How do you succeed when your motivation is just not there?

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  • dsboohead
    dsboohead Posts: 1,900 Member
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    The ball is in your court......hit it or let it roll by you!
  • pamfgil
    pamfgil Posts: 449 Member
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    Have a look at what you are doing and see if you can incorporate additional movement into something you already do, rather than find a separate time slot to do a workout, same with food, look at making small changes that reduce your calories with additional components for the ones that want it
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,256 Member
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    If you’re not motivated, you won’t succeed.

    And we can’t give you motivation, it has to come from you. So what is it you really want? Not some nebulous ‘health’, but what reaching your weight loss goal means to you. Is it about walking with friends without getting out of puff? Being able to go into clothes shops and just try on whatever you like? Not waking up in the night with panic attacks because of the number of people who’ve told you you’ll die if you carry on as you are?

    Then every time you consider having an extra biscuit, frame it as a choice; you can have the biscuit, or you can have that goal that matters to you. Imagine how amazing that goal is going to feel. And choose it over the biscuit.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    Motivation can mean two different things.

    You can "have a" motivation, as in what is your why? Being clear on the real life benefits that you want is important to keep in mind, and can help when the going gets tough. Why do you want to lose weight, and how would that actually be experienced in your day to day life?

    You can "be" motivated, as in you can be excited and energized to do all the things! This is temporary and should not be relied on.

    All you have to do to lose weight is eat a bit less, and it can help if you can move a bit more. Focus on building small, healthy habits rather than doing all the things every FB post and "helpful" coworker tell you are important. 99% of them aren't necessary, and most aren't even helpful.

    The blunt point is - everyone is too busy. And no one has unlimited motivation and willpower. And yet there are tons of people here who logged consistently, learned from their diary day by day, and reached their goal. Which means you can too. Good luck :drinker:
    I came in here again to mention the difference between motivated for and motivated to - differentiating between the process and the goal. But I have a different approach for the "be motivated" part - make this "journey" (which is lifelong) a pleasant one. It's not just that you don't have to do all those unnecessary unpleasant things, it's that every unnecessary unpleasant thing you do, reduces your chance of success. To lose and maintain weight, all you have to do, is to eat less. It should actually take less time to eat less. But nobody really likes the idea of eating less, or buying a cheaper car, or living in a smaller house, for that matter. But we manage, as long as we have what we need, we make the best out of what we have. If you acknowledge that, and ask yourself "how can I make eating less, enjoyable", you will realize that the hardest part to change, is your mindset, not your body.

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