Stuggling to get motivated...

RainbowCandle24

Last year I was trying to lose weight and I was pretty happy with my effort but in December I went on holidays and gained back a bit of it..

Now that I'm back home, I'm struggling to eat healthy again and struggling to find motivation to do excercise. I know that I want to but I find myself craving bad food or feeling lazy.. and often giving into those cravings.. and even though I've done it before I can't seem to get myself back into a better mind frame and resist the temptations.. any help? Or suggestions?

Live_life_well

Been there done that. At some point you will have to create a firm goal, plan a game plan to achieve it, and stick to your plan. At the end of the day this is on you to excercise will power.

When I want to torpedo my goal there's nothing anyone can do to stop me.

dsboohead

Just think.......I can do this now or keep doing what I'm doing and let it just get worse and more difficult.

ucabucca

Set small daily goals for both food and exercise. Trying going back to meal planning. Setting challenges for myself and rewarding myself daily for getting back on track helps me after in juries. I use things like special bubble baths, movies and yes occasional treats of eating out healthy.

kommodevaran

I can understand why you're struggling, if your motivation is to lose weight, and if you feel that the food you like is bad.

You don't have to cut out anything, you don't have to eat anything in particular, you don't have to exercise. To lose weight, you just have to eat a little less, but do it for real, consistently and for a long time (forever, if you want to keep the weight off).

If you want to eat fewer treats, don't buy so many.

LuckyAndi

I can understand that. Motivation is so hard for me to find, as well. What's keeping me going is realizing and remembering the fact that if I hadn't given up counting and logging after 8 months, I would be at my goal weight and well into maintenance right now. Knowing that actually ticks me off. I'm using that frustration with myself to stick with it all the way this time.

kittybenn

dsboohead wrote: »

Just think.......I can do this now or keep doing what I'm doing and let it just get worse and more difficult.

This is brilliant. You really have to think of it that way: Do you really WANT to start from the beginning or get a grip before more damage is done?

AnnPT77

RainbowCandle24 wrote: »

Last year I was trying to lose weight and I was pretty happy with my effort but in December I went on holidays and gained back a bit of it..

Now that I'm back home, I'm struggling to eat healthy again and struggling to find motivation to do excercise. I know that I want to but I find myself craving bad food or feeling lazy.. and often giving into those cravings.. and even though I've done it before I can't seem to get myself back into a better mind frame and resist the temptations.. any help? Or suggestions?

OK, your current self wants so-called "bad" food and inactivity. What does your future self want and need?

I'm now 62, and formerly obese (until age 59). I have friends my age (+/- 10 years) from my exercise activities. Most of these friends are at a healthy weight, some maybe a little overweight, but all physically active. I have other friends around my age from my sedentary arts & crafts hobbies. Many of these people are quite over weight, a fair number very obese, and nearly all are physically inactive.

Compared to the active, healthy weight people, the inactive overweight people have more chronic health conditions (high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc.). They get sick more often from routine viruses and infections (colds, flu, etc.) and also serious illnesses (kidney dysfunction, cancer, etc.). They need more frequent surgeries or other intrusive major medical treatments (joint replacements, kidney/gallstones, etc.). When they have illnesses or injuries or surgeries, it takes them much longer to recover, and they experience more complications on the way. They spend more money on prescription drugs, and more time in doctors offices.

In personal lives, the inactive/obese people often need help with routine chores, like yard work, flipping the mattress, minor furniture shifting, etc. They require bigger time commitments from their children and friends to help them.

Furthermore, to the extent that I know my friends' extended families, the middle-aged (30s-50s) children of the inactive, overweight group are themselves inactive or overweight, with developing or full-blown health issues of their own. The children of the active/healthy-weight people are more likely to be active and healthy themselves. The parents' examples have shown the children what is normal adult behavior, and most follow the parents' example.

The overweight/inactive people are more constrained in what they can do for fun, too. My active friends and I do things like go to music festivals, art fairs, maker fairs, big quilt shows, museums, athletic events at big arenas, and more. In most cases, my inactive friends find that things like that require too much walking, standing, or stairs, so they don't usually do them (when they do, they often pay for it with fatigue or pain). Many of them have trouble with things like fitting into a restaurant booth, or getting onto a chair at a high-top table. They need close parking spots for errands (many have handicapper tags or license plates), and can't get in or out of the car in tight parking places.

At this stage, if my active friends want to splurge on food or drink on a special occasion, most of them can and do, no big deal. For some of the inactive/obese people, doing that could cause an acute health crisis, so they can't do it.

Overall, the inactive/obese people spend a much larger fraction of their daily lives sick, in pain, depressed, and generally unhappy. Though it's untrue, they believe it's too late to make any improvement. This makes me sad.

So: You know what your current self wants. What does your future self want and need? It's your call.

RAinWA

johnandjenk wrote: »

Why?

Probably because AnnPT77's post is absolutely wonderful advice and the stuff you've been spamming the boards with is total junk.

The idea that your body can only burn one type of fuel at a time so you should only eat one type of fuel in some arbitrary window is absolutely silly. Your body is smarter than that.

The only thing needed to lose weight is to eat less calories than you burn.

try2again

RainbowCandle24 wrote: »

Last year I was trying to lose weight and I was pretty happy with my effort but in December I went on holidays and gained back a bit of it..

Now that I'm back home, I'm struggling to eat healthy again and struggling to find motivation to do excercise. I know that I want to but I find myself craving bad food or feeling lazy.. and often giving into those cravings.. and even though I've done it before I can't seem to get myself back into a better mind frame and resist the temptations.. any help? Or suggestions?

OP, your post made me realize I had never checked the "Most Useful Posts" stickies at the top of the Motivation & Support Forum. I took a peek and found this:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818701/the-myth-of-motivation-and-what-you-need-instead/p1

try2again

Another personal favorite of mine (it's lengthy, but worthwhile). Focus on one thing that will help you the most and spend your willpower on that.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10613774/the-importance-of-willpower-for-weight-loss/p1

Also, as another poster noted, you mention "struggling to eat healthy again". Would a balanced diet that incorporates the foods you like be a "struggle"? The key to sustainability is to not make the process harder than it has to be

RAinWA

OP - you've gotten some great advice, best of luck to you!

ugofatcat

A few ideas:

1. This was an idea I read from "The Hungry Brain." Unfortunately, people tend to think of their future self as an abstract. Trying to think about yourself in the future in the present can help. So, picture yourself in 3 months. Picture what you look like, what you are wearing, where you are. The more detail, the better. Then think about what decisions future self would want you to make right now.

2. About getting motivated- stop waiting to get motivated. Treat eating well and exercising like a job.

3. Make it difficult to make unhealthy choices and easier to make healthier choices. Don't keep foods that tempt you in the house, but keep fresh fruits/veggies (precut) in the front of the fridge so that is the first thing you will see. Keep your workout clothes in the car or somewhere so you will see them when you get home.

4. When you have an off day, journal about what you think caused it and what you think will help you.

saraonly9913

Push yourself to exercise first. Often the cravings will fall away.

pamfgil

Cravings don't last that long, come up with distractions that you will apply when they hit