routines as much as possible. Good or bad 95% of the time I am completely alone...not too many people use the gym so I have to be highly self motivated. Nothing on weekends.

I appreciate all the comments and will fight through this!

jennylynn84

I definitely understand it feeling like a chore! When I can't play racquetball I have to do cardio machines and it's a lot more tedious. I started watching the TVs instead of listening to my music and I feel like that helped me be less bored.

Also - when you do 30 minutes of cardio, is it all on one machine? Switching up your routine, not just on a daily basis but during that half hour not only makes things more interesting, but is also a better workout for your bod. Try doing 10 minute intervals all on different machines.

And don't worry about falling off the wagon every few weeks or so as far as food goes. My husband and I have been dieting since January and we've done really well, but he reached this point where he thought "I'm not going to be able to sustain this, I feel hungry, and I feel like I want a burger and I don't want to eat health food."

He went out the other night and had a burger and fries - not fast food, but from a local joint. Went way over on his calories and woke up the next day completely ready to recommit.

I also agree with a previous poster that if you're constantly hungry you might want to re-assess what food groups you're getting everything from and up some categories. The default setting for protein on MFP is actually somewhat low. You can increase it and get more in and you might see an improvement in your hunger. I definitely get more protein and fiber than MFP started me off with, but I'm usually not hungry.

Also, I've changed up my foods and found that I'm a lot less prone to being sick of my diet. I recently started bringing new and different snacks to work every day and I feel a lot less like I'm dieting. It's all about variety!

Supermel

I find this is a problem for me from time to time too. A few things have helped me! Keeping my mesaurements and seeing the inches melt off, is the best. I bought a pair of pants a bit tight (a risk i know!) and now they fit! Doing the 30 day shred and then the slimdown has helped me stay focused in 30-40 day segments.

As for food, I have replaced some facebook time with recipe hunting. I have found some great ones and having yummy food in the house helps keep me motivated to cook and eat good stuff here and not order in or go out. Some yummy things we have been loving are a new turkey meatloaf (stuffed with spinach and cheese), turkey and spinach burgers, asian almond chicken salad....

As for being hungry, try and eat smaller amounts more often. A good trainer friend of mine reccomends 1/2 your body weight in protein (so if you weigh 100pds, eat 50g of protein) per day and try and pair the protein with a complex carb. A great food list is found at body for life (reccomend by same trainer friend) ... I find keeping my water up helps keep me full. And a package of instand oatmeal mixed with peanut butter at 3pm gets me thru til dinner (crazy time of day for me and usually when i would dive off the wagon). Eating more often, with more protein and water has kept me full Being a bit hungry, is a GOOD thing, it means your metabolism is working So if you are hungry eat Just good choices, smaller amounts, more often