How do you keep going?

You're not alone!

Try putting the scale away for a month or so. Sometimes when you don't think about it as much the weight comes off easier as long as you continue to exercise and eat right. Once I hit a plateau of 3 months I decided to only weigh in on the 1st of each month. It's not weight loss that motivates me, I consider that the bonus. My kids and husband are my motivation to be healthy, fit and active. .

I am NOT a doctor, but have you been checked by an endocrinologist? You sound so much like my best friend that I double checked the picture. All her tests came back a-ok for thyroid but she found an endocrinologist that really understood what she has been going through. She watches every bite of food that goes in her mouth - faithfully keeps the diary. She does kick boxing, zumba and walks 3 miles + a day on top of the gym classes and workouts. She is still close to 300 lbs. Can't lose weight. The doctor said that years of yo-yo dieting had basically wiped out her metabolism and he put her on a drug that it used for people with diabetes. She immediately started losing the weight. It was truly amazing and wonderful to see after watching her struggle for so long. May not apply to you, but your story was just so similar I thought I would throw it out there.

Yes, yes, yes! I was going to post the exact same thing you did, lawtechie. A big part of weight loss is the food that you fuel your body with.

About a month ago, I made a promise to myself that I would cut out all fast food and soda for 4 weeks. It was SO HARD, because I ate that stuff three times a day, every day. As soon as I cleaned up my diet and watched my portion sizes, I notised little changes throughout my body - positive changes that would happen to anyone!

It really is a lifestyle change. And I can imagine how hard it is to eat right when you have kiddos, but exercise your willpower! Keep working out!
Keep Zumba-ing!
Talk to your personal trainer; he/she may be able to switch up your workouts so your muscles don't fall into a rut.

Also, don't rely on the scale....muscle weighs more than fat, but it burns lots more calories! I'm focusing on the fit of my hated corduroy trousers. The looser they get, the sooner I am to joyously throwing them out (they are my "fat-pants"!).

Another tip...when I'm craving a big fat brownie or something equally as caloric, I drink a glass of water. Then I wait 15 minutes. If the craving isn't gone by then, I cram three Altoids into my mouth. It really works!

You can do it!

Seeing results motivates me. Seriously before January of this year I had NO will power when it came to food. If it looked good, I ate it. I loved baked good and candy and don't even get me started on Starbucks. But when I decided to make changes I decided that I had to be willing to pass on things I "loved". In the beginning I was strict with it. Now I can go to parties and skip the cake, in fact on Sunday I got a bunch of candy for my Halloween candy dish and have not touched a piece. People say you have to "want" it. I hate that because I wanted it many times before and failed within a month. I really believe it's a mind set and a willingness to make the changes.

it's called self sabotage....

i don't know why we do it, but many of us do. i work my butt off at the gym, but can't get motivated to just cut down 100-200 calories a day to lose weight. i sit on the tip of the iceberg so that i don't gain but i don't lose. i have it down to a fine art. i can gain a half kg, lose a half kg, up and down up and down consistently. clearly i have it mastered exactly how much i can eat to stay where i am, but i can't bring myself to just cut a couple of snacks out to be successful.

it's dumb, it's stupid, it's crazy! it makes no sense.

i lost 17kg (38 pounds) and now that i'm at a point where i'm not absolutely hating everything about my physical self, i've stopped and can't get going again... man, the mind is a crazy thing!