Losing motivation

Hi, so I've been using my fitness pal since Christmas and I just can't stand seeing me the way I am anymore. I'm only overeating like 4 times a month and all the other days I'm under. And I'm still not losing any weight. And that's not all. I've become obssessed with food. Like I only allow myself to eat every two hours because I know I'll over eat if I don't do that so I can litterally watch the clocks for like 15 minutes just waiting for the time I can eat. I think about eating all the time. If only I was seeing results at least I'd keep being motivated but I don't. I'm not talking about actual weight like on a scale but just how I look. I'm seriously so sad and nobody around me are just bringing me down even more. I really want to do this but I just don't know if it's really worth it or if I'm gonna stay that way forever.

Honey, that's so sad that You feel that way. How about this: don't think about food for some time and do something that You enjoy, go shopping, have a nice meal, walk in the park, visit a museum, have a bubble bath....hugs

I feel your frustrations. It's a tough spot to be in. My question is are you eating enough? Also, how are you exercising? Do you track everything you eat every day? These are important questions and are critical for improving fitness.

Allan

You are so right that we get to the point where everything is about food. It is worth setting goals outside of our fitness, and to work on other things. What is going on with the other fun or interesting things? Hobbies? Skills? If we as a population devoted half our "food" time to other stuff, we would have a better world. I mean, whatever matters to us, other than food, would be better. Cleaner homes, more repaired homes, better yards and cars. more projects done like sewing and photo albums, more help to others, more ___ fill in the blank.

how about, when you are really discouraged, you try a "Root Cause Analysis"?

This means, you consider everything that may be contributing to the problem/disappointment.

NUMBER 1. One Problem is that you did not loose at the rate you were expecting and you over-ate.

Possible reasons for the weight to come off at a different rate:

a. water comes off the first week or two, after that it is always harder to loose weight..

b. You may have been more active at first.

c. You may have eaten lower carbohydrates at first.

d. You might be weighing at different times.

e. you may have given yourself a really tough path to follow that was not sustainable.

f. you may be on the wrong diet for you.

NUMBER 2. The second problem is the disappointment.

a. Are you disappointed because you need to loose at the higher rate?

b. Do you believe the slower weight loss means that you are not getting healthier?

c. Are you so disappointed that you will give up?

NUMBER 3. The third step is, what options you do have to fix problems one and two?

a. find a person who has had this problem (stalled weight loss) and ask what they eat, and what type of exercise they did to continue getting fit.

b. Google "stalled weight loss".

c. Go to a gym and ask a fitness trainer about stalled weight loss and ask what they recommend for exercise and eating.

d. Watch or listen to motivational tapes, I love Zig Ziglar, he is all over u-tube. You may have to listen for a long time, but her is entertaining and encouraging.

e. Watch some videos about healthy eating, Joe Cross has some great ideas, and here is one form a MY Fitness friend:

a presentation on PBS entitled “Eat, Fast and Live Longer” by Dr. Michael Mosley.
It made me stop, think and watch it again…Fasting for two nonconsecutive days each week, while eating what I normally ate on the other five? “You can do anything for 24 hours,” I reasoned.

f. If your eating plan was too stringent, you may be a "one thing at a time" type of person. Try changing one thing that you know is bad, like late eating. If you eat till midnight, plan to stop at 11:30. (for instance, this is a baby-step method)

g. give up. Will this help? Maybe if it all too frustrating. You are you no matter what size.

then decide which option you really want to do.

This is a long, drawn out answer, but sometimes the long way is the short way and if you are very disappointed, maybe it is worth really figuring out what may be happening and how to have more of the shape you want with a little change to some of what you are already doing to succeed.

My thinking is that you are already have had success, you just need to tweak it to be long term. you can do this!