Losing weight when you have nothing to look forward to!
Okay friends! I need some input
I've always been successful at losing weight for the past 2 years. I was in college, was an absolute gym rat, and always had motivation because I wanted to look good for when I went out on weekends and stuff.
Now I'm in the real world, with NO social life anymore, and a fulltime job. I've gained ten pounds and I find myself wearing flowy dresses to work every day. I don't even fit into any outfits I used to wear.
I'm going through one of those phases where ordering take-out tastes way better than skinny feels. Because I don't even care anymore. I have no reason to squeeze into mini dresses anymore, and no events to feel thin for. But of course, I know I'll be happier if I got back to my old weight.
So for you ladies/men who only have yourself to impress, how do you stay motivated?
I think that is were your commitment comes into play. Some days I could care less about what thin feels like. I would rather eat the doughnut. However I made a commitment to get my self to a healthy weight. That pulls me through the times when my determination is poor.
It sounds like you might be little depressed. Life has changed a bit. You will feel better once you start a plan. Give yourself a reward system. Sign up for a singles excursion and use that for a reward for example.
Hopefully others will chime in. This place is great for good ideas.
I don't lead the most exciting life either. The motivation comes from wanting to feel good about myself and not necessarily due to events. I can understand that certain events do drive momentum but ultimately, as dstalksalot said, it's more about commitment. Short term satisfaction that is derived from food is as it is...immediate but if you think about your future and where this will lead, you might realize that if you keep eating this way, eventually you'll be more unhappy with where you've ended up. Right now, you can nip it in the bud and get yourself back to the way you were.
Also, what about the most important aspect? Health. Eating take out doesn't lead to the same quality of life as eating healthy foods (which can taste just as good but may take a little more effort to make). Try to find the joy in getting yourself healthier and giving your body good nutrients. Why not commit to one month of doing that and if at the end of the month you don't feel better, then you can go back to your current choices.
Last edited by luckymommy; 08-01-2013 at 10:41 AM.
So this time around my weight loss is about me. In the past I've dropped weight because of my wedding, or a reunion coming up, or I had a very active social life like you. Over the past two/three years I didn't really have much going on and let myself go very fast.
This time I have no events I want to lose the weight for, and honestly it feels great. I think I'll be able to keep the weight off because there is no end date, and ultimately I'm the one who is looking back at myself in the mirror.
I've been telling myself that I am a Ferrari, and Ferarri's can not use regular Unleaded fuel and run correctly and they need regular maintenance.
It sounds like you have had a major life change, and change can be very difficult. Maybe find a new gym and go after work. You might meet some people there and help each other with motivation.
I'm not sure if this answered your question! Don't let yourself go
I remember the transition into the 40-hour workweek. Holy crud, that was an eye opener.
What happened to your social life? Do you have friends (or a few trusted coworkers) who you can do social things with outside of work? Maybe plan to go to an outdoor evening concert where you can wear a mini-dress. Or join a public-speaking group ... presenting in front of an audience can be a motivator to look good!
So this time around my weight loss is about me. In the past I've dropped weight because of my wedding, or a reunion coming up, or I had a very active social life like you. Over the past two/three years I didn't really have much going on and let myself go very fast.
This time I have no events I want to lose the weight for, and honestly it feels great. I think I'll be able to keep the weight off because there is no end date, and ultimately I'm the one who is looking back at myself in the mirror.
I've been telling myself that I am a Ferrari, and Ferarri's can not use regular Unleaded fuel and run correctly and they need regular maintenance.
It sounds like you have had a major life change, and change can be very difficult. Maybe find a new gym and go after work. You might meet some people there and help each other with motivation.
I'm not sure if this answered your question! Don't let yourself go
I don't lead a particularly exciting life either. I may go out once and a while but I really couldn't sustain a diet/fitness plan working to look/feel good on for exciting days as motivation.
I'd say my motivation comes from the personal reasons that I'm doing this - I want to be a healthy human, with a long life FULL of both excitement and boring days. I am definitely not doing it to impress myself nor anyone else. My body isn't really the focus in the long term, but rather I just want an efficient vehicle that will then allow me to do all the other things I want in life. Yes, of course the new confidence in my clothes when I go out are a nice aside but definitely not a driving factor.
While having short-term goals are definitely good interim motivators, I find that for me, keeping my eye the big picture goals keeps me going with much more stamina.
Last edited by dehtripper; 08-01-2013 at 02:55 PM.
You have to lose weight for yourself, that's the only way you'll ever maintain the loss because the ONLY thing you are guaranteed in this world is that you'll always have yourself. Friends, lovers, jobs, special events, none of that is guaranteed, things come and go, your life is going to have its highs and lows, busy times or dull times, but YOU are the one constant, you have to live with yourself and you only get one body. Trust me on this, take care of it NOW, while you are young, get into the habit of being KIND to yourself now and it will pay off by becoming a lifestyle, you'll be happier with yourself consistently instead of freaking and feeling you need to go on some crazy crash diet six weeks before you're supposed to go to a special event.
Oh boy, talk about a dull life. I've never had enough fun... mostly because I thought my weight held me back. But, no more. I'm in training for the exciting life I've never had. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, and I'm going to be ready!
I want to confidently go up onstage if chosen from an audience
I want to be able to meet the weight limit to ride a horse on the beach
I want to flirt over the bananas at the market if tempted.
I want to pack a tiny bag with lightweight clothes and run off on a long weekend at the drop of a hat.
There is a lot to look forward to! More than I can imagine! And, there is for you, too -- and you're SO young! Girl, get it together and be ready!
I have never tried to lose weight due to an event that was going to take place in the near future (i.e. a wedding, reunion, party, etc). I've also never tried to lose weight to fit into small clothes.
I just wanted to say that you should not shortshrift your life. Honestly, I have no desire to go back to college. When you earn money, you can actually do stuff. You can have an actual life. There is a lot of life to live.
I can relate to this post in a sense because outside of wanting to look and feel better I had no event (wedding, party, reunion) I needed to lose weight for like in the past. Ironically as soon as that event was over I started packing on the pounds again.
This time around I decided to focus on fitness goals instead of a number on the scale. I wanted to do things like build upper body strength, do regular pushups, plank variations, complete a 5K etc. To stay motivated I keep increasing my goals by using heavier weights, increasing my power walking miles and signing up for my first 10K in the fall.
Visuals also help me. I keep a before/after shot of my face/neck and another of my torso/lower body in my phone to keep me on track when I go on vacations or heading out and it helps a lot.
Could you GIVE yourself something to look forward to? I've booked a vacation to a beach myself, and I know that if I don't lose this weight I'll be jiggling my way down that beach feeling awful. Knowing I have 4 months left to lose the weight has been very motivating for me thus far.
Losing weight when you have nothing to look forward to!
Because I don't even care anymore. I have no reason to squeeze into mini dresses anymore, and no events to feel thin for. But of course, I know I'll be happier if I got back to my old weight.
The motivation comes from wanting to feel good about myself and not necessarily due to events. I can understand that certain events do drive momentum but ultimately, as dstalksalot said, it's more about commitment. Short term satisfaction that is derived from food is as it is...immediate but if you think about your future and where this will lead, you might realize that if you keep eating this way, eventually you'll be more unhappy with where you've ended up. Right now, you can nip it in the bud and get yourself back to the way you were. 
