How do you stay motivated when you don't see any results?

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Replies

  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    Be_theBest_Me wrote: »
    [quot :) e="snowflake954;c-44728669"]
    Be_theBest_Me wrote: »
    nighthawk584 wrote: »
    Be_theBest_Me wrote: »
    ...have you all forgotten what happens at the beginning of the journey???? You count it all track it all and bust your *kitten* and the scale does the opposite of what you want for the first few weeks. Sometimes longer. She flat out said she is seeing results in her clothes!! That means what she is doing is working!! I've done this 3 separate times!! Each time is the same. Measure your body!! Look for positive results in all areas not just the scale!! I can run faster and longer....the scale doesn't agree but that doesn't mean I'm not doing what's right!! Seems to me yall have been kinda mean to this lady!! I think she is doing great and needs to keep it up!!! Progress doesn't happen over night it takes time. Thyroid condition and other body ailments can change the way anyone's body loses or gains. Y'all are some *kitten* holes!! Guess y'all forgot where you came from in all this. The beginning you have to fight without visual results and sometimes it takes time to get that scale to fall in line!!! REAL LIFE!!

    Nobody is being mean to her. We are sharing what works or has worked for us. I lost a good portion of my weight the first few weeks and months. I weighed every thing that went into my mouth. It works! that is facts, not meanness. Do you want solutions or cheerleading?

    Sometimes you need a little solutions and cheers. Sometimes it helps to hear you are making progress when the scale says your not!!! Men always shred right away and I did too the first two times I lost weight......then thyroid became a raging *kitten*!!! This time...the beginning has been a *kitten*. Eating right measuring my portions drinking my water doing my cardio and killing my workouts....scale goes up then flat then up then down....took almost 2 months this time to see it move....you had to flat out say.....I'm not being mean....that is a tell that it was kinda rude.....y'all remember this is different for everyone!! Don't hate the way I share my success and support!! That whole dislike button is a crock of *kitten* y'all!! Your opinion and process is valid no matter what anyone else says!! I'm sure you had a few cheerleaders along the way that made success a lot easier during the times of struggle!!! It ain't always just about what you put in....it's about how your mind processes what's happening in your body!! This journey is more mental than physical!! All day!!!

    Now--hope you've calmed down. I think the OP wants to be a success at losing weight, therefore we are all trying to help her figure out her problem and nudge her in the right direction. Cheers and hugs will not solve her problem. Sometimes you need to change things up. You do you and good luck, by the way.

    No cheers and hugs don't make the weight come off but sometimes the struggle isn't in the process it's in the way your mind deals with that process!! Not everyone can just stick to a plan with no results. That's hard for emotional eaters and food addicts!! Whether you want to admit it or not sometimes we all need someone telling us you got this keep at this stage until you feel strong enough to press to the next subtle changes are the sustainable win!! Yes you will shred weight if you slice calories and drink water....that's great. Sweat it out lose it fast ...then what go back into life and your gaining immediately. No....that is not how everyone can or should do it. If you see changes in your clothes the way you feel but the scale isn't moving....means your on the right track. Period the scale moves with salt bloat and different foods we eat!! The scale can vary 10lbs a day!! That is a crazy swing to base your success on!! It is a damn tool!! I have weighed daily, weekly monthly. The scale still lies!! Sometimes when I get on that scale I need a meeting with my therapist after!! It's a mind melt!! Seriously y'all sometimes people just need to hear keep going winner you rock! Cause if I feel that way....someone else out there does!! Just cause you don't need a cheerleader or support doesn't mean others don't too. When someone asks for advice that's all they want they don't want to be picked apart and told their hole process is wrong. Even if it is. We are forgetting the human element here and our needs as a people to be accepted and feel like we are not alone......[/quote]

    Whew!....so glad you're working with a therapist. I was getting worried. Yoga is very good. It will help.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    I will only "cheer and hug" people if what they are doing is actually going to help them achieve their goals. If not? I'm the type who won't give them a "You go, girl!" if where they're going is in the wrong direction. A true friend is encouraging but not enabling.

    May I cheer and hug you? Love your posts. ;)
  • Nimbkar
    Nimbkar Posts: 63 Member
    I was in the same boat last month.
    Up your exercise and count your calories .
    Small snacks add up quickly so be mindful while snacking.
    I use fitbit and do 10,000 steps every day. About 5000 is from running/walking.
    Try to limit your food intake to an 8 hour window. It is quite difficult to do in the beginning so I give it my best for the day. Some days, I eat outside of the 8 hour window but I try to do better the next day.
    Give it time.


  • tmac68w
    tmac68w Posts: 19 Member
    The best advice on motivation I have ever recieved was that never do anything purely because of motivation. Motivation is imconsistent and often absent. However, discipline and habits will remain without motivation. I think you force yourself to do it long enough until it becomes habit and discipline. A lower intensity mediocre workout is better than no workout at all. Stay disciplined.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    It looks to me like calories are off but you can't bring yourself to count them. How about the My Plate method? https://www.choosemyplate.gov/WhatIsMyPlate and you may just have to do some trial and error experimentation recording your results. If what you do now is not working, then consider what you could change. Are there a lot of hidden fats and sugars sneaking in to add calories? Read food labels.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    I agree with the folks who said you’re not eating at a deficit. If you don’t want to use a food scale, totally your choice. Though you may deal with more frustrations regarding stalls and plateaus. You can’t out exercise too many calories.

    You might want to look at the late night cravings. Are you hungry, or bored. Used to nibbling while you relax in the beings and watch TV? If you are hungry, why? Are you not eating enough during the day? What was dinner like? Enough lean protein, healthy fat, and fiber to keep you full?

    I still focus on fitness victories to keep me going. Lifting a little more weight or doing more reps, making my intervals a little longer and my recovery a little shorter, being able to do a new yoga pose.
  • TishTashS
    TishTashS Posts: 2 Member
    Here, the most common advice you'll get is to weigh everything you eat and log it accurately. This is because it works well for those with a healthy mindset where food and tracking are concerned.

    However, if you find yourself getting obsessive when tracking calories, this indicates a possible disordered eating mindset. You should check in with yourself to see why you start to feel obsessive when you try to track. Do you feel stressed if occasionally you are unable to track something? Are you unkind to yourself if you don't do it perfectly? Do you put pressure on yourself to track, to the point where it is detrimental to your mental wellbeing?

    CICO works, but is not worth causing negative effects on your mental health and wellbeing.
    If you are struggling with unhealthy thoughts and behaviours surrounding food, it would be a good idea to access help from a mental health professional, or a registered dietitian with experience in disordered eating.

    You do not have to have a fully developed eating disorder to engage in disordered eating behaviours. In my job, I have seen many patients who think that the thoughts and behaviours around food are completely normal, even when it causes them to be miserable. If strict CICO makes you miserable, then it's not the method for you.
  • Phdcyn
    Phdcyn Posts: 1 Member
    Weightloss is a journey & it's different for everyone. Make good food choices & exercise, but don't feel like a failure if one or both of those parts don't come together in weightloss. Work on small steps & doing better the next day, but don't obsess over it.

    For the last 18 months i have been working out at a gym, in classes that push me hard 3 to 4 days a week. I had expected in a year to have been under 200 lbs, I'm not. i have wanted to give up, but then i notice something small, some improvement that to anyone else might mean nothing. I started out not being able to do a proper squat, then my trainers had me doing them with a ball on the wall... one day in class i was doing them, like everyone else without my ball on the wall, i was doing real squats... it took 18mths to get there. I started & my knees are *kitten*, like need surgery bad, I'm not saying my knees are great now but i can't do box step ups on something higher than a foot now & i can even do box jumps.

    My point is, don't be discouraged by the scale not moving, you may be in the process of your body exchanging fat for muscle, so your clothes might fit looser. You may be more flexible than last week. You may be able to walk 30mins without feeling like you're going to die. Look for the little things to keep you motivated when that scale refuses to budge.

    I hate doing weigh ins at my gym, because i don't see a lot of weightloss like others do. I did my inbody last week (measures muscle, fat, weight & water content), I'd lost a tenth of a pound, but I'd lost 8lbs of fat, gained 4.5lbs of muscle & still have water weight issues...i couldn't see this on the scale, my trainers did in how my body looked.

    You Are Doing Great!
  • ebeever115
    ebeever115 Posts: 42 Member
    edited February 2020
    TishTashS wrote: »
    Here, the most common advice you'll get is to weigh everything you eat and log it accurately. This is because it works well for those with a healthy mindset where food and tracking are concerned.

    However, if you find yourself getting obsessive when tracking calories, this indicates a possible disordered eating mindset. You should check in with yourself to see why you start to feel obsessive when you try to track. Do you feel stressed if occasionally you are unable to track something? Are you unkind to yourself if you don't do it perfectly? Do you put pressure on yourself to track, to the point where it is detrimental to your mental wellbeing?

    CICO works, but is not worth causing negative effects on your mental health and wellbeing.
    If you are struggling with unhealthy thoughts and behaviours surrounding food, it would be a good idea to access help from a mental health professional, or a registered dietitian with experience in disordered eating.

    You do not have to have a fully developed eating disorder to engage in disordered eating behaviours. In my job, I have seen many patients who think that the thoughts and behaviours around food are completely normal, even when it causes them to be miserable. If strict CICO makes you miserable, then it's not the method for you.

    Thankfully, one thing I know for sure is that this isn't the issue! My frustration with logging calories comes from being a perfectionist. For example, I'd prefer to be able to weigh out and measure everything on my plate but sometimes that just isn't practical. Like when eating out! I really appreciate you making that post though because for some people, that could definitely be an issue!

    I've thought about it and I'm going to try a method of tracking that works for me. I have to realize that not every single tiny crumb is able to be tracked! So as long as I'm taking my best guess and estimating on the side of more rather than less, I think that's a good start for me.
    Thanks everyone!
  • RobAS355
    RobAS355 Posts: 20 Member
    edited February 2020
    I think what you are actually looking for is an easier way.

    I was 240lb, I got down to 179lb. I now weigh 190lb by choice.

    The only way I did it was weighing all my food and counting macros, I never wanted to be that obsessive but I had to be if I wanted to reach my goals. It can often seem selfish to others and anti-social, not going out for supper and drinks.

    Find out your BMR, set a macro ratio that has minimal fat intake, and carbs should be half your protein intake. Either eat at maintenance calories and use exercise to implement a deficit or add a 500calorie deficit yourself and skip the gym.

    Stick to a 500calorie deficit, anything more and you will get to the point of diminishing returns and you will just be torturing yourself and put in a cheat meal once a week to keep yourself sane.

    You can think you know what caloric value you are eating everyday but unless you measure it you'll never know exactly and consistency is key. And macros are important, to low on carbs and you'll feel drained and exhausted everyday. Too little protein and you will lose lean body mass, and lean body mass is important because in directly effects your BMR.

    Do lots of research on youtube and set goals to keep yourself accountable.

    You will lose weight but you need to follow a better program. Best of luck to you.

  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    TishTashS wrote: »
    Here, the most common advice you'll get is to weigh everything you eat and log it accurately. This is because it works well for those with a healthy mindset where food and tracking are concerned.

    However, if you find yourself getting obsessive when tracking calories, this indicates a possible disordered eating mindset. You should check in with yourself to see why you start to feel obsessive when you try to track. Do you feel stressed if occasionally you are unable to track something? Are you unkind to yourself if you don't do it perfectly? Do you put pressure on yourself to track, to the point where it is detrimental to your mental wellbeing?

    CICO works, but is not worth causing negative effects on your mental health and wellbeing.
    If you are struggling with unhealthy thoughts and behaviours surrounding food, it would be a good idea to access help from a mental health professional, or a registered dietitian with experience in disordered eating.

    You do not have to have a fully developed eating disorder to engage in disordered eating behaviours. In my job, I have seen many patients who think that the thoughts and behaviours around food are completely normal, even when it causes them to be miserable. If strict CICO makes you miserable, then it's not the method for you.

    You're conflating CICO with calorie counting. They're not the same thing. CICO = calories in vs calories out. It's how weight management works. If CI is less than CO, you lose weight. If it's the same, you maintain. If CI is greater, you gain. Everyone is 'doing' some form of CICO all the time. Calorie counting on the other hand is a method of creating a calorie deficit so that CI is less than CO.
  • meegerzeb
    meegerzeb Posts: 12 Member
    It sounds like all of your hard work it is actually paying off - it sounds like you've built a lot of muscle, which means the scale won't change a lot. If you're noticing a change in your clothes, you're on the right track.
  • wwwtheselion11
    wwwtheselion11 Posts: 422 Member
    So form my experience with my weight jumping. Its eather what you are eating. Try doing organic protein smoothies. Instead of meals. I can make a smoothie close to 400 calories. I am eating only 1200 calories. Was doing 1500, but wasn't seeing any changes. Now i see big results. Im at 176. Going for 160. Was 235 8 months ago

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