What keeps you motivated when you're not seeing results?

soccerkon26
soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
Working 2 jobs, full time student, and trying to exercise and eat better...it's all starting to get very overwhelming. I'm so happy that I'm eating better but it's been almost 2 weeks and I haven't seen that much progress (if at all).

What keeps you going when you didn't see results, or if you currently aren't?

Replies

  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    Good health, taking care of myself and feeling better overall.

    Once you make progress, maintaining that progress and not losing ground is a good motivator.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    What progress were you hoping for? 2 weeks is not very long for much of anything
  • MustLoveCats21
    MustLoveCats21 Posts: 137
    You know what I don't mind progress too much. I'm making it, but it's not the cornerstone of my days. I weigh in once a month.

    Basically my advice would be to "forget" that your dieting or losing weight and just continue as normal, but obviously still keep the eating in check and log. You should start to see the "diet" as a...sigh for lack of a better phrase... lifestyle change. It should come to a point where it become habit and you barely think of it. That way you won't need motivation. Because it's an everyday thing.

    Don't be "obsessed".
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
    edited February 2015
    I will try to forget it :)
  • MustLoveCats21
    MustLoveCats21 Posts: 137
    I've been counting calories for two years. It's like brushing my teeth. And I don't need motivation to brush my teeth. ;)
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    soccerkon26 wrote: »
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    What progress were you hoping for? 2 weeks is not very long for much of anything

    Only positivity please.

    Ok. Sounds like you are doing great but maybe a little stressed. Keep your eyes on the prize :)
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    soccerkon26 wrote: »
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    What progress were you hoping for? 2 weeks is not very long for much of anything

    Only positivity please.

    Ok. Sounds like you are doing great but maybe a little stressed. Keep your eyes on the prize :)

    That's not negative--just realistic. Sometimes things take a while.
  • zzaped
    zzaped Posts: 17 Member
    Tune into and recognise your non scale victories - do you feel more energetic? happier? Is it easier to concentrate at uni? Sleep better? etc
    Are you getting stronger in the gym? Less breathless walking upstairs?

    Theres alot of progress that you're making that you might not even be noticing if you're just focusing on scales/measurements/mirror. :)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    MustLoveCats21 wrote: »
    I've been counting calories for two years. It's like brushing my teeth. And I don't need motivation to brush my teeth. ;)

    Love your attitude

    Feel the same after 8 months
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    zzaped wrote: »
    Tune into and recognise your non scale victories - do you feel more energetic? happier? Is it easier to concentrate at uni? Sleep better? etc
    Are you getting stronger in the gym? Less breathless walking upstairs?

    Theres alot of progress that you're making that you might not even be noticing if you're just focusing on scales/measurements/mirror. :)

    These are the motivators that I've relied upon. Things you can experience immediately or within a short time frame. A workout session = a mood and energy boost, that's the main one for me.
  • Amanda4change
    Amanda4change Posts: 620 Member
    If I'm not seeing a result on the scale, I'm seeing it in my measurements or in improved fitness goals. Sometimes you have to look for the results that aren't on the scale, if you focus only on the scale you're setting yourself up for disapointent
  • Foamroller
    Foamroller Posts: 1,041 Member
    I try on my skinny jeans.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    How much do you have to lose? If it's below 20lbs, it will take awhile. You need patience and consistency. Best of luck.
  • dougpconnell219
    dougpconnell219 Posts: 566 Member
    Running farther or lifting heavier than yesterday.
  • SwankyTomato
    SwankyTomato Posts: 442 Member
    I am almost 50 and I started with some major issues with regards to my body (plantar fasciitis, morton's neuroma in my right foot, and a very weak core).

    My motivation is to be able to be "active" forever.

    My hobbies require strength and stamina (landscaping & gardening) and I want to travel later in life. Can't do the things I love if I don't fix myself!
  • savaresejm
    savaresejm Posts: 1 Member
    If you're not seeing the results you're looking for, you need to change what you are doing so that you do see results. It's that simple. But what are you doing and what are you trying to achieve. Robert Cheeke's new book addresses this issue and when I finally applied it, I started seeing the results. So the best solution to not seeing results is to change things further. If you don't track what you are doing, it's impossible to know what to change.
    Robert's book gives you the recipe to obtain any realistic fitness goal you set for yourself. You track your nutrition, which is a full bore whole foods plant based diet. Don't get scared if you already aren't on it. It's whole wheat bread vegetable sandwiches, whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, rice and bean burritos, split peas soup, pancakes, muffins, food you will love and the food will love you back. Your body will function like never before. I'm talking perfect nutrition. Leave dead animals and cow breast milk products and vegetable oils out of it. Now add tracking for your exercise and food, which is easy due to a lot of online tracking like myfitness pal. You are guaranteed long term results. You will meet any realistic goal you set. So the best medicine for when your stuck, is to change. But by tracking, you will know what to change. I tried all this without tracking and had great success on a whole food plant based diet to a point. I've been plateaued for a maybe a year. I read Shred It, and then had to go back a re read the stuff about tracking. I worked so hard in the gym for a year and got nowhere losing the rest of the weight I wanted. I didn't track because it was too much trouble. Now I understand that the tracking is so much easier than intensive cardio. I've controlled my calories and tracked them and I received results beyond my plateau in a week. Robert's book is the solution to long term health and fitness and is backed by so many proponents of a plant based diet. There is nothing else like it out there.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    Well it's motivating just to know I am doing the right things to take care of myself.
  • ErinK09
    ErinK09 Posts: 687 Member
    My pedometer keeps me motivated. :)
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 602 Member
    Like LoveCats and Rabbit, I log into MFP religiously. Every bite, every workout every day. That keeps me plugging along. It really does get easier, but you have to be patient. MFP seems to be an outlet for me. I like reading and learning about others, too. When I see the thrilling success stories (the big weight losses over a couple years), it reminds me that my 20 or 30 lbs is very doable.

    Don't use your body weight as your only metric because it fluctuates so much from day to day. Use a measuring tape or a couple of outfits as gauges, too.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    azulvioleta6 wrote: »
    Good health, taking care of myself and feeling better overall.

    This ^^

    Even on day/weeks I don't lose, I know that exercise and not overeating is making me healthier.
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