losing motivation

[Sateri]

I feel so lame for even posting this. I feel like I should be able to reach my goals, or to at least have the decency not to whine. But I've lost 12 pounds and I'm feeling dispirited, for a couple of reasons.

- I seem to have hit a plateau. I've been playing DDR for longer times and cut back on food a little, but I still don't seem to be losing any weight.
- Nobody has noticed I've lost 12 pounds. Okay, so I don't expect everybody to oooh and ahhh and applaud me for every pound I lose. But 12 pounds? I mean, I can tell I look different. And I'm proud for doing it. But if I mention I've lost weight, people frown and ask, "Really? You look the same to me." Thanks a lot. Even my parents and boyfriend don't think I look any different, and you would think they of all people would notice.
- It seems after I play DDR I'm a lot more tired than I used to be. I was conditioned to play 20 or 30 songs, some standard, some heavy (mostly heavy). But now after 4 or 5 my feet begin to hurt, calves too. I've been stretching and everything, so I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I gave myself a few days off, then tried again. Same problem.
- So basically, since I'm trying so hard to lose weight and there don't seem to be any results showing, I'm really losing my motivation to keep doing it. A voice in the back of my head is whispering, "What's the point?" I guess in posting this I'm hoping somebody will help me squash that voice.

Sorry to be a downer. Thanks in advance for any help and good luck on your own goals.

[UpsideDown]

I am actually in a current situation with the plateau. Every one on a diet will have one, some earlier then others. The important thing is to stick with it, and it should only last for a couple of weeks. I have heard shaking up your exercise routine will help. In addition to DDR, you may need to start weight training, do some running, or swimming. Mixing up your exercises could trick your body back into to loosing weight. Even little things, like upping the incline on your treadmill has been shown to work.

It also sounds like your legs can use a break. Take a few days off of DDR to do some swimming or hiking, and if your still having problems, try playing more on the balls of your feet. It will take the shock off your ankles.

It sucks about no one noticing your weight but the scale. However, if you are still wearing the same clothes, and they were baggy to begin with, it is easy to see how it can be missed. Especially if you always had a lean face. Try going clothes shopping. I think twelve pounds should put you down a clothes size. It can also be a sort of reward you give yourself. I’m not saying go buy a new wardrobe, but a new tee-shirt and maybe some pants can work wonders on one’s self esteem, especially seeing a smaller size on the label. In addition, if you see your mother and boyfriend every day, they may not notice. Kind of like how you don’t notice that you’re getting taller as a kid.

Acording to your ticker factory signature, you’re more then halfway to your goal. Keep up the good work, and remember you’re doing this for yourself, not for any praise from parents or friends (no matter how nice it would be, the praise you give yourself when you hit your goal will be better) ;D You've made it this far, you can make it the rest.

[ravevampyre]

Hey! I'm sorry your boyfriend and family don't notice, but its probably just because they see you so often, and since weight loss is usually gradual, well, you get the picture. Twelve pounds though? Great job! I have been on a struggle to lose weight for a little over a year and I think DDR is the thing thats gonna help me. I also have a motivation problem too, well, really, look down at the tracker, I've only lost three pounds so far on my DDR and eating better diet. Any time you need motivation, just try to think about all of the people here who are having success, and how great you will feel once you've reached your goal, and all the new clothes you can buy. I'm sure that by the time you've reached your goal, your boyfriend and family will notice! Good Luck!!

[Laura Moncur]

Everything that you've mentioned can be attributed to your mindset. I find that when I'm feeling inspired, exercise is easy, eating healthy is easy, resisting family sabotoging is easy. It all falls into place when I have my head on straight.

The best thing to do right now is open up MS Word or take out your journal and just start writing. Keep writing until you come to the true root of your problem. You wrote a lot here that might help you get started.

Some of the questions you should ask yourself:
Is it worth it?
Why did I start this program?
Why do I feel like quitting?
What has brought me to this point?
Why does it bother me that other people haven't noticed?
What can I do to boost my motivation?

Keep writing until you feel better. It usually takes me a few pages of text to get my head back in the right place.

Good Luck!

[Jsn]

As far as people not noticing, while twelve pounds is a lot of fat, it's really a thin amount when distributed throughout your body... Since no one else is quite as familiar with your face and body as you, they may not notice a minute difference as readily as you will. When I first started losing weight, *I* could see the difference after 10 pounds, but it wasn't until I had lost about 25 that someone else actually noticed it, and she is a friend I hang out with almost every day!

Now then, as to you not losing weight, playing MORE and eating LESS could be the problem. The body does have some trouble adjusting to a dramatic change in calories, and if you suddenly switched to 500 or some such less a day and started losing more, it would take some time to react. If it hasn't coped yet and you change AGAIN, well, welcome to starvation mode!

Make sure you're getting enough calories to function well! This may very well be why you've suddenly become so tired when before you were doing so well.

You may want to give your legs a rest (but don't just "rest" completely!) and perhaps try to add some weights into your routine or something... Adding muscle is just good in general, and is nice since it allows you to have a higher calorie intake without gaining fat.

As far as being discouraged goes, don't do it! You've just started your trek, and it should be one that lasts your life. It's not gonna be easy, and it will take time... But you've already decided to start your self along, and you've accomplished something that many who start haven't. You HAVE lost 12 pounds, after all! Don't just flake out and let them come back, that doesn't help you or anyone.

If you really want recognition for your weight loss, then lose more! And really, does it matter if others notice so much as that you'll feel better, you'll be healthier, you'll look better to yourself (subjective, I know, but true for many) and then if you're happier with yourself, that'll increase your confidence, which'll be noticable, and you'll be more motivated, and lose more, and then everyone will notice! Don't let yourself stop when you've already managed a good start!

Quitting now just means you'll have to go through it all over again, and having that cloud of "failing" once before hanging over you will just make it even harder. You may have come to a difficult spot, but you WILL make it through, if you're willing to work through it! Good luck!

[Pyrochaos]

Every time I lose motivation I think of Hanz and Franz wanting to "Pump me up" and calling me a girlie man. That usually does it for me.

[Paintballer01]

I to have gotten bittin by the motivation bug.
But after reading this it encouraged me not to give up.
I wieghed 285 and got down to about 270 but i cant get under 270 for nothing? but oh well im not really doing all that much exercise mostly just eating right and i ocasionly cheat a little guess i need to exercise more