SERIOUS lack of motivation.

Change up what you're doing, at least in terms of exercise. Sign up with a personal trainer or schedule workouts with friends; maybe you need someone to hold you accountable. Sign up with Earndit and enter a paid challenge. Find something that helps you get through these ruts. Doing the same thing day-in-day-out or week-in-week-out gets boring; make it new and exciting.

Like many of us, you have developed bad eating habits. It doesn't matter how many times and how long you stay at the gym. If you eat more than your body needs you will gain weight. I think you need to develop good eating habits gradually.

First start by monitoring your current caloric intake for a week or two using myfitnesspal.
Even it that means putting on few pounds.
Start decreasing this number say by 200 calories.
Stick for that number for a week or two. (You might still be gaining weight at that level by the idea here is developing a habit and sticking to it)
When you feel somewhat comfortable decrease the calories even more and repeat.

Good luck.

I know that most people will tell you to just push yourself to do it.
However, when I am very stressed out, I really just can't make myself. I have not learned to love exercise yet so I have not associated working out with decreasing stress levels.
If it is really that difficult for you, just recognize that you are having a hard time and do what you can to destress yourself first. It will make the exercise more enjoyable and you'll be able to see its immediate benefits more easily.

As for food, that is something that is purely self-control. Why don't you try to replace emotional eating with another hobby? It may feel really silly and difficult at first, but in the long-run, you'll see that you just traded one habit for another one (hopefully a healthier one!!)

Also, don't ever forget to see the progress you've already made, even if you backtracked! It helps you retain your hope, and everything becomes easier to do once you just believe in yourself (sounds cliche haha). Don't expect an immediate change, some people adjust faster than others. Good luck with everything (:

First off (positive reinforcement)......You can fix this it is not the end of the world. So what you regained 7 lbs....you can lose it again if you DO NOT give up.Correcting your eating will help you with the tiredness, depression and stress you can do this. If you didnt care you wouldnt have posted this and gave up but you didnt and that says alot! Do not let your mind discourage you from what you know to be true you are stronger than you are giving yourself credit for.

Spend 10 dollars get a workout dvd you can use in your bedroom or tv room. I use Biggest Loser Boot Camp because it has the options to choose your workouts and adding or not warm up and cool down. It also has fellow fatties in it so I dont feel like such a loser. Takes a whole 30 minutes out of my day. As I progress it will be longer so its up to you how long you go for.

Second(get ready for brutal honesty).......STOP! Stop making excuses, stop being lazy ( I am the queen of lazy), START taking accountability. My house has crap in it too I have 2 kids that eat non stop, doesnt make it okay for me to feed my face with their crap. Stress will kill you. Find another way to deal with it like working out for 30 mins in your bedroom or tv room. Take a walk.
If you want to eat more that can be dealt with if you exercise and workout more. Make it a goal to exercise more so you can splurge or eat more. There is always a solution but giving up should not be an option, YOU GOT THIS!

Try to focus on how AMAZING you feel after a good workout, or how well you sleep, or how many nutrients you feed your body when you take the time, effort, and CONCERN for your body that it deserves! We all have our moments, but all you can do when you have one is recognize it as bump in the road and forge ahead. As simple as it sounds and as cliche as it may be, it comes down to mind over matter. How badly to want this? How badly to want to improve your health day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. Don't focus on your long term goals, focus on today. Focus on NOW. Focus on really being in your body and taking the time to understand how it works and what it needs to survive for many years to come.

Endorphins are a hell of a drug. I have never been happier in MY ENTIRE LIFE as I have been the last 12 months of getting to the gym or pool every single day. Take those feelings and build upon them. This isn't easy, and this isn't overnight. It's a day to day process. Staying present in the now is vital to success.

I wish you the best of luck! You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to if you simply never give up!

If you have no motivation I don't think there's any miracle solution.

But I agree with the poster above, if not having time for the gym is a bit issue, buy some DVDs or look online for some videos.

First off (positive reinforcement)......You can fix this it is not the end of the world. So what you regained 7 lbs....you can lose it again if you DO NOT give up.Correcting your eating will help you with the tiredness, depression and stress you can do this. If you didnt care you wouldnt have posted this and gave up but you didnt and that says alot! Do not let your mind discourage you from what you know to be true you are stronger than you are giving yourself credit for.

Spend 10 dollars get a workout dvd you can use in your bedroom or tv room. I use Biggest Loser Boot Camp because it has the options to choose your workouts and adding or not warm up and cool down. It also has fellow fatties in it so I dont feel like such a loser. Takes a whole 30 minutes out of my day. As I progress it will be longer so its up to you how long you go for.

Second(get ready for brutal honesty).......STOP! Stop making excuses, stop being lazy ( I am the queen of lazy), START taking accountability. My house has crap in it too I have 2 kids that eat non stop, doesnt make it okay for me to feed my face with their crap. Stress will kill you. Find another way to deal with it like working out for 30 mins in your bedroom or tv room. Take a walk.
If you want to eat more that can be dealt with if you exercise and workout more. Make it a goal to exercise more so you can splurge or eat more. There is always a solution but giving up should not be an option, YOU GOT THIS!

^^^^This, plus STOP BUYING CRAP FOOD THAT IS BAD FOR YOU. You're in charge of what you put in your mouth, so start making better choices and stop filling your cart up with food you WANT versus food you NEED. Put the boxed and plastic bags of crap food back, OR avoid those aisles in the first place. Spend more time in the produce section loading up on brightly colored fruits and veggies. Don't go out and get fast food. TAKE CHARGE of your eating and don't give into temptation all the time. It is OK to have a little treat now and then, but learn to recognize when you are no longer hungry versus full.

And get to the root of why you eat so poorly.

Excellent!! feel free to add me after you've read my profile. I have specific instructions in there for how to become my friend, along with a warning about who I do and do not accept. Harsh? Naw, just weeding out those folks who would just end up annoying me anyways.

:laugh:

First and foremost I just want to thank you guys for taking the time to reply to this, and for all the messages I received. You're all right. Aside from the suggestions, your approach to this entire situation (in regards to mindset) is why you're all doing well. I think that's my main issue - changing my mindset. I tend to associate happiness with food and relaxation with staying in bed all day. Which is a major issue for me that I need to change mentally before I can change physically.

Anyway, I think I'm going to go with the home video idea and vision board. I'm going to start today. I'm also going to clean out the cupboards and just avoid all the unhealthy crap. I really do need to learn to just say no.

Thanks so much guys. These were all really encouraging responses and I appreciate it a lot. My motivation may not be at its all time high at the moment, but I'm going to get back on track and hopefully the genuine desire to want to continue this journey will come back after some positive results.

You are an inspiration for the simple fact you make the choice to not give up and correct the issues Good Luck to you!

I hear you about the rut, it happens!

My only way ever has been to sit with myself and just soul-search, soul-search and more soul-searching.....I love the vision boards, etc. Decide what you really want, as they say and then let all else fall by the wayside..... then just keep plugging away.

finding new hobbies, things to do, etc. has also been a life saver for me earlier in my weight loss...

All the Best!

So lately I've been under a lot stress due to various things and when I stress, I tend to eat...a lot. I mean, ridiculous amounts of food in one sitting. I can go through an entire Costco jar of Peanut Butter in two days. I've also signed up for the gym but stopped going because I'm always too damn tired after getting home and finishing up any work I have. I walk on the weekends and go to the gym when I can, but working out two days a week compared to the amount of food I eat isn't nearly enough. I've gained about seven pounds in a few weeks and that's just even more discouraging, even if I did expect it. This has been going on for a few months and every time I try to kick start again it only lasts a few days because I either binge or break down. I'm constantly surrounded by all this crap and I can't even get rid of it because everyone else actually eats the stuff. I just feel really stuck and don't know what to do to SERIOUSLY get back on track.

How do you guys get out of a really bad rut?

Keep trying even if you fall down. The next time you sit down with a jar of whatever, force yourself to consider: "Am I really needing these calories? Or am I avoiding feeling/dealing with whatever's really bothering me?" Yeah, you're likely going to eat that jar, blow your calories for the day, but each time you make yourself go through that mental exercise you give yourself room for self awareness and to recognize the following: "I am hitting the self destruct button here. WHY? And is there anything I can do about the situation aside from eating my way into oblivion?" When you learn to give yourself that room between behavioral cue and self medicating through food, you eventually make room to insert a new behavior instead of following the old default and often self defeating behavior. And key here is to find a new strategy/ new routine to cope whenever you're feeling stressed, overwhelmed etc. If you've got 20 mins to shove a crapload of food in your face, then you've got 20 mins for a walk. Blunt, I know...but learn to think in those terms.

As for motivation...if you're waiting for the right time, right words of encouragement, right whatever, you're going to be waiting a loooong time. Allow yourself to feel whatever you're feeling and then learn to ACT along side that feeling. Hardest part about going to the gym or sticking with a workout plan isn't doing the work, it's overcoming that whiny suck filled mental noise that keeps you from doing anything in the first place. Yeah, a lot of sticking to an exercise plan is telling your brain to shut up and get out of your way. You'll know your brain is getting in the way when you're confounded with a litany of excuses when you dare to think of the words: "work out" or "go to the gym." Create an alternate exercise plan that hits on the bare minimum of what would be acceptable to you i.e. push ups + sit ups + brisk walk outside of your house for 25 mins for the days you believe that noise in your head.

A lot of times with weight loss people expect to flip a switch, buy xyz program and think the discipline and resolve needed to achieve these goals somehow magically *happens.* It's really easy to read those glowy success stories and think weight loss is a straight shot from A to B. Unless they were a contestant on the Biggest Loser, I am willing to bet that just about every single one of them had to figure out how to make things work in spite of themselves, life, career and familial obligations. People who fall down and stay down turn into a series of unhappy statistics. People who fall down, but find it in them to keep trying and pushing turn into success stories. Keep that in mind the next time you think about giving up.

Accept that this whole thing is a process where you're going to have to replace bad habits with good ones. You're not going to get it perfect all the time. If you fall down, don't just give up on the day. Try and salvage it by the next meal, add a small workout, just do something however small that gets you closer to your goals. If you're taking center stage in your pity party with a box of oreos, ditch it and go get yourself some grit instead.

Each time you fall down, don't excoriate yourself but ask the following (yes, this is the time you want your brain to work for you):

1. Why did I fall down? What did I learn?
2. What can I do better?
3. What small changes can I enact instead of hitting the self destruct button?

When you're successful even if it is for a day, ask yourself..."how do I keep this going?"

Hope this helps. Best of luck to you.

Just tackle the support here!! If it wasn't for that I would not be where I was/am now.