I'm burning out, help

kelmc11
kelmc11 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been tracking all my food and working out 5x a week since September. Lost 19 lbs (YAY!!) I am 1 lb away from my target and I am burned out, I am tired of food journaling and I just want to snack and be lazy. Suggestions?

Replies

  • ladyace2078
    ladyace2078 Posts: 460 Member
    Take a 1 week 'diet' break. Eat at full TDEE. Or take a 1 week break from exercise, but don't change what you've been eating.

    Try some new recipes.

    Try a new workout routine.
  • mwooderson
    mwooderson Posts: 254 Member
    I am in the same boat of burnout. Religiously logging every bite, working out 7 times per week, etc. I like the 1 week diet break. Not to eat unhealthy but rather to chill a little for a week. Good advice!!!
  • emj095
    emj095 Posts: 8 Member
    Its good to give yourself a break once in a while. Just make sure that when you do lose that final pound you don't fall into old habits, it would be a shame to let all that hard work and great success go to waste by gaining it all back!
  • tolae2006
    tolae2006 Posts: 54 Member
    From this time on see it as one more journal and one more workout to reaching your goal.
  • roiLEI1554
    roiLEI1554 Posts: 143
    definitely take at least a couple days off! enjoy (which is what I personally do on the weekends to try to keep myself from burning out over the week) a few meals without needing to log them and take a couple days off exercise
    (but try to eat within how much you usually eat)
  • msandwich
    msandwich Posts: 21
    If you're only a pound from your goal, why keep up with journal? By now you've established your routine. You know what's good for you and how much. Keeping a food journal is great for when you need to establish habits and have a good amount of weight to lose (or in something like contest prep). But to do it everyday for the rest of your life is a bit much if you ask me.
  • aliciab307
    aliciab307 Posts: 370 Member
    If you're only a pound from your goal, why keep up with journal? By now you've established your routine. You know what's good for you and how much. Keeping a food journal is great for when you need to establish habits and have a good amount of weight to lose (or in something like contest prep). But to do it everyday for the rest of your life is a bit much if you ask me.
    I agree. It is only a pound away from your goal and you most likely will not even notice the pound difference and neither will anyone else. I think it's probably best that you being transitioning to maintenance and up your calories every week until you've reached your tdee. Most people still lose weight while transitioning to maintenance. congrats on reaching your goal ! :drinker:
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,333 Member
    Gosh.. i'm getting tired of this and i've only been doing it two months. I have decided i want to eat more intuitively and not have to log every bite. I just started logging at night at the end of my day to see how i'm doing. I think you are so close to goal it is time for you to relax and realize you can't log every bite forever..you have to learn to eat right and not gain on your own. go for it!!
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    Take a 1 week 'diet' break. Eat at full TDEE. Or take a 1 week break from exercise, but don't change what you've been eating.

    Try some new recipes.

    Try a new workout routine.

    This.

    Change what exercise you do. Change how much you eat.

    Or, take a week or two as a break from things. A break helps sometimes.
  • yankeedownsouth
    yankeedownsouth Posts: 717 Member
    I agree with the others who suggested taking a break. Here's a great article about diet breaks: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Calculate your maintenance calories and practice staying within +/- 3 pounds. When you have achieved that for a month, go without logging or weighing for two weeks.
  • lisa799
    lisa799 Posts: 79 Member
    Take a break! I would make sure it is a defined break (i.e. with an end date) so that you don't backslide, but it sounds like you need it.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    When I got close to my goal weight, I took one weekend day off each week from logging. Didn't mean I binged, but it was nice to be able to, for instance, just grab a handful of potato chips if I wanted some, rather than measuring out an exact portion. Or go out to eat without checking the nutritional information. Or have a drink or three at a party without asking your host the calorie count in her punch.

    When I got to my goal weight, I extended that to both weekend days, as well as any holidays or vacation. Since I've been maintaining since June 2011, I'd say that's worked pretty well for me.

    Any time I start to feel burned out on logging, I take a break from it. Sometimes just for a day, sometimes for a few weeks. And when I feel refreshed, I get back to logging again.

    I think of it like keeping a balanced checkbook. I can go a while by just keeping a running tally in my head of how much is in the bank, but eventually, I need to enter all those receipts and checks, and make sure I can pay all my bills. In an ideal world, I'd be so filthy frickin' rich I'd never run out of money, and in an ideal world, I could eat whatever I want without gaining weight. The world is not ideal. :laugh:
  • TheStephil
    TheStephil Posts: 858 Member
    When I got close to my goal weight, I took one weekend day off each week from logging. Didn't mean I binged, but it was nice to be able to, for instance, just grab a handful of potato chips if I wanted some, rather than measuring out an exact portion. Or go out to eat without checking the nutritional information. Or have a drink or three at a party without asking your host the calorie count in her punch.

    When I got to my goal weight, I extended that to both weekend days, as well as any holidays or vacation. Since I've been maintaining since June 2011, I'd say that's worked pretty well for me.

    Any time I start to feel burned out on logging, I take a break from it. Sometimes just for a day, sometimes for a few weeks. And when I feel refreshed, I get back to logging again.

    I think of it like keeping a balanced checkbook. I can go a while by just keeping a running tally in my head of how much is in the bank, but eventually, I need to enter all those receipts and checks, and make sure I can pay all my bills. In an ideal world, I'd be so filthy frickin' rich I'd never run out of money, and in an ideal world, I could eat whatever I want without gaining weight. The world is not ideal. :laugh:

    Amazing advice.
  • Goal_Line
    Goal_Line Posts: 474 Member
    I avoid the word "diet". What I did was not a diet it was a lifestyle change both in terms of what I ate and my activity level. Think in terms of a sustainable lifestyle instead of some kind of deprivation.
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
    When I got close to my goal weight, I took one weekend day off each week from logging. Didn't mean I binged, but it was nice to be able to, for instance, just grab a handful of potato chips if I wanted some, rather than measuring out an exact portion. Or go out to eat without checking the nutritional information. Or have a drink or three at a party without asking your host the calorie count in her punch.

    When I got to my goal weight, I extended that to both weekend days, as well as any holidays or vacation. Since I've been maintaining since June 2011, I'd say that's worked pretty well for me.

    Any time I start to feel burned out on logging, I take a break from it. Sometimes just for a day, sometimes for a few weeks. And when I feel refreshed, I get back to logging again.

    I think of it like keeping a balanced checkbook. I can go a while by just keeping a running tally in my head of how much is in the bank, but eventually, I need to enter all those receipts and checks, and make sure I can pay all my bills. In an ideal world, I'd be so filthy frickin' rich I'd never run out of money, and in an ideal world, I could eat whatever I want without gaining weight. The world is not ideal. :laugh:

    Amazing advice.

    YES!
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    When I got close to my goal weight, I took one weekend day off each week from logging. Didn't mean I binged, but it was nice to be able to, for instance, just grab a handful of potato chips if I wanted some, rather than measuring out an exact portion. Or go out to eat without checking the nutritional information. Or have a drink or three at a party without asking your host the calorie count in her punch.

    When I got to my goal weight, I extended that to both weekend days, as well as any holidays or vacation. Since I've been maintaining since June 2011, I'd say that's worked pretty well for me.

    Any time I start to feel burned out on logging, I take a break from it. Sometimes just for a day, sometimes for a few weeks. And when I feel refreshed, I get back to logging again.

    I think of it like keeping a balanced checkbook. I can go a while by just keeping a running tally in my head of how much is in the bank, but eventually, I need to enter all those receipts and checks, and make sure I can pay all my bills. In an ideal world, I'd be so filthy frickin' rich I'd never run out of money, and in an ideal world, I could eat whatever I want without gaining weight. The world is not ideal. :laugh:

    Agree x 3

    Also remember this is a lifestyle change and if you want to successfully balance your weight loss for life, you can't have the "all or nothing" mentality. Keep yourself active, you don't have to be obsessed but you shouldn't ever feel like throwing everything out the window because you're bored of dieting. I believe that is the mentality that makes most people gain back all of the weight they worked so hard to lose. Keep a positive outlook! And have fun and relax once in a while.

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