Email [email protected], find her on Facebook at UNH Ask Melanie, or follow her Twitter @unhaskmelanie. Identities will always remain confidential!

Dear Melanie,

I’m so over being fat—what do I even do at this point? The gym doesn’t work and all I do is eat healthy. SOS.

-A Cry for Health
Dear A Cry for Health,

Losing weight is really tough; I’m sure that many of us have gone through or are going through the same situation. The most important thing is to be patient! Rome wasn’t built in a day and you need to realize that transforming your body can take some time.

Start celebrating your small and non-scale victories! That shirt you couldn’t fit in last month that fits you now? That’s awesome! You went down from size 18 to a 14? WOOHOO! You could barely hold a plank without stopping for breaks every ten seconds and now you can hold one for a full minute? YASS. These things that you think are small because they aren’t being read on the scale are actually huge; you need to be proud of yourself! The only way you’ll keep going is if you keep your motivation up, which, I know, is way harder said than done.

Try to shake up your workouts; try some of the group classes in the Rec Center, look up new workouts on Toneitup.com or Pinterest and maybe get a friend involved. Working out with someone can help make you a little more competitive but don’t rely on someone else because if he or she decides not to go, it may stop you from getting your workout in too. You could also try doing an intramural sport; winning can be great motivation.

The fact that you’re getting out there and doing the work of eating healthy versus all the crap you could eat and exercising versus taking a nap is really great. Pat yourself on the back, give yourself some kudos and don’t give up!

xoxo,
Melanie