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I'm really overweight right now and have somewhere between 50 and 100 pounds lose. So far I lost 10 pounds and that took about 3 months to do so. How can I stay motivated and continue working out when my weight loss goal will take so long? Right now, my job search is getting in the way of my weight loss but I still manage to find time to put in a 30-60 minute workout at least everyday. Sometimes I replace my workout with all the walking around I do during my job-hunt. The weight loss is happening really slowly and I really want things to speed up and stay motivated for such a large amount of fat loss. Can a daily multivitamin speed things up? What do you guys think?
That being said, try to think of it in terms of small goals. I too had 100 lbs to lose. I've lost 30 so far with south beach diet, but one thing I can say is thinking of it in terms of only 5 lbs at a time really helps.
So instead of thinking "OMG I have 70 more lbs to lose" I just need to lose 5 lbs 14 more times
A multi-vitamin isn't going to do much for weight loss.
I'm losing weight and the only way that ever works for me is to count my calories. I'm setting small goals for myself and trying to look at it as a lifestyle change rather than a diet, because a diet is temporary and I'm going to need to eat right for the rest of my life to maintain it, once I reach my final goal.
I agree with beera, that you need to break it down into 5 lb increments. Anyone can lose five lbs, right? If you need inspiration, just search for "weight loss success stories". That's what I did when I felt my motivation lag, and it really helped.
How can I stay motivated
my job search is getting in the way of my weight loss
If you aren't losing weight at your goal rate (say, one or two pounds a week), for the most part it isn't because you aren't exercising enough. Exercise is important for good health but it is somewhat overrated for weight loss.
And, lack of motivation is under your control; nothing we can do about that.
How is your job search getting in the way of weight loss?
How long have you been 100 pounds overweight?
Have you ever lost a lot of weight before? How long did it take to lose how much? If so, why did you put it back on?
If you lose the weight, how confident are you that you will keep it off?
One pound at a time. It is like building a house or restoring a car. You don't look at as building a house, rather one piece at a time. Or one system at a time. In a house you decide on plans, then dig a basement, pour footings, pour walls, build exterior walls... Eventually you have a house. Your goal is in mind but you also focus on the next smaller project to reach the big goal.
Don't starve yourself, rather look at what you're eating and pay attention to the nutritional information, carbs, fats, etc.
You need to stop trying to lose weight and start developing a more healthy lifestyle. Diets do not work. Eating right does. Diets make you weak and sick and you will end up gaining in the end.
Determine what amount of calories you need to eat to be the weight you desire and start doing that. It will come off slowly, but it will come off. And when it gets off it will stay off.
There is much information about this on the Mayo Clinic website. Go there and find out how much you should be eating and divide a certain amount of calories for three meals or several meals a day to equal the whole. Take it one meal at a time. Rome was not built in a day.
If you concentrate on the amount you lose, you will end up playing games. Commit to a style of eating and stick to it without being concerned about weight unless it causes you to gain weight. If that happens it is time to refigure.
This website has a diet calculator that gives a choice of losing weight or maintaining your present weight. I suggest putting in the weight you want to be and getting the calorie range for maintaining that. I think most diets suggest that you eat too little. Always use the no activity choice when calculating. That way any activity you have will be taking off extra pounds.
We are all a combination of all the food and all the activity we have done our entire lives. If you start now eating the amount you should for a particular weight, you will eventually get there and will already be trained to stay at that weight. So make it a lifestyle change and not a weight loss diet. You might want to see how much the calculator will allow you to eat on a weight-loss diet and then see how much it allows you to eat to maintain your ideal weight and allow yourself the calorie difference every day to reward yourself for the work you are doing.
If your diet is good it will make you feel better and have more energy so you will move more.
No guilt is the rule of the day. If you go off the diet, start again tomorrow morning or at the next meal. Forgive yourself and move forward. It is O. K. to start again. We all get to start new every 24 hours. But concentrate on staying on the diet and let the weight take care of itself. If the diet is good the weight will come off. I once went twenty days without losing an ounce and if I had been trying to lose weight, I would have quit; but I was keeping an agreement to myself to try the WW points for one year.
First off stop thinking about losing weight in time increments. Its a journey and it can be a long one, but you are on the right road and you will eventually make your destination. There is nothing you can take to speed things up and if you try what will happen is you will gain all the weight back and then some.
You are 10 pounds lighter than you started! Thats awesome! Just keep plugging along. Exercise a lot. In fact you can sign up for a 5k or some other contest and work towards that. Its a great motivator. Lift weights or do resistance training. This will help you a lot. Get your heart rate up and keep it up. This will enable you to continue to burn calories after your workout is over. Push yourself.
And look at it this way, time is going to go by no matter what. Six months will fly by and you will either be looking and feeling great, or you will be berating yourself because you did not stick with it.
I agree do NOT starve yourself, it doesn't work, if you are hungry you aren't eating enough, or not enough protein, or something that needs to be tweaked.
I found I was not eating enough during the day, and so I'd pig out at night.
Here's what i had today:
Breakfast:
1 la tortilla low carb tortilla with 2 poached eggs, fresh spinach, and a smear of goat cheese
Lunch:
some leftover steak with provologne and spinach (from last night's dinner)
Snack:
Spicy Hummus and sweet potato tortilla chips (I didn't realize they were tortilla chips oh well)
Dinner:
It's my anniversary so I had a starter (ahi poke tuna), a green salad with ranch, and cioppino (a tomato based seafood soup), and two slices of garlic toast (white).
I don't count calories cuz I'm on south beach- but I'd say on average I get anywhere from 1200-1700 calories a day.
Today was probably a bit more since I ate out, but it was a special occasion.
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