Mental road blocks on the path to success

Hello,

Yes, I completely understand. I have a solution for you. Walk. Just walk. The 1st few days you'll huff and puff and get sweaty but you can always shorten your strides and scale back; just.keep.moving. Over time you will start feeling better, gaining energy so you crave some physical activity, and you'll lose weight. If you don't want to stop eating the foods you love; simply eat off of smaller plates. I don't think you're a lost cause; you're obviously just lazy and laziness can be reversed by doing just a bit more everyday.

You want the body, you're going to have to earn it or accept being that boring, average Joe for the rest of your life and I highly doubt you want that because if you did you wouldn't be here. Good luck!

This is my story from 10 years ago. I have a genetic disorder that affects my skeletal system and as a side affect, my muscles. Doing anything for a period of time is going to be painful. Exercise wasn't high on my list of loves. Then one day I stood up and getting my balance took longer than normal. It usually takes 5 seconds for my muscles to decide they want to support me. But this time was longer and wrong... I stepped on the scale and I was 191.8lbs. Not only did I need to loose weight but I also needed a cane.

So I started counting calories. That was it. I was just super strict with what I ate. I didn't want to be bothered to learn what was healthy (this was the wrong path, i know that now). So I only bought premade meals. If it wasn't 'good' for me, I didn't buy it. If i wanted ice cream or a soda I had to leave the house to get it. I dropped 32lbs without any exercise at all. Then I decided I should start being more active. So I started walking. I had a mp3 player and I put in music that made me feel good. And then I made the mental decision to find joy in what I was doing. For someone who has difficulty moving, moving in itself is a gift. Being able to move is a joy that most people take for granted. Not only was there joy in being able to put one foot in front of the other for 1.4 miles I felt great after it. For those short months I woke up every morning because I had to take that walk. I lost another 10 pounds.

Now I can't walk for exercise. I can barely stand for more than 10 minutes without great pain. Perhaps I will gain some time by loosing weight but I'm pretty sure I screwed myself out of being able to walk for any distance again. I am on disability and it is a struggle not because I don't like it... but because I was born with this struggle. When I exercise it is in a pool or in a chair. Neither of those are appealing to me but when I am exercising I focus on the joy of moving and remember that I am going to feel great afterwards. Perhaps not physically because no matter how I do it, I am going to hurt. But mentally I feel so much better because I did it. I did it because I needed to do it and that is an accomplishment and worthy of that good feeling.

So find a way to find joy in whatever you are doing at the moment. Do what you need to do and be proud of that.

edited to fix grammar

find something you enjoy doing...working out doesn't have to mean jumping around your living room to some dvd or droning away on some piece of equipment in the gym...personally, I love to ride my bike, hike, walk my dog, and swim a little.

I have a few friends that definitely feel like this, and at one point in my life I have felt like this as well. This might sound really stupid, but once I started working out, I started seeing the shower I take after a nice workout as a "reward", something I've earned for my hard efforts that day for working out. Soon as you know it, my mentality towards exercised slowly changed (it took maybe about two months for it to kick into a habit) and now, I just can't picture a week without working out. It just feels so great and the shower afterwards feels even more heavenly because I "earned it" haha

This journey is hard. We all go through it. You will do it if you really want it. Good luck to you.

rosshildick3d wrote: »

Hi there - just want to get something off my chest here and if you choose to reply at all, then thanks


I enjoy food. a lot. and changing my meal plan and eating healthily isnt SUCH a bad thing and I'd sayI'm about 40% of the way from where I was in my diet to where I want to be and how I know I should be eating so the whole diet thing isnt a massive deal.

Phycially though, I want a good body (don't we all, I know... )
I am currently that chubby average Jo you see on the street; I look like this because I hate working - in fact, I hate making an effort for anything. For a living, for my health. Just generally lazy.
The thought of working out excites me because I know its the way forward to a good body and ultimately - happiness. However as soon as I start working out, that all fades away. I hate the feeling of getting out of breath, sweating and the thought of stopping and the reward of simply not having to do this any more FAR outweighs the rewards of a good body if I continue. Whenever I start working out, there's NOTHING I want more than to immediately stop and do something I actually enjoy.

Sound like a lost cause, huh? I certinately feels like it every day.

Has anyone else felt like this about working out? Am I a lost cause? Can anyone relate? or is there some way out of this way of thinking?

I know some people simply love the feeling of working out... love that "pump" in the gym you get... I just want to be like that and actually enjoy it. For me, that's 90% of the battle.

Thanks for reading.

SHORT VERSION: I hate working out. Help.

I know exactly how you feel! I get all pumped up and motivated and do real good for about two months then bam i hit a wall of boredom or don't see the results i want and slowly stop exercising

Hey, what kind of exercise are you doing? I hate cardio so I do it like once every month. Lifting on the other hand...it's fun, for me at least. And I feel like it changes my body more drastically than cardio.

You are overthinking it. I agree about walking. Just walk. Go on a hike with friends. If you live in a city do an urban hike. I had a friend get ready to climb Kilamajaro by just walking to work with her boots and backpack on. Forget the gym for now.