Losing motivation and hope..please help

lemurcat12 wrote: »

You probably aren't doing anything wrong. If you started working out again 2 weeks ago the gain is likely just a normal fluctuation. I always gain some water weight when I increase or change my workouts, as your body needs to recover and that's part of the process. Also, women have different patterns during the month with respect to how their cycle affects weight fluctuations. I always tend to be higher in a couple weeks (the two weeks leading up to my TOM.....

Jmaytes wrote: »

I hit this same blockade myself. The way I got over it was I stopped stepping on the scale. From your diet I see you are eating the right things. Now it's a matter of toning up, you are also putting muscle on which could lead to weight gain. The only thing I would change is the cardio. I do more high intensity interval training rather then long distance running. If your goal is to get tone, then I would switch from aerobic activities like your 4 mile runs to anaerobic activities like jump rope, high knees, sprints, activities that increase your heart rate much greater. This will help develop leaner muscle. Hope this helps.

aeschor wrote: »

Can I ask what your end goal is? How much do you want to weigh?

aeschor wrote: »

So you're still looking to lose 17 pounds, which is almost 14% of your current bodyweight.

The reason I asked is because when it's just one or two pounds, temporary things like weighing your food or cutting back on desserts are fine ideas. But if it's anything more than five pounds or so, what you want to focus on is lifestyle changes - permanent ones. Because once you get to 110 pounds - and I totally believe you can do it! - the real challenge starts, which is maintaining your weight. That's just as big a challenge! So think about what kind of daily habits you want to have for the next ten, twenty years. It sounds like jogging most days and playing volleyball (or some other sport) a couple times a week are things you can do long-term. Weighing your food and doing HIIT for your cardio might not be.

I also think it's really, really important that you mentioned how your body looks to you - not just the scale, but the feel of your body. You said that it feels flabby in the midsection and thighs, despite the fact that you've lost 40 pounds in the last few years (and congratulations on that, by the way, that's awesome). Losing more weight might not necessarily help with that, so you should think about what the priority is for you - being 110 pounds, or feeling like your body is looking the way you want it to look.

Because if you want to be 110 pounds at any cost, then weighing your food and doing more cardio will eventually get you there, albeit slowly. However, if you'd rather focus on the appearance than look at the scale, I'd highly recommend some strength training - ie weights, and heavy ones at that. There's nothing like doing squats, bench presses, etc to gain muscle, which will in turn help you get a less flabby midsection/thigh area. The downside to doing that is that lifting weights means you *do* gain muscle - ie weight. It will be "better" weight than the flab, and since you're a beginner you'll actually lose a fair amount of flab while gaining muscle, but that scale won't read 110 any time soon!

But for my money, I'd suggest ditching boot camp (just for now!) and finding a gym where they'll show you how to lift weights. Do it twice or three times a week for a month and you'll start finding muscles you never even knew you had. Plus, lifting weights gives you (or rather, it gives *me*) a really great psychological boost too. Because lifting weights is all about what your body can do, not about how it looks, and the first time you lift something heavier than you ever thought you could, you're going to get a big rush that will, I think, help you to achieve your goals.

aeschor wrote: »

First off, I totally agree that the lifestyle you've got now is really healthy! And you've done it for a long time, so that's something you should be really proud of - it can be really hard for people to maintain a consistent exercise/eating program, so you're already WAY ahead of most people!

As for the weights questions: yep, 2 to 3 times a week is definitely enough, although I'd recommend twice a week for the first month or so and then creeping up to three times a week once you've got the hang of it. And alas no, the bootcamp weights don't really count - I'm guessing they're 5lbs or so, on average? What you should look at is the barbells with the plates (you got the terminology right!) as well as the heavy dumbbells (I've seen dumbbells that are 130 lbs EACH, and no I've never tried to lift one!). Strength training is all about getting you STRONG, and in order to do that - well, you've got to lift really heavy things!

So talk to a trainer who isn't afraid of teaching girls how to lift weights (you'd be amazed at how many of them are like "hur hur little girly you don't need to do that, get some man to do it for you!" which is NOT the attitude you need), and once your trainer has taught you all the correct forms, make sure to constantly challenge yourself by increasing those weights. I live in Austin and at my gym there are women who are 120 lbs lifting 200 lbs - and they look *amazing.*

Plus like I said, it gives you something else to focus on other than your scale: you start thinking about "how much am I going to bench press today?" rather than "how much am I going to weigh today?" which might also help with your "obsession with the scale" (which I totally understand - I had the same problem for a long time, it's a hard habit to break).

No matter what you decide to do, though, I want to emphasize that what you have *already done* is incredible, and worth being really proud of yourself. You've made a lot of really great changes in your life, and I know that sometimes it can feel hopeless when you still have goals you want to reach, but look how far you've come! Your progress is already an inspiration to other people (heck, you're pretty inspiring to me!) and I think you should give yourself a lot of credit for what you've accomplished already.