What is motivation? That's a serious question. If by "motivation" you mean that deep emotional enthusiasm for the task, then I am going to disagree. Motivation is like infatuation: it's great, but it never last for the long haul. Eventually, there are days where you are not motivated--days when you are depressed, tired, BUSY, stressed out, whatever.
It's like taking care of a baby. If you relied on motivation to get it done, there'd be a lot of hungry, wet babies out there. It takes something deeper, a feeling of obligation, of commitment, of "this is what I do now".
For me, the key to reaching that spot was through planning and routine and ritual. There are things I always do: I always weigh myself every morning and record the number. I always record my food and calories. I always plan ahead to know what I am eating the rest of the day (and often the rest of the week).
Thank you Shmead...this struck a cord with me...it really did. My new word is going to be commitment. I know I have heard it talked about alot, but now I'm seeing why its so important.
Its interesting too though, because I agree with Kaplods. Because what does committment mean? For one person it could mean NEVER eating "bad" food, for some it means SOMETIMES eating "bad" food...I think everyone's journey is so different and individualized, you can't nail it down to words really.
Interesting...
Liked all of these posts. Yes, for me, motivation was so fleeting. Incredibly fleeting. Need a lot more than that. Still spinning my wheels. Can't really get going but am reading and staying right with 3 chicks posts. Thanks all. It takes all of our experiences, strengths and hopes to make it all work.
Going to have to agree with the ladies for the most part. I remember once losing about 20 pounds, in anticipation of a high school reunion. I was motivated to lose and did, but could not keep the weight off when I lost my job in the 2001 recession - and realized that travelling across the country for the reunion, wasn't going to be something I'd throw my savings on.
I didn't mean for this to escalate to an argument on which it more important -- motivation or commitment. They are both important and one of the same. When I say motivation is the key I am meaning combined with commitment. When you get out of the morning and commitment is hard you have to fully understand what your motivations are so that you can stay commited.
Commitment is the key, but you have to fully understand what truly motivates you in order to stay committed. It's essential.
No matter what program you buy or what facts you learn you won't be very successful unless you stay committed. True motivation allows you to keep that committment when times are hard.
It's in the mind. Keep motivated.
p.s. Not a new years resolution guy. lol. Thanks for the welcome though.
It's like taking care of a baby. If you relied on motivation to get it done, there'd be a lot of hungry, wet babies out there. It takes something deeper, a feeling of obligation, of commitment, of "this is what I do now".
Thank you for this thoughtful, intelligent post. It rings true in so many ways.
I didn't mean for this to escalate to an argument on which it more important -- motivation or commitment. They are both important and one of the same.
I don't think people are arguing so much as sharing their thoughts. There are a lot of people here who have spent a LOT of time thinking about this, and our conclusions are very interesting to us, but we don't get to share them that much. So thanks for starting the discussion.
For me, this time, it wasn't motivation, but "commitment" really isn't the right word, either. It was more inevitability. I simply had to do this. I spent five years or so having accepted that I would die young and that wasn't enough to motivate me. I spent 10 years hating myself every minute of every day--real loathing--and that wasn't enough to motivate me.
I did have a change in motivation--we decided to try for a baby--but that wasn't enough. It was something more profound, this strong sense of "this is my life now".
I'd also add that open-mindedness was at least as important. Kaploid, in another post, said something once that really spoke to me: she spent 20 years thinking she had an emotional problem, and it turned out to be physical. I always thought the problem was ME, because I was a weak, pathetic, disgusting, ugly, lazy slob who couldn't stick to The Plan. Being open to changing the plan changed everything. I thought if I were a Good Person I would stick to the plan. I didn't know that there were good plans out there that were easy to stick to. I thought it had to be hard, because if it wasn't hard, you weren't atoning for the sin of being fat. Finding a plan that didn't require tons of motivation OR tons of commitment helped a lot. And for me, that magic change was just eating 300-500 more calories a day, not trying to keep my calories as low as I could stand.
I think the risk of thinking motivation or commitment is primary, is in thinking the solution logically means "just trying harder," (which very often is interpeted as reducing calories and exercising EVEN MORE).
I was extremely surprised to find physiological factors, because for the better part of nearly 40 years of dieting, I wasn't looking for them.
In some ways it's like telling someone that to fly, they just need to put in more effort, more motivation and more commitment (and forgetting to mention the importance of wings).
Most of my life, I kept jumping off higher and higher cliffs - and only recently learned about wings. It's no wonder that each diet was less effective than the last.
My weight loss "wings" turned out to be birth control pills (to control INSANE monthly hunger/cravings) and low-carb eating (which also tames hunger).
As it turns out, the wings have made a huge difference when it comes to flying (who would have known).
I didn't need more motivation, commitment, and work (which is a damned good thing, because I'm so burnt out on traditional dieting that I don't have but a smidgen of those things left).
The wings have made flying a whole lot easier and pleasant, even with very little effort and commitment. I can only imagine what my results would have been if I'd found them when I still had intense drive, energy and focus.
I think the error in telling someone it's "just" or even "primarily" a matter of effort, commitment, or motivation, is that it can misdirect people's efforts. Some people (like I did) have had to learn to work smarter, not harder. Putting more and more energy into an ineffective strategy leads nowhere.
I think we need to stop trying to find "the" answer, and need to approach weight loss with a much broader, more open mind - realizing that the problem is different not only for different people, but even for different stages of an individual's life.
I think trying to declare a "biggest factor" (especially when trying to say it's true for everyone) is less useful than an individual person experimenting to find all of his/her factors, and chipping away at them, and through trial and error find out which are most important to personal success.
That's a great point on the fact that no two people are the same and one method might work for someone and won't work for someone else. I'm not saying that motivation or commitment are the primary focus for everyone, but it has to be a focus of at least some drastic amount for everyone. Motivation is necessary at some points as well as commitment. You need them both no matter what strategy works best for you. If you can't motivate yourself to do it and continue to motivate yourself and keep a commitment no matter what else works for you won't work for long.
Motivation and commitment are necessary for me not just to be successful in my dieting, but in almost anywhere that I have made goals in my life. I have goals in aspects of my life other than dieting and with a good understanding of the situation....in this case dieting....combined with strong motivation, determination, and commitment there is nothing that can stop you. I carry that attitude with me everywhere and believe that is solely responsible for my success in my diet. Just saying it's what works for me and I like to try and inspire people in everything that I do. Find out what truly motivates you and keep that....it's an emotion usually....in your heart and use it as a drive to stay committed to your goal and you will succeed.
p.s. I know were not arguing lol...just couldn't think of a better term at the time.
There are a lot of factors that contribute to my losing weight, but for me personally, the biggest was discipline. For me, that meant exercising every day, whether I felt like it or not, even if tired after working a long shift. It also meant counting calories, minding what I ate, and sometimes eating a salad when I really, really wanted a cheeseburger. I will occasionally treat myself to a cheeseburger, etc, but only occasionally. I try to eat healty 90 percent of the time, and for me, that takes discipline. And also commitment.
I'm not saying that motivation or commitment are the primary focus for everyone, but it has to be a focus of at least some drastic amount for everyone.
I actually still disagree, because I'm succeeding now (almost despite myself).
Since being put on my first diet at age 5, I have never had less "drastic" amounts of motivation and commitment and even effort than ever before. In fact, it's been such a small amount that I've lost less than a pound per week on average (and at my size, that's pretty modest, very un-impressive results. But I was so burnt out on drastic, that I found it much easier to make very small non-drastic changes).
Yes, I do have to have "some," commitment, effort, and motivation but I am constantly surprised at how little, and the amount is far from drastic.
I think assuming that the change has to be "drastic" to produce results is one of the biggest fallacies of weight loss. Very small changes, with very weak effort can have significant results. Sure they're not going to be as rapid or as dramatic as those who can put in the "drastic amount" of changes, but if drastic isn't comfortable or manageable for you, small changes can yield results.
No you can't have dramatic results without dramatic changes, but you can have modest or even small results with small changes.
I think too often, we tell folks they have to make drastic and dramatic changes, and the prospect can be so intimidating that people give up (especially if they find it difficult to stick to drastic changes. They think because they can't seem to make drastic changes, that they're doomed to failure, so they don't even try).
I think one of the reasons so few people succeed at weight loss in the emphasis on drastic changes (whether those changes be to commitment, effort, motivation, or other weight loss startegies). Small changes (and their resulting small results) aren't really considered a viable option for most people. Everyone wants impressive, dramatic, and fast results (which only can be achieved by "drastic" changes).
But if you change your expectations, you can succeed with extremely small changes. Small changes yield small results, but it's a viable option for people who mentally or physically aren't prepared for drastic.
Small changes, and even very small, barely there commitment and motivation can still yield results.
I think the idea that "drastic" change is necessary, makes weight loss more intimidating than it has to be.
To steal a religious concept, you only need the faith (or commitment/ motivation/effort for that matter) of a mustard seed to get started. Small changes yield small results - but they're still completey real results. And those small results can be rewarding enough to inspire you to do more. You don't have to start strong, you just have to start.
Neither motivation nor commitment is any good to me, both have got me in all kinds of serious trouble in the past. Mine is more of a Nike theory of weight loss : Just Do It. On days you don't feel like it, don't have motivation, don't have commitment, fall back on your routine. Eat that way because it's just what you do. Go to the gym because it's Thursday and on a Thursday you go to the gym. If you rely on feeling like you want to do it each time you fall easily prey to reasons to quit.
Yeah, I have to agree with Rose on this one...motivation? Commitment? For me, it's all about inertia.
Once I've made the effort to switch my little one-track mind to a different track, it will keep chugging blithely down that track until I do something. Maybe motivation was involved in the initial decision to make my choo-choo switch its track, but that was gone pretty quickly; by the time I started here on October 19, the motivational factor that made me want to lose the weight was already past.
It really has helped to make things routine. I used to be "woman who lounges on the couch" or "woman who leads a rich inner life"; now I am "woman who takes care of herself," "woman who eats rainbows," and "woman who gets off her duff and walks two blocks to the store to buy oranges instead of driving there for cheetos."
I think persistence and consistence - meaning setting realistic goals that are reasonably achievable by the person and then sicking with it again and again and again until it gets easier and then new goals, new progress.
