I have been losing weight since 30th January '14 and so far lost 27 lbs. I know diet constitutes 80% of the weight loss and I have no problem sticking to a diet. My problem comes from the 20% effort part -- every time I start a weight loss journey I will exercise for 2 or 3 months and then lose interest in exercise. Right now, after nearly 3 months of regular exercising, I start to feel bored and feel as if exercising is monumental amount of work and too tough for me to stick to it forever. Precisely I feel like doing only 3 or 4 times of workout a week for probably a lesser amount of time than I am doing right now, but something within me is protesting against this, which wants me to keep going at my current level, against all feelings of lack of motivation!
Have you been in a similar state as me and if so, how did you get over it?
Last edited by BigNomore71; 04-26-2014 at 09:38 AM.
I am in no way advocating giving up exercise, but it is surely possible to keep up the weight loss with diet alone, then revisit exercise when you are slimmer and probably feeling better.
Without knowing why you are feeling this way, I can assume it's because the exercise is too challenging for you at this time. However, I find that with daily exercise, I always feel better about myself. I recommend you realize the importance of health in this whole "weight loss" thing and that exercise is an extremely beneficial habit to maintain and improve your health.
I advise that if you stop exercising for a day or two, just hop right back on plan with a smaller amount of exercise. Make sure what you're doing isn't too hard, for now. Just do enough exercise to ensure that you can make progress--get a little bit more fit each week, and eventually up the challenge to compensate for your increased fitness.
Any challenge that is too great seems daunting, exhausting, and impossible. That doesn't mean that you should give up! The toughest challenges offer the most reward--but there is no pressure to do everything at once! Start out easy and work your way up to more challenging exercises.
You don't need the exercise to lose weight. You might want to exercise because it makes you more fit or you get other health benefits from it.
If you don't want to it, just focus on the diet. My BF just lost 55 with no exercise at all. I do exercise because it makes me feel good and I get stress relief from it -- I actually enjoy it. But it hasn't helped me lose weight.
I exercise because I enjoy it, and feel better when I do. There are many, many reasons why you should exercise. However, if you are having trouble sticking with it, maybe you should reevaluate what it is that you are doing. If you hate it, or it's too hard, maybe you need something different? I wouldn't stop altogether, even if exercise isn't "needed" for weight loss. It truly isn't. But it certainly gives you more room to eat a few more calories, and if you are strengthening your muscles, you will look better in your clothes. And muscle burns more calories at rest than fat! I know some really thin people that look flappy and saggy because they are just generally not that fit-not to mention that your heart needs to be strong to keep you alive. Can you do Zumba? Or maybe swimming? Jazzercise? Team sports? There are endless options. If your intensity is too hard to maintain, drop it down some. If you just plain hate it, switch to something fun. I think when you get to goal weight, and your butt is not quite like a pancake, that you will be glad you kept it up. There is not a much better feeling than being slim AND fit and strong.
Consider other ways of exercising that you might like more.
I haven't stayed with a workout-style form of exercise. I just walk. Walking is great exercise. It doesn't give you the same benefits as lifting or running, but it provides its own set of health benefits. Having a dog help motivates me to walk outside more, and I love going for walks/hikes with hubby. It's fun to walk around in the city too. On top of that, I have a treadmill desk setup and I walk while I browse the web. I'm on it now!
Anyway, that's me, but you might like swimming or yoga or something else. My hubby took up fencing and now he gets his exercise that way!
Great ideas, thanks everyone! I think as suggested, I will do lesser intensity workouts for some time like giving myself a break and then switch back to higher intensity when my motivation levels run high again.
Also definately do things you enjoy! If it weren't for Pandora I'd never exercise. There are so many things that are just fun to do and they end up being exercise. Once you find things like that...you won't feel its a chore (I used to feel that way) and the more I thought of it as work the less I wanted to workout. I enjoy it so much now seeing how far I have come and working toward things I want to accomplish. Good luck and great job on your weight loss! That's awesome!
Yes you can lose weight without exercise but it comes at a price - you will lose muscle along with fat and not have a nicely toned body. I schedule some form of exercise every day on my calendar just like any other appointment and then I do it. I do change my routine from time to time to keep it interesting.
I don't think you should quit exercising. It's hard to get back on that train and you've been do so great. If you're anything like me maybe you've ramped up the intensity not only because you are able but because you get competitive with yourself. And then if there's a day where you can't "beat" your previous workout you get down on yourself. For me I had to stop tracking things like mileage, speed, and just focus on doing something, no matter what it was, for hopefully a certain amount of time but if it's less that's okay too. Just be forgiving with yourself, but never give up doing something. No need to be "perfect" everyday.
Also I am with the poster that has no formal exercise plan but walks. I incorporate more walking in my everyday life- park far from the entrance, use stairs, that kind of thing. Those little bits add up.
Great, thank you all! I've decided not to quit exercising but to alternate 'easy' days with 'hard' days - days that I do a lesser intensity workout but for a longer duration, and days that I do a high intensity workout for a shorter period of time. I'll work on this and see how it goes for now! Thanks again to all posters!
Bignomore - your idea to vary intensity is a very smart one. Even professional athletes don't push themselves every day because doing so is counter productive.
Weight loss efforts starting to feel too tough
