Hi All,
I'm new to this forum so not sure if this is where to post but here goes!!
Although my main aim is to get healthier and tone up and hopefully lose some weight in the process, I can't quite seem to get motivated!!
I would love to be much healthier and fitter and be able to do simple tasks such as climb stairs without looking like I've scaled a mountain when I reach the top ( a slight exaggeration but feels this way sometimes!)
I just don't seem to have the willpower/ commitment to see this whole process through! I get frustrated as I don't see results straight away and this demotivates me even more even though I know these things take time... I guess I'm a product of a society that's used to instant gratification!
So my question is how do you get and keep motivated??
Last edited by MissionSlimpossible; 08-31-2015 at 08:16 AM.
I'm process oriented, so I like to be on a "Plan" with certain things to eat and do each day. Then I just do it. If I get the scale and a certain weight number involved, that's when I go "crazy"! It's the mental thing that will kill me.
I also accept myself the way I am WHILE I am doing other things for me.
Motivations: Looking good for weddings and holidays. Looking good before I get too old to enjoy it. Buying clothes without being disappointed. Buying clothes and being excited about it, not worried whether they will look good or fit. Being able to do any physical thing without it being a drama. Posting a new FB profile pic without a snarky Friend comment that it's ten years old. Wearing something nice without weird looks or comments from family members. Oh my, the list goes on!!
My motivation is health. I have been feeling like crap for a long time, and starting to walk and eat better has given me a ton of energy even after just a couple of weeks. The feeling good then becomes the motivation. I just started, so I don't know if this will work long term, but it's working for me now.
Hi All,
I'm new to this forum so not sure if this is where to post but here goes!!
Although my main aim is to get healthier and tone up and hopefully lose some weight in the process, I can't quite seem to get motivated!!
I would love to be much healthier and fitter and be able to do simple tasks such as climb stairs without looking like I've scaled a mountain when I reach the top ( a slight exaggeration but feels this way sometimes!)
I just don't seem to have the willpower/ commitment to see this whole process through! I get frustrated as I don't see results straight away and this demotivates me even more even though I know these things take time... I guess I'm a product of a society that's used to instant gratification!
So my question is how do you get and keep motivated??
Eventually you will come to understand that willpower and motivation have very little to do with sustaining a lifestyle. Our lives are comprised of a series of habits like going to work, brushing our teeth, buying coffee at the corner deli, etc. These habits form because you do them consistently but they stick because you don't have to think about them too much, they set the flow of the day. Think about how difficult it would be to brush your teeth every day if you had to muster up motivation and willpower. Good heavens none of us would brush our teeth if we relied on willpower, I'm half asleep when I brush. You set a pattern, you stick to it, then you let it go with the flow.
In order to effectively change your mind and your body you have to make some effective changes. It's important not to get held up with an all-or-nothing approach. Waking up in the morning and setting forth on making a bunch of changes is too aggressive and your mind and body will rebel and go back to the standard habits. You will have to learn to do some new things and unlearn some old habits. It can't happen all at once so pick one or two things that you know you can be successful at and focus on those. It might be banning nighttime eating, or taking a walk after dinner every night, or cutting out soda, or drinking alcohol only on the weekends, or swapping out a slice of whole wheat toast for your morning bagel.
And don't focus on instant results, that's just barbaric. There are so many changes in store for you when you begin to alter your habits, weightloss is a drop in the bucket. You'll begin to feel more positive, more energetic, more effective and weightloss will come along eventually.
In my case, I just got fed up with being fat! I couldn't wear (and still can't) most of my clothes (oh golly, I must have clothes in so many different sizes). Last time I went to my doctor I weighed over 190 pounds, not good.
I used to be a normal weight (between 140 and 150) and I will get back to that. I am eating healthier which makes me feel better, no processed foods, only good carbs, etc. I just feel better now that I am dieting!
I have found over many years, that the only motivation that works is to do it for myself. If I try to lose for a wedding or event, sometimes that helps but what we really need to do is to treat our bodies better. Then when we get and look healthier, it's the new normal.
Hello, some of my biggest motivators: 1: my mom takes pictures of every little thing and puts then on Facebook despite my objections... so I want to look good in them from now on lol 2: wearing my skinny clothes which are plentiful in my closet 3: skinny work scrubs (I'm a nurse) rather than the Walmart brand which makes my butt look deflated 4: I have a vacation coming up that I'd love to rock a bikini on.
My motivations have changed over the years. The year I lost the bulk of my weight (2011) my main motivation was turning 40. I was losing hope of having kids, hated my body, hated my life and had pretty much lost all my friends due to just never wanting to do anything. We hadn't taken a vacation in years and my marriage wasn't healthy. I had to make a decision, either change my life or end it. Yep, my depression was that bad.
I made a choice for life and that was my motivation. Now, at 44, I've never been happier. We cannot have kids, so we have to stay healthy for each other, and we are enjoying our lives 100x more than we used to. We go out, we travel a ton, we have friends, we see our families, we have hobbies and we are active. I still deal with depression at times, but it's just plain easier to deal with now.
So that is my motivation now - to continue being able to travel and try new things, and to stay healthy for my future and my husband's future.
And being able to shop in any store and buy whatever I really like sure doesn't hurt!
Find the healthy food and exercise that makes you feel nice. I mean really nice as you eat it. And it all becomes self-sustaining.
The stuff I eat now makes me feel so much better in the moment than the junk I used to eat it's untrue. I just had to find the foods that work for me. Which turned out to be largely Mediterranean diet-based stuff (but I skip the bread and pasta).
In the past I have lost weight not to be judged by my peers, to look nice for my husband, not to be embarrassed to see friends at a reunion, to look good in a relative's wedding photos, and not to feel like I'm a sausage encased in too tight clothes. Finally, I've reached the point that if I don't eat well and exercise, my rheumatoid arthritis and/or fibromyalsia flares up and my anxiety and/or depression kicks in. So I do it now to be healthy and happy, the best reasons of all!
If you can just get started and stick with it for a bit, despite anything the scale says you will begin to feel so much better too! It's so worth it!
Honestly..... at this point my motivation is to just see if I can. I started out to be a cheerleader for my hubby who got put on a diet per his doctor. He did exceptionally well at first and dropped 51 lbs in a month and a half. Now, he's bored and not really sticking to it.
Me on the other hand, after two months of eating this way, I find I'm really content. I'm not hungry, I have loads more energy, I sleep better, I walk just about every day, I'm two sizes down, I feel better about myself, and most of all my health has improved. I don't think about food all day anymore. All of the above are minor motivations to remind me of all the good I've already accomplished.
The lowest weight I've ever been in my adult life is 175 lbs. My motivation at this point is to beat that. I'm not in a rush. I'm finally accepting that this will take as long as it takes.... but that's fine. One day I will be 150 lbs. It won't be tomorrow and you know, it might not even be this time next year. One day however it will. Right now I'm just going to focus on today.
I expect slips. I expect crashing and falling off the wagon a few times, sometimes hard enough to break a few things. I expect a stall that will push me to the brink of crazy. I expect to fail at perfection because I am human. And if those expectations are never met, then I'm sure some unforeseen ones will be.
I am in charge of what goes into my mouth and what gets my butt off the couch. Me. Not a single other person in existence. My own happiness is a pretty dang good motivator.
Last edited by FickleHearts; 09-01-2015 at 09:12 AM.
I've been at this weight for several years now, and I still can't glance at a mirror without a moment of confusion and non-recognition. No matter how many times a day I see myself, no matter how many months and months go by. I literally don't recognize my own face at this weight, and it's extremely distressing.
To be fit and healthy, and to like what I see when I look in the mirror. I signed up for a half marathon a few months ago and that has reignited my motivation. And I (re)joined Weight Watchers because I need to check in and get on a scale every week right to keep myself accountable. It's been working. I'm slowly turning from someone who could only run a minute before stopping to someone who feels she is actually going to be able to run a 1/2 marathon in 3 months, someone who just fit into her first size 8 pair of jeans ever yesterday, and someone who feels healthy, strong and beautiful. I still have 15 pounds to go but I'm so motivated to finish it this time (after trying and giving up soooo many times before. I am doing this 100% for me and because I want to be happy and healthy, and that has made all the difference this time.
What motivates you?
4: I have a vacation coming up that I'd love to rock a bikini on.
I'm not in a rush. I'm finally accepting that this will take as long as it takes.... but that's fine. One day I will be 150 lbs. It won't be tomorrow and you know, it might not even be this time next year. One day however it will. Right now I'm just going to focus on today.
