Motivation

joni1358
joni1358 Posts: 1 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello friends! I really need to change my lifestyle. I need to eat better and exercise. I’m 66 borderline diabetic and retired. NO MORE EXCUSES!!! I need motivation because I love life, and I want to live it to the fullest!

Replies

  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,320 Member
    Motivation will fade.

    Healthy consistent habits will last a lifetime.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,740 Member
    Hello, and welcome, @joni1358!

    Hate to say it, but I'm another non-fan of motivation. Why? As a hedonistic aging hippie flake, it's not the sharpest tool in my toolbox, so I can't rely on it.

    Also, as that smart @xbowhunter says, it fades: Can anyone stay "motivated" for the whole rest of their natural life, especially when other parts of life get challenging? I'm unconvinced. For sure, I do want to stay at a healthy weight and active for the rest of my life, if at all possible.

    What instead, then, if not motivation? I vote for commitment to the improvement process. I don't know how I flipped the switch inside my head to "I'm doing this" (9 years ago now!), but I did it and meant it.

    After that, it was a matter of finding new habits I could make part of my routine: I found ways to eat tasty things within my calorie goal that kept me full and happy and reasonably well nourished; and to keep up doing fun active things that kept me reasonably fit.

    So far, so good: Now at age 68, still at a healthy weight (after around 30 previous years of overweight/obesity) and still active in my favorite sport (after decades of couch potato status).

    Along the way, I tried things that didn't work for me. In my world, that's not a personal failure. It's a learning experience about some tactic that isn't going to work for me. As long as I pick myself up ASAP after a mis-step, revise my plan, and keep working at it, progress happens.

    Commitment, patience, persistence. I think those were good allies, since I couldn't rely on motivation, willpower, discipline and that sort of thing. I'm a huge believer in trying to find the easy path to my goals, rather than the fastest or most popular. Maybe that's just me, though. :flowerforyou:

    Best wishes for success, however you choose to pursue it: The results are worth the effort.
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,937 Member
    You have motivation!
    You love life and want to live it to the fullest!
    To that end, devote 15 minutes each day to planning meals, measuring and logging food, and reflecting on what foods at what times and in which combinations make you healthier and happier.
    As a separate consideration, you may do something along the same lines with exercise.
    Exercise is good for the body and soul; not so much for weight loss.
    Eating healthier and exercising can go hand in hand for a better life!
    Today I choose Joy!

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