Some thoughts on motivation

earlnabby

Wall of text alert!!!!!!!

Lately I have been asked by a number of people "what motivates you to keep going?" and "I need motivation, can you help me?"

I'll address the second question first. No I cannot motivate you. I can encourage you. I can lead by example. I can put my experiences out there for others to see, emulate, ignore, whatever. What I cannot do is motivate you. Motivation has to come from within. YOU have to want to totally make over your food and exercise life in order to reach the weight and fitness goals you want. Nobody can do it for you. This brings me to the first question . . .

How do I stay motivated? The real answer is, I don't. I decided early on that losing weight and getting healthy was going to be a full time job and, like most jobs out there, some days you really like going to work. Other days, not so much. You still go to work because you made a commitment by accepting the job and you have an obligation to others as well as yourself. When I started losing weight a little less than 2 years ago, I made a commitment to become as healthy as I can. I had long term goals in mind, but I only worked on one short term goal at a time. Just like your work. Many have jobs where you receive a project and you work on it until it is done, then you go on to the next project.

Over time, motivation becomes less important and habit becomes more important. I tried to binge big one time and bought a bag of chips and a smallish bakery decorated cake (favorite binge foods for me before). I got about 2 slices worth in me and it just did not taste good to me any more. The rest went down the garbage disposal. Same for the chips. I was motivated to binge, but the habit of eating less food took over.

This also goes for health issues. Many say they cannot lose because of diabetes, menopause, age, thyroid issues, medication affecting hunger, etc. Balderdash. I am a 59 year old, 6 years post-menopausal, diabetic person who also deals with major depression and medication notorious for increasing hunger. Like everything else, you have to decide that it is your job to get healthy and doing your job may mean different tools than others need to do their job. I started treating the diabetes with medication, exercise, and reducing my carbs to moderate levels (tools). I was able to eliminate the medication after 10 months but continue to eat moderate carbs (under 180 g daily) and exercise. Menopause has made the weight loss a little slower, but so what? I am still losing. I am treating the depression with medication and will need to for the rest of my life. Having a great partner (My doctor) has helped in finding the right medication that keeps me on an even keel and I have learned tools to deal with the events that can sent me downward. The one medication causing a problem also needs special tools to deal with. Just because I WANT to eat doesn't mean I HAVE to eat. Some times I give in, some times I don't. I accept both as part of the process.

Successful people, no matter what they are doing, accept responsibility for their own success. It doesn't come from outside you, it HAS to come from you. I have no doubt I will reach my goal, no matter if I feel motivated or not.