Finding it really hard lately
 

I am on the weight loss wagon yet again, and this time really trying to just eat well and excercise and forget all the stupid fad diets, i had been on Atkins about 2 years ago and lost quite a lot of weight but then i put it all back on as soon as i stopped and here i am again! Being at university means i have been off since july and will be till the end of september and this is really starting to get to me now, i mean i tried really hard to get a job but with things the way they are at the minute this just wasnt possible and so i spend most of my days just sitting around and although i have had the odd slip with my eating i have been able to get back on track, my main problem is excercise, you would think that with all that time i would be desperate to get out and do something but i just cant get motivated at all as i am so overweight i do find it very hard to do excercise and i dont like to go out walking in public but i dont mind swimming or going to the gym, i just cant seem to get my lazy butt off the sofa and go out - does anyone have any motivation tips? I understand in my head that once i get into a routine it wont be so bad and the excercise wont be so hard when i get used to it but my head just wont tell the rest of me and i really could do with some help, any ideas anyone?

I can completely understand the lack of motivation. I've felt that way many times. I think for me the inner motivation comes from imagining how good I'd look if I lost the weight so I say no to extra servings or keep jogging/walking even if I just want to quit. Most importantly, I just tell myself to do it. Don't look for a shining light to appear and tell you to get on the treadmill. Just do it. Be stern with yourself. If you really want motivation, give yourself a non-food reward for going to the gym 3X a week for 3 weeks (for example). Would you like to get a manicure? Buy a book that you've been dying to read? A movie you really want to see? Clothes/shoes/watches/jewelry you really want? The main point is, you have to kick your own butt into gear if you want to see results. Go to the gym today! :D

Hey there!!!

First of all I can totally relate to you about university being over and just sitting around.. well I would sit around and eat everything within my sight, and if there was no food I would "go for a walk" ie. buy food.

I don't think motivation is going to come knocking at your door, for me my motivation was being fed up with constantly hearing comments from my mum about how terrible I look and how I need to go to the gym. I still binged and lazed around... but what gave me the biggest boost was looking at the mini goal and goal photo albums on here... it made me see that my goals are attainable and that I can get there some day by taking little steps. So I started walking to places instead of getting the bus/tube and I'm feeling the difference in both my fitness and just my mental attitude towards exercise - I'm starting to take pride in it and so will you once you get in there!

And honestly you're not going to want to go to the gym for the first time in ages, it's a bit of a daunting feeling but believe me when you finish your session and leave, you're going to be so happy with yourself - just push yourself and you'll see how far you can go.


Good luck!!!
xxx

Ha I'm one of those people who talks herself INTO exercising. I mean I'm STILL like a big baby with it. I think of excuses, plan around it, put it off until the last minute, I don't even get why because once I am exercising, I love it haha. It is like I'm breaking this habit or idea of "exercise sucks" when in reality I love it once i'm there. It is getting there, getting my butt to do it that is where the struggle is.

Sometimes I need a little push from myself in order to get myself to be active. I just basically tell it how it is, "if you don't do it then you WON'T get healthy. you WON'T meet your goals! YOU CAN DO IT!" lol....sounds corny, but it works for me.

I still talk myself out of it, not there yet, but getting there. I think I just have a reaction to change and exercising on a routine is a big change for me. I struggle with some changes and I guess this is one of them.

For me, it is more about being being determined than it is motivated. I am determined to be healthier. I am determined to have a better body. I am determined to eat on plan. I am determined to exercise. You have to commit yourself to the changes necessary to achieve your goals. There are days I do not want to exercise, for sure, but I remind myself only I hold the power to ensure if I succeed or fail and I refuse to fail anymore. Stay focused. Stay determined. Do it. Today. You'll be much happier that you did.

Good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

I totally agree with Onederchic. If you want to be healthier, you have to workout. When I workout, I think of it less as a way to lose weight as it is a way to become healthier. I'm doing something good for myself, so even though I usually HATE it, it's okay (kinda like eating broccoli--yuck!)

I'm off from school for the summer too--plenty of time on my hands. I spend it looking for new healthy recipes online and then cooking them. I usually don't like to cook because it takes so much time (esp. during the semester when I'm sooooo busy). But during the summer I can get used to the recipes and I hope that I'll be able to stick with the cooking when school starts.

Good luck! :carrot:

If I were you, I'd make a "diet" plan. You don't have to do a "fad" diet, but you WILL have to restrict your calories in. Extra calories...more than you can burn in a day, makes you fat. Unless you have some weird metabolic or endocrine disorder, or on some funky medication that makes you fat, eating too much makes you fat. Cutting back, or "trying" to eat better will only get you so far. Exercise is only about 1/4 of the equation.

Learn a healthy diet, get to know it inside and out. Learn to do it in your sleep, and THEN worry about excercie.

I completely understand how you feel about motivation. It's funny how our mind is such a powerful force in our daily decisions. How man people you know exercise and when they are finished feel worse than before? I don't know any, yet to get to the point where you put on those gym clothes and actually go do it seems to be the hardest part of the battle.

The first thing to realize is exercise, like so many other things, is a habit. And it takes awhile to form a habit. At this point it's important to schedule it into your day, and preferably if you can at the same time so you start to get used to doing 'X' exercise at 'X' time.

Second, try experimenting with all kinds of things. You don't have to hate exercising. There are SOOOOOO many different things you can do depending on what you enjoy doing. I've done everything from dance classes to pilates and yoga to weight training classes to swimming to boxing (my fav right now) and kickboxing to running to uphill walking, etc. etc. Everyone is different and when you find something you enjoy doing, it'll seem alot less like work and more like a recreational activity.

Third, give your body time to adjust to your workout routine. Don't try and go balls to the wall the first time you exercise. Your body will tell you when you are working hard and when you are working too hard. You don't want to push too hard right now, and you will still get results. Allow your body to physically adapt to your new activity.

Fourth, don't give up on yourself. You are not alone. We all have been or are going through what you are going through. Even though I have been working out 4-6 times a week since January, I STILL sometimes have to motivate myself to go workout. But now I feel horrible if I don't workout because it's just a part of my day like going to work. With consistency you will reach that point before you know it.

:hug: Goodluck and don't forget you have a family here at 3FC, the people here are just wonderful and absolutely encouraging!

It is SO hard to get motivated, but once you make it over the "hump" it is so much easier. I am almost a year into my journey but have gained so much more than the 31 lbs I lost! The hardest is the first few months. Then it becomes a part of your life and doesn't require as much mental push. My friend is restarting her journey and as we walked last night we talked about how the next few months will go by ... whether you are on plan or not. Why not dedicate yourself to staying on plan for just two months? Heck, maybe just two days or two weeks. You can do anything for two days. At the end of those two days commit to two more days. For me, it was getting the weight monkey off my back. As long as I was doing something about it, I was succeeding even if the scale didn't show it sometimes.

You CAN do this!

a few suggestions:

1. Check your thinking and see if there is some all-or-none thinking going on there. If you are thinking you have to go for 2 hours (I have the time, why not? right?) and just aren't able to get there, see what happens if you say to yourself, "I only have to go for 15 min. If I want to leave after that I can". Really, 15 min is better than none. I promise. I am guessing that once you get yourself there it'll be more than that anyway but don't 'trick yourself'. If you want to leave, leave.

2. If you are anything like me, something as small as having to change my clothes can deter me on a day when any excuse will do. How about dressing in your workout clothes in the morning when you get up?

3. Maybe join a challenge or start one of your own. Check in the Chicks up for a Challenge section for one to join or to get others to join you. Set a goal (days, minutes, whatever), make a ticker for it and see if that extra nudge of accountability helps. If you want a small group, my Morning Exercise thread small and it doesn't matter when you are exercising to us. I'm not getting the morning thing going but that thread is helping me get it done.

HTH! I just am sure that if you get up and get something done, you'll feel so much better. Doesn't have to be much...it will build on itself.

Peg

Exercising should start with small steps, and just getting use to moving the body. Try running up the stairs (if you live in a house) use stairs instead of escalators in shopping centres, just doing 30 mins of gardening or washing the car, getting off the bus a few stops before. All these things add up! The important thing is to start small and then gradually build your fitness up and then you will feel more encouraged to progress further. It doesn’t have to be anything vigourous to begin with.

Hi Kimberley!

I know exactly how you feel! I was on Atkins, lost a lot of weight and got into a vicious cycle of cheating/restarting... I am trying to get it under control before Im back up to my starting weight. I am not doing Atkins anymore. It is too strict and I just set myself up for failure.

I also noticed you are 5'11" - there's a great thread for tallies - you should come check it out! I'm actually brand new to this forum and just joined that thread.
I don't have enough posts to post a link but it's just a few threads up.


I wish you all the best!

it's funny, I've noticed, especially when I started exercising and had the most trouble motivating myself, that's there's usually a key moment when I go to "talk myself out of it": I'm too tired, it's too hot, etc. It helped me to blank out those thoughts as they start to enter my head and just do it. I started with a small routine and built up, which helped. I like walking, and that was my first real exercise. I did things at home too, like side bends, leg lifts, marching in place. Small free weights.

People tend to get fixated on high aerobic intensity, like treadmill machines, and ellipticals (which I think are great and I use them), but I think they'd be surprised how much you can get out of a simple routine at home. Especially when I was at my higher weight, and the thought of a machine or gym seemed like way beyond what I wanted to do.

I would probably recommend that you start out slow. Listen to LoriBell; her start weight is similar to yours. Take a look again at her current picture. She is slim, trim and healthy--and you can be, too! So work on the food first, and don't feel like you have to hit the gym and immediately start trying to jog or take a spin class. I've tried many different things, but it always comes back to walking for me. I strap on my headphones and walk in the evenings. Start out small; if around the block is all you can do, then congratulate yourself on that. You can gradually increase that if and when you want; for now, getting your food plan under control is most important.

Good luck! We're here for you!

thanks for all the advice guys, i actually popped to a local market near me and found one of those lateral thigh trainers for £10 it has been amazing! I mean i can only go for about 10mins before being tired but i try to fit this in twice a day and i dont really notice im doing it to be honest, alot of the time i will do it while i watch tv or whatever. I had seen one on all the shopping channels but never believed what they said about them being so fantastic to lose weight but i really feel that it is working for me, i really recomend one. Thanks again for all the advice