What do you do when you feel like quitting?

skpresley20 · November 2011

I'm Pissed. Every time I get motivated to loose weight and do better, there's always this idiotic voice in the back of my head telling me I can't do it and just give up! And darn if I don't listen to it eveeeerrryyyy time. I don't get what the problem is? I'm motivated, doing good....feeling like it's possible; and then BOOM, really injure my knee. And then, knee feels better, and I decided it's too late and I'm too tired to do anything because I've spent alll day and yesterday cleaning/cooking/decorating. I feel like I can't jump back on the bandwagon. WTF is WRONG with me? Do I HAVE to hire a personal trainer to MAKE me do what I should automatically be doing for myself?

I just don't understand why I can't make this happen. I've never ever been skinny, so it's ten times as hard for me to work out. People tell me, "Just envision a stronger, skinner, size 8 YOU" Well how the hell am I supposed to do that if I've never been skinny and can't conjour up any positive motivating images to make me continue to press on when I feel like giving up?

I went from 197 to 191 pretty quick, then it's been up,down, up, down since then. I'm stalling at 192 or 193, I feel like giving up. It's never going to happen for me. I can't even loose one pound and that's with staying under my calories with some exercise. Is it possible I hit a platue so quick? *sigh*

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

ninerbuff · November 2011

Stand naked in front of a mirror and do the "sexy" dance. When realizing it doesn't look that sexy with extra weight, it's right back to the program.

realme56 · November 2011

Think about your baby not having a mom, or having a mom that can't run and play with her. Think about passing on your habits to your child, good or bad. These things help me even though my daughter is now 35 and has her own habits, I want her to be proud of me and I want to see grandchildren.

LadyGhostDuchess · November 2011

I am so sorry to hear this!
I am stuck on the same thing as you are! I have been stuck at 194 for a while now and it is driving me crazy! And I cannot envision myself smaller and what not, just like you cant. Maybe we can help each other out! When I feel like giving up I think of how big I use to be and think to myself "do I want to be like that again?"

Add me as a friend if you want and maybe we can get through this together!!

pinkgigi · November 2011

Of course it can be better tomorrow. You know why? Every day is a do-over. You don't HAVE to imagine yourself skinny, but can you imagine yourself one size smaller? Can you imagine yourself feeling fitter and stronger?

Actually you don't have to imagine either of those things, all you really need to do is start small and keep going and if it doesn't work today, try again.

Do you really think you HAVE to do it for yourself. I have a PT and I just got one to get me started, maybe you could do with that, it is not shameful to admit needing help. I don't think it means I can't do it for myself, I just choose to have one at this moment in time to help.

What you do need is to stop beating yourself up as a failure. Pick something you can do today that will help, stick to it, and give yourself kudos for having achieved it. You have already achieved some weight loss, give yourself a pat on the back, and know that you are strong and can do great things.

*hugs*
GG

bens_mommy · November 2011

Stand naked in front of a mirror and do the "sexy" dance. When realizing it doesn't look that sexy with extra weight, it's right back to the program.

Advice like this ALWAYS works for me.
Feel like drinking that soda or binging on that candy?
Do it standing naked in front of the mirror.

In all seriousness, though, I'm sorry you're experiencing this. I struggle with the same thing but what matters if you HAVE to get back to it, for your little one at the very least.

kagenw · November 2011

Stand naked in front of a mirror and do the "sexy" dance. When realizing it doesn't look that sexy with extra weight, it's right back to the program.

Sadly, I don't even have to dance

I can just stand there and get my renewed resolve.

gbelltx · November 2011

Is it worth it? Do you like having to take a breath after you tie your shoes, Do you like having to stop on the way up one flight of stairs, Do you like not being able to sleep at night because you’re so uncomfortable, Do you like being the parent who cannot play with the kids at the park? Do you like day dreaming about what you could do. Do you like looking in the mirror in the morning and saying I do not like what I see, year after year? Then YES its worth spending some time in motion to burn calories, yes its worth making those tough decisions on what to eat, yes its worth going out and spending a few dollars on some exercise shoes, yes it worth some of the pain and discomfort of exercise, yes its worth setting a good example for your children, nieces, nephews, brothers, and sisters!! Make the change, make it worth it, there are people counting on you. This time we got this!!

snobuny032 · November 2011

I suggest you say possitive affermations every day until that negative voice is silenced.. this is the one I said over and over again today.. . "TODAY I'M GOING TO DO BETTER THAN YESTERDAY.. TODAY I WILL REACH MY GOALS.. TODAY I WILL TAKE CARE OF MYSELF.. TODAY I WILL SUFFER AND SACRIFICE NOW SO I CAN LIVE THE REST OF MY LIFE AS A CHAMPION! I WILL MAKE TODAY COUNT!

Good luck!
~Frannie

Saruman_w · November 2011

I haven't had thoughts like that lately, but I know that if I did, I'd remind myself of how I felt about myself while being big. That's not something I want to feel ever again. This change I made is a permanent change. Not going back.

dannylives3 · November 2011

Losing weight is a goal that can be frustrating and confusing. "You're gonna be exercising the next 20 years anyway!" That's what I tell myself when the scale doesn't move. Its not about JUST weight loss. Don't give yourself 6 months to reach your goal and then give up if you don't reach it. Try to look at it like, "No matter what, no matter how long this takes, or how confusing and frustrating.....I WILL do this!"

Also, don't believe all those magazines at the supermarket telling you to have your dream body in 12 weeks. That's a bunch of BS. Those fitness models didn't take 12 weeks to look like that, they practice exercising as a way of life. ADOPT THAT WAY OF LIFE FOR YOURSELF. Commit to exercising for 1 year, slowly at first. I spent my first 3 months walking mostly, then stepped it up to jogging/walking for about a month, then I joined a gym and got into a program, then I started getting lazy and I quit going to the gym, then things got really bad and I only exercised maybe 4 times a month for about 2 or 3 months, Now Im back to exercising 5 or 6 times a week. My current gripe is that I'm not losing any weight. But its because I don't ever log in my food. I need to change that. I'm learning that its something that MUST be done. LEARN how to do this through trial and error. Hopefully I come back to this thread next year as a super hot and buff, cut and ripped piece of man-meat for you.

But I wont reach that goal if I give up because I fail along the way. Never give up on this!

Cristy_AZ · November 2011

Think about your baby not having a mom, or having a mom that can't run and play with her. Think about passing on your habits to your child, good or bad. These things help me even though my daughter is now 35 and has her own habits, I want her to be proud of me and I want to see grandchildren.

Pretty much this -- I DO have grandchildren, 5 and one on the way... I want to see them graduate from high school, get married,I swant to not only see great - great grandchilren, but run and play with them -- not from a wheelchair or with oxygen... and I want to be an example to them!!

Shorter term... there's a fitted royal blue dress I want to walk in a fancy restaraunt in on my husbands arm and see that proud twinkle in his eyes!!

Whatever it is -- is has to be what YOU have deep inside you that makes you keep going... just find your why and you'll find your how!!

kagenw · November 2011

Is it worth it? Do you like having to take a breath after you tie your shoes, Do you like having to stop on the way up one flight of stairs, Do you like not being able to sleep at night because you’re so uncomfortable, Do you like being the parent who cannot play with the kids at the park? Do you like day dreaming about what you could do. Do you like looking in the mirror in the morning and saying I do not like what I see, year after year? Then YES its worth spending some time in motion to burn calories, yes its worth making those tough decisions on what to eat, yes its worth going out and spending a few dollars on some exercise shoes, yes it worth some of the pain and discomfort of exercise, yes its worth setting a good example for your children, nieces, nephews, brothers, and sisters!! Make the change, make it worth it, there are people counting on you. This time we got this!!

Holy crap man, you are my new hero. Well said!

cbirdso · November 2011

I know you are discouraged, but just take a deep breath and concentrate on what YOU can CONTROL. I never feel like quitting because I focus only on the POSSIBLE and HIGHLY PROBABLE. What does that mean? It means baby steps. Before I lost 60 pounds, my goal was only that I would track all my food each day trying to choose as healthy as I knew how. Then I expanded to trying to stay under my limit. This was REALLY hard for me and I had to do what many people here on MFP say they DON'T do...and that is changing WHAT I ate. If I had continued to eat the same foods that I did before, I would never be where I am now.

So experiment a little, be easy on yourself, and don't make your end goal (i.e, losing weight) as your measure of success. Make your goals involve exercise, eating less, and eating better in increments that are ***doable***. Meeting goals creates success and success is a great motivator. Good Luck -- enjoy the journey.

Becca_007 · November 2011

Is it worth it? Do you like having to take a breath after you tie your shoes, Do you like having to stop on the way up one flight of stairs, Do you like not being able to sleep at night because you’re so uncomfortable, Do you like being the parent who cannot play with the kids at the park? Do you like day dreaming about what you could do. Do you like looking in the mirror in the morning and saying I do not like what I see, year after year? Then YES its worth spending some time in motion to burn calories, yes its worth making those tough decisions on what to eat, yes its worth going out and spending a few dollars on some exercise shoes, yes it worth some of the pain and discomfort of exercise, yes its worth setting a good example for your children, nieces, nephews, brothers, and sisters!! Make the change, make it worth it, there are people counting on you. This time we got this!!

Well said!

PlunderBunneh · November 2011

I don't let it be optional. This is not some program I can quit, this is my life and this is how I am choosing to live it. If I need a day off, I take it, because there is no way I could go the rest of my life without a day off every week. If I need two days off, fine, but on that third day you can bet my butt will be in the gym. Remembering how great I feel after I've eaten well for the day or I've kicked butt at the gym makes it all worth it.
This is what you gotta do. Get on it

melbaby925 · November 2011

I think a lot of us have the same problem. I came across this the other day - I don't remember where I got it (turned 40 and went senile, but that's another post for another time) - but it makes a ton of sense. We are what we think we are. When we have a picture of what we are going to be in our head or what we think we are (thinking of yourself as Jabba the Hut - kind of self defeating - trust me) the subconscious makes it happen for us. So if you are convinced you don't deserve to look a certain way, or that you can't live without that sugar cookie...or that my butt will never be small enough to fit into *those* jeans...it won't.

"Everything you are is determined by your thoughts. All the past experiences you have had up to this point in your life exist in your thoughts. Your entire future from this point on exists only in your thoughts. You’ve probably grown accustomed to thinking of yourself as your body. However, you are more thought than you are physical substance. Your thoughts are what define you, not the molecules and atoms that you happen to carry around with you. Your thoughts are what allow you to relate to the world and to the other people in it. Your thoughts are what control every aspect of your life.

All of your behavior results from the thoughts you think. If you are not satisfied with your behavior or your performance, then all you have to do is change your thoughts and you will change your behavior. This is what many people refer to as visualization.

Here are four basic principles from Dr. Wayne Dyer, author of You’ll See It When You Believe It, that will help to put your thoughts to work for you.

•Your actions come from your images. If you constantly picture something in your mind, you will naturally move toward that thing. Whatever you see yourself doing, you will do. Your circumstances do not determine what your life will be; they reveal the kinds of images you have chosen up until now.

•Tell yourself that everything you visualize is already here. Think about the concept that there is really no such thing as time. When you visualize something, then it already exists for you. Your job is simply to bring it from the world of thought to the world of form.

•Be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Trying hard is not enough. Being determined is not enough. Giving it your “best shot” is not enough. Everything that you can visualize is already waiting for you to be connected to it. Your willingness to do whatever it takes is what will make that connection.

•Realize there is no such thing as failure. You only produce results. The concept of failure is based on someone’s opinion of how you could have done. You cannot fail. It is not possible -- you always produce results. If they’re not the results you desire, then you need to go back and examine your thoughts to see why they are leading you in the wrong direction.

Visualization is so powerful because your thoughts are at the very core of your essence. In fact, you are your thoughts. To change anything in your life, all that’s needed is a change in thought and a commitment to do whatever it takes to bring that thought into being."

— Ralph Marston