Motivation is slipping :(

vegetabletarian

Hey MFP folks!! So I'm currently attempting to lose weight with one of my friends although she has now reached a healthy weight and is maintaining that beautifully. I am so so so very happy for her dont get me wrong but it is mildly demotivationalising (if thats even a word) for me. I knew I had further to go than her so its not surprising but even so I just feel my motivation disappearing.

We went to a PT session recently where I found out my body fat % is very high, despite making improvements to my weight and BMI. I currently need to lose somewhere around 30lbs to be just within the healthy range.

I was wondering if anybody would want a motivational buddy where we can make this journey together? Cause life really sucks when folks dont understand how hard it is and you're feeling alone

TheRoseRoss

I'll do my best to not rant, but I would like to help where I can. The BMI (in general) is bogus.

"When taken as what it was intended to be -- a general set of data describing the relative fitness of an entire population -- the BMI is mostly fine. The problem is that we do not use the BMI in that capacity. We use it like it's an individual scale, even though it allows no adjustment for individuality."

According to the BMI, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has a BMI of ~31.24, which puts him at "Obesity." This guy!



So take the BMI with an mountain of salt. That said, I can understand feeling discouraged when it seems as though not only are your efforts in vain, but other people seem to be finding success where you're not. I don't want to ramble: you may have fallen into a rut, and need to change up your exercise and nutrition regimen. Our bodies are very good at adapting, and they will not burn any more calories than they absolutely need to. If you reduce your calories, your body thinks "why are you not eating? There must be a famine/food shortage. I will reduce your metabolism in order to save calories so that we can survive." It takes a combination of exercise and nutrition to lose fat ("fat," not "weight").

What are your current nutrition and training routines like? We can start there in hopes of getting your back on track.

Find some things that are personally important to you, write them down, and do your best to think on them whenever you feel yourself falter.
- I don't want to be embarrassed to go to the beach/water park with my daughter (the way I was the summer of 2012, having seen pictures of myself and thought "how dare you take you shirt off?!"
- I want to be the parent that picks up his daughter, her friends sees him and think "I wish my dad looked like that."
- I don't want to die of health related issues the way people in my family have
- I don't want to continue to be the guy that looks back on his life thinking "man! I wish I had..."
- I don't want to be the guy that sees himself in the mirror, sticks out his stomach, holds it, lets out a sigh of defeat, asks himself "How did I allow this to happen?" And then goes on about his day having no intention of doing anything about it
- It doesn't always work, but whenever I'm tempted to eat something that I shouldn't, or skip a training day in order to sleep in, I ask myself "which means more to you? This donut/cheeseburger/slice of pizza, or being able to take your shirt off this summer?" Whenever I'm tempted to sleep-in and skip the gym, I ask myself "what are you going to say when you catch someone looking at you? Are you going to say "Excuse my appearance for you see, I decided to skip the gym a few times, but I totally intend to make up those days later,"?

RoxieDawn

Motivation needed! Okay we are here to help. I think this may mean you have to give in and learn some new things:

1) Set the bar LOW. Small steps. For example instead of a total loss of xx pounds, how about a 5 pound loss at a time?
2) Practice self-compassion. It is ok to slip up and when you do, get up and brush your self off and keep following the plan.
3) You have now recruited help and support... make sure you engage with family and friends and those that truly love you.
4) Envision how you will feel when you reach your goals or just attempting the journey..
4) You will need to step out of your comfort zone, so feel free to feel encouraged when you do step out of your comfort zone.
5) Stop comparing your self to others
6) Procrastination is your enemy and you will need to learn from your past mistakes or even the future ones you make.

We are all human here so it ok to ask for help getting back up if you fall down! Best of luck with your goals.. You got this!