Motivation surges

unbreakable51

I think I have my head in the right place. I am determined. I work hard. I do what I need to do. But then I start to lose my motivation. Lose my desire to get healthier.
Sometimes I can pinpoint the trigger of the loss of my motivation. The other day I saw a lady who had lost weight. She worked so hard at it. But it looked like she had gained it all back.
There is nothing more depressing to me that thinking of losing weight, and then gaining it all back. I've always said I'd rather just stay fat.
So I get in a funk, when I see stuff like that, and start to think about all the other people I've known who have lost weight, but failed to keep it off. And then I start to wonder if it's even worth it. And I start to adopt the way of thinking that maybe I should just be happy and content the way I am. I'm not saying to I want to give up completely, but to just stop thinking about it.
Then I woke up this morning and know I will never just be happy the way I am. I am trying to think more positively about myself. More accepting and not so critical.
But I still want to improve. I wish I could stop getting so discouraged. I am tired of going from feeling super motivated and 'yay, I can do this!" , to 'oh, what's the use?"
I don't know that I'm looking for advice. Maybe just knowing that we all go through this will help me accept it, and work through it better.

999tigger

What you need is focus and commitment.
To me the yo yo is pointless and id agree id ratehr not be bothered because its pointless and more damaging to lose and regain all over again rather than have stayed one or the other. You do need to stop yourself using it as an excuse though. Part of the way you cna do that is by understanding what you are doing and getting the right mindset. It will take time so develop realistic expectations and patience. You do well to identify the trigger point between enthusiasm and its loss. Thats where you need to be ready and push through.

Rather than thinking of gaining it all back then imagine/ believe that you will get all the way to target as long as you make more better choices thna bad and push through. Consistent deficits will do that for you over time its 100% certain. The make your focus smaller into each day and meeting your calorie allowance, the success will come and then you just need to keep pushing. Pacing yourself is very important, what you wnat is to get to target, surely and steadily.

unbreakable51

Thank you! Sometimes I wish I could just put blinders on, and blur all the advice, diets, opinions, successes and failures out there, and just focus on myself. What I am eating and doing is the only thing that is going to have any effect on me. I want to focus less on the pounds, and focus more on doing what is best for me.

mstuck08

Can I friend you...help each other

Mexicanbigfoot

I can relate to this 110%. I am very overweight and over the years, I have had varying degrees of success with weight loss on my own. I will wake up one day super motivated and determined that I will NEVER fall back into old habits. I vow to walk 6 days a week and eat nothing but "healthy" food. I get a huge high when the people around me start noticing my weight loss. I buy smaller pants. Then I have a bad day (for whatever reason) and I go home and binge on everything that does not run away. I tell myself, it's just one bad day and it doesn't matter. But that one bad day leads to 2 bad days and that leads to a week and before I know it, my new pants are tight and no one is telling me how good I look anymore. I have found those motivation surges are exactly that. They always seem to last a short time for me. I can't speak for anyone else, but I hired a personal trainer to help myself get over that. I have also had to adjust my expectations. I know that I didn't get to be over 300 pounds in the course of a day, but weight is definitely easier to put on than it is to take off. The other big thing I had to learn (which is still a process for me!) is to stop comparing myself to other people. No one else's journey is my journey and what works for someone else will not necessarily work for me. I have found that when I focus less on others and use that time focusing on my own successes, I do better. One last thing - celebrate every single NSV no matter how small. You can't always count on the scale to tell you that you are doing a good job. Sometimes you didn't lose a pound, but you jogged that extra mile or you pushed through another 5 reps. Good luck on your journey! I hope you are able to find what works for you, but no matter what, don't ever give up.

roxilegend

I believe this is something most (if not everyone) goes through. I myself have been through the same loss of motivation a month or so back. I had just started my journey, I was working really hard and achieving my goals, and then my mother-in-law announced she was getting weight loss surgery. It hit me like a slap in the face. Here I was working hard to meet my calorie goals and exercise every day, and I felt like she was taking the easy way out. I seriously began to doubt whether or not working at it so much was worth it (one of the biggest reasons I'm on this journey is to inspire my family). Then I got to thinking: what I'm doing is healthy. There is much less risk involved for me than surgery and losing weight this way will may me happier with myself because I can feel proud I accomplished so much.

The more I thought about that and the more I decided not to compare myself with what others do, the more I got my motivation back. I've had a few little bumps since then, but that was my biggie. I think it's something we have to work through, and just know that we aren't alone: everyone doubts themselves at some point in life. Good luck!

999tigger

unbreakable51 wrote: »

Thank you! Sometimes I wish I could just put blinders on, and blur all the advice, diets, opinions, successes and failures out there, and just focus on myself. What I am eating and doing is the only thing that is going to have any effect on me. I want to focus less on the pounds, and focus more on doing what is best for me.

Focus allows you to keep on track, keep ot simple and avoid distracting yourself with lots of needless thoughts which seem to be the type that gets you into trouble. Its the basics, which if you stick to and complete for that day then you will be in the right place. It takes less motivation an gives you more bang for your buck. through my journey ive found that I have not skimped on what I am doing and being thoughtful as to my mental approach, which is just as importnat as what you have to do day to day.

It strikes me you have a feeling you know whats to be done, but lots of fear associated with it and only a bit of that is needed to start undermining and turning you back on yourself. Thast why id suggest some good preparation and planning, its easier once you understand what you are doing and know soemthing about the path ahead. Theres nothing wrong with thinking about poiunds, but it also helps if you are balanced and see things in perspective. getting frustrated or out of proportion seems to be a journey diet killer and a source of uneccessary misery for a lot of dieters.

unbreakable51

Thanks to everyone. There are such great people here! I appreciate the helpful and thoughtful responses. Anyone feel free to 'friend' me, if you would like to.