Losing my motivation

I'm a little down and discouraged when it comes to my weight loss. I don't feel like I'm losing anything. I workout, eat healthy and yet nothing is happening. I'm kind of fighting the urge to give up. I want to be healthy. I want to lose weight but I'm not sure what to do. I am starting to get frustrated. Any suggestions?

Your ticker shows that you have 10 lbs to lose and you are what?

You need to loosen up, stop being so frigid and taking 10 lbs so seriously, you will make yourself sick.

I have 30 lbs to lose and I can tell you that I will not be beating myself up about it. I plan to take one day at a time and work towards my goal.

How about opening up your diary so others can see what you eat, give feedback, (whether positive or negative).

What does your exercise consist of. I know that walking does nothing for me, except helps me to sleep soundly at nights.

You say you dont *feel* like you are losing any weight... Which kind of makes me think you are not tracking both your weight and measurements..or either? A lot of people dont *feel* it, but then when they look at the numbers, its solid evidence something is happening. Even better when clothes fit differently.

But I notice from the boards...even with numbers and clothes, the biggest thing that actually and finally gets a person to realize they have made progress is from comparing before / after photos of themselves. So are you using any method to track progress, or just going by how you feel?

The Plateau Effect

You have been hitting your workouts every day and even logging them into the MFP? You input your daily calories in your food journal. You have been dropping weight every week and you are on a fitness high. Then the day comes when you notice that you have changed. Your weight is still the same and you feel like there is something wrong with you.

In an attempt to solve the problem, you try double workouts and start cutting calories, but still nothing changes. You are becoming increasingly frustrated with yourself. You might even talk to a close friend about it, but you kind of feel alone in the matter. So, what happened?

You my friend have hit a plateau.

Here is a definition of a plateau:

“A period or state of little or no growth or decline”

Does that sound about right?

How do you fix this problem so you can move on with your fitness journey?

I believe there are three components to a plateau: Nutrition, Sleep, and Lack of Variety.

Nutrition

If is vital to your success to eat healthy foods and take in the proper amount calories in day. Nutrition is the #1 reason why people plateau. You think to yourself that you are making such great progress; you are allowed to fall off the nutrition wagon here and there. The fact is that your body is not the same as when you first started. You are becoming more fit and need to start thinking like an athlete. Food is now your fuel. It is important you watch what you put into your body. Crap in, crap results. Here are a few ideas to help you get back on track.

Portion sizes. Are you eating too many calories and not exercising enough? Are you not eating enough calories to help build the muscle you need to keep up your metabolism? I would recalculate your calories and see how different they are from when you first started.

Food journal. It’s a must if you want to reach your goals.
Try new healthy foods and recipes. The Eat Smart tab on Team Beachbody is filled with nutritious and healthy recipes.

Midnight snacking. Stop the midnight treats. If your daily calorie intake allows you to eat more, I would make it a casein protein shake. Casein protein is a slow digesting and could take up to 8 hours to fully digest. Which means you will feel fuller longer.

Post-workout recovery. I always thought that a protein shake was all I needed after a workout. Boy was I wrong. You have a window of 1 hour or less to take in the proper ratio of carbohydrates and protein to help aid in recovery. The correct ratio is 4 carbs to 1 protein. If you ever get the shaky feeling after a workout, your body is telling you that your glycogen stores are depleted and you need carbohydrates to restore your body. I found that the best recovery drink is the Results and Recovery Formula. Not just because it’s from BB. I have tried several different brands and they usually either are missing the ratio, too much sugar, too much protein, or not enough carbs.

Hydration is very important for stable energy levels. (You store 3 molecules of water for every glycogen molecule). Water is essential for keeping your metabolism running and also to build muscle. The more muscle and the higher your metabolism, the more fat you will burn. You need more than 8 cups of water a day.

Sleep/Rest

Active Recovery. On lift days you are essentially tearing the muscle fibers in your body. You need to allow time for your body to repair the tears, which adds more muscle. One way to aid this process is to do a light workout the following day. For example, you do leg day and you use weights. The next you do some body weight squats or lunges to help workout the lactic acid in your muscles. Stretching is very important and should be done prior to any workout and after any workout.

Sleep. Now that you are working out and feeding your body healthy foods, sleep is essential to see the progress you want. It is said that 8 hours of sleep is idea for athletes. I know some people find it hard to sleep for the long of a period. I recommend taking naps if at all possible. Your body changes during rest/sleep, not when you are sweating to the oldies.

Exercise Variation

In my twenties, I read a ton of fitness magazines and I decided I was going to be a huge, muscle man. I took supplemental, did the exercises in the magazines, and tried to be like them. The thing I missed was who I was. I was stuck in the gym rat mentality. “If I could only lift that weight, I need this to make me bigger, I wish I could be like that.”
I was missing who I was created to be. My reasons for working out were dumb. My life changed when I did my first round of P90X. I lost 15lbs and I started to see abs. My mentality changed as I got older and I realized I was doing the same routine for the past 10 years.

To be successful, you must constantly change your fitness program and plan ahead. If your goal is to lose 80lbs and all you did was one type of workout and hoped that it would work, you might need to rethink it. You need to plan ahead and chose different programs for the next 6 months. To change your body you need variety.

Plan ahead, think smart, and set your goals.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me!

Dustin