Refocusing

indigrrl
indigrrl Posts: 92 Member
in Motivation and Support
Anyone else who's been doing this for awhile find that after reaching what you consider a big milestone, motivation and focus start to slack off? I finally got to under 200 lbs and 40 lbs lost, and I think because that felt so impossible to me, I just haven't been able to keep focused on the next mini-goals, much less the big one. My weight has bounced around for about 3 weeks now, nothing to panic over, but not progressing. I'm still logging and trying to improve my activity level daily, but too often I just say "screw it" and estimate or whatever. Any advice on finding the fire again? I still have a long way to go...it's just hard to convince myself that more is really possible right now. (PS I have ADD so follow-through and focus are particular struggles for me. Not an excuse, I just know what my weaknesses are, what I have to work hardest at.)

Replies

  • indigrrl
    indigrrl Posts: 92 Member
    Ooh...also...I've noticed that my daily calorie goal hasn't changed in AGES. Does MFP not automatically drop it as our weights fall? Or do I need to go in and adjust something?
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    I think you need to go into your settings and goals to update your numbers which will adjust your daily calorie goal.

    Congrats on your loss so far! Don't rely on or wait around for motivation. Long-term success is dependent on HABITS. Don't ask yourself if you "feel" like counting and logging. Just do it the same as you take a shower and brush your teeth.

    Also, do you workout or are you active? If so, change your focus to fitness related goals. Narrowing your focus solely on the scale gets boring. By constantly setting and reaching non-scale goals you have a better chance at succeeding at maintenance as well.
  • shinycrazy
    shinycrazy Posts: 1,081 Member
    edited September 2016
    indigrrl wrote: »
    Anyone else who's been doing this for awhile find that after reaching what you consider a big milestone, motivation and focus start to slack off? I finally got to under 200 lbs and 40 lbs lost, and I think because that felt so impossible to me, I just haven't been able to keep focused on the next mini-goals, much less the big one. My weight has bounced around for about 3 weeks now, nothing to panic over, but not progressing. I'm still logging and trying to improve my activity level daily, but too often I just say "screw it" and estimate or whatever. Any advice on finding the fire again? I still have a long way to go...it's just hard to convince myself that more is really possible right now. (PS I have ADD so follow-through and focus are particular struggles for me. Not an excuse, I just know what my weaknesses are, what I have to work hardest at.)

    SO MUCH YES! I got from 300 to 185 in 9 months and have now bounced up and down between the 180's and 200 all summer. It's like i lost all my *kitten* to give. But, after seeing the scale at 213, I have renewed my motivation and I'm back in the swing of things. Add me and we can support each other! I changed my goal to .5lb loss a week and upped my end goal to 160 so I can eat more calories, because the last 40lbs are going to be way harder than the first 100lbs. 1300 calories a day isn't going to cut it. It's going to take a long time to get there, and I'm working on accepting it. Look at how far you have come, don't let yourself undo it.
  • indigrrl
    indigrrl Posts: 92 Member
    @BZAH10 Thank you. I'd been assuming all this time that MFP would adjust automatically as I went along. Just fixed my daily goal from 1670 to 1490. That should help a lot! I do have some small fitness and other non-scale goals, I could certainly invest more energy along those lines.

    @shinycrazy thank you, will do! It's tough to think of "forever" as a reachable goal. Most of us aren't in a hurry to find out if we achieve that, ya know? But you're right, if it's not long-term and lasting, then I'm just fooling myself. We'll get there. Part of posting this today was just trying to be proactive and not give up.

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