Finding motivation within yourself??

pozzicb01

Before I eat a Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak I waffle about how I should because im hungry and I love them or how I shouldn't because I need to loose weight and stay healthy. My usual habit it to say **** IT and order up and add a side of curly cheese fries because it doesnt make sense to just eat the sandwich, RIGHT?

As soon as I take my last bite I immediately feel horrible. Like waking up with a hangover but there is no asprin to cure the headache. There is just the assertion that it the last one and its time to get serious!!!

In the morning before I work out, light or heavy, I go through the same waffling. I dont feel like it and I had two good days or I should do it and I made a commitment to myself. In this case Im going to feel awesome afterwards and for the rest of the day if I do it so why is there not a natural instinct to JUST DO IT (sorry nike).

Why doesn't my brain tell my body "to get up and run *kitten* you'll feel awesome about yourself" like it does when it tells me "**** it, just order the damn sandwich and stop torturing yourself"

Is it about finding motivation within and breaking bad habits or that its i like buffalo chicken cheesesteaks and laying around doing nothing more than diet and physical activity??

oldbutnotover

In my humble opinion, it's about you're relationship with yourself. One of the ways in which I am able to handle these types of temptations is to treat myself as if I were my own child. If I were a loving parent to myself, then I would not let my child harm itself with 'junk food'. I would lovingly prepare the most nutritious food and make sure that there were adequate amounts (not too much and not too little). I would take into consideration my childs likes and dislikes, but I would not try to befriend my child, rather I would 'parent' him/her. That way if my child feels that he/she is being treated badly it won't make me cave because I will know that I am really loving him/her in the absolute best way.

So...how much do you love yourself?

BrittaneyHG

Yes you need to find motivation within. Nothing anyone says to you will change your mind set. You have to want to reach a fitness goal more then you want that Buffalo Chicken Cheese steak. When you find your inner motivation you will find a alternative for the ****ty food you love or you wont even consider eating it. I lost 16 pounds in a month on motivation. In that month I ate Ice cream and pizza but not every day and I made sure i could fit it into my daily deficiency. It become fun after a few weeks. You enjoy doing the math and seeing results.

I lost my motivation and its very hard finding it! I wish you luck.

yoovie

Because you keep teaching your brain with repeated behavior that getting in shape is most definitely NOT your priority.

AObravo123

Naturally your body is going to reject work. Also going to crave easy sustenance.

It's very easy to forget your original motivation over time as well.

My advice is make a lifestyle change rather than a small change. Change your culture and with it your health.

Lastly, aim really high. I mean ridiculously high. That way when you cut corners you are still within range of still pulling off something amazing.

Ocean_Breezy

I'm convinced that food is a drug that I've become addicted to and I love to cook. It's what I absolutely love which makes it so hard for me to drop the weight. But I've been creating recipies using the recipe section of mfp. I can't go crazy adding extra to the meals because that's how those pounds sneak up on me. We all eat a healthy meal, only I portion mine and everyone else at the table can indulge as they please. I made chili today and had two servings, no cheese (that was sad). But, I have to start somewhere, I cut out something every week. This week it was cutting out milk from my oatmeal so that I can drink it with my small cup of coffee instead.

amusedmonkey

For me, personally, knowing that I'm blowing half of my calorie allowance on a sandwich is enough motivation most of the time not to mindlessly have it because it could mean going hungry. Have your sandwich, log it, then sternly deal with the consequences. A few times of that and it gets easier after a while, and you will have learned to judge when it's worth the calories and when it's not. Sometimes it is, and you knowingly save up calories or move more to make it fit, and that's alright. There is no skipping the pains of the hard learning curve at first, unfortunately.

Another thing I often do is make access to the kinds of food I tend to overeat less convenient, then bog it down with extra arbitrary rules as well. For example, no nuts in pantry and I can only have them as a part of a meal, going specifically and buying a single serving for that. When it's less convenient I'm less likely to want to go through the effort. You could make it a rule that you will only eat that sandwich from a certain place that is a bit far. A few times of having to make that trip might make you want it less often.

Another alternative would be making it at home. Controling the ingredients could easily result in a sandwich that is under 500 calories with a vinegar-based coleslaw on the side which is not all that bad and still tasty. Provolone is not a terrible cheese calorie-wise, especially if you use just a tiny bit less of it, and chicken is a great protein source. Just hollow out a bit of the the bread roll before you place the filling and you can reduce the calories from bread by 1/4 without even noticing a big difference and up to a half if you don't mind trying for a thinner sandwich. A coleslaw or some roasted vegetables on the side and you will have a nice balance of protein, carbs, fat and fiber. It's often the size of the thing you buy from restaurants and what you eat with it as a side that makes it unhealthy, but the sandwich itself isn't nutritionally devoid.

For exercise, just don't give yourself enough time to argue with yourself because you are more likely to convince yourself against it the more time you have to do that. Just get up and do it. By the time you put on your workout clothes you pretty much have no choice but to workout.

starfruit132

Strange how some days it's easy and other days you don't know who that person was that initially lost so much. When it's a struggle, I am looking for ways to find that "other person". I find that once the exercise slacks, the eating follows and vice versa.