How to stay motivated, when the scale ain't budging?

Wish I could figure out the answer to that question. To say I'm struggling with this right now is an understatement. After having lost a nice amount last week, the scale has not moved in the right direction for me this week. In fact ---- I GAINED a half pound!!!

I went to the gym today, but between soreness and lack of motivation -- I can NOT even come close to saying I got in a good workout. I've walked a little over 9300 steps today -- but I don't' think I really broke a sweat doing any of that. In fact, my Fitbit would tell you that I only had about sixteen active minutes today.

It's really depressing because I've been so motivated lately. I went to the gym 5 out of the last 7 days, made my step goal every day -- in fact I EXCEEDED my step goal every day. Watched my calorie in versus calorie out and had anywhere between a 600 and 1000 calorie deficit each and every day! I should have seen a loss on the scale - but NO. NOT. NOTHING.

So, how can I stay motivated through this plateau? Through this rough spot? Dory (Finding Nemo) would say "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." And, I'm trying to keep that mantra in my head and in my heart, but it's not easy. I have to stay the course because I know to give up now is not an option. I can't stop measuring, counting, exercising. If I do -- then I lose -- or, actually, I gain. And I don't want to gain. I don't want to go back down that road where none of my current clothes fit. I put on a pair of pants the other day and while I would never wear them out in public (yet) -- I was excited that I could actually zip them up again -- couldn't do that a month ago.

I guess I have to celebrate the small NSVs (Non-scale Victories) that are occurring along the way. Like being able to zip up a pair of pants I could barely get pass my very large derriere a few weeks ago. But, it's tough not to see the results on the scale -- those are the results that really scream to me!! When that number goes down, I think "wow, you did great! You really worked hard this week and it shows" The NSVs are much harder to 'see' at least for now because they're not significant. It's not like I've lost enough weight to go down a dress size. It's not like I've slimmed down enough to finally fit all those clothes that are sitting in my closet waiting for me to be able to wear them again. Like I said, a couple of things fit a little better.

Ah well, guess I'm off to walk my dogs, get my ten thousand steps and figure out how to get past this hurdle and not get discouraged. Just keep swimming .... just keep walking....

Just keep walking...

As promised, first a review of my Fitbit...

I've had my Fitbit for about four weeks and so far so good! It's not a magic bullet and I haven't lost 30 lbs. in the last three weeks, but I really think it's helping to motivate me to move more. I find myself checking my status -- how many steps have I taken? How many stairs have I climbed? Have I been active for at least 30 minutes today? And, those are good things.  I wish it was a miracle gadget that once in use the weight was just shedding itself in a pool around my feet. It's not. But, what it is, I think, is a wonderful tool to help me shed those pounds over time.

Here's my attempt at "screen capturing" what my dashboard looks like (almost):

As you can see, it keeps track of so much!  The screens are fairly self-explanatory - but I love that it keeps track of my active minutes, steps, calories burned v. calories eaten -- so many good things about this tracker. Oh, and then there's the "gamification" - my husband is my Fitbit "friend." On this screen I can see what his total steps for the week are and where I am in comparison. Well, he always beats me -- I swear it's because he's taller than me and it counts his steps double :) At least that's what I tell myself :)

I lost 2.5 lbs. in the first week -- AMAZING!! I was so excited to see those lower numbers on the scale! But, alas, the 2nd week wasn't as amazing. In fact, according to the scale, I didn't lose an ounce that week. But, I was hoping that that meant other things were going on. My mother saw me, on Mother's Day, after not having seen me since Easter and she said I looked like I'd lost a few pounds. And, she wasn't aware that I was back on my weight loss agenda -- so that was nice. She noticed that I looked "healthier."

Then, Mother's Day weekend repercussions hit and all I can say is "ugh." Even though my family and I went on a very lengthy hike in one of our beautiful state parks - almost 8 miles - I still managed to gain back 2 of the 2.5 lbs. lost. Talk about depressing! But, that's what happens when you eat sushi rolls and Chinese food one night and follow it up with a very wonderful Italian restaurant the next. So much for the thought that I earned my indulgences. But, the only thing I could do was move on.

And, move on I did. Back to the gym, back to walking daily, back to making 10,000 steps per day and back to logging all of my food. And, now I am happy to say that those 2lbs. gained are gone and another pound to boot. I'm now down 3.5 lbs since starting this journey. Like I said, the pounds are not melting off, but I'm happy they're at least steaming away slowly :)

So, all in all, I have found that the Fitbit is definitely the motivator I need to get me moving, to get me watching what I eat, to really think about what I'm doing to make myself healthy. And, ultimately, it isn't about being skinny - oh, who am I kidding--yes, it is - but it's also about being healthy. I have two teenage sons who I want to see grow up. I want to be around when they go to college, I want to be around when they graduate, when they get married, start their own families, have children of their own. I want to do everything in my power to stay healthy. Oh, and being skinny won't be so bad either :)

Motivation

Motivation, there's that word again. Merriam-Webster defines motivation as:

•  the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something;

•  the condition of being eager to act or work;

•  a force or influence that causes someone to do something

We all have motivators. Whether our motivators are internal, just that drive to get things done, or external. External motivators can come from several different places. In fact, there are external motivators all around us - that snicker from the stupid individual who moos as he walks by you, that glance in the mirror that isn't very satisfying, putting on a piece of clothing and finding that it doesn't quite fit the way it used to. These can all be motivators. Another type of motivator is electronic. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So, I wasn't feeling all that great this week. Battling some kind of virus (self-diagnosed ) But, basically I've been feeling a little run-down, slight temp, one-sided sore throat and ear pain on the same side. Well, you can imagine where this is going -- no fitness minutes. Oh, I walked a little, just so I could say I got up out of my favorite chair, but it wasn't heart pumping, sweat inducing, muscle straining exercise. Unless you call the finger cramps I got from being on my laptop muscle straining exercise? I mean, my hands did hurt a little yesterday

I spent the last few days researching. The last time I went down this weight-loss road, I used Sparkpeople and a community chat board on another website to motivate myself to get up and move. Both of these "tools" helped me to get out, exercise, eat right and lose weight. Tracking my food intake, my activity levels and chatting with others about their successes and failures was the incentive I needed to achieve my goals. As I discussed before, I didn't maintain all of my weight-loss. I came back from vacation 3 years ago and lost my motivation and couldn't find it again.

Research - I research things to death. I mean, I will search and search and search a subject, product, location, service, well - you get my drift - until, I think, I know more about the stuff than the company or person who created whatever the dang thing is. I have a disorder (similar to the aforementioned cheese). What was I researching, you might ask? And what does this have to do with motivation? Well, I was researching activity trackers.

I need external motivation. I don't have a loud enough voice inside my head to scream "Get off your fat a## and go to the gym!!" or "Don't eat that bowl of ice cream -- you already had too many calories today!!" I need something to tell me that I need to get off my over-sized patootie and get moving.

I just got a new smart phone. I had a Samsung Galaxy Note (version 1) prior to my new phone and I loved -- LOVED - my phablet. I loved how big it was - loved the ability to use a stylus to write on the screen. It was fun! But, alas, my battery was failing and to be honest -- it was several years old and I'm all about gadgets. I wanted something new and flashy.

I picked up the Samsung S5. Mainly because it's got some nice camera features and it's a bit smaller (don't need to haul a rolling duffel to carry my phone anymore) than the newest Galaxy Note. I mean, let's face it, the size of the Galaxy Note harkens back to days of early cell phones. Yes, I was around during the time of the dinosaurs and huge cell phones. While the ability to have a cell phone back in the early 90s was cool  -- it wasn't Maxwell Smart Shoe Phone cool. Those cell phones were huge! (Okay young ones -- "Get Smart".) Anyway, the S5 has a fitness tracker built in. It's fairly basic - you can only really monitor running, walking and hiking. But, it has a pedometer and I tried it. While I haven't walked a full ten thousand steps yet (did I mention I've been sick?) it is inspiring me to get up and move a little more. It actually converts my steps into calories burned and that's where I start to see my motivator . I like knowing that those steps are having a positive effect (or negative calorie count) on my weight-loss journey.

Well, if a simple app on my smart phone can spark some motivation, how about a REAL activity tracker? This business is really starting to boom and there is no shortage of choices out there, with many more in the pipeline. I could have purchased a Samsung Gear Fit when I got my phone - in fact, I was offered a $50 discount when I purchased the S5. But, I don't think I need all of the "features" that come with the Gear Fit. I just want an activity tracker, not another "smart phone" on my wrist. I don't need to take calls or be able to text from my wrist - although that is Maxwell Smart cool! So, that left me with only 100 choices instead of 101. Okay - maybe not quite that many - didn't really count - but there are a lot of choices available!

I won't go into all of the different options out there -- you just have to Google the terms "activity" or "fitness tracker" and you'll get pages and pages of search results along with a plethora of reviews, comparison charts, etc. I chose the Fitbit One. While I would love to have something with a heart rate monitor, I'm not sure about "strapping one on" before I exercise. The Fitbit One seems to fulfill what I'm currently looking for: it counts my steps, my calories burned, my distance traveled, and a few other things. I like that it syncs with my S5, my laptop, and with several of the apps (or websites) that I already use such as Sparkpeople, Loseit, Myfitnesspal, and many, many others. I also am very pleased that it costs less than $100 on Amazon.

So, my external motivator will arrive sometime Monday. I'm looking forward to working with my new electronic gadget. I love gadgets, by the way, but that's another blog topic! I know that it won't necessarily tell me to get up and move. But I feel the visual stimulus of instantly seeing where I am, at any given point of the day, (via wireless sync with my S5) will really give me the motivation to get where I want to be. Which will be off this chair!

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Everyday we tell ourselves little white lies. Well, I do anyway. Tomorrow, I'll spend more time at the gym; tomorrow, I'll clean up the office/craft room/school room; tomorrow I won't eat any candy ... and on and on. I guess this falls under the term procrastination, but let's face it -- I'm lying to myself. I tell myself I'm going to do something but, let's be honest, I probably have no intention of getting it done. Maybe some of you can relate?  We may think we'll do it (whatever it is -- and we all have an "it") and maybe some of us will eventually get to it, but if you're like me, it stays on the back burner, especially cleaning that office :)

So, how do we motivate ourselves to change? I'm not sure. I struggle with this on a daily basis. I am the queen of procrastination. It constantly irks me when my high schooler doesn't plan out his homework assignments and leaves tons of work to get done right before their due date. But, I know exactly where he's gotten this habit from -- me! My husband isn't like this. He's the type of person who sets out to do something and nine times out of ten, he will go ahead and get it done because he just wants to get "it" out of the way. Not me, I'm always thinking maybe I'll have more energy to get it done tomorrow. I don't really have to do that right now. Maybe magical faeries will descend upon my home and do "it" for me :) Why do I do this? Is it something inherent in my DNA? Is it just part of my personality? Is it something I can change about myself?

I started thinking about this today because I'm once again struggling with my weight. Back in 2008 - 2010 I lost about 40 pounds. My father, who was not overweight, had a stroke and this scared me. I always thought he was healthy. Well, healthy for someone who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes per day and was a strictly meat and potatoes, with high fat desserts on the side, kind of guy. On top of my Dad's health scare, my husband and I were in the process of planning a family trip to Europe to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. So, I was completely motivated. I went to the gym. Many days I worked out for two hours at a time. I ate right, I counted calories, I reduced my wine intake to only a couple of glasses per week, etc, etc. I was fairly religious in my diligence.The weight came off, slowly, and it was hard work, but it did come off.

When we returned from our trip, I still went to the gym, but not as religiously. I thought "if I just get there a few times per week," the weight would, at least, stay off. And, for a while it did. But then I got lazy and I went to the gym less often. I stopped counting calories. I stopped eating well. I like food. I like wine. I like hanging with friends and family on the weekends and eating pizza and drinking wine. I have a complete weakness for cheese. So, you can see where this is going. I gained weight. Not all at once, it's crept on slowly. But here I am, four years later, I've gained back 20 pounds. Ugh.

We recently went to Myrtle Beach for a long weekend and I felt disgusting. But, has this been the motivation I need to get back to the gym? Maybe, maybe not. I went several times in the week that followed. I started watching what I eat, logging my exercise and food intake. But, at the end of one week -- I had not lost one ounce!! It's frustrating to feel like you've worked hard, or harder than you have in a long time, and not see any results. I know the weight is not miraculously going to disappear overnight. I know I didn't gain it overnight, so I don't expect to lose it that quickly either. But, I was hoping for, at the very least, a half pound loss. But, nothing. The scale did not move. I realize that there are probably things going on internally that aren't visible on the scale -- but I want to see pounds shedding!

So, how do I stay motivated to stay on program? To be honest, I'm struggling with this right now. I find myself feeling disgusted and the more I get disgusted, the more upset I am, the more upset I am, the less motivated I feel, the less motivated I feel, the less I feel like going to the gym which then leads to feeling more and more disgusted. You see the never-ending cycle?

Motivation, where do you get it from? We all have motivators whether they be external - that trip you've been planning, an upcoming wedding, high school or college reunion, etc. External motivators can be a huge kick in the butt. But, I think, in order to make the type of changes in lifestyle, that promote long-term weight loss goals or long term health changes (or whatever you're trying to change), these motivators come from inside. They are small (or big) mental changes that need to be made, over time, to be successful and long lasting.

Okay, so the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I need help! There, I said it. I'm not typically one who asks for or seeks out help. I'm more of a do-it-yourself kinda gal. But, this time I need help. I need inspiration. I need motivation. I have two big trips coming up next year (external motivators). One is to Europe with my oldest son's high school class. The other is to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary -- we'll be cruising DCL in June.  Now, the internal motivators need to fall into place. Another truth -- I'm really hoping blogging about my struggles will help motivate me to change. So, there's my truth -- I'm overweight and unhappy. Now, I'm off to make a healthy choice for dinner.