Hey all, just looking for some advice as to how you keep yourself motivated. I feel like I am constantly going through a cycle of working out and eating well, but then I fall off the wagon, and gain everything back, then lose it again. Like, one bad week will throw my entire month off.

I've been dealing with the last 10 lbs for probably over a year now.

I have toyed with the thought of just trying to "maintain" where I am now and not restrict calories, but I am not happy with my body right now. I lost a lot of muscle tone over the past several months (due to being diagnosed with OA and having to stop running/HIIT workouts).

I feel like every time I get myself revved up - I start eating clean again and exercising, but then I lose steam and find it hard to keep going, mostly because I don't see results very fast.

I have tried giving myself little rewards (none food related - like a pedicure) but even that I find doesn't motivate me enough. You would think just getting to where I want to be and looking good and feeling healthy should be enough motivation, but it isn't!

I know I need to change my mindset that I'm not "dieting" (yes, yes, I get it - it's a permanent LIFESTYLE change), but it's so hard for me to think of it that way!

Can anyone else relate? How do you keep going? How do you get yourself out of a rut?

Hello

I have found that motivation is not the solution... motivation is fickle, and comes and goes. For me, it has to be a decision and commitment or I won't do it. If I wait to be "motivated" it just won't happen because it is based too much on how I feel.

But when I make an absolute firm commitment that I am going to do it whether or not I feel motivated, I can make it happen. When I get weak on that, I get off track and then have to jump right back on the wagon.

Hi LL. First off, congrats on your loss so far. You've done really well!

I'm sorry to hear about the OA diagnosis. What type of exercise are you able to do?

As someone with commitment issues in multiple areas of my life , I'm nodding my head emphatically with Misti's post. I couldn't agree more.

I wonder if maybe you're being too strict with yourself during your "on plan" weeks? Perhaps if those weeks incorporated more of what you like, you wouldn't then be drawn to live a week that's completely off plan.

Also, and no need to answer this "outloud" if you'd prefer not to, but is your off-week connected with your cycle? That would necessitate its own type of game-plan.

What do you eat during your off plan weeks? Do you think you'd be able to incorporate some of it into your "on plan" weeks?

With exercise, it sounds like you haven't found something you love as much as running for a replacement. Before we can commit, I think we need to find things we personally enjoy, so that they're inherently rewarding. What exercise have you been doing? Are there others you could try to see if you like them more?

Good luck and you've come a long way!

Good point about needing to find an exercise we can enjoy doing! That does make it much easier to make the commitment to actually doing it. My main one is swimming, and I have all kinds of weights and workout tools. I also enjoy hiking so try to do that. I don't do much of the weights in the gym at all because I find that incredible boring (plus I am limited for physical reasons).

Some days are better than others for motivation. I think for me I am not motivated until I just start doing it. If I wait to be motivated I would rarely exercise! I start at the gym or doing what I love running or kayaking, then I'm happy and can do it all day. So I plan to just start exercising 4 or 5 days a week. For eating healthy I am struggling with that right now. I want to drink wine and eat chocolate and family visits and summer vacations don't help. So I gained 14 lbs after having lost nearly 50. Coming to this forum helps a lot so I am back. Talking it through with others is a great motivator. I also found I need to try different things to keep going including forgiving myself. I keep reminding myself it's a lifelong journey.

If you're tired of starting OVER, then STOP GIVING UP! Heard of weight loss hacks? Eat in front of a mirror, this will help you reflect on your goals and make you realize why you started doing this. I find myself looking on YouTube for different exercises to try, just watching people exercise makes me motivated to give it a try. It's amazing how easily it rubs off on you. Good luck.

Of course it's hard to stay motivated when your goal is weighhtloss. Because your body couldn't care less about weightloss. It doesn't care about bikini season and it doesn't care about what the number on the scale is. Your body's only concern is to function and keep you alive. It cares about being taken care of, not moulded and shaped to fit into a dress size. Here are the only things your body cares about:

Sleep
Food
Water
Movement (strength, flexibility etc)
digestion
Intimacy
Laughter
Human connection

When we move away from what out body actually needs and put pressure on it to look a certain way and be a certain weight then your primal brain goes nuts trying to get the things you are depriving it from like self acceptance, food, affection.

So what does 10lbs have to do with losing muscle definition? Nothing! If you want strong muscles work out and get strong muscles. Why does weightloss automatically have to go with that? Your body is the only one you'll ever have and it deserves unconditional love. Pursue your health but make sure your motives as to give your body what it needs, don't try to get out of it what society tells you that you need. We do not all need to be skinny models in short shorts.

Hello friend,

I hope this isn't offensive but I honestly felt as if I had written your post! I can relate so much and I wish I could offer some awesome advice but unfortunately I am also struggling...in the same boat sort of too.

I do okay for about a week then mess up. It's like if I kept going for two weeks I would see a difference but I just never get that far. I wish I could be locked in a room with only a treadmill and all my meals for the day...for 2 weeks, you know?

Motivation is a little tricky. Somedays it's okay not to feel motivated but if you just make it a habit then when you feel horrible and not like working out you will still do it and look back later and think 'wow I did it'. The lack of motivation comes and passes, even if I eat nearly perfectly and workout hard for a week I eventually still lose motivation from time to time.

Things will get better xxxo

Misti - You are SO right about making a commitment. I just need to do it, and stick to it. And yes, motivation is related to emotions, which go up and down. I guess I just need to have an internal conversation about making a commitment, and doing it for the right reasons (i.e.: health, not just the number on the scale).

Chunkah - I’m only 31 so being told I have severe OA was not what I wanted to hear, especially as I loved to do intense workouts - so now I have been told basically running, yoga, and cycling - none of which I really enjoy. I enjoy swimming but in a recreational way with my daughter, not as a workout. I signed up to do a dance program called Cize with Beach Body which is more interesting than the rest of my options. I just need to find something that I can stick with!

Sassy - I definitely agree that this forum is amazing at helping keep us on track. It can be tough with family events and summer vacations. I also want to indulge all the time, it is so hard to find the right balance of allowing treats, but not going overboard!

JamieAlison - "If you're tired of starting OVER, then STOP GIVING UP!” I loved reading that… such truth to those words!

Palestrina - I never really thought of it that way, to be honest. I think that you have discovered part of my problem - I get frustrated because I keep trying to mould myself into a body form that I probably will never be and it just isn’t realistic. Thank you for putting it into perspective. I keep thinking back to last Summer when I was running 5-7k every day and eating clean, the weight just naturally fell off and I was in the best shape of my life. But, given the fact I’m limited in my workouts with having to do low impact (not to mention time constraints), I just cannot commit to that type of intensity, so the weight has come back. I keep going back and fourth between pushing myself to get back to how I was a year ago, and just eating healthy, exercising and letting the rest fall in to place.

Boston - no offense taken at all! We are all in this journey together. Thank you for your encouraging words!

This is actually really helpful to me right now. I joined this forum because now I'm starting to lose motivation and my "why" is getting blurry. But I have to constantly tell myself that I will totally regret it if I stop. That is the only way I keep pushing is to tell myself over and over again that I can't stop until I reach my goal (and not even then really)...

Thank you, I know this is someone else's thread but this helps me.