How do you stay motivated?

nursedopey02

Ok...I was doing so good staying motivated UNTIL I got a second part time job. So, now I am working 7 days a week and I don't want to do anything in my limited down time except rest and hang out with friends/family. But I have to keep losing weight and getting prepared for a 5K that I want to do in September! How do you motivate yourself when working out and dieting is the last thing you want to do?!

jean51

I have to give myself that push. If I knew I had a 5K coming up I would have to make myself set aside time to train. I get up every morning at 5 am to get my first work out done in the morning..start by getting up 1 hour earlier everyday.

dore0021

You just have to make it part of your life. No motivation needed.
Pack your workout bag everynight. Bring it with you to work. Don't go home till the job is done.

Eating is another story... lol. Just think. Do you want to loose all your progress so far? NO WAY! Plan something special like a trip when you get to your goal weight. Something to strive for :-) Good luck!

UltimateLover

I am having the same problem with being motivated.

crking

I am in the same boat as you. I work two jobs and college student taking a full summer of classes. It can be very very hard to keep motivated because you spend your whole day stressing over work, family, school, etc. But to keep myself motivated, I use fitness as my release and me time. I tell myself that I will feel so much better to get away from it all and exercise. It really does help! I feel like my mind is relaxed and released from all those stressful thoughts. There are days where I'm like...oh I'll just skip the gym because I'm tired..but I tell myself I have to go and I feel so happy and energized afterward! Exercise is an awesome tool to release stress and even if you are angry at someone or something just go get a hard workout in and I swear it will help any situation!

Good luck girl!:flowerforyou:

Stepmom1

Ahhh, motivation!! That's my middle name!!

After my 2nd pregnancy, I got HUGE!! I lost many of the pounds on my own doing step aerobics and trying to eat the best I could BUT I needed more.

I started doing workouts with Beachbody and eventually became a Coach because I loved it so much.

Being a Coach keeps me motivated! I need to be accountable not only to myself but to others as well.

Can you be accountable to someone else other than yourself, like a workout buddy? A friend that has the same goals as you do?

Write down everything you eat! That sure makes a difference. When you see that you are close to have eaten more than you should have, it sure stops you from over eating.

Set realistic goals of where you want to be and take it one step at a time.

Maria
www.teambeachbody.com/Stepmom1
www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/Stepmom1

xonophone

Is exercising in the morning an option for you? I work two jobs as well and for me, I have to get out of bed and right into my workout clothes, while I'm still half asleep or else I will talk my self out of exercising! It's so much easier to go back to bed for an hour and get some much needed rest especially during the winter months when it's dark out or even this time of year during rainy mornings. But then I think of the 350-500 calories more I will get to eat if I do go to the gym, and that usually helps! Because honestly, how can anyone survive on only 1200 calories per day??? And then I have the entire day to myself, and the night to spend with whomever and however I choose, without feeling guilty about not exercising! I look at it this way: I am going to be tired when I come home from work whether I exercise in the morning or not, so I might as well exercise!

sandara

Sometimes it's hard to just get started when your schedule is busy. Somebody on this site (It's a shame that I can't remember who) said that it takes about 10 minutes of exercising for the endorphins to kick in. Once they do it's easier to keep going and finish your workout. So when I don't feel real motivated I tell myself I'm going to exercise for just 10 minutes. It works every time, I have yet to quit after 10 minutes. I don't even know if it's accurate but it sure works for me.

Another one I read here said "Just put on your workout clothes and shoes, it's much easier to get moving if your already dressed for it"

Just little mind tricks, but they help me anyway! Good luck!

cynditoney

I got a calendar out, and marked my exercise time like an appointment. I have 5 mandatory (to myself) appointments and two optional- Wednesday and Sunday are optional. Also write down something motivational to read before each workout. It can be something as simple as "I CAN do this" or 5K is _______ away!!

You will find the time to do your workouts and the motivation. Good Luck!!

SugarDiva

I Keep my mat rolled out on the living room floor (unless I have company lol), my workout shoes right there too and just in case I look at those and think "nah" there's a big picture of Kaley Cuoco (she's my idol ) hanging on my fridge to remind me what I could look like if I hit that mat.

roadchic18

I hear ya, it can be tough some days. I work full-time which sometimes means up to 10 hours a day typing, I'm a transcriptionist. Some days all I want to do after work is sit on the couch and order pizza. However, I have 4 rescue dogs that keep me motivated since I have to feed them, take them out, walk them. Plus I try to remember how awful I feel after a couple of weeks of sitting on the couch eating pizza, and it keeps me going. I like to set short-term goals, like 60 days of Insanity, 30 days of clean eating, etc. It can be hard to balance everything but in the long run you will feel better if you take the time to exercise and to eat better, your body will thank you. Good luck!

akgrant

I join an awesome group here called the Fab Fours to keep me accountable and inspired. Here's a ink, check us out!!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/98284-join-us-fab-fours-4-week-challenge-group-new

sportygal

Over the year, I've had to do lots of things to stay motivated. Sometimes it was dangling a "carrot" as an incentive....being Itunes gift cards, or making up challenges with myself, or literally having others hold me accountable! I literally asked my fav. coffee shop to hang a picture of me stating, "Do not feed this woman any lattes between Jan-March! (granted I could drink reg. coffee, but I was weening off dairy) I now have a challenge with my coworkers, if they ask me a question of my goals and I say no (like I didn't measure my food today) then they get $1! After losing almost 80 lbs, its HARD to keep going, especially in the good shape I am! I'm training for a fight, so it's even harder to stay motivated, when its just beats you down physically. Music helps me a lot to stay motivated. There are tons of songs that really have good lyrics to stay the course. You have to tell yourself how bad you want it. I could easily just coast and enjoy the condition I am, but I've been waiting my whole life to be an athlete, and I'm stil training to be an elite athlete. After doing this for a year, and dropping 8 dress sizes....do you really think I enjoy measuring my food and not enjoying treats, so I can get in shape for boxing. It gets old, but I have to stay the course.....Also avoiding health issues is a great motivator. I didn't have much of a choice. I knew I'd have diabetes, high blood pressure etc. if I didn't change. When it comes to staying motivated, I don't make giving up an option. For how battered, bruised and blood, sweat and tears I release, I keep on keeping on. You must too, if you want the results you want. There are no excuses. As Apollo Creed says to Rocky in Rocky III....THERE IS NO TOMORROW....THERE IS NO TOMORROW. .........it's time to focus on what you can do today, to get closer to your dreams. I often tear up when I say this, cuz it's SO HARD to keep going......but I must and you can too. I work two jobs, teaching kids during the day, personal training others at night, then squeeze in early AM workouts in addition to my boxing workouts. It sucks most times, but I wouldn't change it for the world, just because I know I'm strong enough to do it.

Rensco

I've had the same problem recently. I did take a week off - though not on purpose. Just was SOOO busy that it wasn't possible to get a "real" workout in. I still kept track of calories (though I went over) and I made a point to do the little things - park far away, walk up to the store with my kids but the treadmill and weights just didn't happen. I found after the week was over (and things settled down a tiny bit) it's been really easy to get back into my workouts. I really did miss them and how I feel after! Go figure!

My other thing that I just did is I checked out a health club. A lot of ones now a days have trial memberships - Curves and Lifetime Fitness are the two I've seen. You could also just get day passes at your local rec center, YMCA or such. Just something different to get you excited and motivated again. Even if you decide you really can't afford time or money to keep the membership, just walking through the doors and looking around can be motivating. I know during the tour I was all "oh, yah, I want to be like that!" or " that looks so cool, bet I could do that!" or "if I lost just a little more, I could wear that!". Good luck and hope you find what works for you!

TrixyHero

Ok...I was doing so good staying motivated UNTIL I got a second part time job. So, now I am working 7 days a week and I don't want to do anything in my limited down time except rest and hang out with friends/family. But I have to keep losing weight and getting prepared for a 5K that I want to do in September! How do you motivate yourself when working out and dieting is the last thing you want to do?!

Yea that can change everything. The less time you have to devote to exercise the harder it is to motivate and push through. Think of it this way. Your health is more important than that part time job. And eventually the older you get the more tired you get from working so much. Our bodies will rebel if we don't take care of it long term. The goal should always be..."LOVE MYSELF". No one will love you the way you need in this area. You can be motivated by others but eventually you have to be self sufficient. The last thing we all want to do is go work out. There is a point when working out makes you feel so good about yourself that when you don't it sucks. I give myelf a break every so often. But it isn't anymore than 3 days in a row. Best of all you know that you will never give up on yourself.

RWilliams_Fit

remember every extra thing you can fit into your life (exercise wise) helps. so park further away, use stairs, get up and walk around while on the phone, do 20 jumping jacks on your break!! ANYTHING!! my favorite is my pedometer because each day i try to beat my record in steps and calories burned! eating healthy needs to become just as normal as brushing your teeth. which is the hardest thing ever in my experience. I work a lot, and am a student, but first anf formost im a person who really cares about my body, because its how i can be my best for all my loved ones, so just like brushing my teeth, i NEED to eat things that benefit my body not give it obstacles! of course i eat candy, chocolate, and all kinds of sweats but in moderation and at planned times (meaning planned into my calorie goals) o and i really found that water helped everything... i started drinking the right amount of water and i became more alert, more energized and less bloated...good luck!!!! and motivation is EVERYwhere, its how you choose to perceive it and use it... =]

cesse47

I started this year determined to begin a journey to a healthier lifestyle. From a weight loss standpoint, I've been able to keep myself on track with a small treat here and there. Being retired and sedentary, exercising has been my biggest challenge. I do walk every morning. I need to increase the pace but am hesitant to do so. I love my morning walk and don't want to mess with success. I was looking for a way to motivate myself to increase my physical activity. I live on a very fixed income so going to a gym is not an option. I have started three additional exercises. Working with 3 lb weights, stepping, doing isometric exercises. I started doing them in 10-minute sessions. I've now worked my way up to doing them in 15 minute segments. I find the morning session the easiest to get out of the way. Doing the evening session is more difficult. When that happens, I come to these forums ... read what other people are doing ... and then do a session. Hopefully, it will soon become a habit and one that I can do longer ... I have set a goal to increase my sessions by 5 minutes each week. So ... I'm hopeful!!

JennyBoBenny

I Keep my mat rolled out on the living room floor (unless I have company lol), my workout shoes right there too and just in case I look at those and think "nah" there's a big picture of Kaley Cuoco (she's my idol ) hanging on my fridge to remind me what I could look like if I hit that mat.

I keep my mat rolled out too! A couple of times I put it away thinking "oh that looks so bad and messy" but then I thought...."Jen, you live alone and it's not like people just 'drop in' on you!" So I leave it out now.

I also have a "vision board" as my computer wallpaper and a big part of it is fit bodies that I want to somewhat resemble. And then there's my workout ticker - I make mini goals for the number of workouts I want to do. Right now I need to do 20 workouts before the 28th (my vacation). 15 to go!