Commitment vs. Motivation
 

Like many other members I've always said it's about commitment, not motivation. But as my life is starting to get more hectic I'm starting to really wonder what the difference is.

I think I'm commited at this point and no longer relying on motivation to get me through. My work life is getting stressful, in a good way, but stressful. We are working more hours and it's cutting into my workout time and into a little of my family time. This is the first week at more hours and so far I've managed to come up with a schedule to keep my workout routine in tact. Unfortunatly, by the time I get home I'm exhausted and the first thing I need to do is get dinner going and prepare the next day's meals, but before I can do that I need to spend time with my 2 year old because I feel so guilty if I don't. This means dinner gets pushed back a little and cuts into the day's down time, but oh well. The easiest thing to do would be frozen dinners or take out, but I won't do that...I will continue you my same meal routine, even if it means eating later.

So I think this is the definition of commitment and not related to motivation at all. I'm commited to this new life style so I'm doing everything I can to make sure that it fits into my busy life.

How do you distinguish between commitment and motivation?

For me, motivation is making the right choices for your health because you feel like doing it. You are motivated, either by desires to change or maintain your body, or the way you feel, or some other force, to make those positive choices. Regardless, in "motivation mode," making those choices makes you feel better in both the short-term and the long-term.

Commitment is making the right choices for your health when you DON'T feel like doing it. Making those choices can, sometimes, when you're NOT in "motivation mode", make you feel WORSE in the short-term...deprived, cranky, tired. You don't FEEL like doing it, but if you're committed to it, you do it anyway. It still makes you feel better in the long-term, though, which is why making the commitment is still such a good thing.

Well, for me, I eventually lose motivation. It never fails. I will be motivated by the fact that my jeans are cutting me in half, or that I'll be seeing so-and-so in a few weeks, but inevitably I'm back to "ehh... I'll do it later" kinda thinking as soon as I get past that motivating thing. Next thing you know I'm saying yes to eating out every other day, yes to sitting and playing video games, yes to that extra cookie (or 5). And then the jeans start cutting me in half again, LOL.

Commitment for me is understanding that it's not about fitting into my jeans or impressing anyone, or even getting to my goal weight, it's about living a healthier life for myself and my kiddos. That's something that requires a change in my life, not just a change in my thinking. Commitment is a promise I make myself, that I'm not *just* going to do this until I fit into those jeans, but I'm going to keep living this way until the day I die because it's healthy.

Motivation for me is "the zone" where I'm all excited and happy about doing the right thing for my health and body. I'll spend a day thinking "wow, I can't wait to go home and run!"

Commitment is whenever I'm not in "the zone" and despite thinking "eh I can do it later" or "this is good enough" I still do it.

I totally get where you're coming from with the time factor.

If you have a crock pot, get another one, Google for some weight loss friendly crock pot recipes, Weight Watchers has great ones. With 2 crock pots, you can make a weeks worth of supper in one day. It will save a ton of time to have it all stashed in the fridge, all ya gotta do is warm up the main course and add a veggie and you're good to go!

Motivation is the reason you started. Commitment is putting one foot in front of the other and continuing when the reasons don't matter anymore and you do it simply because you know it's what you need to do.

Welcome to the child-raising years.

The truth is, you will achieve a perfect balance of work-family-home-exercise on precisely 10.5 days of the next 10,300 days (until your child turns twenty).

You will, however, find PLENTY of time on the other 10.289.5 days to beat yourself up---thoroughly and repeatedly---for being such a failure to exercise or keep the bathroom clean or cook from scratch or for missing the promotion or your kid's first cross-country meet (He'll be geeked because he came in fourteenth and you will never forgive yourself. I speak from experience).

Do not do this, I beg of you! Enjoy your life---work cheerfully at it---but don't sweat the small stuff. Even if you miss your kid's first cross-the-finish-line-in-fourteenth-place, there will be so much more that you *didn't* miss, all the things that you *did* do right and trust me---the bathroom's not all that dirty anyway.

Ditto on this.
Motivation is when I want to do it. Commitment is when I do it whether or not I want to.

The word I use for what this thread is calling "commitment" is perseverance. To me, commitment is something that's in your mind, but perseverance is putting one foot in front of the other, day after day, week after week, whether you feel like it or not.

My commitment to my *health* - not to going to the gym 5 times a week or to eating on a certain plan or to a certain number of calories.

That one overarching goal allows me to deal with the ebbs and flows of motivation, to notice when my body has habituated to a workout and change it up, to eat based on my daily and weekly needs for energy, to be flexible when I travel, and maybe most importantly - to know that any mistake I make deserves self-compassion....because it doesnt show a lack of commitment OR motivation, a mistake is just another step on my path to overall health, they are expected now, I have adapted to them too :)

I love this outlook!

For me, it's nearly all habit.

I go to the grocery store on Sundays. I make my week salads on Monday morning. I pack a lunch bag for work every day (with a healthy breakfast in the bag). I make healthy dinners. I avoid creamy/fried foods at restaurants. I look up calorie info before I get there. I don't eat fast food.

If I just stick to these things, I eat right 90% of the time without even trying.

The things that I stumble over are surprise foods (hey - there's cake in the break room!) and social situations. As a rule, these incidents don't represent a large portion of weekly eating. So I have been able to maintain with little real effort for over 5 years.

I am pretty much the same way... the planning, the definite no's even when I go off plan, eating my same foods during the week... I do this all pretty automatically now without giving it *much* thought.

And yes, it's the surprise foods and social situations, but they don't come up that often and I certainly know how to navigate that as well.

I am simply a creature of habit. This has become my way of life, just what I do and who I am.

As automatic as it is to me, I still believe it is my strong desire to remain at this healthy weight that gets me to do all these things. It is my desire to stay this way, and therefore I am committed to it. Which comes in handy for those times when I think if I have to cut up another onion I will scream. Luckily those times don't roll around that often.

It's no longer an option not to do it. Habit. Desire. Commitment. It's all good. :)

Someone needs to tell RR's husband she needs one of these.

haha..

I wouldn't want to have to clean that thing. I'll stick to my knife and cutting board. I have great knives and my hubby always makes sure they're nice and sharp.

Like I said, I don't usually mind chopping and dicing. In fact, I kind of like it. If I want to eat something, I've got to *work* for it. It doesn't come to me instantly. I've got to put some effort into it. Just like the days of long ago. There were no convenience stores, delis and the such. You wanted to eat - you had to go out there and get it and make it yourself. I kind of feel that I hold myself up to a higher standard and don't settle for just any old quick thing. That I require more from myself.

Now I don't feel so virtuous about it, that I don't buy carrots that have already been shredded and ready to eat yogurt , canned tomatoes and the such. That virtuous (& insane) I'm not. ;)