Losing motivation...FAST!

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I've been having a difficult time staying on track the last couple of weeks. Theres just so much temptation around and i'm having a really hard time resisting. I need some motivation...lots of it! I've worked so hard to get to where i am now and i dont want to undo that! I'm a mere 5 pounds away from my next "mini goal". I know i can do it, i just need something to kick me in the *kitten* a little bit! Any advice, words of wisdom or motivational thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks-
Amber

Replies

  • phitandphree
    phitandphree Posts: 29 Member
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    Hey Amber!

    If your interested which it sounds like you would be, I have a group I'm apart of. It's a support group, motivation group. We are on facebook but most of all use MFP. We share recipes, motivational quotes, Monday's are motivational day, share a tip of the day, we encourage each other thru sharing struggles, success, and anything along the way in our get healthy or stay healthy journey. We do fun/friendly workout and food related challenges. It's a great place to share and also build your MFP friends list. We have a list of free at home workouts available.
    Look us up, Facebook we are called MFP Group Challenges

    We'd love to have you, there are 139 of us.
  • Fitfully_me
    Fitfully_me Posts: 647 Member
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    Good news Amber!!!I found your motivation. Its right here:
    I've worked so hard to get to where i am now and i dont want to undo that!.......


    and here you thought you'd misplaced it.... :bigsmile:
  • StephenKTHill
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    I'm feeling the same way. Very discouraging day. And I don't even know why.
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
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    I find looking at the success stories and finding someone similar to mr, sometimes helps. Good luck!
  • clarrus
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    Hey Amber!
    If you are able to find a kickboxing or a cross fit gym, you should join it. The cost is definitely worth the money. You will be surrounded by a bunch of like minded individuals who share the same goal. They typically offer free trials or classes so you can even hop around. I would recommend chatting with the trainers and even other members to let them know what you are looking for. It's actually a great support group with the fitness. Personally, I would avoid the places that don't have a physical location and go to open areas to work out in their "classes". That's just me though, if it works for you, go for it.


    Also keep in mind, whenever I see a really out of shape person working out or running, I give them a lot of respect for being out there. I'm sure everyone who sees you working out is also giving you the same respect.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    Good news Amber!!!I found your motivation. Its right here:
    I've worked so hard to get to where i am now and i dont want to undo that!.......


    and here you thought you'd misplaced it.... :bigsmile:
    And, additionally:
    My #1 reason for wanting to get in shape is for my children. I want to have the energy to run and play with them, and i want to make sure that i'm doin all i can to be here for then as long as i possibly can. My children are my everything!
    Another reason i'd like to get in shape is for my husband! I want to look the way i did when we first met (10 years ago). I want to take his breathe away and i don't feel i have that ability right now.
    I'd also like to do it for myself. So i can feel better about myself. Build my self-esteem and confidence and prove to myself that i can do whatever i set my mind to!
    That's a whole lot of motivation right there, and I'm assuming those things still stand.

    You haven't lost motivation, you've just reached the point where the motivation isn't enough to get the job done. Motivation is overrated. It's just the sum total of all the little reasons that get you to the starting line in the first place. It's what makes you feel excited and energised to get it done. But, weight loss takes a looooooonnnngg time (forever really, if you include maintenance - and you should.) Of course you're not going to always feel excited and energised. Weight loss is boring. It's about making sacrifices and planning and thinking about food more than you want to, and making yourself exercise when you're not in the mood, and turning down things that feel good. It's not a fun thing. To get the job done, you need more than the fleeting feelings of excitement and enthusiasm you get when you first decide to lose weight. You need commitment.

    So. Forget feeling motivated. You have to decide whether achieving your goal is more important to you than all the things that are holding you back. Is it more important than the feelings you get from giving into "temptation"? Is it important enough to make that commitment? Look at all the reasons you've failed in the past because those are the things you need to address if you're going to succeed this time. It might help to write down all the reasons for wanting to achieve your goals on one side of a piece of paper, and all the things holding you back on the other. Be honest. If overeating makes you feel good, or makes it easier to cope with stuff, be honest and work on changing that (or coping with it better). If spending the day all cosy in front of the tv is easier than going out and exercising, then that's what you need to work on. For me, I think the biggest thing holding me back was the emotional satisfaction/comfort I get when eating large amounts of food. That hasn't changed, even though I'm at my goal weight. I still want to eat more food than my body needs, especially when I'm under stress, but that the feeling I get when I give into that urge is not more important than being a healthy weight. I've had to learn ways of dealing with my emotional eating so that it doesn't get in the way of achieving my goals.

    Whatever changes you make to your lifestyle, they need to be things you can sustain. You don't have to give up on ever eating the foods you love, but you need to find ways of eating them moderately. You don't have to go out and run a marathon, but finding exercise that you enjoy (or at least don't hate) and incorporating it into your daily routine will help it to become a habit that you don't want to break.

    Unless you're planning on joining a nunnery, there will always be temptations around you. There will always be days when you can't be bothered, or when you can't remember the reasons you started in the first place. You then have choices. Give up because it's too hard, and the stumbling blocks have more power over you than the goal you want to achieve, or realise that what you really want is important enough to keep going anyway. This stuff isn't easy, or no one would have a weight problem. :flowerforyou:
  • lambchoplewis
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    wow - that was amazing. Thx for the motivation as it was a wonderful story.
  • TamaraKat
    TamaraKat Posts: 533 Member
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    This is kinda what I live by... It's my mantra!

    "Results VS Excuses. You can either have results or you can have excuses but if you use excuses, you won't get results and if you want to get results, you won't use excuses. Shoot for you goals and always succeed, friends! "
  • NonnyMary
    NonnyMary Posts: 982 Member
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    Hi - i recommend -

    do not start eating the food that got you fat in the first place. Once you do, its like opening the Pandora's box, and if you do, you might say "eff it... i dont care, im just gonna eat these things today" and then tomorrow comes and you will say "eff it, im gonna eat all this today," and so on and so on, and then you wind up gaining 10 pounds and just quitting.

    So get ahold of yourself, turn the page, its a new day! just begin again and dont look back. Just do what you can do today because that is reality. And then each day one by one, you will be OK.

    Just dont look back and dont start eating back your things that made you fat. dont fuel that hunger. dont feed your cravings. Really.. say bye to them and focus again, on what enabled you to lose weight.
  • pearson114
    pearson114 Posts: 66 Member
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    Hi,

    I'm going to tell you a little about my current situation, it may help or it may not, but we'll see.

    I originally decided enough was enough and I needed to sort out my health and weight after a saw a photo which was uploaded of me on Facebook. One of the lads I was stood next to looked great - slim and healthy. My issue was I always thought I was I was similar size to him, or even slightly less podgy. I couldn't believe how wrong I was!

    I just looked round, with multiple chins and my eyes didn't look happy, despite the fact I was having a great night!

    So... as of then, I was all action. I had been a member of the gym anyway but I decided I was going to use it properly, but I didn't really alter my eating and drinking habits too much. Then around 4 weeks after I joined Slimming World, and I actually took care in what I was eating, portion sizes etc etc. There was a bit of a drop (7lbs), but I wanted more. I decided to commit to Insanity. I've never been the most athletic, strongest, or fittest of people so I knew it was going to be tough. I also know I've never been the most strong willed of people so I also invited a few others around, and hired a room in which to do it. I set up the tv and dvd and the following Monday we all started. There were 7 of us (friends and family), although as we reach the end of Week 4 three have dropped out.

    Why am I telling you this? Because I've worked my butt off! There are times I want to come home from a very long day at work and sit of the sofa and eat pizza and drink beer. But I don't. I go home, change, and meet the rest of the group for the Insanity workout. It's hard work, my knees hurt, as does my ankles. But I keep going.

    In the past couple of weeks, my ex has stopped me seeing my children, all down to finding out that my current girlfriend and I are moving into a house together at the end of September. This is only months after I managed to finalise a court order to ensure contact, as she'd previously stopped me from seeing my two gorgeous little children. I've contacted the courts, police, solicitors and there's basically nothing I can do except take her back to court and start the whole thing over again. It's heart-breaking not seeing my children, and worst of all not knowing what they're being told as to why I'm not there to collect them (i.e Daddy doesn't love you, Daddy's spending time with his new girlfriend instead of you). None of which are true, but 2 and 3 year old may well believe this. I don't even know when I'll be seeing them again, it's all down to availability of the court.

    Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is after a long, long shift in a job I truly hate, then going home knowing that you're not going to see your kids. Not knowing where they are, or how they are etc, the very last thing I want to do is Insanity, and then eat healthy food. BUT...

    (Finally to the motivation bit...)

    I do get my backside up, I get my shorts on, I travel to the venue and I press play. I give it my all! And this is for the simple reason that I remember why I wanted to start my fitness/health regime in the first place. And that's because I wasn't happy being as I was. I've worked and worked and landed in a heap of sweat whilst my friends were drinking beer watching the game. I've sat and drank water whilst they all had a beer in the sunshine. I've sat with stomach cramps as my girlfriend ate a full pizza and cheesy chips right at the side of me watching a film.

    When I feel like not bothering, giving up, having a beer, ordering a take away - I remember where I was, not very long ago. I remember that I couldn't fit into the shirt I'm currently wearing. And I remember that I couldn't climb the office steps without losing my breath a little. I remember everything I've thrown into this fight and I'm certainly not stopping until it's over! So whatever life throws at you, whatever excuses you think you can make - always remember that the reason you first decided to do it is because you weren't happy with yourself!

    Keep at it! Keep going! There's is a light at the end of everybody's tunnel, it just varies in size. At 21lbs lost in 9 weeks, I'm 37.5% towards completing my target weight loss.

    Good luck :)
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    I find setting goals not based on weight help. Things that I can set my mind on doing. Walk 5 miles this week or bring in healthy lunches to work this week instead of going out. My weight fluctuates horribly (hypothyroid out of whack) so I set these goals instead.
  • Desterknee
    Desterknee Posts: 1,056 Member
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    You don't need motivation, you need self control. You need to decide your goals are worth more than the fleeting pleasure of whatever snack you're looking forward to.

    You don't need motivation, you need confidence. You need to believe in the plan you have chosen and be confident that you have all the tools you need to get where you want to be.

    You don't need motivation, you need dedication. You need to choose to stop eating when you're full. You need to choose to get up in move in ways that will improve your body.
  • DanIsACyclingFool
    DanIsACyclingFool Posts: 417 Member
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    I'm at work, so I can't make a real post right now. I'll just say something really brief:

    No one said it would be easy. They just said it'd be worth it.

    Good luck!
  • Yeller_Sensation
    Yeller_Sensation Posts: 373 Member
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    I've been having a difficult time staying on track the last couple of weeks. Theres just so much temptation around and i'm having a really hard time resisting. I need some motivation...lots of it! I've worked so hard to get to where i am now and i dont want to undo that! I'm a mere 5 pounds away from my next "mini goal". I know i can do it, i just need something to kick me in the *kitten* a little bit! Any advice, words of wisdom or motivational thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

    Thanks-
    Amber

    Don't quit. Restarting sucks.
  • bennzz61
    bennzz61 Posts: 18 Member
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    It's always a struggle but just keep going. Every positive step is better than nothing. After the long holiday weekend I was just thinking today how it takes forever to lose one stinkin' pound but just a day to put on 1-2 after a little extra splurging. Just keep up the good work and eventually you get past the plateau and become more motivated again.

    Bennie