How to keep motivated

Piratequeenteuta

Hi, I have trouble keeping motivated...I usually give up after about 3 weeks. Anyone have any good suggestions? Oh and I'm new to this app, not too sure how it works

kirstywillia

Try thinking instead of being on a diet why not instead change your mind set and think of it as living a healthier lifestyle? It seems to be working for me. I'm same as you with not being able to keep to a diet so instead I'm just a bit more aware of what I'm eating. I'm not starving myself and I'm happy with it being this way. Almost every food has a healthier option these days. you're welcome to add me if you like hun.

tracyfournier

You could find a friend or a group to help motivate you, with challenges. Best of Luck!

pauldm1

What are you giving up on exactly? Giving up on tracking? On working out? On giving a *kitten*? Its important to isolate what exactly the weak link is.

cwolfman13

you're never going to be motivated 100% of the time...motivation is a fleeting emotion...take the emotion out. you need discipline...you need to decide you're going to do whatever it is you're going to do and apply some discipline. discipline leads to consistency and consistency is what will ultimately have you crushing your goals.

motivation is about the most overrated emotion there is. we all do things every single day that we are not motivated to do...but we do them anyway. i'm not always motivated to go to work, but I go...I'm not always motivated to spend an hour Saturday morning mowing the lawn...but it needs done so I do it.

if you're waiting on motivation, you'll be waiting forever.

pauldm1

cwolfman13 wrote: »

you're never going to be motivated 100% of the time...motivation is a fleeting emotion...take the emotion out. you need discipline...you need to decide you're going to do whatever it is you're going to do and apply some discipline. discipline leads to consistency and consistency is what will ultimately have you crushing your goals.

motivation is about the most overrated emotion there is. we all do things every single day that we are not motivated to do...but we do them anyway. i'm not always motivated to go to work, but I go...I'm not always motivated to spend an hour Saturday morning mowing the lawn...but it needs done so I do it.

if you're waiting on motivation, you'll be waiting forever.

Bang on.

Lizzy622

Most people burn out when they try to change everything at once. Start slow by logging your food. Get comfortable logging every morsel you put in your mouth. I did this my first week without worrying too much about being under my calorie goal. Week two log and try to keep your deficit and try adding some exercise. By taking things slowly you have time to incorporate the changes into your life without burning out.

wolverine66

kirstywillia wrote: »

Try thinking instead of being on a diet why not instead change your mind set and think of it as living a healthier lifestyle? It seems to be working for me. I'm same as you with not being able to keep to a diet so instead I'm just a bit more aware of what I'm eating. I'm not starving myself and I'm happy with it being this way. Almost every food has a healthier option these days. you're welcome to add me if you like hun.

This & the discipline thing. I think they go hand-in-hand. Because if you are changing your lifestyle, you are changing your habits. Once you change the habits, then it becomes easier to be disciplined.

And the beauty is you don't have to cut everything out. I still eat pizza, wings, cookies, nachos, drink beer, etc. You just have to be aware (to use a word from the above post) of what these foods do to your calorie allotment and stay within that range.

mwyvr

kirstywillia wrote: »

Try thinking instead of being on a diet why not instead change your mind set and think of it as living a healthier lifestyle?

That's a very good thought. So are thoughts about discipline too.

Maybe first @Piratequeenteuta you need to clearly identify why and what you want to change. How much thought have you put into this? Are you keen to drop weight more for vanity reasons (fit into new clothes, looks, peer group) or for health reasons (medical issues starting to become evident or recognizing that being significantly overweight eventually does lead there) or for lifestyle reasons (out of shape + heavy gets in the way of fully enjoying your life) or for all of the above?

To me it seems harder to generate and sustain motivation simply for vanity reasons, but everyone is different and sometimes vanity is the most powerful motivator for people. Lifestyle... well, eventually maybe that might cause enough angst to shock someone to get moving but it seems more likely that lifestyle becomes a reason to keep going once already going.

Health? That's a big one. A great many here on MFP are motivated by health. The prospect of dying young and living out the back end of one's life however long or short in poor health seems to be a powerful motivator. We've all seen or known people who have poor quality of life as they age with excess weight and lack of fitness that commonly comes hand in hand.

Who wants that? No one.

You may not be feeling health pressures yet, and even if we recognize the potential for such problems, in one's twenties it's easy to think that there is miles of time ahead to forestall health issues. There's a big problem with that thinking: time flies.

Not only does time pass much faster than we can imagine when we are young, but our bodies and health don't remain static. Spend another decade heavy without doing something about it and suddenly you are 34 and possibly half way through a likely shortened life. And likely are heavier still. Weight seems to attract weight and carrying around substantial excess weight will attract more serious health problems as one ages.

I'm not saying anything I did not experience myself.

Fortunately my check up last year shocked me into seeing my situation very clearly. My health, quality of life, and longevity were at risk. Of course they were all along, I was just blind to that. I'm not a stupid person but had acted stupidly for quite some time because I thought I had lots of time. But I didn't and that health report made it perfectly clear to me that I had to change course and there wasn't a moment to lose.

Properly motivated I was able to commit myself to change. Motivation is fleeting. You can be motivated to get out and run in the rain, but it takes real commitment to act on a plan over the course of months, years, a lifetime.

But, and this is the most important part, it really wasn't that hard to actually make meaningful progress, not once I'd committed myself to change.

Commit to yourself to change. You've everything to lose if you don't.

chollands29

"It takes 4 weeks for your body to start changing, 8 weeks for you to notice and 12 weeks for your friends and family to notice"
I stole this quote from someone else But I found it really helps me. I'm 3 weeks in and feeling a little discouraged that I'm not seeing 'dramatic' results. But the simple fact is that its too early! I can't expect change to happen over night I need to be patient. Obviously this is the hard part but understanding that this is all a normal part of the process helps me stay rational and committed.

ocnldy

Make small attainable goals.
Don't think diet, think lifestyle change.
You will never be perfect, cut yourself some slack but whatever you do do not give up!
Be honest... If you don't log because you ate that chocolate cake your only lying to yourself.
Drink LOTS of water.

I've fallen off the wagon a million times and lost the same 30lbs over and over again.
I have had amazing success since I changed mind set, I'm down 60lbs in just over 4 months.

Anyone is welcome to add me as a friend, I believe in support in numbers.
Good Luck!