Need motivation after running out of steam

[Anonymous]

I’ve been trying to lose 8 pounds for pretty much the past 8 years, unsuccessfully. This Fall, I became much more disciplined with my diet and started exercising very regularly. I severely cut down on added sugar and gave up white flour/bread— changes I’d been wanting to make for years! I lost 5 pounds in about 8 weeks, which felt amazing (it was humbling to see how slow weight loss is for me now compared with 10 years ago) and I was so proud of myself. But all of a sudden I hit a wall and feel very… blah! I can’t bring myself to feel excited anymore and I feel ashamed about that. I’ve even begun to sneak in a little soda and my calorie intake is rising I see the scale creeping up. How can I get my groove back? What is causing this? I love hearing about others successes too so please chime in on that front too.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to my world! Except I’ve been trying to lose 20 pounds. Sigh.