not wanting to work out..

I just hit maintenance this week, and since then I just don't want to go to the gym anymore. I don't know if it's because I'm on break from school, or because I feel like I'm done, but I just don't have the energy or the desire to go to the gym anymore. It's a little bit disheartening, and I don't know what I should do about it. Any ideas?
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Replies

  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    don't go and figure out what your maintenance calories are without working out.
  • CMoeDee
    CMoeDee Posts: 102 Member
    When my motivation was low, I just did a few of the shorter workout videos on youtube (like 15-20 minutes). I found I could get myself to commit to 15 minutes, and after 10 days or so, I got bored with that and ended up at a full workout again. Congrats on making it to maintenance!
  • cschiff
    cschiff Posts: 209 Member
    perhaps find a group activity or something that you enjoy doing? like a class, or finding some friends to play tennis with or something like that? Sometimes I like to go for a hike or something like that because it is very different from going to the gym which I sometimes find myself not wanting to do :/ Maybe you just need to mix it up?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    don't go and figure out what your maintenance calories are without working out.

    This. Should probably motivate you to go to the gym again.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    don't go and figure out what your maintenance calories are without working out.

    The epic bearded one has a good point. If your maintenance calories without exercise are acceptable and you don't have any fitness-related goals, then I guess you're good to go at that point.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    don't go and figure out what your maintenance calories are without working out.

    The epic bearded one has a good point. If your maintenance calories without exercise are acceptable and you don't have any fitness-related goals, then I guess you're good to go at that point.

    Co-signed.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    don't go and figure out what your maintenance calories are without working out.


    I agree with this. However, your statement about being "done" is the mindset that caused me to regain in the past. If you really don't want to work out, be very careful making sure you are eating at maintenance. Good job getting there! :flowerforyou:
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    don't go and figure out what your maintenance calories are without working out.

    The epic bearded one has a good point. If your maintenance calories without exercise are acceptable and you don't have any fitness-related goals, then I guess you're good to go at that point.

    Co-signed.

    Yup that would motivate me to even go running....:bigsmile:
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    What the wise ones said above, plus it doesn't have to be stopping forever... you could just take off a week or so. A break can do a body good sometimes.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    Are you ready to gain some weight back? If not you better get to that GYM.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Are you ready to gain some weight back? If not you better get to that GYM.

    This seems to me to be a very short-sighted view of the situation. The only thing necessary to prevent gaining weight from decreasing activity levels is an appropriate decrease in calories consumed.

    That said, is being sedentary as healthy as being more active? Probably not...but if it's just a question of weight, then the gym/more activity is not essential.
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
    I don't want to do any of it. I just bought 2 dresses though and 5 lbs and I am out of them so that motivates me!
  • jaz141
    jaz141 Posts: 32
    One of the best revelations I came upon is that one does not have to be motivated in order to do something. You just do it anyway. I'm rarely motivated to go to work everyday, but I do it. When I'm not motivated to work out, I just do it anyway. It's a simple concept but when you fully grasp it and embrace it, it has some very profound implications. Just let go of the idea of 'motivation'
  • salvyhead
    salvyhead Posts: 66 Member
    I never want to go to the gym. Ever. Under any circumstances. If my wife asks 'do you want to go to the gym today?' I always say 'no.' So she's learned to ask 'are we going to the gym today?' Then I can say 'yes.' (It's this silly little old married couple game we play.)

    The point - I go. Even though I'd rather be -anywhere- else. Reason: I love beer as much as I hate the gym. If I don't go to the gym, I'd have to choose between beer and food as I'd be unable to consume both and maintain. (The choice would be simple, by the way - but it might not be the healthiest.)

    My stone age brain gets the connection. Its train of though goes something like: Brain want beer! Body go gym!

    That's what works for me. FWIW.
  • MissGamerGirl
    MissGamerGirl Posts: 187 Member
    One of the best revelations I came upon is that one does not have to be motivated in order to do something. You just do it anyway. I'm rarely motivated to go to work everyday, but I do it. When I'm not motivated to work out, I just do it anyway. It's a simple concept but when you fully grasp it and embrace it, it has some very profound implications. Just let go of the idea of 'motivation'

    This.

    For me I no longer really feel the need to psych myself up to getting in the gym. It has become habitual. Just like I go to school on certain days, I go to the gym M, W, F. I don't think about it, I just go. No matter if I have work, class and clinical work all in the same day, I make it happen.

    I'm not really sure how to explain how I've gotten to this point. But as others said, sometimes a break could be helpful.
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
    Congratulations on how much you've lost!
    I just hit maintenance this week, and since then I just don't want to go to the gym anymore. I don't know if it's because I'm on break from school, or because I feel like I'm done

    Nobody's ever "done"....don't consider it done. Just consider this a new phase. "We've only just begun...." :smile:

    You might be feeling a little exhausted, which is understandable. I went through periods where I just felt tired. But you just have to persist through it, usually these periods of fatigue and lost motivation are just phases if we let them be. I think suggestions of changing it up or just adjusting to a lighter regimen for a little while are good ones.
  • Kookyk9s
    Kookyk9s Posts: 259 Member
    Go to Walmart and drink coffee at the MacDonalds and people watch. Look closely at the ones who look like they never go to the gym. This should motivate anyone. There but for the grace of God and the rigors of the gym go I.
  • What the wise ones said above, plus it doesn't have to be stopping forever... you could just take off a week or so. A break can do a body good sometimes.

    I agree to this, nothing is wrong with taking a weeks break.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    It's natural to experience a downswing in motivation while transitioning or after hitting a goal...I just hit the 50 lb mark last week and spent the next 4 days eating everything in sight....I'm on my way back up now.

    Push through it, or give yourself a break...it won't kill you to take a few days off!
  • "Commitment is the willingness to do whatever is required to succeed at ___________. Unconditional commitment. The more difficult the challenge, the stronger the resolve must be.
    Motivation is the incentive to do what is required in _____________. Motivation but lack of commitment = carrot but no stick. Commitment but lack of motivation = stick but no carrot. We need both." Dave Kurlan

    Congrats on your weight loss and reaching maintenance! :drinker:
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
    One of the best revelations I came upon is that one does not have to be motivated in order to do something. You just do it anyway. I'm rarely motivated to go to work everyday, but I do it. When I'm not motivated to work out, I just do it anyway. It's a simple concept but when you fully grasp it and embrace it, it has some very profound implications. Just let go of the idea of 'motivation'

    Right?? Unless I'm sick or something, it's just something I gotta do- work out 4x's a week. I can adjust the days I go to fit my needs, adjust my work out if I have to (like if I can't get to the gym to lift, I'll run instead). But you just do it.
  • TrailNurse
    TrailNurse Posts: 359 Member
    Stop THINKING about it and just do it. Make it so much apart of your life that it's just like breathing. It's THAT important!
  • David_AUS
    David_AUS Posts: 298 Member
    I have experienced this - I shed a help of weight achieved my goal and then proceeded to gain half of it all back again! You have "arrived" and think - is this it? By all means take some time out but during this time re-look at your goals - what inspired you to lose the weight in the first place? What is the next level - there is always another level - What do you want to do with a thinner you - do you want an even more fitter you to go somewhere or do something and what is the next something or somewhere? The gym may or may not be a part of your life in the future but some kind of activity in life that will keep you fit and healthy likely will be a part of your life - What do you enjoy doing sport wise, social wise the scope is almost limitless - tennis, swimming, white water rafting, dancing, fitness challenges (can you see yourself on that ninja warrior show), fitness trainer (inspire others), surfing - I could go on and on but I think you get the idea.
  • sarahg148
    sarahg148 Posts: 701 Member
    Maybe just cut back to half of what you were doing to LOSE the weight. You're maintaining now, so you can be a bit more flexible. Play around with the calories but keep up with the activity 1-3x/wk and find out what is sustainable for you. Good luck! I was in a funk over the last 6-8 weeks. I'm just now coming out of it and feel better already.
  • sarahg148
    sarahg148 Posts: 701 Member
    Go to Walmart and drink coffee at the MacDonalds and people watch. Look closely at the ones who look like they never go to the gym. This should motivate anyone. There but for the grace of God and the rigors of the gym go I.

    These days you don't have to go to Walmart to do this...any old mall will do...sad.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I just hit maintenance this week, and since then I just don't want to go to the gym anymore. I don't know if it's because I'm on break from school, or because I feel like I'm done, but I just don't have the energy or the desire to go to the gym anymore. It's a little bit disheartening, and I don't know what I should do about it. Any ideas?
    Sometimes a person just needs a break. Could that be what's going on for you right now?

    I agree with whomever said to calculate your maintenance without exercise and take a break from the gym.

    Bet you a million that soon you'll be going back to the gym. Don't forget to recalculate your calorie when you decide to go back.
  • Just go. A lot of time the hardest part of getting to the gym is that first step out your front door.
  • heikejacob4
    heikejacob4 Posts: 38 Member
    Find a workout buddy! You (hopefully) wouldn't want to stand them up, plus a little competition never hurt anyone!

    Well, maybe it did ... :tongue:
  • zoodocgirl
    zoodocgirl Posts: 163 Member
    Cycles in motivation are normal.

    When I don't feel the desire to do a bunch of intense anything, and I can't get over that hump, I do what other posters have said and try to do SOMETHING. Usually I can always rouse myself for yoga or to walk the dog. Often once I start I feel much better.
    I also like the Blogilates videos - they give you a serious burn but they are short. I tell myself I'm just going to do one. Sometimes I do, sometimes I keep going.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    I just hit maintenance this week, and since then I just don't want to go to the gym anymore. I don't know if it's because I'm on break from school, or because I feel like I'm done, but I just don't have the energy or the desire to go to the gym anymore. It's a little bit disheartening, and I don't know what I should do about it. Any ideas?
    Not uncommon. When people hit a goal, the natural reaction get complacent. It's fine that you feel that way. However, the law of thermodynamics still continue and if you find that scale creeping up again, you'll know that your energy output isn't the same as before.
    You don't need to work out super hard or intense at this point, just get in some minimal work just to burn some calories and keep your health up.

    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