What do you do/think about when you feel like giving up?

stfpa

I often go back and forth between “I want to lose weight so I can look and feel my best self” and “you only live once, I can eat whatever I want”

When I’m in the second mood, I have to think about how eating food has never really impacted me hugely but feeling self conscious on the beach/in tight clothes/in short sleeve shirts definitely affects me daily. I also drink a lot of water and look at old pictures of myself when I was at my ideal weight.

What do you think about or do when you aren’t feeling motivated?

kommodevaran

I don't think like that, and I don't focus on motivation. I can (and do) eat whatever I want, I just can't (and don't) eat anything in unlimited amounts. I only have one body, and I want to take care of it, so I eat enough, but not too much, food.

Orphia

kommodevaran wrote: »

I don't think like that, and I don't focus on motivation. I can (and do) eat whatever I want, I just can't (and don't) eat anything in unlimited amounts. I only have one body, and I want to take care of it, so I eat enough, but not too much, food.

Well said. Sums up what I do.

I eat whatever I most want, within my calorie limit.

I don't wait around for motivation. I just do it.

Logging is a habit that takes only 2-3 minutes a day.

I don't need motivation to check the news, the weather, or my bank balance, and the same goes for my calorie limit.

Mrsindepenant1

I look at how little energy I have and that if I don’t get my *kitten* together my illness (AS and RA) is going to consume me and that my lack
Of energy will be affecting our son.
I also just want to get back to the skinny hot little me that hubby couldn’t get enough of 🤣

Candyspun

I've put in lots of work to get where I am, and I'm not going to sabotage that by putting it all back on. That, and I want to be skinny again, and I can see it getting closer.

neugebauer52

When I am confronted with a not - so - healthy food choice I always compare it with my favorites: meat, cheese, smoked salmon, any smoked fish, eggs. And suddenly the problem is gone.

Unknown

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jtomm2005

That I don’t want to look like before I began and I don’t want my efforts or time invested to get me where I’m at now wasted even though I’ve a long road ahead to get to where I want and need to be. Hope this helps

GOT_Obsessed

I just keep my eye on the prize so to speak. If I am confronted by surprise donuts at work, for example, Before I grab one I try to stop and think if eating it (or several) will hinder reaching my goal. Sometimes just that pause and doing some thinking can really help.

Mazda_Mx5

I can see and feel so much better when I am on track .
My confidence is better then a cake.

breezydan

I think about what I have achieved. The years before I decided to refocus my life were not good. I ate out, bar a lot, gained weight from drinking. Screwed up a great career by living the party life too hard. I chose to end that life after the job loss. My body has been physical record to the entire change.

Kim_S_G

I like this quote:

Don't give up what you want most, for what you want now.

Diatonic12

Doing what we've always done will get us what we've always gotten.

Always do your best. Plant now and you'll reap a harvest later. A cash crop.

Diatonic12

I think about....Tom Hardy.

Diatonic12

The pain of discipline is far less than the pain of regret.

Pain is the precursor to change. Take the leap. Bare your soul. Go BIG.

AnnPT77

I have to work at balancing my hedonism ("eat and drink all the tasty things!") against my health goals (at 62, to be strong, healthy and independent for as long as possible in order to avoid a permanent move to an assisted living facility).

Mostly, I try to minimize the need for willpower by finding strategies that are easy, fit into my life well, make me feel good, and are fun, so they play to my hedonism. That way, I can hold my pathetically limited willpower in reserve for times when there isn't an easy/fun option.

I try to think about "future Ann" when "current Ann" wants to do something extreme, and try to find a way to be nice to both of me.

Finally, I realize that the overwhelming majority of my days are what determine the overwhelming majority of my health/weight outcomes. An indulgent day here or there, especially on a special occasion, isn't going to ruin everything. In fact, it's not going to ruin anything - it just has to be balanced out long term.

Staying at a healthy weight is such a positive thing in my life: I feel so much better, can do so much more, so much more easily. (I'm in year 3 of maintenance.) I want to keep that.

I wish I'd known decades ago how simple weight loss/management was (not always easy ), and that I'd been thinner earlier. If I had, I could've avoided a lot of problems that occurred on route to today, like at least some of my arthritis and joint problems, the gallbladder adenomyomatosis, whatever other permanent damage I may have from decades of high blood pressure/cholesterol/triglycerides, and maybe even the cancer.

elysahan

Think of the one thing, the one reason, that pushed you to start this journey. Train yourself to specifically focus on that throughout a consistent basis and eventually form a habit. It’s definitely tough but you will always be growing as long as you keep to it. And you’re human, don’t ever beat yourself up on this. Discipline and Consistency 💪🏼

walking2running

When I get off track, it's usually because I get really insecure, and unsure about whether I will succeed, or if I will be able to keep it up for the next 50 years or so. I have used food as a coping mechanism before, and it's really hard to go through life without that crutch. I am not very confident in myself... I don't think I'm strong enough. I have to commit to health every single day of my life.

I do think about that adage, "you only live once", but more in the context that I only have one shot at being a young mom to my kids. I want to go swimming with them, and have the energy to keep up with them. I want to be an example to them.

hroderick

I'm working hard to change a past life of bad eating behaviors and replace them with good eating behaviors. It all starts in the mind. Studying mindful eating flashcards helped me a lot. A lot of the way I live had to be permanently changed

jlabine6562

That is how I am feeling right now. I'm making progress and don't want to do something that will push me back. It has been a hard struggle to get this far...

brenn24179

I was feeling like giving up, been listening to some motivational videos, some hypnosis videos that tell you what we already know but good to listen to,eat healthy foods, love yourself, be kind to yourself and don't overeat. It helps me give up my bad habits.

FickleFruitBat

I think about my last workout and how I want to better my performance next time. Eating well and continuing to lose weight gives me more physical capacity to be active, and I'm amazed at what my body can do!

That, and all the cute clothes out there to wear.

amusedmonkey

What is it about the process that makes you want to give up? Maybe that's where you should start to formulate better strategies.

If you're feeling you're putting your life on hold to diet, you don't need to. It's true. You only live once, and I want to make the best of it. I want to enjoy the food I eat, enjoy food rituals in social situations, and enjoy all the things that I've always enjoyed. I make it possible to do all of that by planning for higher calorie foods, taking maintenance days every once in a while, and re-arranging the calorie composition of less important meals.

Part of being an adult is understanding that all things in life have a cost of some sort, and it's a balancing act to determine what's worth it. Instead of looking for motivation on a diet, I look at "what's worth it today, and am I willing to pay the cost?". The cost can vary, but I try to get the "best deal on sale" by picking what feels easiest to pay on a particular day.

I have several options and all of them are valid: losing less this month, pausing weight loss, having a small but controlled and infrequent gain, planning calories to fit, an extra session of exercise, skipping a meal, banking calories in advance, having a tasty but lower calorie alternative, having a smaller but satisfying portion, postponing the meal I want to another day where I expect my calories to be easier to control, and a few other options. As long as I'm in a deficit more often than not I will eventually lose weight without having to put my life on hold. I'm more driven by living a happy life than by single goal motivators, and not overeating every day is part of making that life happy.

amyn73

I think about how I want to feel and look in order to be truly myself, not a person who hides behind clothing, or avoids social situations because I'm embarrassed of who I am. It's not always successful....I battle every day with food. But it helps when I feel down or want to quit.

kami3006

I made habits out of the things with the most impact...logging for weight management and exercise for body composition. Once the habits are set, motivation is no longer needed. I know that's easier said than done, but it's really how I have managed to keep my momentum for the past 5 years. I don't put much thought into it anymore except when I am altering my intake or exercise for new goals.

anl90

I keep focusing on the numbers I see slowly but surely going down. I also focus on how good I feel after I take a walk, or how proud I feel when I tell myself 'no' to bad stuff. I wish I could be more help, but honestly right now I am more motivated than I have ever been, so I cannot currently relate all that much.

DomesticKat

Eating too much never really impacted me, until eventually one day it did. I was okay with being overweight and didn't care what I looked like. Aesthetics weren't enough to motivate me. I had zero incentive to lose weight until it started to influence my health and physical ability to do the things I wanted and needed to do.

Prior to using MFP? You bet I sabotaged myself and quit, but I learned from it. Now I know that the key to not giving up is to not make weight loss so difficult that I want to. I eat everything I want to eat, in a judicious manner and in slightly smaller quantities. I don't try to lose the weight over-night or expect instant gratification or change everything about my eating and exercise habits at once. I don't aim for the biggest deficit possible. I asked myself what kind of plan I could formulate that I can realistically stick to for as long as it takes to lose the weight. Seems to have worked quite well so far.

Evamutt

Orphia wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

I don't think like that, and I don't focus on motivation. I can (and do) eat whatever I want, I just can't (and don't) eat anything in unlimited amounts. I only have one body, and I want to take care of it, so I eat enough, but not too much, food.

Well said. Sums up what I do.

I eat whatever I most want, within my calorie limit.

I don't wait around for motivation. I just do it.

Logging is a habit that takes only 2-3 minutes a day.

I don't need motivation to check the news, the weather, or my bank balance, and the same goes for my calorie limit.

same here & even when I was young it wasn't all about looks. I don't like feeling "bloated" or it being hard to bend over or get up from the ground or just moving about plus it was hard to find clothes that fit right

Lounmoun

My reason for losing weight was because I was not living the way I wanted, was in pain, didn't want to develop serious health problems, etc. I feel so much better since dropping some weight and becomming more active. I continue to be motivated to keep trying to get to a healthy weight and maintaining because it benefits me to do so. If I were 135 lbs I probably wouldn't be as motivated to lose more weight because there would be less benefit.
I do not approach weight loss is a very restrictive manner or feel like my diet has totally changed. I eat food I like all day every day just in more appropriate portion sizes for me so it is not that challenging to sustain long term.

ExistingFish

I have never really had a problem with weight, I could gain a little then lose it pretty easy. Then I started having children. My first was complicated and a c-section. I lost weight after he was born, but then got pregnant again. After she was born I "accepted" being a mom meant being squishy (rationalizing) and then I had surprise baby #3 and went through a really stressful situation with family.

I was taking some pictures when my youngest was a baby and I realized how far I had gotten from healthy. I was still wearing the same size or one size bigger (knit and stretch clothing are really forgiving). The photographic evidence didn't lie.

My motivation is my children and my future with my children. I don't want to struggle with my kids at the grocery store. I don't want to have to sit down at the park and not participate. I don't want to suffer from health problems when my kids are depending on me. I want to model for my children a healthy lifestyle. With healthy eating. I want to model for them strength and good health. They aren't going anywhere.

I see my dad and my husband's parents struggling with weight related illnesses. Diabetes. Chronic pain. Debilitating back pain. I don't want to be like that for my kids, if I can do something about it.

jjamid38

Gosh this is my struggle too! I have a cheat day here and there, but try to limit it b/c it's so easy to turn it into a cheat week. Big motivator is thinking about how far I've come with exercise and I so don't want to start over. It's easy to "lose it" and have to start back at square one. Also when I'm really feeling unmotivated, I try on a swimsuit ha ha.