SERIOUS lack of motivation.

Options
2»

Replies

  • 007FatSlayer
    007FatSlayer Posts: 132 Member
    Options
    Also, working out helps manage stress. So, it's going to be a vicious cycle if you don't break it, now.
  • 2FatToRun
    2FatToRun Posts: 810 Member
    Options
    First and foremost I just want to thank you guys for taking the time to reply to this, and for all the messages I received. You're all right. Aside from the suggestions, your approach to this entire situation (in regards to mindset) is why you're all doing well. I think that's my main issue - changing my mindset. I tend to associate happiness with food and relaxation with staying in bed all day. Which is a major issue for me that I need to change mentally before I can change physically.

    Anyway, I think I'm going to go with the home video idea and vision board. I'm going to start today. I'm also going to clean out the cupboards and just avoid all the unhealthy crap. I really do need to learn to just say no.

    Thanks so much guys. These were all really encouraging responses and I appreciate it a lot. My motivation may not be at its all time high at the moment, but I'm going to get back on track and hopefully the genuine desire to want to continue this journey will come back after some positive results.

    :love: You are an inspiration for the simple fact you make the choice to not give up and correct the issues Good Luck to you!
  • Mrs_Ellie
    Mrs_Ellie Posts: 2
    Options
    I read about a woman who used to be an emotional eater and became an emotional exerciser. She kept athletic shoes in her car so when she normally would eat, she could stop and exercise instead. I bought a jump rope at Wal Mart for $12 and it is a really great one! Plastic covered metal rope and weighted handles (weights are removable). You should see just how many calories you can burn jumping rope! When I started, I could only jump 6 times in a row and kept hitting my toes. Now, 2 months later, I can jump 50 times in a row on the first try!
    Last time I was having what we call "Black Monday" (actually sugar withdrawal), feeling like the Wicked Witch of the Southeast, I jumped rope as long as I could (off and on for 5 minutes) and then did a 10 minute workout, and I felt SO much better. Exercising changes your mood because it makes changes in your body, and your body is connected to your brain. Happy body = happy brain.
    I get motivation by reading books and getting my hands involved; just putting on workout clothes makes me motivated. I wear skirts, so I made a pair of leggings into legging/skorts so I feel covered enough. If I can just get my hands to touch a project, that is enough to get me going.

    CIRCLE OF SUCCESS (from a book called Complete Conditioning for Martial Arts)

    STEP ONE: MOTIVATION IS HOW THE MIND PREPARES THE BODY
    Understand that motivation is not a feeling, it is the result of an action.

    STEP TWO: MOTIVATION IS PLANNED PREPARATION
    Prepare for success by gathering the materials you will need - workout clothes, stretch resistance bands, weights, workout mat, jumprope, proper shoes, etc. Being on this website is preparation for success!! You have already been successful!! :)

    STEP THREE: PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY
    After you prepare, get ready to put your preparation into action.

    STEP FOUR: OPPORTUNITY A L W A Y S COMES DISGUISED AS HARD WORK.
    Embrace this. Use this to learn to recognize that opportunity when it peeks its head out and looks at you! This should trigger your excitement that success is about to happen. Be grateful; the end of this road is exactly where you want to go.
    Climb the stairs, run that last distance to your destination, jump rope when you have a few minutes or need to warm up for another activity, clean house when you feel bad (housecleaning burns calories!)

    STEP FIVE: HARD WORK IS SOMETHING THE BODY MUST BE MOTIVATED TO DO
    Remember that motivation is the result of preparing for this very opportunity, NOT a feeling. You are not at the mercy of your feelings; feelings are a result of how you respond to your circumstances. You shape your feelings by deciding ahead of time what your response to a given situation is going to be, and when you stick to the plan, you will have joy (not always happiness, but better). So when you do what you planned to do, you build a good habit. When the habit is strong enough (30 times), you no longer have to think about it and the habit takes over and you are on cruise control!

    I pack my jumprope on trips, take it to ballet class, etc. It helps me afford extra calories and improves my mood and my health. I highly recommend getting one! You can jump in a house if you keep your hands low and practice a little.
    Hope this helps! Keep with it! You can do it! :smile:
  • Flowers4Julia
    Flowers4Julia Posts: 521 Member
    Options
    I hear you about the rut, it happens!

    My only way ever has been to sit with myself and just soul-search, soul-search and more soul-searching.....I love the vision boards, etc. Decide what you really want, as they say and then let all else fall by the wayside..... then just keep plugging away.

    finding new hobbies, things to do, etc. has also been a life saver for me earlier in my weight loss...

    All the Best!
  • Darrell916
    Darrell916 Posts: 110 Member
    Options
    I understand what you are saying about being stressed and eating high amounts of food. What I have learned from doing this is the more that I eat and stress the more medication the doctor is going to give you for high blood pressure diabetes closterol and even doing insulin shots. I just had to force myself to stop eating and doing the fast food crap. The benefits from this is you can start throwing some of that medication away and you have more money in your bank account. As for going to the gym I was just like you. What I have discovered is that if you pack a gym bag and put it in your car and go to the gym right after work instead of going home your going to have to do it and once you get the hang of it your going to start going to the gym more often and also using the gym and your workouts for stress instead of food.
  • lcn1220
    lcn1220 Posts: 124 Member
    Options
    So lately I've been under a lot stress due to various things and when I stress, I tend to eat...a lot. I mean, ridiculous amounts of food in one sitting. I can go through an entire Costco jar of Peanut Butter in two days. I've also signed up for the gym but stopped going because I'm always too damn tired after getting home and finishing up any work I have. I walk on the weekends and go to the gym when I can, but working out two days a week compared to the amount of food I eat isn't nearly enough. I've gained about seven pounds in a few weeks and that's just even more discouraging, even if I did expect it. This has been going on for a few months and every time I try to kick start again it only lasts a few days because I either binge or break down. I'm constantly surrounded by all this crap and I can't even get rid of it because everyone else actually eats the stuff. I just feel really stuck and don't know what to do to SERIOUSLY get back on track.

    How do you guys get out of a really bad rut?

    Keep trying even if you fall down. The next time you sit down with a jar of whatever, force yourself to consider: "Am I really needing these calories? Or am I avoiding feeling/dealing with whatever's really bothering me?" Yeah, you're likely going to eat that jar, blow your calories for the day, but each time you make yourself go through that mental exercise you give yourself room for self awareness and to recognize the following: "I am hitting the self destruct button here. WHY? And is there anything I can do about the situation aside from eating my way into oblivion?" When you learn to give yourself that room between behavioral cue and self medicating through food, you eventually make room to insert a new behavior instead of following the old default and often self defeating behavior. And key here is to find a new strategy/ new routine to cope whenever you're feeling stressed, overwhelmed etc. If you've got 20 mins to shove a crapload of food in your face, then you've got 20 mins for a walk. Blunt, I know...but learn to think in those terms.

    As for motivation...if you're waiting for the right time, right words of encouragement, right whatever, you're going to be waiting a loooong time. Allow yourself to feel whatever you're feeling and then learn to ACT along side that feeling. Hardest part about going to the gym or sticking with a workout plan isn't doing the work, it's overcoming that whiny suck filled mental noise that keeps you from doing anything in the first place. Yeah, a lot of sticking to an exercise plan is telling your brain to shut up and get out of your way. You'll know your brain is getting in the way when you're confounded with a litany of excuses when you dare to think of the words: "work out" or "go to the gym." Create an alternate exercise plan that hits on the bare minimum of what would be acceptable to you i.e. push ups + sit ups + brisk walk outside of your house for 25 mins for the days you believe that noise in your head.

    A lot of times with weight loss people expect to flip a switch, buy xyz program and think the discipline and resolve needed to achieve these goals somehow magically *happens.* It's really easy to read those glowy success stories and think weight loss is a straight shot from A to B. Unless they were a contestant on the Biggest Loser, I am willing to bet that just about every single one of them had to figure out how to make things work in spite of themselves, life, career and familial obligations. People who fall down and stay down turn into a series of unhappy statistics. People who fall down, but find it in them to keep trying and pushing turn into success stories. Keep that in mind the next time you think about giving up.

    Accept that this whole thing is a process where you're going to have to replace bad habits with good ones. You're not going to get it perfect all the time. If you fall down, don't just give up on the day. Try and salvage it by the next meal, add a small workout, just do something however small that gets you closer to your goals. If you're taking center stage in your pity party with a box of oreos, ditch it and go get yourself some grit instead.

    Each time you fall down, don't excoriate yourself but ask the following (yes, this is the time you want your brain to work for you):

    1. Why did I fall down? What did I learn?
    2. What can I do better?
    3. What small changes can I enact instead of hitting the self destruct button?

    When you're successful even if it is for a day, ask yourself..."how do I keep this going?"

    Hope this helps. Best of luck to you.
  • Skinnymunkii
    Skinnymunkii Posts: 191 Member
    Options
    There's a lot of great advice here. Remember that the tools you need to succeed are right here in front of you, and all you have to do is use them...eyes on the prize. Focus on where you want your future to go, and then follow the path that takes you there. If you lose your way, retrace your steps and find your way back. Remember, this is not a race for speed but for endurance. And you WILL reach the finish line. I have faith in that. Keep running.
  • HSingMomto7Kids
    HSingMomto7Kids Posts: 345 Member
    Options
    Just tackle the support here!! If it wasn't for that I would not be where I was/am now.

Categories