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Old 09-24-2008, 09:20 PM   #1  
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Default How to stay motivated?

I haven't lost anything in something like 6 weeks! It just gets so discouraging, when I still have soooooooooo much to lose! How do I stay motivated? I try and get through my workouts but sometimes I can't help but think in my head why even do this, you aren't gonna lose anything. I have to stop thinking like this. Do you think even thinking about it helps prevent me from losing somehow?
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Old 09-24-2008, 09:22 PM   #2  
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Amen, someone please tell me the answer aswell!. I've been incredibly unmotivated for the last couple weeks... You are not alone.
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Old 09-24-2008, 10:32 PM   #3  
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The short answer is you do it to maintain. At some point, you'll start losing again, but not if you give up. More importantly, when you do reach goal, you'll still have to exercise and eat well, even though you aren't losing. Just like now .

But we all feel that way sometimes . But you can do it!
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Old 09-24-2008, 11:16 PM   #4  
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everyday i try to put on my skinny pants and i look at the flab that rolls over them and pushes out so i cannot button them. then i think about how everytime i take a new travel position (im a travel nurse) how i always wish i was skinnier at every new job... and i think about next summer and how i really really want to wear a swim suit... and then when i get pushed enough to go to the gym with that, i focus on that while i work out, and i look down at my legs and picture them getting thinner! lol
a whole lot of visualization exercises!
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Old 09-25-2008, 01:26 AM   #5  
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I just wrote about this, kind of, on my blog. Mainly, that we have to BECOME a different person in our heads. Not a person who hates exercise, but a person who enjoys it. Then we will do it because it is who we are, regardless of what the scale says.

Please note, I have a long ways to go to perfect this, but a lot of positive thinking and self talk goes a long way. Hang in there!
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Old 09-25-2008, 08:30 AM   #6  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lyn2007 View Post
I just wrote about this, kind of, on my blog. Mainly, that we have to BECOME a different person in our heads. Not a person who hates exercise, but a person who enjoys it. Then we will do it because it is who we are, regardless of what the scale says.

Please note, I have a long ways to go to perfect this, but a lot of positive thinking and self talk goes a long way. Hang in there!
I do try to be positive. I like the way I feel after excersize, but I don't like it while I'm doing it, or the time it takes away from my nights. I'd try to wake up earlier and do it in the am, but I doubt that can happen. I have a terrible time waking up in the mornings as it is. It almost feels like once I get some progress if I have a slice of cake, or a couple of cookies, I auto gain a few pounds and it takes twice as long just to get back to where I was. *sigh*
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Old 09-25-2008, 09:50 AM   #7  
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Again, when you figure it out, PLEASE let me know too!!!!

I think my problem is that i"m happy!! I'm thrilled I've lost so much, that none of my old clothes fit, that i feel better, my DH is happy, it's like "well, I'm just perfect now let's stop!" ya like 250 is THIN lol, hilarious!!!

So instead of losing, I maintained for months and months - weirdly, this made me feel just GREAT!!! knowing it STAYED off and that I could live like that. Food is a big part of my life, and I refuse to live my life existing on 100 calorie packs of fake food LOL, so I eat normal food, in moderation of course, avoid sweets as much as possible, have only ONE serving of stuff, and it's worked out pretty great AND i don't feel deprived or that I'm going to go "OFF" eating this way - this is kind of it!!

For me, I know my next 40 lbs. is absolutely going to come off in SWEAT!!! I've given myself permission, as an experiment, over the next 4 months, to continue eating the way I have been (basically maintaining) and at the same time I'm going to RAMP UP the movement and see what happens on the scales. This whole thing isn't an exact science for each person, we kinda have to see what works, but more importantly, what we can LIVE WITH forever!!

So, even if you aren't motivated to LOSE weight, at least commit to maintaining what you've lost, and maybe increase some activity and see where that might lead???

yah i don't know, i'm spit-ballin' here
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Old 09-25-2008, 09:52 AM   #8  
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once I get some progress if I have a slice of cake, or a couple of cookies, I auto gain a few pounds and it takes twice as long just to get back to where I was. *sigh*
EXACTLY.

Where are you going to be if you DON'T continue on? If you don't want to be any thinner, fine, maintain. If you don't care if you gain weight because you're not motivated enough to lose weight, then go ahead and gain it. But I gaurantee in a month, two months, even a year when you look back on right now... you are going to kick yourself so hard for not moving forward. Motivation or not.
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Old 09-25-2008, 10:00 AM   #9  
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I'm going through a similar fog myself.

It's hard. It's not as though I'm about to quit or give up or anything. But, part of me, even when I do see some weight loss, is just kind of... well... faking it.

And I remember reading it so often (thank you, 3FC <3) that at the very least I know I'm not alone. And that I'm sure maintainers have gone through similar periods as well... where maybe our hearts aren't in it, but we know we have to keep going.

I just took a moment to imagine what would happen if I did stop exercising, if I did just grab whatever I wanted to eat. And the picture was not pretty. A year from now I'd probably be back up to 330 + ... and beating myself up for even thinking of quitting.

It wasn't really motivating in the sense that I now want to run a marathon... but it sure put some things into perspective. There's no quitting now.
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Old 09-25-2008, 10:22 AM   #10  
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I've been the same weight for nearly a year...

Honestly, you have to find reasons to stay motivated. Sometimes minor tweaks will get you losing again, sometimes you might have to change things majorly to get things moving.

One thing is to not rely on the scale. Take measurements. Are your clothes feeling looser? Are your measurements going down?

The scale is an indicator of actual fat loss but it isn't perfect.
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Old 09-25-2008, 10:53 AM   #11  
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My DH was recently in the same boat as you ( we are both now eating a healthier diet and losing weight but that is another story I digress ) and the scales did not budge for months I am sure that they were super glued at the same figure . I can only back up what Nelie has posted even though the scales were not budging his clothes were fitting better. So using another aid to measuring your weight loss is good like clothing or actually measuring your vital statistics you might be pleasantly suprized by the changes which will keep you motovated especally when you feel like your going now where fast.

My weight loss of late has been very slow snails pace but I have lost 2" from my waist all these nsv help keep me motivated when the scales don't budge an ounce.
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Old 09-25-2008, 11:50 AM   #12  
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I heard something on the radio about this yesterday.

They have this little "fitness spot" on the radio each week where a guy comes in and talks about staying healthy. He is NOT fat, has never been fat, but has been out-of-shape and maybe like 5 pounds overweight. Anyway they were asking him about how he stays motivated to get up and exrecise every day. (This guy gets up at like 5am and does 30 min of cardio on a treadmill every morning before work, and then in the evenings after work he goes to the gym and does stength training. Every freaking day!) So they asked and he said, basically, "ya know, no one wants to spend this kind of time exercising, everyone would rather sit in front of the tv or read a book or stay in bed or work on hobbies. But I just make it part of my life like brushing teeth or bathing. I just don't even ask myself IF I am going to do it today. Just do it. It just has to be done for my health."

Somehow I found this enlightening that even a "fitness buff" doesn't always want to do it but they do it anyway.
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Old 09-25-2008, 12:07 PM   #13  
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Quote:
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I just don't even ask myself IF I am going to do it today."
I think that is what is getting me through. Lots of times I don't feel like exercising or cooking. I just do it. I don't stop and think about whether I want to. However, while I'm doing it, I may think a lot about how I don't want to be doing it . But it just isn't a "do I feel like it" kind of thing. It is just what I do. It's a choice I made.
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Old 09-25-2008, 12:48 PM   #14  
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I agree with the "just do it" thinking. It's not an option not to do the exercise and mindful eating. Like rockinrobin says it's not just motivation it's commitment. I've committed myself to doing this for my health.
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Old 09-25-2008, 01:21 PM   #15  
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Quote:
"ya know, no one wants to spend this kind of time exercising, everyone would rather sit in front of the tv or read a book or stay in bed or work on hobbies. But I just make it part of my life like brushing teeth or bathing. I just don't even ask myself IF I am going to do it today. Just do it. It just has to be done for my health."
Yup. This is my mantra. Everyone on 3FC has read this from me many times before ... but here it is again!

There are things we do in life not because we want to, but because it's part of what you do as a responsible adult.

~ I don't like to get up in the morning and go to work. I love my job, but I hate getting up - I'd rather snuggle in bed until 10 or 11! But I do because it's the responsible thing to do.
~ I don't like sitting down and paying bills every month. I'd rather go shopping and buy a new purse or more camera gear or spend a weekend in NOLA. But I pay the bills because it's the adult, responsible thing to do.
~ I don't like housework of any kind. I really don't. But I clean my house and vacuum the floors and wash the dishes and all of that, because it's the adult. responsible thing to do.

I don't have to like it. I don't even have to be "motivated" to do it. I just have to do it. Because it's part of what we all have to do to live our lives.

Exercise and eating right is the same way. Sometimes I want to do it. Sometimes I'm motivated by outside influences. Most of the time I enjoy my time at the gym once I get there. Most of the time I enjoy what I eat once I fix it and eat it. But sometimes I just do it because it's what you do if you're responsible about your health.

That's just life.

.
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