staying motivated

bbrogden
bbrogden Posts: 1 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hello everyone, just looking for some tips that will help me stay motivated to eat right and go to the gym regularly. My trend tends to be eat good for a day or to and then give into temptation. I also go to the gym for a couple of weeks and then may not return for a month or more. I know this sounds wasteful to pay for a gym membership but sometimes I just loose the motivation to go.

Any advice is greatly appreciated

Replies

  • seren218
    seren218 Posts: 5
    Having a goal in mind to shoot for is very helpful.. If you are trying to lose weight and get in shape coz you know you should.....yeah I would lose motivation too. I use races to help motivate me and my husband to stay in shape....5K's 10K's sprint triathlons, bike races even climbing a mountain. I am more driven than my husband but these goals help him stay on track. Keeping a log (which is what you are doing here) is helpful too. Its one thing to sneak a snack and move on and its quite another thing to write it down and see it on paper. When you write things down you can can keep tweaking your diet and exercise regimin.

    Also plan for a cheat meal once a week! It will give you something to look forward to and you will feel like you earned it. After the meal, jump right back on track until the following week. This way the dieting does not become about denial

    KEEP IT FUN! Work out with a friend, join a run club, bike club or whatever! If its not fun we look at it as WORK and thats when we tend to drop away from it. I have logged some of my best running miles with a friend. I never noticed how far we ran until the end when I looked at my watch.
  • tweetypixx
    tweetypixx Posts: 65 Member
    One way I use to try and stay motivated is, I keep old pics of myself on my phone and if I feel like eating something bad or thinking, I will just skip todays exercise, i look at the photos and think, I dont want to be like that anymore. It may seem silly but I find visual aids help.

    It seems to have helped so far. Staying motivated is one of the hardest things, I have struggled too but each week i am noticing small changes to my stamina or body and that spurrs me on even more.

    Good luck with it.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    What are your goals? Unless you define them clearly, it's hard to stay motivated.

    You mention that you want to "eat right" and go to the gym regularly. What do you expect to attain by doing those things? If you want to lose weight, then "eating right" means maintaining a calorie deficit through portion control and altering your diet to include more nutrient-dense, calorie-poor foods—but only if you can sustain that change for the rest of your life. If your weight is OK but you have health concerns (pre-diabetes, high cholesterol, etc.), then "eating right" means following your medical professional's advice.

    Similarly, why do you want to go to the gym? Is it to build strength or muscle? Is it to improve your cardiovascular endurance? Is it to maintain muscle mass while losing weight?

    You don't need to tell us this, but you need to figure it out for yourself. Then turn your goals into measurable objectives: not "I want to lose weight" but "I will lose 20 lb. by December 1," or "I will cut 30 seconds off my 5K running pace," or "I will do 100 pushups by the end of 2014." Having measurable objectives makes it a lot easier to track progress, and it encourages you to do the work required to meet them. Keep records, too; I find it's helpful to look at my records and see that 3 months ago, I could only do 10 inclined pushups, and now I can do 25 regular ones.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    Good advice already given. I'd also add: don't give in to the "all or nothing" mindset. If you're not eating exactly the way you think you should that DOESN'T mean skip the gym, too! Go anyway! Move, be active. Or, if you're eating well but not exercising as much, that's ok, too. Just take it step by step and try to do your best each day.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Eating- try staying 90% good instead of 100%. As long as I can fit it into my calories I will have an occasional treat.
    Exercise - It needs to be fun. Find a class you like or go with a buddy. The gym may not be the place for you. You may also want to look for local sports teams.
  • UnicornAmanda
    UnicornAmanda Posts: 294 Member
    I look up inspirational weight loss stuff on pinterest lol :)
  • jolarocknrolla
    jolarocknrolla Posts: 236 Member
    thepowerofdiscipline_zps18a3c92d.jpg
  • Mnecka
    Mnecka Posts: 119 Member
    I found this new app that financially holds you accountable for keeping up with your healthier lifestyle commitments. It's called "Pact". And the way it works is you make different pacts and set the price you will pay if you miss your obligation.

    For instance, I made a pact to log my food for, at the least, 5 days a week. If I fulfill this commitment, I will be paid "x" amount, but if I don't, I'll have to pay "x" amount. At the end of the week, all accounts are brought up to date and I'll either have to pay for my lack of dedication or be rewarded with cash for honoring my healthier lifestyle commitments. And since I hate spending money I don't have to , it keeps me on track :wink:

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