How do you motivate yourself?
gatorgirlyyy
Posts: 349
In general I love working out, especially once I do it and my blood starts pumping. My problem is before hand when I feel like "blah, I really don't want to do anything"! My question is, how do you motivate yourself to get up and DO IT even when you really don't want to?
Please share.
Please share.
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Replies
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I used to have the same problem. While working out I would feel great and think to myself, 'Wow, from now on I'll be doing it constantly a few times a week!', but a new day would come and I would always find a reason to postpone it for tomorrow.. But somehow, the tomorrow would usually take lots of days, sometimes weeks or even months to come
So now I am doing a 30days challenge where I have to do a workout everyday. It might be a short workout or very low impact, if I don't have the time or feel under the wheather, but I must do at least a little something. I do it first thing in the morning and, being on the 23rd day, I'm used to it by now. At first it was hard to wake up earlier than I have to and not to eat breakfast right away, but I would tell to myself, 'Come on, you can exercise for 20 minutes, can't you?' And, once I get started, it usually is a longer workout I remind myself everyday about the energy boost that I get after working out, and somehow just do it. The fact that summer is coming and I want my clothes to look more nicely on me helps as well. Also, I like to imagine everyone's reaction seeing me after the weight loss. And yesterday I took a bunch of my someday-to-be before pictures and set a collage of them as my desktop background, to remind myself that I can change my body in the pictures and have a better looking collage 0 -
The way I get people to look at it initially is thr Everytome you workout you take once step closer to your goal. So if you want to keep the weight loss momentum going you gotta get workouts in.
The other thing I suggest is to plan your exercise slot into your day, that way you know when you should be exercising.
Hope that helps a bit!0 -
I really dont know how i motivate myself. Its a true fact that when you are truly ready for change then it will come easy to just get up and do it. Before I decided I had to do something about my weight I would tell my hubby we are going to go to the gym. IT would never come. WHY I wasnt ready to put the effort in to really do it. Now. There is no arguing. I have to have activity or something just isnt right with my day. It's like you said before it may be a struggle because you really dont want to do it, but when you are truly ready to loose that weight you are still going to have those days where you dont want to but the nagging deep in your soul help you get the motivation. One of my mini goals is 185. WHY 185? I'll never be considered OBESED again. I'll be overweight. That is one of the ways I motivate myself I set a very reasonable goal one that is not to distant so that Im constantly working for the next level. Nomally its 5 lb goals.
THE OTHER WAY.......... My hubby and i have been talking about going to the beach together since before we got married almost 4 years ago. It's at least a 10 hour drive from where we live inland here in texas so we have yet to make it. I made a promise to him that IF I reach my 135 goal he will take me to the beach. I dont care if its galvaston. (we can stay with my sis in houston and drive to it for the day) Just a beach (not the lake beach in san angelo. Told him he couldn't do that) and I would wear a bikini for him. I dont wear bikini's, I grew up very conservative so it will be different. THAT is my ultimate goal and that is why I get up even when I dont want to and exercise and sometimes I put in 20 mins on the 30dshred and sometimes I do the 30 dshred and my c25k. It just depends on the day.
Hope this helps.
kathie0 -
Thanks y'all. That helped a lot. Every time I feel like putting it off I'll remember why I'm doing it in the first place. 0
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What worked for me was running first thing in the morning. Out of bed and out the door. When I lay there in the dark and didn't want to get up and out into the cold air, I had a mantra: "You are your habits. This next choice is who you are. You are the kind of person who gets up at 5 and runs before everyone else is even out of bed." It was very empowering. Still is, even though this year I am the kind of person who is up at 5.45 and goes to the gym before work.
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I really dont know how i motivate myself. Its a true fact that when you are truly ready for change then it will come easy to just get up and do it. Before I decided I had to do something about my weight I would tell my hubby we are going to go to the gym. IT would never come. WHY I wasnt ready to put the effort in to really do it. Now. There is no arguing. I have to have activity or something just isnt right with my day. It's like you said before it may be a struggle because you really dont want to do it, but when you are truly ready to loose that weight you are still going to have those days where you dont want to but the nagging deep in your soul help you get the motivation. One of my mini goals is 185. WHY 185? I'll never be considered OBESED again. I'll be overweight. That is one of the ways I motivate myself I set a very reasonable goal one that is not to distant so that Im constantly working for the next level. Nomally its 5 lb goals.
THE OTHER WAY.......... My hubby and i have been talking about going to the beach together since before we got married almost 4 years ago. It's at least a 10 hour drive from where we live inland here in texas so we have yet to make it. I made a promise to him that IF I reach my 135 goal he will take me to the beach. I dont care if its galvaston. (we can stay with my sis in houston and drive to it for the day) Just a beach (not the lake beach in san angelo. Told him he couldn't do that) and I would wear a bikini for him. I dont wear bikini's, I grew up very conservative so it will be different. THAT is my ultimate goal and that is why I get up even when I dont want to and exercise and sometimes I put in 20 mins on the 30dshred and sometimes I do the 30 dshred and my c25k. It just depends on the day.
Hope this helps.
kathie
I never thought about the "Mini-Goal" type thing. I'm going to lookup what weight will make me overweight and no longer obese. That will be my mini-goal. It will be more obtainable and I feel great once I get to that. Also, for me I haven't seen a 199 or below on the scale for years, so once that scale reads within the 100's that will be a big milestone for me! Sounds ridiculous but I will feel really accomplished! 0 -
It took a while for the exercise to become more regular. I started off small, giving myself "credit" for doing ANY type of working out... slow walking, a yoga video designed for the elderly, it didn't matter! Once I got comfortable with that, I kicked up the intensity bit by bit. I noticed by month three, I was naturally wanting to exercise JUST a little bit longer.
I also give myself the message, "Working out is what I do. It is time to do it now." I try to push away the thoughts of not wanting to do it; working out is just what I do, almost every day!0 -
I really dont know how i motivate myself. Its a true fact that when you are truly ready for change then it will come easy to just get up and do it. Before I decided I had to do something about my weight I would tell my hubby we are going to go to the gym. IT would never come. WHY I wasnt ready to put the effort in to really do it. Now. There is no arguing. I have to have activity or something just isnt right with my day. It's like you said before it may be a struggle because you really dont want to do it, but when you are truly ready to loose that weight you are still going to have those days where you dont want to but the nagging deep in your soul help you get the motivation. One of my mini goals is 185. WHY 185? I'll never be considered OBESED again. I'll be overweight. That is one of the ways I motivate myself I set a very reasonable goal one that is not to distant so that Im constantly working for the next level. Nomally its 5 lb goals.
THE OTHER WAY.......... My hubby and i have been talking about going to the beach together since before we got married almost 4 years ago. It's at least a 10 hour drive from where we live inland here in texas so we have yet to make it. I made a promise to him that IF I reach my 135 goal he will take me to the beach. I dont care if its galvaston. (we can stay with my sis in houston and drive to it for the day) Just a beach (not the lake beach in san angelo. Told him he couldn't do that) and I would wear a bikini for him. I dont wear bikini's, I grew up very conservative so it will be different. THAT is my ultimate goal and that is why I get up even when I dont want to and exercise and sometimes I put in 20 mins on the 30dshred and sometimes I do the 30 dshred and my c25k. It just depends on the day.
Hope this helps.
kathie
I never thought about the "Mini-Goal" type thing. I'm going to lookup what weight will make me overweight and no longer obese. That will be my mini-goal. It will be more obtainable and I feel great once I get to that. Also, for me I haven't seen a 199 or below on the scale for years, so once that scale reads within the 100's that will be a big milestone for me! Sounds ridiculous but I will feel really accomplished!
OH yes. Mini goals are the BEST thing in the world. I remember about 2 months ago when I saw 199. I would make your minigoals no more than 10lbs at a time. I havea bouncy ball for a body. I'll have drastic weight loss then plateau, however I recently realized that on the days that Im at one weight for several weeks at a time, I loose about a half inch to an inch at that time. then I go back to weight loss. SO if you dont see weight loss then check your measurements about 1 a week and see if you are loosing inches instead. HERES TO MINI GOALS! 0 -
I set non-arbitrary goals and make myself accountable to my friends and acquaintances while avoiding the things that make me lose motivation. For me, it all boils down to 'how do I push my own buttons to force a result'.0
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I have my moments where I'm just not feeling it (which was recently after my vacation) and I get bored easily. I do a couple things
depending on how I feel..
- I might just give myself the tough talk( Get your a** up and working out. You want abs don't ya? You want to lose weight don't you? Well, stop making fu*king excuses...lol)
- I join an online challenge...when I'm accountable to others or on a team were my workouts count towards a team goal then I make no excuses and like Nike....Just do it
- I go to the success thread and look at photos of others weight loss and success0 -
If there is a secret to this I would love to know. There are still days that I know I should workout and don't. A lot of times I talk myself into a "small walk" and by the time I get my warm up in I don't want to waste the workout and I want to get the best burn possible so it turns into a run. I like having classes on designated days to cause I almost never miss those since I paid for them. (I missed two a week I was sick and 1 to try a different class at a family members gym)0
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I set a goal to walk 1,000 miles for St. Judes by myself. I now have sponsors that have donated money and I have to be accountable. 0
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Gotta think about the feeling after you finish your work out. Think about achieving your goal. I work out at 5am before work at times. It's not easy to get out of bed, but don't think about it and just go when the alarm goes off. If you start to justify why you should or shouldn't.... or can or cannot go work out - well you're just going to procrastinate it. I love the high I get from a completed solid work out.0
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I am a very stubborn person. Once i decide to do something, That's it. I'm also very competitive, even with myself. I know that sounds weird, But i'm always pushing myself to go harder, and faster than before..I keep myself motivated because once i set a goal for myself, that's it..There is nothing but "forward" in my mind.0
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Whenever I feel crappy like that and Just don't wanna get up and move, I put my mom voice on and tell myself to do it anyways! And then I do it! Haha, its simple but I know that once I get up and start, I won't stop. Either that or I put on the music that gets me pumped to run. That helps leaps and bounds :]0
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My friends at the gym motivate me- I love seeing their familiar faces. New workout clothes also motivate me. Yeah, it sounds stupid, I'm one of those types, but if I have something that I feel good in, then it really does motivate me- I want to put it on and go work out! My hrm motivates me- I like seeing the numbers! Zumba motivates me- I love shaking my butt to good music and getting the choreography down and making it look better than last time. My muscles motivate me- I love seeing them and I want to continue seeing them. I don't really like lifting weights, but it pays for me to do it!
I have struggled with motivation in the past. I would think myself out of working out. Don't think too hard about it, like the nike add says: just do it. Find something you love and find the things that work for you. Really take a moment to think about how good you feel afterward too.0 -
I had a mantra: "You are your habits. This next choice is who you are. You are the kind of person who gets up at 5 and runs before everyone else is even out of bed." It was very empowering.
I am officially stealing that mantra!
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I am a very stubborn person. Once i decide to do something, That's it. I'm also very competitive, even with myself. I know that sounds weird, But i'm always pushing myself to go harder, and faster than before..I keep myself motivated because once i set a goal for myself, that's it..There is nothing but "forward" in my mind.
I don't mean to double post, but i just saw your post and wanted to say that I'm the same way (competitive wise) I'm always trying to outdo myself, run faster, complete more reps, more weight, etc. Its good to see I'm not the only one! :P0 -
I used to -loathe- working out because it would also put me in so much pain, and not the kind of pain where you know you've worked some muscles, but because of a back injury, I could only do so much and I never saw any results because of it.
Modifying exercises became how I found motivation to work for me instead of against me. When I wanted to do sit ups, I would have to pro my legs up on a chair (or anything high enough to keep me legs bent at a 90º angle) and I would do modified crunches. I would also do a number of leg lifts that would help my lower stomach instead of forcing myself to put pressure on my ribs by using my stomach muscles. This meant I could go from doing -maybe- 5-7 crunches, to doing 10-20, taking a break, and doing 10-20 more. Knowing your body's limits is a way to keep your motivation to get up and going because it's a reminder that -this- time you may be able to push yourself one more crunch or two more leg lifts.
Now that I am at a point where I can work out for vigorously (due to a change in medication), that instantly picks up my motivation to get up and get going because now I -can- workout the way I had been wanting to. In addition to that, because this medication makes me hold more water, knowing I'm working out and pushing myself helps me to prove to myself that just because this medication causes water weight, I can still work out and lose the fat tissue I've accumulated, in-spite of the extra water on my body. I may not be seeing a change on the scale because of the extra water weight, but I am seeing a change in my clothing size.
Motivation is something that is personally-driven, we all know that, but in my case, it was very important for me to take the opportunity I was given to actually be -able- to exercise again. I think of all the modifications I used to have to make and how slow the process was, and even how counterintuitive it was and being able to do 300 crunches at a time, when I was only able to do 5-7 for 11 years, this is something I have to make happen because it may not last forever.0 -
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I simply think about how I know I will feel when I'm done and how I would feel if I skipped a workout.
Then I get moving.0 -
I've missed enough workouts to know how I'm going to feel if I don't go, I don't do well with disappointing myself. I also know that I won't have to count every freakin' calorie I ingest if I get a good workout in first thing in the morning.0
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I say things like
"If it were easy, everyone else would be doing it"
"everyone else is sleeping right now" (if its early morning)
It's only an hour, 1 single little hour and it'll be over before you know it
I might think about how it effects my schedule. I do weights every other day and if all goes as planned it starts on Sunday. If I push it to Monday it makes it harder the rest of the week due to my work schedule0 -
It's only an hour, 1 single little hour and it'll be over before you know it
I use this one, too.0 -
Although I have just joined this program, I have lost a total of 67.8 pounds since 1/2010 and the best way I know motivate myself is to focus on the positives and reward myself with activities that I want to go to when I achieve my goals.0
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I have a little book that I write my exercises down in. I like flipping through it. It gives a visual of my efforts. And of course the before and after pictures that I made of myself help too.0
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Haha I live on an island sooooo when I go running (on the beach especially lol) there's motivation EVERYWHERE whether it's skinny, fit girls in bikinis, others joggers, etc. it's everywhere for me!(:
All I think to myself when I'm running and I see girls with bodies that I'd die for, is "You're going to be that skinny some day, and probably in better shape than them. Keep it up. It'll be here before you know it!"0 -
"If it were easy, everyone else would be doing it"
I looooove this!0 -
I remind myself how crappy and cranky I'll feel if I don't get my workout in! I also remind myself that I get to eat more if I workout.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBLV6RG4TwY&feature=related
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