For whoever has lost or is trying to lose 50-80 lbs.

oh gosh yes we all plateau and that tends to make us feel down. Try adding a new routine to your work out and some different foods. Throw your body off a bit by eating more (healthy foods) on certain days so that you don't plateau and exercising differently. Also it helps if you can find a hobby where you are active, yet not really thinking about it.

I think that has happened to most of us that are trying to lose a lot of weight. I hate it when I go through my "bad eating habits and/or no workouts" stages. It's funny because I can feel great and motivated one day and then BLAH the next day. What works for me is forcing myself to do a workout video with loud music in the back, that keeps me going for a few days straight. I know that work can seriously interfere with our goals, but we have to stay motivated and stay focused on the finish line. Think about how happy and proud you'll be when you reach your goal. Best of luck!! : }

Hi Britt,

Man did I lose my motivation many of times. And do I still have ups and down now that I have lost 66lbs.
I have days where I binged and still binge once in a while. I want to tell you is that you are not alone on feeling discouraged. It happens to all of us throughout this journey. There was times when I wanted to give up. We all want to give up sometimes, but you have to try to remember your why/purpose/reason?
Why do you want to loose weight? Make a list called your why list put it somewhere visible on your fridge, in your purse, on your night stand. Jillian Michaels says if we make this why list and really know why we want something we can handle any how.
Some reasons why we lose our motivation is because of course life happens and we regress to old behaviors or we get discouraged since we eat bad like you said for 1 day or 1 week or 1 month or we don't see the immediate rewards on that darn liar of a scale because of water retention. We all seek immediate gratification of seeing the number go down on the scale but sometimes we just have to be patient, and refocus on the little NSV's and your why/purpose/reason girl?. Also the scale will fluctuate due to lots of reasons, sodium, time of the month. digestion. So it is a liar sometimes and measure success through different ways. That helped me.

What is most important is the learning you do along the journey because that is what will help you maintain this new lifestyle and stop the yo yo dieting of gaining and losing that I have battled with all my life. I learned that exercise is a must and even if I binge I will work my booty off. I use exercise as my antidepressant.

Also, what I do to stay on track when I feel discouraged. I am like a mad woman collecting inspirational quotes and or words people post on here that are inspirational and I read them over and over maybe you can do that.
Every time I hear or read one I type it in a word document and list them so I can reference them for extra motivation when I am down. I will send you my list. Also I will try on my new clothes that I would never have fit in at over 230lbs. I watch Youtube videos of people who post their weight loss journeys. I reward myself with workout stuff or clothes when I have accomplished a goal. I try to look at pictures of myself at my heaviest and try to remember that that mentality I lived in where I wanted to be invisible is not one that I wan to return to. In all I try to do anything and everything to help keep me on track, but most importantly I forgive myself when I do regress to old behavior. I accept my own humanity and know that we are perfectly imperfect and just start the next day drinking water, eating lots of protein with lost of veggies, fruit, and prepping my breakfast and lunch for work. I love the quote of "successful people are not people who never failed, they are people who never gave up. That is what keeps me motivated to know that I am successful just as long as I never give up and always fight for my happiness because I deserve and you deserve to feel and be happy. Let keep fighting!

I'm up and down too. But I follow the paleo framework, so when I get off track or start eating off plan, I not only gain weight, but I feel like utter crap, so I don't stay off track for very long. When you body goes from feeling endless energy and the weight falls off without much effort b/c of the clean eating and then you step off the path for a birthday party, work potluck, dinner out or any of the other millions of excuses out there and instantly gain 5 lbs b/c of the gluten/sugar bloat and feel sluggish and lethargic, you tend to pick back up and get back on track as quickly as you step off the track. I'm down 50 lbs as of today. It hasn't been fast, but it's been pretty consistent and I feel so incredibly good and my body is able to do things it wasn't able to do before (like run an entire half marathon when before all I could do was walk/run intervals), so it's been so entirely worth it.

That's how I get back on track. Best of luck to you.

Big time ups and downs. I've lost just over half of what I need to, and I've been stuck for months. Partly due to losing focus halfway in.
I've been focused again for the last 3 weeks though so hopefully I'll get it moving again.

I can't say that I binge though. I keep tracking, and I was basically just eating at maintenance when I was slacking off.

I had those moments as well. Sometimes I'm so busy couldn't workout or maybe something came up last minute like a quick reunion with friends or unplanned date on a weekend. I use this to motivate myself. I tell myself that I has this much now I need to do this much as well. It also helps to have a good support system from friends, family and people I only meet in the gym or be inspired by people who themselves went through what you're going through now by reading their stories online.

I've lost 6 pounds still has 60 more 2 go

I'm focused so far! It's slow going and frustrating because I yoyo a lot most of the time then I lose 3-5 lbs in like a week, but I'm getting rid of that fat even if it takes another year...

I too am in the same boat. What everyone has said so far is soooo true! It's not always easy. There will be bad days (or weeks) and you have to just get right back to it. We're human. Things aren't always going to run perfectly. Sometimes we need a break. Take it. Friends are huge here. It's a great feeling to give and get the encouragement on here. We're all on the same journey.

Anyone can feel free to add me. I'm always open to new friends!

Absolutely! It's impossible to make significant changes without stalls and pushback (from yourself and others an your body).

I know I'm not the only one replying to you who've attempted and succeeded at losing large amounts of weight. I've been successful four times in my life and have attempted more times than I can count. I'm trying to do it AGAIN! I've finally figured out I need to come at it from a different angle (finally at 48...only took me 40 years!)

Don't "try and lose weight" because when you succeed at that you'll have to "Try and keep it off" and unfortunately, for many people, that doesn't work for very long. Why? Because it's exausting and we end up rebelling against it and we become complacent and we end up gaining all the weight back, and more (which is why I now weigh what I do!)

I really encourage you to:

1. Learn about food. What's in the food you're eating? Do you REALLY like the taste, or are you settling for some diet version that has a weird after taste and you just want more anyway? There's a lot of things in our food companies add to make people addicted. I know...who would do such a thing...people who are making a lot of money off of our blood, sweat, tears, and bank accounts!

2. Learn to cook. It is hard, but I believe eating clean (pre-packaged food) is the way to go, which means cooking of the real stuff is involved, which takes time. It's worth it though.

3. Talk with someone - a friend/advocate or someone who counsels women with eating disorders. It's important to have that while your body goes through changes. Stalling in your weightloss may be due to something psychological/emotional, and until you deal with it, you're going to be stuck or you'll gain the weight back. If your weights been your "armor" for a lot of your life you're not going to give it up without stressing. Also, journal.

3. Live. Don't eat to lose weight. Don't exercise to lose weight. Don't do anything just for the purpose of losing weight, because you will fail if that's the only reason you're making these changes - it isn't enough.

Just live. Enjoy the food you eat. Enjoy the flavor and texture, and if you can, enjoy it with other people. Americans are the only culture where it's all about the food. In Europe, it's about the company with really good food involved. The focus is on enjoying the food with others.

Move. If you really like running, then run. You may have to try it to realize you like it, but don't "WORK OUT", just move. Go dancing, ride your bike somewhere (but avoid Dairy Queens - that stuff has like 70 ingredients in it!), just do things you like.

I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with words. It's just that I've struggled my whole life with my weight. It's awful and it's awful to feel defeated again and again by something that seems to control me instead of me controlling it. I do not wish the same for any young woman, and if my experiences can help you, then good things are coming from this!