motivation lasts a few days, and then...

adsyron

Does anyone else do this? I get super motivated, log everything, work out, drink all of my water. I get on the scale after a few days and I've lost weight. Then somewhere in my head, I think, "I've made it! I can let up." Then it all falls apart. Why is this? How can I overcome this?

KevHex

I'm slowly learning after years of failures that the mindset you need is made up of lots of different strands. Including knowledge about yourself, your state of mind, anxiety/mental well being, consistency over many weeks/months/years and understanding that you do not need to be 100% 'perfect' all the time, but you do want to be hitting 90% consistency levels over the long term. Boom or bust does not work, as you say, it falls apart.

Build a framework of good habits, logging, hitting calorie goals and consistency and you will be get there. Do this for months or years and you will achieve everything you set out to do.

Over a period of a day or week make sure you CI is less than your CO, that is what it comes down to in it's simplest terms. It is easier said than done....

KimberlinaB

I do this. I think there’s more to it in my case, but definitely relatable.

Would it help to designate one cheat meal per week? Or one cheat day every couple weeks? Something you can satisfy a craving or two and get right back to it without derailing anymore than you need to?

Good luck!

quiksylver296

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Terytha

Start with tinier changes. Instead of making it feel like "I Have Started A Grand Journey And Will Do Everything," try "I'm just gonna start logging what I eat for a bit." Then when that's comfortable, add in a little bit of exercise. A little extra water. Make such small changes that they merge seamlessly into your usual day.

And don't weigh yourself if that's an issue. Lock the scale away for a couple months.

steveko89

Foster positive habits and sustainability. I'm not a huge fan of telling people to not try "all the things" at once, but know that you're not going to always check all the boxes, and that's ok. Though, don't fall into an all-or-nothing attitude and throw in the towel if you're not leading the well-rounded, healthy, fitness-filled life you aspire to achieve. Be introspective, but without judgement. If you see you're not hitting one of your process goals, dig in and seek out the 'why'.

- Do you not log consistently? Try pre-logging (big fan) as it forces you to put some forethought into your meals
- Skipping workouts? Maybe you're trying to fit exercise into time in your schedule that's not conducive for you. Personally, I'd much rather workout after work right before dinner, but this doesn't fit well with other factors in my world, so I get up extra early to workout before work. This didn't happen overnight but it it's important enough for me to foster the habit of doing it. Alternatively, maybe you're doing exercise you don't really like but someone told you it was "fat torching" or you'd burn a bunch of calories doing it. I had to learn the hard way that if I didn't enjoy my workouts I'd find a way to weasel out of them.

88olds

Can you write a letter to yourself today that you will open in 3-4 days to remind yourself that this has been a issue?

Or maybe stay off of the scale for a week? Maybe 2 weeks?

Can you make your goals about your behavior? Log everything for a month? Stick to your gym schedule for a month? Things you can control. Someone on here has a great thread about making the process your goal but I don’t have the link.

RelCanonical

Terytha wrote: »

Start with tinier changes. Instead of making it feel like "I Have Started A Grand Journey And Will Do Everything," try "I'm just gonna start logging what I eat for a bit." Then when that's comfortable, add in a little bit of exercise. A little extra water. Make such small changes that they merge seamlessly into your usual day.

And don't weigh yourself if that's an issue. Lock the scale away for a couple months.

This is what works for me too. Little things at a time until they start to become habits and your new "normal". And then add something else. I walk everyday but if I had started walking everyday and trying to log and eat more vegetables all at once, I probably would have stopped. Also to note, as I'm writing this - if you feel like it's too much, try stopping just one thing, like, stop exercising, or stop watching your macros closely and just watch calories. It's so much easier to start those again later when you still have all the other things going.

showjefb

I have experienced this and thought about this quite a bit over the years. I have revisited the topic in my head recently since I have gained a bit of my weight back that I had kept off for 6+ years.

Lots to say but just a couple of thoughts for the sake of brevity:

• As others said, small changes over time that become lifestyle rather than a 180 or flipping the switch
• Do the really hard work of figuring out why you are overweight in the first place...beyond calories.. the thoughts, mindset, habits, feelings, etc that cause you to eat too much
• Whatever you do to lose weight (both in nutrition and exercise) HAS to be enjoyable.

Bry_Fitness70

Relying on "motivation" is a losing proposition long term. Motivation is usually fueled by the newness of something - as we all know, "new" is fleeting and once that wears off, so does the motivation.

The best strategy is to transform the desired behavior into a habit. Habits are formed by repetition and eventually become reflexive. A reflexive behavior is not prone to derailment by moods and emotions. "It is this day and this time, so this is what I do." - there is no negotiating your way out of it.

When my alarm went off at 4:20 am for my 5 am swim this morning, my motivation was nonexistent. But since exercising at 5 am is a habit, I got up, got ready, and drove to the pool. Afterward, my motivation to go to work was also nonexistent. Yet off to work I went. Motivation was irrelevant - exercise and work are habits that I don't give myself the option to skip.