2.5 months in and motivation has VANISHED... what to do??

Take a couple of days off to rest... After those two days of rest - hit it again. You cant give up!

My advice is to just right back in ASAP, and try exercising really hard as well! You CAN make up for the damage that was done!
Also, remember that being in a deficit of 500 calories per day actually means a maintain - so you are not doing that bad!

I know that I also have my bad weeks. Just try to push through it to the best of your abilities, and you will finish the week so PROUD of what you did!!! I promise that this will leave you encouraged and on your way to finding your motivation again!

BEST OF LUCK!!

Congrats on your weight loss so far! Great job!! The key is to take it one day at a time. If you go over your calories one day, do better the next. Don't make it an excuse to continue to go over your calories day after day. Mix up your workout routine to keep from getting bored and set non-scale goals (i.e. running a 5k or being able to do 25 push ups in a row, etc.) to keep you motivated and have something to get excited about besides the number on the scale.

I wouldn't panic. Maybe you're just going through some stressful things (like you said, exams and such). If it was me, I would change my goal setting to either "lose 1/2 lb a week" or "Maintain weight" for a week or two until the stressful times are over. That way, even if you're not losing as fast or at all, you're not gaining and you can eat a little more every day. Sometimes, those red numbers are stressing us out and we think we're going to gain when really, we're still under our maintenance calories.

Try not to worry too much. Change your goals for a short time until you can get through the rough patch and then remotivate with a good weekend of healthy eating and exercising, or take a class doing something new.

Good luck!

I know how you feel and I'm in a similar position. I wouldn't increase your deficit but do some extra exercise instead. It will help to elevate your mood as well as getting rid of the sins of the previous weeks!

All the best XX

You can either pull it together or head on the way you were before you started losing. Nothing anyone can say here is going to help you, this comes from inside not other people.

Best of luck to you either way, i hope you manage to decide wether you want to lose the weight or not.

Just get right back into it. Don't keep feeling bad about the days you were off, we all have days like that and worrying about them now won't change what happened. Forget all about them and move on. Today is a new day. Sometimes you have to ignore the voices in your head talking you down and just keep on moving. Maybe look through the forums for the motivational quotes or read some success stories to help you remember why you are here and how much you want to gain by losing weight and being healthy. Always works for me And congrats on the loss! That's amazing!

Quick answer to the deficit idea: No. Don't do that! It might work, but when you resume normal calorie levels it's likely to come back. Plus, you're talking about eating 800 calories a day, and that's not a good idea. You might even get into starvation mode and then you'll be extra frustrated because you'll be ravenous AND you won't lose weight.

As for finding your motivation, one of the mental tricks I've used is to lay it out in very stark terms. Overeating, being overweight/obese, having unhealthy habits, these things will KILL you. If I go back to my original weight and keep eating the way I was, I can most likely expect a heart attack in the next 15 years. And if not, by the time I'm in my 50's my knees will probably be total crap because I've abused them so long making them walk around with ME on top of them. If you carry on you bad habits you will die early, probably much sooner than you think.

Now think; if you choose food over that, you've just said that pizza is more important than your own life. Are you so weak? So addicted to bad food that you would choose a slice of cake today over many good years of life later? NO, you are NOT! And you have to remind yourself of that. I regularly pass by foods I should not eat, and I've taken to staring right at them and telling them they suck and I'm too cool for them. I'm all "what, you think you can make me eat you, cake? Think again, punk!"

And you've done that for a while. You lost 25lbs.! That's no lean feat, my friend. You've proven that you're good enough. Doesn't that feel good? Just remind yourself of that, as often as you can.

Maybe that's a male thing, I don't know. I'm not sure of you gender. But self improvement is a big part of this process. Knowing my will is too strong to give into temptation, knowing that I'm extending my life and improving the quality of my life by exerting that will, THAT has been my biggest motivation.

Plus, chicks dig the leaner me, so ya know...there's that

i hear ya..this has been a horrible month for me..i think its the changing weather..i usually do so well, but the past 3 weeks have been mean to me..i have only lost less than 1/2 a pound this month..it is very frustrating, and i want to give up often, but my motivation is knowing i will be healthy at the end of this journey..get back to it when you can..best of luck

Don't beat yourself up about it, just keep trudging on.

Just a suggestion: A great way to stay on track is to make your food the day before. Plan each meal and snack and make them the evening before. Even if you just put the ingredients for the meal in a baggie and pop it in the cupboard or fridge. This way, when you are planning the meal, you aren't dealing with any cravings or hunger issues. And when you go to the cupboard to grab your meal, you're not really making any choices then.