Starting and Stopping

evansdominicjames

Hi Everyone, I'm new to using the message boards. Can anyone give me tips on how to stay motivated, eat healthy and exercise regularly. I always seem to start and be really determined and then loose motivation. I'm so eager to get to where I want to be but need that extra push hence why I thought the message boards would help.

Help is greatly appreciated

kommodevaran

To stop starting and stopping, you have to be self driven. That means you have to stop relying on others to push you. You have to stop being so eager for the result, and start embracing the process. You also need to stop relying on motivation. You need a plan that feels reasonable enough to be worthy of determination to stick to. That probably means you have to redefine "eat healthy and exercise regularly" from vague but restrictive to enjoyable and flexible.

kimny72

evansdominicjames wrote: »

Hi Everyone, I'm new to using the message boards. Can anyone give me tips on how to stay motivated, eat healthy and exercise regularly. I always seem to start and be really determined and then loose motivation. I'm so eager to get to where I want to be but need that extra push hence why I thought the message boards would help.

Help is greatly appreciated

Are you trying to do everything all at once? Are you quitting when you have a couple of days that aren't perfect? Stop that

Set one or two small goals at a time. Focus on making them a habit. Don't try to force yourself to do something you don't like to do. You don't have to do a specific exercise or eat a specific food. Choose your battles.

No one stays motivated. I'm not excited to brush my teeth or put the dishes in the dishwasher, it's just a habit I do every day. That's how I got with weighing and logging my food, and taking a morning walk. I don't even think about it anymore, it's just what I do.

Make sure your definition of "eat healthy" isn't too restrictive. Make sure to pick exercise and workouts you enjoy. If you fall down, figure out why, learn, shrug it off, and move forward. :drinker:

88olds

Count me as a motivation skeptic. I think motivation is too fleeting to sustain any significant weight loss. This is what worked for me. And it didn’t start out aimed at eating healthy but I guess I ended up eating healthy enough.

Start a food diary. Get a food scale, a necessity. Use the MFP calculators to get a calorie target to eat in a deficit. And set about crunching numbers. Try to hit your calorie target.

But this- everything you eat or drink that has calories goes in your food diary. Go over your number? Log it. Go crazy over.? Log that too.
The process is more important than the numbers.

Your calorie target. Don’t give into the temptation to set your calorie number as low as MFP will allow. If you’re trying to lose while pursuing a high level of fitness, your eating needs to be spot on, and sufficient to sustain your workouts.

Healthy eating means different things to different people. But I found that to sustain myself eating at a deficit I had to eat plenty of fresh veggies and fruit and be careful with potatoes, rice, sugar and baked goods. My protein tends to be lean but I’m sure to get adequate fat, mostly from healthy oils. I’ve been maintaining now for years eating like this.

Calorie counting requires constant problem solving, adjusting and experimenting. Just keep your diary going and never quit. There is no finish line.

JohnBarth

88olds wrote: »

There is no finish line.

This is probably the most important thing anyone can ever read!

evansdominicjames

Thank you everyone for you responses, they are brilliant. I will definitely look into taking small steps at a time and start planning more efficiently

pinuplove

Motivation is the biggest stumbling block to lasting change. Don't depend on it. Just make the changes. Small things add up to big things. Consistency is far more important than motivation.

Millicent3015

I'd say start cultivating patience. You're not in a race and as 88olds said, there is no finish line. I started doing ten minutes of exercise once a week, and I've worked up to twenty minutes a day over eleven months. That was the pace of change that worked for me. I like my weight loss slow and steady. My body is changing incrementally so I won't be expecting to have a six pack next week, or ever. I had to learn to manage my expectations and not rush, because my journey is lifelong. I added a handful of extra veg to a meal, bulked up a sandwich with extra tomato and lettuce. I made little changes and slowly phased out the foods that weren't doing much for my health, introducing healthier foods, adjusting my portions, and gradually formed more helpful eating habits. I will have a doughnut or a chocolate pudding now and then, and I still have binges, but I binge on different food now, like muesli, low sugar mousse pots, protein shakes/bars and granola. I can incorporate fast food if I have a taste for it, but since I've begun eating healthier those tastes have changed and I don't want that stuff regularly anymore. You figure out the path that will best suit you, and stick at it. Don't rely solely on the scales; as you lose weight you will notice changes in your body, an inch off here, a centimetre off there. These are small successes and use them to keep going. Motivation and willpower can take you so far, but to keep going, you have to get into the mindset of celebrating the journey, appreciating the scenery instead of wondering "why aren't we there yet?" and ignoring the beautiful view because you're too desperate to get where you want to be. Take it easy, be patient, and treat yourself kindly