Want to get fit super fast

hannah_mwilliams
hannah_mwilliams Posts: 25 Member
edited November 20 in Motivation and Support
I've been wanting to be fit and lose weight for a very long time now and I'll see pictures of fit girls and it motivates me for like five seconds. I can't stick with some motivation. Sometimes I get to thinking that it's never going to happen because it'll take so long and I won't stick to it and that's not the attitude I need to have. I have IBS and the doctor told me that being healthy could make my symptoms better so I mean I at least have one reason to do it but I feel like it still isn't enough to keep me motivated in the long haul. I only have about 30 pounds to lose. Today I've been eating healthyish. I just want to be able to stick to it and say I accomplished something and be proud of myself. I don't know how to stay motivated, I need to fix my mind set. What should I do?

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited June 2015
    With 27 pounds to go, set your weekly goal to 1 pound per week. If you plan on exercise, then eat back a portion of those calories too. Only a portion because MFP calorie burn estimates are generous.

    The problem with "super fast" weight loss.....it often sacrifices a larger % of lean muscle mass than most people are comfortable with. Moderate weekly goals help you lower your body fat %. A lower body fat % is healthier.

    The mind set that worked for me.....I am striving for progress, not perfection. It's far too common to have 1 bad day derail a diet...."well I'll start again tomorrow"....only tomorrow is next week, or next month. Just work toward mostly good days.
  • discretekim
    discretekim Posts: 314 Member
    There are many possible approaches to this. What works for me is starting small. Make little goals like eating a vegetable with each meal or bringing your lunch into work everyday and stick with that for a week then move on to the next one. Also for me I have found it helps to not t have an all or nothing attitude. Like I see this as a lifestyle so I want to lose weight but I know it won't be linear because I am not going to be strict. I try my hardest but if I don't reach a daily goal it's okay. I know I'll get there eventually. Also find some kind of exercise you like. That really helps and weigh yourself. Some suggest tracking all of your food. I think this could help but I don't always do it because it can contribute to the all or nothing thinking. Still it can help at first especially if you don't really know what you are eating.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    OP, what it sounds like to me is that the results aren't concrete enough in your mind to act as a motivator yet, which is really common before someone manages to keep going long enough to see results.

    What worked for me in that situation was to create a longterm plan with lots of smaller process-oriented goals along the way. First, I weighed myself (which I hadn't done forever) and then figured out what I wanted to lose and what a reasonable timetable would be. I'm someone who won't be derailed by that not being perfectly accurate, which it was not, but it was helpful to be able to think "in October I should be X weight--made it seem like it would take less long and would really happen. Getting to my goal weight was my longterm goal, but I also added other things, like "run a half marathon."

    After that I set shorter term goals: week 1, month 1, 3 months, 6 months and added weight loss goals (again, without that being a huge deal if I didn't make it) and other goals I had more control over, like "be able to bike to work regularly and run 5 miles" or "exercise 3 times per week" or "walk 10,000 steps per day" or "cook 5 dinners at home." Basically the longer term goals would be more motivational, about how fit I planned to be, and the shortest term ones would be what I was currently working on. When something became more routine I moved on to something else.

    I also set calorie goals based on my lost rate efforts (I was really fat, so started with 2 lb/week, you might want to do 1 lb) and then figured out how I could eat to enjoyably stay within my calorie goal.

    Having it be not too hard at first with the fitness stuff (as I worked up gradually) and very sustainable with the way I was eating (eating lower calorie doesn't have to be miserable or deprivation) and having the goals more concrete in my mind made me confident I would get there and helped so much with the motivation.
  • yeahhitslindsay
    yeahhitslindsay Posts: 1 Member
    What kind of IBS do you have? I have IBS-A (alternating btwn C and D) but I'm primarily D when I have a flare up.
  • Dex37
    Dex37 Posts: 55 Member
    Just keep exercising and tracking your eating. If you lose 1lb/wk, in 16 weeks you will be halfway to your goal. That is the length of a college semester. So just act like you need to get through a difficult class. After the 16 weeks, you will feel great and look much different and this will keep you going.

    It also helps to take weekly selfies and even some video diaries to look back on if you have doubts. Good luck.
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