Ride your own ride. You have to keep it fun and stop fretting about what anyone else thinks.

Yeah, I've experienced the loss of motivation:

2006 - 5,000+ miles
2007 - 4,000+ miles
2008 - 3,000+ miles
2009 - 750 miles

Riding became a chore at the end of 2008. I wasn't doing it for me anymore. I was doing it to get an R-12 and it wasn't fun.

As far as the extra weight goes, unless you have other health issues, it's really calories in versus calories out. Some calorie types are more satisfying. Personally, I eat a lot of protein (nuts and peanut butter) and almost no fruit. Fruit is just simple sugar and does nothing to satisfy me. Think about your eating habits. Do you eat out of stress? Do you eat 'cause you're bored? Cut out the junk. It takes time. I lost 30 pounds back in 2001 in about 6 months and have kept it off. It's taken about a year to lose 5 more. That required cutting back on my sugar intake. I love sweets.

Do you have an unrealistic expectation of what your weight should be? I'm just about 5'5" and weigh 145 pounds. If I just look at the numbers, I think, "Wow, that's kinda tubby. Women that height should weigh 120 pounds." But you know what, that's for the models, not triathletes. I'm not made to be a stick. Maybe you're not either.

Whatever you do, do it for you. Not because it's what someone else thinks is right.

Veronica