Why do I always lose my motivation?!? HELP

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  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
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    I look at it now as essential body maintenance.

    You never go "I'm not motivated to brush my teeth or shower anymore, I'm just going to quit!"

    Same goes with giving your body proper nutrition and exercising. Your body needs those things.
  • lilcassers
    lilcassers Posts: 163
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    Hey!! I have noticed that I stay motivated when I have a support system. Do you have one? Friends or family?
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    I found that just wanting to lose weight for me wasn't motivation enough. At the time I didn't like myself enough to want to do it for me. I had to change my motivation. I want grandchildren more than anything right now. When I'm finally blessed with them I want to be able to get down on the floor with them, run with them in the park, ride bikes with them, or anything else they want to do. My old self couldn't do that. My unborn grandchildren have become my motivation. Make your motivation something that focuses on something besides yourself - running a race, wearing a sexy outfit for your husband, running with your kids - whatever stirs you on the inside and makes you want to do it.

    The beautiful thing is, once I got into the habit of going to the gym and challenging myself to do more and better every day, I began to like myself more and now although my first motivation is those grandkids, I want to do it for me too!
  • eddie8131
    eddie8131 Posts: 600 Member
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    I believe in the "mental strength" model. That is, your self-control is a limited resource. It gets used up like fuel. When you have competing priorities, you only have so much strength or capacity to deal with everything. Anyways, to increase my mental strength, I've found that increasing my "self efficacy" really helps. Just a fancy schmancy term for "believing that you can complete tasks and reach a goal". I always fall off the wagon when I feel like it is hopeless. Remind yourself that it isn't hopeless. Good luck!
  • lilcassers
    lilcassers Posts: 163
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    Are you making sure to switch up your routine daily or weekly? If I don't do this, I get so bored.
  • Jred36
    Jred36 Posts: 63 Member
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    A lot of great advice here. I can relate to the motivation. I think surrounding myself with people who won't let me slack off is what I need. Setting smaller goals this time instead of one ultimate goal. Someone said she me she wants to lose 10 pounds 8 times. I love that. Instead saying I have 80 pounds to lose, she set it into smaller goals. I am trying to keep a photo of myself when I was "skinny" to look at to help keep my motivation up.
  • traininglady911
    traininglady911 Posts: 39 Member
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    take it slow.... I can't even do one day at a time. Sometimes it is one hour or even one minute at a time. If I sit here and think about food, I make myself get up and do something - anything - else. When my mind is off food, I can resist the temptation to eat something.
  • Jkellystyles
    Jkellystyles Posts: 1 Member
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    Food is tough! Its not like you can go without it and just quit like smoking or drinking. What has worked for me is finding exercise that I love. I run and hike. I picked up hot yoga and spinning is my new favorite cross training. once I saw the benefits of being more fit it got easier>
  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
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    I'm not saying this to be rude, this is how I truly feel. You will never get thru this until you take charge and also take complete, and I mean absolute complete responsibility for it! You can't blame others, you can't make excuses, you have to be accountable to yourself to get this done!

    ^^ I completely agree with this - and i'm not trying to be rude either, but if you want it, you'll do it. If you don't want it, you'll find excuses not to achieve it. Simple as that.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    People lose motivation simply because they not willing to do what it takes to achieve their ultimate goal . why? excuses and laziness . THAT SIMPLE

    Actually, I think it's this kind of attitude that IS the problem. They go all out, and can't keep up that level of momentum. That's not laziness, that's just starting off with unrealistic expectations. And when they can't keep up with their expectations, they think they've already failed, then quit, rather than seeing if they just need to tweak their plan a little.

    I think of it like remodeling your home. If you're already living in it, you can't just gut the whole thing and do it all at once. You have to go room by room. I couldn't go from a Hamburger Helper eating couch potato to a healthy eating runner and lifter in one go. I had to start small, and build up to it. Make small, sustainable changes, and add more small, sustainable changes as the other changes become habit.
  • Cassandra973
    Cassandra973 Posts: 14 Member
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    Find out what you really want from this weight loss and focus on that and how it would make you feel once you achieve it that what im doing
  • Cassandra973
    Cassandra973 Posts: 14 Member
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    People lose motivation simply because they not willing to do what it takes to achieve their ultimate goal . why? excuses and laziness . THAT SIMPLE

    Actually, I think it's this kind of attitude that IS the problem. They go all out, and can't keep up that level of momentum. That's not laziness, that's just starting off with unrealistic expectations. And when they can't keep up with their expectations, they think they've already failed, then quit, rather than seeing if they just need to tweak their plan a little.

    I think of it like remodeling your home. If you're already living in it, you can't just gut the whole thing and do it all at once. You have to go room by room. I couldn't go from a Hamburger Helper eating couch potato to a healthy eating runner and lifter in one go. I had to start small, and build up to it. Make small, sustainable changes, and add more small, sustainable changes as the other changes become habit.


    i agree with lorinalynn
  • ladyjay71
    ladyjay71 Posts: 28 Member
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    It's very easy to lose momentum, I agree that a one day at a time approach is best but set some goals even if they are not related to the scale. I find myself being a slave to the scale sometimes but I'm trying to change my attitude. So small steps, set goals and do this for you and no one else.
  • kelseyhere
    kelseyhere Posts: 1,123 Member
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    For me it's about keeping the foods I eat "clean", that means less sugar, no processed, no junk. When I eat that stuff, I start to binge. When I don't, I'm more in control. The food slows me down and leaves me without energy to work out. There is a book called "It Starts With Food" I would suggest reading. It helped me understand why I was stuck in negative cycles and how to start changing them.
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
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    A user on here suggested the blog run for cookies, and I came across her page about the difference between motivation and dedication. It's a great read -

    http://www.runsforcookies.com/2012/01/difference-between-motivation-and.html
  • Chubby_never_again
    Chubby_never_again Posts: 22
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    The thing a lot of people don't realize that that motivation will ALWAYS fail eventually. But it's not motivation that gets you to the finish line. It's a willingness to make the choices you need to make whether you feel motivated or not. It's making the right choices when it gets really hard, which it inevitably will.

    ^ This!

    Just remind yourself why you want/need to go through your journey and keep going!
  • karainfla
    karainfla Posts: 2
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    I have a few motivating factors. One is that I cannot fit properly in my scrubs for work. I really don't want to go and buy more. Secondly, in my line of work, I see a lot of heart disease. Eating the wrong foods and not exercising will eventually kill you. I know we all die sooner or later, but I have seen too many people suffer from their own choices. I haven't been making good food choices and have chalked it up to stress. I don't smoke, have never done drugs, and I rarely drink alcohol. My drug of choice is food. It's amazing how the brain pleasure pathways act towards food. It works the same as drugs. Lastly, I am going on a vacation with my family next year. We're going on a cruise, and I'm so excited about it. I want to have the energy to participate in all of the running around we are going to do. I also want to look good in our family photos.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    Do you enjoy your workout routine? What all workouts have you tried? The best thing I can say is find things you enjoy doing and focus on that! If you like dancing, try Just Dance 3 on the Wii - it has an exercise program in the game. Do you have a better time if you are walking with a friend? A dog? Is there something you are training for?

    I was in a rut and had lost my motivation, then I made myself sign up for this www.rocrace.com. 22 others have signed onto my team. We are doing team training events. The training routine we came up with may suck (as in it kicks our *kitten*, eff some push ups, etc...), but the fact that I am leading these people with the help of a co-captain, keeps me going.

    You need to find what you enjoy doing. Make it into an activity.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,526 Member
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    TRUE motivation doesn't stop anyone from achieving what they really want. You may have a strong desire, but it's not the same a truly being motivated. Excuses and obstacles become non existent.
    People don't motivate, they inspire. The greatest motivator in the world can't motivate someone who isn't willing to get the job done.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • kazaroona
    kazaroona Posts: 60 Member
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    Motivation is what gets you started, you need to develop a routine that works for you so it becomes a habit. Working out is part of my morning routine just like showering, brushing my teeth, etc. In the beginning when it wasn't a habit I had alerts on my email that said it's workout time, and I treated them like I would any other important meeting. I put them in there as goals I still do that this weeks goal was to ride 30 miles on my bike, now I have 2 weeks to get to 35 miles.

    As for nutrition part of it, because I don't deprive myself of anything that isn't hard to continue, I just cut back how much I eat of it.

    I'm glad I read this thread, this is EXACTLY what I needed to read and need to do. I start off motivated to lose weight and get fit as I hate what I see, then it dwindles down unless I have something big like my wedding! I need to make it a habit.

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