Anyone else lack motivation the closer to your goal weight? What helped you get through it?

purplishblue
purplishblue Posts: 135 Member
edited November 8 in Health and Weight Loss
So annoying... I was losing weight just fine, no issues, and now that I'm like 15lbs away from my goal weight, I can't stop plateauing. And it's nothing to do with measuring, it's just straight up not sticking to counting calories :( You'd think it'd be the opposite, that you'd be more motivated the closer you got... I think once I reached that point of "Wow I don't look as fat anymore!!", I just haven't been able to get that same momentum going. Mind you, I'm in the healthy weight range. But I'm still not where I want to be.

Anyone else go through this? What helped you re-focus and stay focused till you hit your goal?

Replies

  • blueakama
    blueakama Posts: 399 Member
    That's great you are in the healthy weight range. Some times you just plateau and thats' life. Make sure the quality of your food is healthy.

    I notice you haven't filled in your profile. Perhaps it's time to set some other goals?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    May be you should just take a break from losing and eat at maintenance for awhile:)
  • btc1987
    btc1987 Posts: 94 Member
    I am experiencing the same thing right now. I set an agressive goal for myself. As I neared my goal, I realized that I would hit it and still not have the body I envisioned.

    I replaced the weight loss goal with a strength training goal. I'm still counting calories but I'm way more interested in what I see in the mirror than what's on the scale.

    Shifting this mindset is hard after losing 60 lbs and basically being a slave to the scale, but you said it yourself - you're now in a healthy weight range.

    My advise is to modify your goals, celebrate how far you've come, and don't be a slave to the exact number as long as you're healthy and like what you see in the mirror.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    May be you should just take a break from losing and eat at maintenance for awhile:)

    When frustration kicks in, diet break. I did two weeks and it rejuvenated me.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Maybe stop for a while. Take a break.

    The obsessive weighing and watching every bite...sometimes you need to say, "Screw this. I'm done for a bit!"

    I'm on a break now and it's been lovely. I should've gone back on tomorrow, but I got so caught up in the fun that I froze a bunch of stuff without weighing it and putting stupid post-it's with calories on the Tupperware.

    So, I get a few more days. :)

    I'm glad. I was so sick of logging exercise and weighing food. I haven't even weighed myself. Don't know (or care) if I gained a few pounds. It was worth it and I can re lose them.

    Maybe a break would set you back, though, and it might not be right for you. I don't know.
  • alphamancer
    alphamancer Posts: 3 Member
    purplishblue wrote: »
    So annoying... I was losing weight just fine, no issues, and now that I'm like 15lbs away from my goal weight, I can't stop plateauing. And it's nothing to do with measuring, it's just straight up not sticking to counting calories :( You'd think it'd be the opposite, that you'd be more motivated the closer you got... I think once I reached that point of "Wow I don't look as fat anymore!!", I just haven't been able to get that same momentum going. Mind you, I'm in the healthy weight range. But I'm still not where I want to be.

    Anyone else go through this? What helped you re-focus and stay focused till you hit your goal?

    Its called complacency, friend. Unless you want to pay some one to slap bad food out of your hand and mouth, you have to find the strength within to finally be satisfied with your reflection. You're gonna make it, you just have to realize that you're the only person that can get you there.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited December 2014
    Yep. Once I get to a place where I look and feel pretty good (IMO, at least with my clothes on) it gets harder--not so much to maintain, but to keep my deficit. Oddly enough, both this time and the other time I experienced this (when losing lots of weight 11 years ago) I also happened to hit this point around Thanksgiving.

    Last time I basically stopped dieting but refocused on some exercise goals (after taking a maintenance break for the holidays) and lost another 15 lbs. This time I'm not officially taking a break but I'm being less focused on the eating while trying to again refocus some on some exercise goals and other fitness measures.

    If this doesn't seem to be working I'll consider it a break and get back to it in January (with what will seem like the rest of the country :D )

    I should add that I don't see it as a terrible thing, as for me one of the difficulties about maintenance is that it's easier when you have a goal to focus on. My plan is to have various fitness goals not so directly related to my weight goal and no specific hard stop where there's no improvement to seek, and so this allows me to start moving that way early.
  • alphamancer
    alphamancer Posts: 3 Member
    Also to note: You might want to start seriously considering a form of cardio to kickstart your metabolism. Your body gets used to the reduced caloric intake so it adjusts. Even light cardio for at least half an hour 2 or 3 times a week can help you push through it with ease.
  • phyllb
    phyllb Posts: 735 Member
    Slog thru it. It will turn around
  • savvyfantastic
    savvyfantastic Posts: 112 Member
    I think it's always important to constantly re-evaluate what our goals are in terms of aesthetics (eg weight). As we get closer to these, it's always good to say ok, should my goal weight be different, should my waist measurement be different etc. What we unveil about ourselves and our bodies in the process of changes is just as important as setting those initial goals.

    I like to complement my physique goals with performance goals (eg being able to run 5 sprints at X kph, being able to bench press a certain amount). Taking the focus off aesthetics is a good way to relax the mind while also simultaneously allowing us another forum to change the body.
  • purplishblue
    purplishblue Posts: 135 Member
    Thanks guys! I was expecting much harsher replies. I have been doing a lot of weights lately, and making great gains with it, so that is something I've been focusing on at least.


    davidaportes wrote: »
    Its called complacency, friend. Unless you want to pay some one to slap bad food out of your hand and mouth, you have to find the strength within to finally be satisfied with your reflection. You're gonna make it, you just have to realize that you're the only person that can get you there.

    Ha! But the thing is, I've never actually been satisfied, at any weight. Maybe that's part of why I'm not trying harder even though I want it- cause when I was at my goal weight, I felt fat and wanted to lose weight. There's never been a feeling of "Aha! I finally look awesome!". I don't know if that's possible. Yet I see people here posting their successes and they look fantastic, so maybe it is.
  • Blueseraphchaos
    Blueseraphchaos Posts: 843 Member
    edited December 2014
    I took a break from actual dieting from October to last week, lol. I logged everything, went way over on some days, didn't weigh anything except myself once in awhile..still managed to lose 3 pounds. And now I'm ready to buckle down again. Granted, I'm a little over halfway there, still have about 30 pounds or so to lose....but that break helped tremendously.

    I'm sure I'll slack off on xmas day and new year's day, but a break really, really helped me get my motivation back. At the same time, i had to reevaluate my fitness program because of a severe knee injury, but now that I'm mostly mobile again, time to start lifting heavy things and ellipticalling my way through season 2 of Cow & Chicken on Netflix, lol.

    Good luck with whatever you decide!

    ETA i have a friend, not on here but in real life, who lost 115 lbs pretty much the same way I'm losing weight...and she said the exact same thing i said, that she took breaks to recoup and that it's fine to do it if it helps your motivation. So, it could work, it just depends on if YOU think it will work. :smiley:
  • ElizabethMaryam
    ElizabethMaryam Posts: 159 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    May be you should just take a break from losing and eat at maintenance for awhile:)

    When frustration kicks in, diet break. I did two weeks and it rejuvenated me.

    ^^^^ this. I took an unintentional break due to a lot of life's stressors and I feel great now and ready to get back on the band wagon of reaching my goals :). Good luck :)
  • galprincess
    galprincess Posts: 683 Member
    im feeling the same I drag myself to workout and im doing 30 day shred and im determined to hit 30 days its taken longer as had few things planned but still doing it and it will take me up to 22nd dec then week off for xmas then back on it. My motivation is keep going to 22nd then treated to a week off, I will still log just not being so strict and wont work out.
  • purplishblue
    purplishblue Posts: 135 Member
    Thanks guys! :)
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