How do you stay movitvated when it is so easy to give up ?

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  • mel4bee
    mel4bee Posts: 225 Member
    Because I'm pig headed. And when I decide I want something, I do anything possible to have it. And also because I know that it is all sooo worth it, for so many reasons (health, looks, confidence, strength...)

    Because it is a passion now. A drug haha. I love working out and cooking healthy lunches,.

    Also because I'm a hard worker and an overachiever. I like challenges.
  • KristinNicole82
    KristinNicole82 Posts: 164 Member
    Results keep me motivated. I love seeing them. Nothing is better then when I can do something that I couldn't do a month ago.
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    My motivation comes and goes on a daily basis, even after 2 years of this! I don't rely on motivation...I don't know what to call it but there's something else that keeps me going. Maybe dedication is a better word for it. I'm not always motivated to eat well or to exercise, I'll skip a few days, eat not only over my calorie goal but over maintenance sometimes, motivation can go completely out the window (especially with the last 5 pounds when I'm basically at my goal already). However, I always stay dedicated. Even if it takes me a week or more to finally get my motivation back, I keep trying until it happens. I've had more than my fair share of cheat days, plateaus, etc. but I've never once quit and I think that's the only reason I've been successful.

    And the reasons that make it worth it: I don't like being overweight, I don't feel like myself. I want to like how my body looks, I like buying small clothing sizes, I like looking like what I consider the best version of myself, and that's what motivates me. And honestly, I like working out and I like eating well, even though it's so tempting to not do either at times (I still love restaurants, fast food, and some days I'm definitely still a couch potato), but overall I get more satisfaction by treating my body the right way.
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
    My inner strength keep me motivated. It's a strength I'm just learning about. My friends have often told me how they admired it but I never saw it until some recent events. It keeps me going, it reminds me that I'm worth it.
  • MsJennyffer
    MsJennyffer Posts: 85 Member
    It can be hard to keep motivated when the scale slows down. Which it always does at some point. When I was my top weight at 237, and my Triglycerides were close to 700 which meant Diabetes was knocking on my door, I started making changes in my diet and activity level. After my mom died, right before my granddaughter was born and I turned 49, that was the final push to get really serious about losing the weight as well. Not wanting to hit 50 at that weight was a huge motivation.

    But now the 50th birthday has passed. My weight is out of the Obese range. My Triglycerides are down to 147. And I am in size 12 jeans. (down from 20s). I look and feel so much better. All my family and friends are telling me I am skinny (yeah, right) and even my doctor has said I have lost enough.
    But I am still around180. That is too much for 5'6". That extra 25 lbs is still too much extra stress on my back and joints.

    So I have to remind myself that this is not a diet. This is a permanent lifestyle change. And even tho I am lucky to get 1 pound a month at this point, as long as I continue to make any progress at all, I will eventually reach my goal weight, and this will remain a way of life for me so that I don't gain any weight back.

    I so wish that I could open the eyes of many of the young people today to look forward to the time they will be 40 or 50 and decide where they want their health to be at that time, and start working toward that goal NOW.
    It was SO much easier to simply lose weight when I was in my teens and 20s, but I really wish I had educated myself more about nutrition and exercise back then, so I never would have reached 80 pounds overweight by my 40s.

    Kudos to you OP for taking control of your health at this age. Trust me, it doesn't get any easier.




    Thanks so much .. I'm still surprised of how far I've gotten, every time I slip I feel like I'm back at my start weight which was also 237 btw. Slowly but surely one day at a time I try to make better decisions. Great job by the way :)
  • MsJennyffer
    MsJennyffer Posts: 85 Member
    It is hard, very hard. When my alarm goes off at 5:45 every morning to exercise, I often ask why am I doing this, I could have another hour at least in bed!
    Even when I'm working out I think why am I doing this!! But I do it because I know how rubbish I feel if I don’t, it helps me with so much in my life, not just being healthy and feeling better about myself.. this is what I tell myself constantly, I know how awful I use to feel before I changed my lifestyle and I’m not prepared to go back to that, No matter how hard it is.
    You have to be mentally strong and push through! I know its hard and you often wonder why you bother but it is worth it and just think how you would feel if you gave up.. Be strong, you can do it.
    .

    Thanks for that, that is great advice
  • MsJennyffer
    MsJennyffer Posts: 85 Member
    Focus on what I have accomplished rather that how much farther I have to go.


    Maybe it is easy to give up? But think of it this way. Getting/staying in shape is hard. So is being fat.

    Pick your hard. I would rather my "hard" be maxing out in the weight room or bringing down my mile time...instead of being out of breath trying to climb a flight of stairs...

    That is great advice, I really like it.. Pick my hard..
  • MsJennyffer
    MsJennyffer Posts: 85 Member
    So how do you stay motivated?

    The mirror and how my clothes fit.


    That definitely works for me, and helps motivate me when I'm getting lazy
  • twooliver
    twooliver Posts: 450 Member
    It is very easy to give up...one day turns into two and before you know it lots of pounds have inched their way onto your hips! Which is what happened to me... lost 45 lbs with lots of blood sweat and tears... and then went through a major transition and couldn't give any energy to staying motivated. So here I am again...and now my motivation is remembering how it felt to lose the weight and the fear of feeling worse with every pound gained. I don't like exercise...but I don't like obesity more...
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    I just got to a point that I was disgusted at what I saw in the mirror after a shower. I just want to look good naked now.

    And .. by eating healthy and exercising, I want to get into a healthier state. Cause being overweight and just really sad is not a good place to be.
  • Samuraiko
    Samuraiko Posts: 180 Member
    For me, it's not motivation. It's sheer stubbornness. I'm stubborn as hell. I'm a firm believer that I can overcome anything if I just know what the problem is.

    Here, the problem is me. So, I have to overcome myself. I sat down and figured out what was stopping me, slowing me down, or just frustrating my efforts. And I'm addressing them little by little.

    They said that when God closes a door, He opens a window. I say, if God closes a door, I'm knocking a f***ing wall down and heading on out. So this is me knocking down that f***ing wall of fat and bad habits and whatnot and heading out.

    If nothing else, I'm sure the calories burned by knocking down said wall would be pretty decent. :)

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