I'm having a really hard time getting myself started. I've always struggled with motivation problems, and keeping myself on track once I'm a week or so into a diet plan. But this time I'm really having a hard time just getting myself started. I find myself thinking about all the times I've failed in the past, and can't help but thinking its totally hopeless.
Can anyone give me some tips or anything for getting myself started, and changing my frame of mind?
Amnesia. You have to find some way of getting over the past, by forgiving yourself or at least forgetting your old habits and behaviour. Otherwise you're trapped in this vicious cycle of negativity and you won't be able to get out and stay on track.
It's difficult, sure, but it has to be done... we've all been there. But think about how you want to spend the next 5, 10, 20 years. Feeling miserable and like a failure as you might be now? Or do you want things to be different then? It has to start sometime. Someone posted an analogy about uni before that I found really helpful.
You want a degree, you know you need a degree for your life's goals and to enter your desired profession. It takes time. There will be many tests and exams. Say you've had a bad semester and failed a few. Would you let that stop you, make you drop out for good? No way! You put it behind you because otherwise it cripples your ability to study and learn for the next semester. OK, those failed subjects may set you back a little, time-wise and sure it's annoying, but you shouldn't quit because of them.
Also your post had one key thing that suggests what could be the root of not being able to stick with it for very long - you wrote "diet plan". Quick fixes might seem attractive, but it's a shift into a healthy lifestyle that helps you lose and maintain. Can you pick a few things that you really want to start with (maybe exercise 3x a week and 5 servings of veggies a day?) and make small changes to ease you into a long-term, healthier lifestyle?
One thing that worked for me is waking up early so I could work out and make a healthy breakfast before heading to work. Getting a healthy start to the day motivated me to make healthier choices thru out the rest of the day.
I'm new here too and also have been a yo-yo dieter in the past. I agree with the other post. You have to stop thinking of this as a diet and think of it as a new lifestyle. I used to give up by the 2nd or 3rd week and thought it was too hard.
I can't say I've stayed strict to a certain eating plan so far, however, what is different is I know I won't give up. Even on days when I don't have motivation I will do something that I know I should do... such as exercise. Make yourself get off the couch...take the first step and before you know it, you will at least feel like you did something positive and change a negative pattern. Drink your water or eat a healthy meal. Anything is better than nothing. Please, please don't give up. Make one change for a couple of days, then add another healthy change. Take baby steps and don't beat yourself up.
I read an article not too long ago which talked about how athletes do mental training to win a game. They rehearse the game in their mind and picture themself winning. It has been proven that athletes that actually physically train, vs mentally train, have the same results.
This is how you do it. Take about 10 minutes a day and go to a comfortable chair (not a bed because you might go to sleep). Shut your eyes and picture yourself the way you want to look, how you want to feel, and what you want to do. For instance, I get excited when I see myself tucking in my shirt and putting on a belt (which I haven't been able to do in years). I see myself putting on a cute outfit, going to a family reunion, the beach, or a friend's birthday party. I actually feel what it would feel like to walk into a room where my friends are, talk to people, and see how they react to me. I can see and feel how it will be when I reach my goal. If you do this it will help you learn to change the way you see yourself. I can honestly say it has helped me see that I CAN reach my goal.
I hope this helps you in some way. I know you can do it!!!! Good luck.
Once you get started and the pounds begin to come off, I think that's where the motivation and desire really kick in. I stay on track because I so desperately want to keep the weight off that I've worked hard to lose - I'd be devastated to see it come back. Plus I like updating my ticker with a loss of weight every week.
The hard part is the drudge work in getting to making the actual pounds come off. You just have to bite the bullet, do it, realize it's going to suck and take it one day - one hour - or even one minute at a time.
I was an emotional eater when I started and I honestly felt like something was missing in my life. I got pretty sad about not being able to eat whatever food I wanted and I felt empty for the first week because I realized I was actually going through with it this time. Those feelings are gone now, food isn't my best friend anymore - it's just something I monitor carefully. I feel good about not even wanting snacks and treats because I won't go outside my set amount of calories per day.
Hey... and welcome to 3fc!
I have the exact same problem as you... motivation (or lack thereof). It's something that I've always had a problem with, like, you know when you start a new term in uni/college at the begining i'm all fired up to go - getting all my work in all time - and then slowly slowly... (ahem two/three weeks later) its all gone and i'm puffed out. I was exactly the same when it came to "dieting" you see, and then I just HAD ENOUGH and decided that i would start counting calories - it was the best thing i've ever done and so darned easy and empowering and I will tell you how it is... honestly... if it wasn't for 3fc there is NO WAY I could have stuck to it for this long. I've been doing it for just under two months now and I love it. Good luck - you'll find motivation when that "time" hits you... you know that time that says "I NEED TO DO THIS NOW!" then you will be on a roll - and i agree with what somebody said above... once you see the pounds dropping off your motivation will kick start and grow and grow and grow and grow and grow...
good luck!
I'm having a hard time...
