Ideas needed

Jayj180894

I'm not new to fitness and health. I've tried many times before but always seem to end up with a lack of motivation and end up putting the weight back on again. Don't get me wrong I never go to extremes, I always lose weight slowly and in a healthy fashion, I never deny myself those yummy treats, I always adjust my calories to fit them in when I fancy them. I never stay at the gym so long I end up hating it. When i start getting to a weight im getting happy with, I slowly end up opting for chocolate bar instead of an orange then I start thinking oh a few extra calories won't matter to the point I start putting weight on again to the point I lose motivation. (Mainly when life gets a bit stressful) So who's got some great tips and tricks that helps you feel motivated when life gets a bit much or just in general? What keeps you motivated??

janejellyroll

Why do you want to lose weight? Staying connected to that may help you stay sufficiently motivated.

Ryansworld84

Write down the reasons why you want to stay fit and healthy. Then every time you think about straying from healthy lifestyle look at that list and remind yourself why you want to be healthy.

Ryansworld84

But with that said it's ok to have some 'fun' every now and then. Strive to be really strict mon-friday then on the weekend treat yourself to limited 'fun' meals or drinks! It's good for your mental health too

kimny72

If the problem is stress eating, there are two ways to deal with it:

1. Find some yummy but not too calorie dense foods that you can keep on hand to munch on when you need to.
2. Stress eating is a habit, and the best way to lose a bad habit is not to white knuckle through it, but to replace it with a good habit. So try to find another easy thing you can turn to when stress is getting to you. Take a walk, listen to loud music, do a crossword, doodle, phone a friend, meditate, something.

Do you continue to log once you're at goal? If not, that may help. I tend to estimate portions more now (though I still use the food scale for some things) but continuing to log and seeing what I'm doing in black & white has been key for me.

toxikon

I think the key to maintenance is just treating it like weight loss. The only difference is you get to eat more calories. You should still track your calories (if you have trouble eyeballing portions and mindfully eating) and monitor and record your weight with daily/weekly weigh-ins. It's a life-long commitment, not a temporary diet.

sijomial

Jayj180894 wrote: »

What keeps you motivated??

I enjoy the vast majority of the exercise I do which makes it easy.

I enjoy living in a fit/healthy/strong/slim body - it gives me a sense of well-being which is a daily reward for not eating too much and getting my exercise in.

Most of my family haven't lived in good health in their old age, I want as many good years as possible by working on the things that are under my control.

I believe a parent should set a good example to their family.

I've got a lot of old injuries which trouble me far less when I'm the right weight and strong.

Because I'm very active I get to eat a lot more nice food!

PS - don't rely on motivation, it has to be backed up with commitment. Motivation might start you moving forwards but it's commitment that stops you sliding backwards when motivation falters.

PS2 - once you get to goal set an intervention weight that triggers action to arrest a drift before it becomes a slide.

PS3 - acknowledge the stress and address it rather than trying to smoother it with comfort food (or in my case - drink...)

kshama2001

Rather than thinking about motivation, I find it more useful to work on the discipline to create and maintain healthy habits.

Summoning up the motivation to exercise at lunchtime is hard for me, but once it becomes a habit I just do it without giving it much thought.

When my OH and I were dating, I went to the gym on our off nights. Now that we are living together, I have less of a routine, which is challenging for me. I need to just pick some times and create a schedule. Now I struggle with the motivation to exercise at night; previously if it was Tuesday or Thursday, I just went to the gym after dinner without thinking about it.