Came so far but motivation is running out

[derekwhitaker]

I'm not sure what it is but I keep having to reach deeper and deeper inside to get motivation for all of my workouts. I am 9 weeks into my workout and diet and I have lost 43(78 since Oct.1st) pounds in that time. My moods are starting to go from optimistic to down right pissed. I have done cardio for 20 days straight without a rest day as of today and well Im tired as hell. I have sliced my calories down to 1,400 a day for my size just because I love the numbers on the scale. I feel like I've lead my self into a trap. If I increase my calories or let my body rest I know its gonna take advantage of my weakness and pack on pounds like crazy. Ive already transformed from a gentle guy to a guy you dont want to look at wrong and I know if I start adding on pounds Im gonna end up blowing up. My lifts keep going up in pounds also, seems like Im doing too good to take a break now.... What would you guys do if you were in my situation?

[1quick1]

No offense but I wouldn't have enough motiviation to get out of bed if I was 300lbs and eating the same amount of calories as a 12 year old girl. You are doing a good job man. Up the calories and try not losing weight so fast. You didn't gain it all in 6 months so don't try to lose it all in 6 months.

[RobOH]

First of all, take a deep breath and relax! LOL, just kidding but I do think you are getting to emotional! Remember, this is a long process. It sucks to hear that but each day you are making progress. I would REALLY encourage you to add more calories!! No wonder you are so tired and pissed!! Add calories gradually and you should have no problems.

[Lector606]

Pause for a second and give yourself a big ****in pat on the back dude! You've already demonstrated you have the work ethic to make a huge change.

Now that you've got that out of the way, I'd say you need to find some sources of motivation, internally and externally.

Looking inwards, just look at what you've accomplished! Imagine what people you know would think if they saw you 50, 100 pounds lighter! Image how much more attractive you'd be, how much more fit, healthy, etc.

What about role models? The olympics are on right now, maybe it's a good idea to take a look and see what hard work and consistency can accomplish. These people are human beings just like me and you, they just know the value of hard work. There are lessons to be learned from them!

Maybe you need a change too. What do you do for cardio? Switch it up. If you walk, try the bike or elliptical. Give swimming a shot. Whatever it takes to give yourself a mental change.

Don't sweat the rough patches, EVERYONE hits them from time to time, zero exceptions. Some mornings I wake up and I'm supposed to have 4-5 hours of training in a day and I feel like absolute garbage, but I put on some good music, review my goals and get my ass out on the track anyway. Once I'm done I feel fantastic, because I've just reminded myself that I can do the work I need to do to reach my goals.

Just remember, persistency wins every time! If you need a couple of days off, go for it, just remember to get back on the wagon and keep workin' when you've got some rest!

[Mnx4]

Yeah, chill out first. You seem to be doing pretty well so far, but I highly suggest upping your calories. I'm on an 1800 cal diet, and that's pretty damn low for me and I'm only 5'11, 230lbs.

If you've had enough motivation to get this far and stick to a diet, you have enough motivation to keep going. You also have enough willpower within you to up your calories without "fat man" hunger taking over and destroying your diet. You've had a 1400 calorie diet, and that is admirable that you've been able to cut your intake so low and stay that way, especially for a heavy set guy. I sincerely suggest you increase your calories above 2000 to even begin to get into a healthy range.

Take rest days as well. If you've had 20 days of cardio, your body has got to be whipped to ****. At least take a day off. You can't punish your body into submission, but you can get it to work with you with a proper diet and modest amount of exercise. I dunno about other people, but personally, letting yourself go for a day is alright. Take a rest, have a cheat meal for the hell of it. In fact, I've lost weight AFTER a cheat day and rest.

I can't remember who said the quote, but it's quoted often enough here for someone to chime in and give due credit, but for a horrible paraphrase:
You don't pack on muscle when you're in the gym. It's outside the gym where you build muscle.

Consequently, you don't lose fat when you're doing cardio. It's AFTER cardio that you lose the weight. Ridiculously intense cardio routines will get you nowhere if you don't take the proper rest you need for your body to get back to it's optimal.

Keep up the good work, and best of luck.

[scubyfan]

Looks like you're working out too much and not getting enough carbs. The days that I don't get carbs I turn into the ****ing devil.

My advice? Chill for one week. I'm not saying eat like a pig, but eat as you normally do but don't work out or do cardio. Let your body rest a bit.

It took me a bit of a rest to bust my plateau and be motivated again.

Good luck!

Oh, and you've made great progress already. You should be very proud!

[FormulaSP]

Dude, you're doing amazing. Don't quit now.

[amandacole21]

Originally Posted by derekwhitaker

I'm not sure what it is but I keep having to reach deeper and deeper inside to get motivation for all of my workouts. I am 9 weeks into my workout and diet and I have lost 43(78 since Oct.1st) pounds in that time. My moods are starting to go from optimistic to down right pissed. I have done cardio for 20 days straight without a rest day as of today and well Im tired as hell. I have sliced my calories down to 1,400 a day for my size just because I love the numbers on the scale. I feel like I've lead my self into a trap. If I increase my calories or let my body rest I know its gonna take advantage of my weakness and pack on pounds like crazy. Ive already transformed from a gentle guy to a guy you dont want to look at wrong and I know if I start adding on pounds Im gonna end up blowing up. My lifts keep going up in pounds also, seems like Im doing too good to take a break now.... What would you guys do if you were in my situation?

First of all you are 22 pounds away from losing a total of 100 pounds!!! I don't know about you, but that sounds like a huge fing acomplishment to be so so very proud of! You got the motivation to go that far from somewhere....remember and ressurrect it! Plus, most of what I have learned nutrition/working out I have learned from you! You need to live out what you know! What's that saying..."Practice what you preach!" You know that it's not all about the numbers on the scale...you know that for a guy your size you should be eating 2,200 calories at least a day....you know that your body needs rest....you know..you know...you know...but yet you don't use that knowledge. You are so worried about what is on that damn scale! I swear I want to throw it out! lol Remember we are in this together! We got fat together(LOL) and now we are getting healthy and in shape together! Seeing you discouraged brings me down. Likewise I'm sure! Don't do this just for the looks remember health is the primary importance here. 1,400 calories is way, way to low and you know that, however I don't think you should all of the sudden jump to 2,000 calories a day. Only because you have been at 1,400 for so long. I would first start at 1,700 calories for 1 week. Then, next week 2,000 calories. Hey if you only lose 2 pounds (WHO CARES) you lost 2 pounds! That's 2 pounds lighter than you were before. Hell I am happy if I lost 2 pounds in a week!! That's something more to be proud of...Besides you don't want to get anymore loose skin than what you already have.....Think of how happy you will be in less than a year! I am sure of it! You can't give up! You can/we can do this!!!! I love you! ~~~Your wife~~~

[OmegaMale]

1) up the calories to 1800, ull still lose weight at a good pace

2) take a couple days off from the cardio

3) ???

4) PROFIT!

[derekwhitaker]

Wow I did come off a bit emotional in my post. I decided to up the calories to 1,800-2,000 a day, take 1-3 days off from working out( If I can go that long without it). I know I am going to put on some pounds as I get completey rehydrated and my calories fix themselves, but oh well Im done racing with the weight loss Im going to go for more of a steady 2-3 pounds a week. Thank you all for your great advice! REPS for you guys!

[sandy131]

Originally Posted by derekwhitaker

Wow I did come off a bit emotional in my post. I decided to up the calories to 1,800-2,000 a day, take 1-3 days off from working out( If I can go that long without it). I know I am going to put on some pounds as I get completey rehydrated and my calories fix themselves, but oh well Im done racing with the weight loss Im going to go for more of a steady 2-3 pounds a week. Thank you all for your great advice! REPS for you guys!

Good luck all the patiance will pay off!!

[crupiea]

What you need to do is take a look at your situation.

You have done a very good job but you are over doing it a bit. You will benefit from a bit of rest and some more calories.

If you increase your calories you will feel better and if you are still in a defecit, you wont be able to gain any fat becasue you know that your body doesnt work that way.

Take a day or 2 off from working out and let your body recover. I promise that if you eat right with more calories you will feel more energy, you will be less edgy and your motivation will come back.

Eat all the way up to maintenance and you still wont gain.

Great job so far.

[jenl]

Originally Posted by derekwhitaker

Wow I did come off a bit emotional in my post. I decided to up the calories to 1,800-2,000 a day, take 1-3 days off from working out( If I can go that long without it). I know I am going to put on some pounds as I get completey rehydrated and my calories fix themselves, but oh well Im done racing with the weight loss Im going to go for more of a steady 2-3 pounds a week. Thank you all for your great advice! REPS for you guys!

You are not going to put on fat weight if you are in a good workout routine (which includes appropriate R&R) and are watching your diet. Your body just doesn't work like that - you aren't going to gain 14lbs of fat in one day by eating a cheat meal nor will you lose 14lbs of fat weight in one day by doing extra cardio.

Given the tone of your posts I can only assume you've been going hard at the cardio. If that is true then 20 days of heavy cardio with a restricted caloric intake is too much - slow and steady wins the race, no point burning yourself out.

[kgitaitis]

Originally Posted by derekwhitaker

Wow I did come off a bit emotional in my post. I decided to up the calories to 1,800-2,000 a day, take 1-3 days off from working out( If I can go that long without it). I know I am going to put on some pounds as I get completey rehydrated and my calories fix themselves, but oh well Im done racing with the weight loss Im going to go for more of a steady 2-3 pounds a week. Thank you all for your great advice! REPS for you guys!

Actually since you have been hitting it so hard, a rest may do your body some good so you can "re-shock it"...
if your afraid a few days will regain all that weight it wont! Only if you continue to rest and rest and rest and eat and eat and eat... but a few days rest and a few extra (healthy) calories won't hurt you a bit.
congrats on your success and just stay consistent and focused, and of course, patient!

[OniWatanabe]

Originally Posted by amandacole21

First of all you are 22 pounds away from losing a total of 100 pounds!!! I don't know about you, but that sounds like a huge fing acomplishment to be so so very proud of! You got the motivation to go that far from somewhere....remember and ressurrect it! Plus, most of what I have learned nutrition/working out I have learned from you! You need to live out what you know! What's that saying..."Practice what you preach!" You know that it's not all about the numbers on the scale...you know that for a guy your size you should be eating 2,200 calories at least a day....you know that your body needs rest....you know..you know...you know...but yet you don't use that knowledge. You are so worried about what is on that damn scale! I swear I want to throw it out! lol Remember we are in this together! We got fat together(LOL) and now we are getting healthy and in shape together! Seeing you discouraged brings me down. Likewise I'm sure! Don't do this just for the looks remember health is the primary importance here. 1,400 calories is way, way to low and you know that, however I don't think you should all of the sudden jump to 2,000 calories a day. Only because you have been at 1,400 for so long. I would first start at 1,700 calories for 1 week. Then, next week 2,000 calories. Hey if you only lose 2 pounds (WHO CARES) you lost 2 pounds! That's 2 pounds lighter than you were before. Hell I am happy if I lost 2 pounds in a week!! That's something more to be proud of...Besides you don't want to get anymore loose skin than what you already have.....Think of how happy you will be in less than a year! I am sure of it! You can't give up! You can/we can do this!!!! I love you! ~~~Your wife~~~

Sounds like he has some good motivation right here. It's always easier when someone else is in it with you. Keep up the good work you two.

[ski23man]

I agree with the rest above, I would take some time off, it's way over due! You need that time to take a breath and regain focus and determination! You'll miss the gym and the feeling of bettering yourself, you can only come back stronger and more determined to finish what u've started!

There's been many of times I've taken a break either because my body cannot handle the abuse or I'm just mentally tired and thats even worse because the body cannot continue without a strong mental state! Find things to read or watch that motivate you, use them as goals and think about how you wanna feel/look and you will eventually suceed and accomplish those goals.

Definitely under eating (no wonder ur tired and feel draggy) and you gotta watch that because the answer is not going lower with the calories and way beyond deficit, I agree with your wife I would gradually bring it up because goin up too fast will increase chances of weight gain since you were all ready so low for ur weight!

Congrats on the weight loss and keep it up bro, nice bicep, looks huge son!

[rpaul11]

I really don't know what to say man.

I'm suffering from a severe lack of motivation the last two days. I've been nursing an arm injusry and it's getting the best of me. I basicaly can't do any upper body work and the length of healing is getting to me bad. I actually walked out of the gym mid workout last night.

Good luck with sticking it out man. It's hard sometimes for sure.

[jascott20006]

YOu are doing a great job like everyone else said! It took me 8 months to loose 30 lbs and 10% BF. They are right when they say you didnt gain it in 6 months, so dont try to lose it in 6 months! YOu def need to rethink your meal plan if that is all you are eating! I weigh 172 w/ 17% BF and I eat over 2000 calories a day and my goal is fat loss still.

I would suggest seeing a trainer or nutritionist to restrategize on your meal plan and emember to take a break every now and then! Dont over train your body or it will stop responding!

Keep the faith and TRUST THE PLAN!! YOu can do it!

[jimmyhoffa59]

Originally Posted by derekwhitaker

I'm not sure what it is but I keep having to reach deeper and deeper inside to get motivation for all of my workouts. I am 9 weeks into my workout and diet and I have lost 43(78 since Oct.1st) pounds in that time. My moods are starting to go from optimistic to down right pissed. I have done cardio for 20 days straight without a rest day as of today and well Im tired as hell. I have sliced my calories down to 1,400 a day for my size just because I love the numbers on the scale. I feel like I've lead my self into a trap. If I increase my calories or let my body rest I know its gonna take advantage of my weakness and pack on pounds like crazy. Ive already transformed from a gentle guy to a guy you dont want to look at wrong and I know if I start adding on pounds Im gonna end up blowing up. My lifts keep going up in pounds also, seems like Im doing too good to take a break now.... What would you guys do if you were in my situation?

Man I know exactly what you are going through, I did not start at as high a weight as you did but I did start at 330, I am down to around 295 now but I been sitting at this point for almost a month, it SUCKS I know! But I take a day off every once in a while, most top pros even do a training split and do like 2 or 3 on then one off.. thats still two days a week resting.. they are trying to gain muscle but also recover and let their bodies readjust. My point being that I just quit looking at the ****ing scale.. look at it ONCE a month.. if you lose a few lbs then call it an accomplishment, like others were saying, you did not gain it all right away, **** I gained almost a 100lbs in 6 months after getting out of the Marine Corps, THAT was an emotional and direct nail into my livelyhood BELIEVE ME!. I am just working at it, keep on your diet, eat a tad more but when people tell you to add more cals, do it WISELY, add a half a sweet potato, add a slice of whole grain flax bread, add dark green veggies or even just another chicken breast or two. There are people on here who lost so much weight in such a short time, EVERY ONE OF THEM says they wish they could go back and slow it down to retain more muscle. Its half impossible for me to stay motivated myself, have a cheat meal ONCE a week at least, to reset your metabolism. Everything works different for every persons body, so dont guage your change by what everyone else is doing, I was on here ranting about losing only 10 lbs in last month and a half.. well at least im losing, when you are working out and dieting clean and lose even a consistent 2-5 lbs a month... YOUR STILL NOT GAINING so relax, It sucks but well is not too much you can do, just work at it and peck it down till your set, it will pick up fast some months and youll drop alot, and some will be slow, your nearing over 100lbs lost, your bound to plateau, start looking into HIIT cardio, and completely restructuring your workouts to accomodate shocking your body. You WILL see change.

[Il_Dago]

Originally Posted by derekwhitaker

take 1-3 days off from working out( If I can go that long without it).

Make it a week. You will be so fired up and want to get to the gym so badly that when you finally do, gravity will be fighting YOU to keep the weight on the ground instead of you fighting to push the weight up.

[Finnnnnngers]

i would get a large pizza w/ 3 toppings on it tomororw night, eat the whole thing, sleep till sunday, and start working out and dieting again monday ... but thats just me

[scrummie2]

You've come too far to quit...don't even think about it. but it sounds like you are burnt out a bit. 20 straight days of cardio will do that, with workouts and an extreme calorie deficit thrown in. You don't have to be so aggressive -- eat a bit more (your body needs fuel!), take a few nights off from the cardio, and re-energize...just remember that it's a rest you've EARNED, not an excuse to binge/quit.

[Braindrop]

Take a week off, and eat 2500 kcals/day that week. Sleep a bunch. Get a massage. Chill.

Then hit it again.

[v1l2u5]

Dude, I was thinking about your post and was browsing around here..

Go here.. this should pump you up!

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=108359701

If they can do, you (and i) can too.

[Hishiad]

Wow!!!!


9 Weeks and you've lost over 70 pounds?!?!


I'm not going to whine/cry about working out anymore! My goals are modest in comparison...I'm wanting to drop just -half- of what you've already lost...wow. And I'd settle for dropping my 35 pounds over 12 weeks lol!


You're pretty inspiring man lack of calories = mood swings, might also want to check your vitamin B intake as that is the vitamin that is most closely related to being moody. It's also an energy source Keep up the good work! You're doing awesome bro just stay with it focus and remember weight loss is a marathon not a sprint. You want to drop weight, but do it healthy and slow and steady otherwise the first slip up means you pack it on faster and heavier than you were before you started!

[Nara62629]

derek, hey bro, we all get here sometimes...for me it was last week and i've only been trying for 4 weeks...haha... anyways you've been doing awesome and like scrummie mentioned, you might just be burnt out. Take a few rest days man. and eat like 1700 cal on those rest days...i say atleast 3. and just relax, recharge, refocus.
Personally, every 2-3 weeks i need to refocus myself and remind myself what my goals are.
Anyhow, u already know that u have to put the work in to get results, thats not your problem...i think u need to realize the importance of rest too. throw some rest days into your routine. keep your head up man!

[911medic]

Originally Posted by OmegaMale

1) up the calories to 1800, ull still lose weight at a good pace

2) take a couple days off from the cardio

3) ???

4) PROFIT!

Exactly. Congrats on your progress, you're doing great! I lost 110 lbs (308 to 198, and BF% from 41 to 11) and I'd also advise a couple of things...

up the calories (make smart nutritional choices) and slow down your weight loss. You'll lose muscle at too low of a calorie intake. Not good.

If you lose the weight too fast you'll have loose skin issues to deal with later. You can avoid that problem now by keeping your weight loss in the 2 to 2-1/2 lbs per week range.

Got to rest sometimes, man. Muscle is grown when resting, not while working out. Part of your lack of motivation may be fatigue (both muscular and nervous system). Take a day or two off, rest and recoup. You'll be amazed that when start back you'll be stronger than you were.

Again, keep up the good work. Always room for another member in the Century Club.

[blurped]

You've been doing great man! I've been watching your progress since I joined these boards and I'd like to continue watching you succeed. Take 2-3 days off, eat more but not poorly, and get some rest. Your body will spend that time in recovery and then three days later--go back to your workout. You'll probably end up having a harder workout anyway with the break.

[MattT84]

Dont give up bro, what I do is take pictures of my old self and put them around my computer, infront of the fridge and on the bedroom mirror. It motivates me so much to be the opposite of what I used to be, I was so unhappy and passive about life, now the more I lose weight the more the world seems like a more different and better place.

[MR.COOPER]

PMA keep your self positive, try to remember the alternative or the times when you were at your lowest.. i have found for me if i can remember the alternative i can motivate myself immensely...