How do you keep your motivation?

Dawn1996r

I'm very eager to lose weight. I haven't been particularly happy with my weight since 2012 after birthing my first child.

Completely understandable that your body will not go back to it's pre birth shape and look however, I've gained stones! Not just one or two either, I've tried everything even slimming world (which worked) but I can never keep the motivation.

What motivates you? How can I keep going when all I can envision is my body staying this way despite my efforts to shift the weight?

zugunruhey

Dealing with disappointment in a positive way is more important than motivation IMO. There are going to be days when you overeat, days when your pants don't fit right, and days where the scale says you've gained weight. But if you can accept that those days don't define you or keep the next day from being a good day where you stay on track then you can continue to make progress.

Wombat468

The only way to do it is to find something that's sustainable in the long term. If that means eating for 0.5lb loss/wk, do that. Find changes you don't really mind making to your diet, eg lean chicken in salads instead of breaded chicken, or 1 round of sandwiches instead of 2, or diet cola instead of normal stuff, or 1tsp oil instead of 1tbsp to fry with. Use those changes to help you stay within your calorie allowance without feeling deprived, see what changes they make to your weight, and that may be motivation enough. Good luck!

Acacia_Evers

What motivates me?
How miserable I am/was.
Crying over clothes.
Crying over the beach.
Crying over the guilt and knowledge that I was stuffing my face mercilessly.
Crying over how lousy I felt.
Always making the fat girl jokes so no one else could.
Never caring about my appearance.

That's all changed and still changing.
That's what motivates me.

lml852014

Just accept that some days you are going to over eat or not be happy with the # on the scale BUT that doesnt mean you should lose hope. I promise you just keep going and it will all be worth it. If you give up it wont do anything but make you stay the same or gain weight, why not just keep continuing on and working at it so that you can feel proud when you can finally say youve lost those first 5 lbs or 10 lbs etc. Its a great feeling when someone compliments you on how you look or you can finally notice your pants getting looser. Don't give up, push yourself harder, make it like a game to see if you can do it.

richardgavel

For me, I find it is less about motivation and more about habit forming. I fully subscribe to the idea these are lifestyle changes for the long term, and if you need to motivate yourself for every workout, every appropriate meal, it's going to be draining. My first month, I used my motivation energy while it was at its peak and worked out every day, ate better every meal, logged each meal. 8 months later, those are just things I do, I don't have to always convince myself to do them.

lorrpb

Per your profile, this is your motivation:
Why I want to get in shape
To provide both myself and my family with healthy and happy lifestyle.
To feel good about myself.
To fit into my pre pregnancy clothes.

My Inspirations
Having a healthy soul, body and mind.
Confidence.
My wardrobe.

Read this every day. These are a lot of motivating factors, so at least one should keep you going. Remember that we don't have to "feel motivated" to stay on track. We need to set a plan, create new habits, then do them regardless of how we "feel" on any given day. Feelings are fickle, but habits are here for the long haul. The bottom line is, you have to want it badly enough.

MissusMoon

I don't think anyone here is "motivated" 24/7. People who are succeeding often credit determination, not motivation. You can want all you want, but the results are in what you do, even if you don't feel like it.

The first couple of weeks I woke up every morning and my first thought was "I don't want to go to the gym". But I had laid out my gym clothes on top of my dresser so they were there, and it's what I put on. I went. I pushed myself a little more every day, even if it was just a few minutes. Now I like going to the gym.

If I'm tempted to overeat, it's not motivation to lose this weight that keeps my calories under goal. It's determination not to hinder my progress. I remind myself I'm not depriving myself of anything, I'm giving myself a gift. The most important gift: my health.

I also make sure that I want for nothing. If I'm craving ice cream, I've got single serve containers and I can add it to my day without blowing my goal. Same for pizza, steak, wine...anything.

I'm not always happy clappy motivated. But I am determined to make the best decisions for my weight loss.

Machka9

3 weeks into the process, I started losing weight at a steady rate. That was motivating.

But to get to that point, you've got to start and stick with it. It's just a matter of doing it ... like how we get up in the morning, and shower, and go to work ... we just do those things. Eating within my calorie limit was just part of what I did.

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Cohalligan

I have been having a low motivation week due to what me and my girl friend call the "night shift ugh." But I just trucked down the memory lane of my closet and tried on my jeans from my starting weight, and spent some time about what I am teaching my daughter (2 years old) when I treat myself well with exercise and eating right. Hopefully she will learn good techniques to be healthy and happy and never be in the boat I am. Or if she ever is, that knowing that Mom did it means she can to.

edixon127

I only use motivation to fuel my success in the first two weeks of restarting my weight loss attempt (I've failed at this a handful of times) and when there's an event that I know would normally throw me off the bandwagon if I rely on habit. Other than that, I think eating right, exercising, and logging have to become habits. Motivation will wane but habits are hard to break.

pcpop7

Echoing what everyone is saying here. Motivation is what gets you started but it is pure determination and habit that keeps the momentum going.

Going for a run, going to the gym these are things I just do now, after 3 years I cannot think of not doing them. Some mornings my motivation is low, I feel myself making excuses to not go exercise and it is pure determination that sees me through it.

So yeah, eventually motivations turn into just something else you do.

Dawn1996r

CiaraCatch wrote: »

The only way to do it is to find something that's sustainable in the long term. If that means eating for 0.5lb loss/wk, do that. Find changes you don't really mind making to your diet, eg lean chicken in salads instead of breaded chicken, or 1 round of sandwiches instead of 2, or diet cola instead of normal stuff, or 1tsp oil instead of 1tbsp to fry with. Use those changes to help you stay within your calorie allowance without feeling deprived, see what changes they make to your weight, and that may be motivation enough. Good luck!

This is by far the best advice I've received. I find that making your body suffer by eating tiny amounts of calories is more off putting and nearly always causes me to fail.

Thank you

Dawn1996r

I'd like to thank you all!

Today is a new day and a fresh start. I'm very determined that I can do this. I'm sure there will be many ups and downs but if I don't give up and I keep going, I will get there.

Thanks again, you're all brilliant and gave me that push that I needed.