How frustrating!

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cassiopeia2713
cassiopeia2713 Posts: 11
in Motivation and Support
I had been tracking my calorie intake and lost about 10lbs. Well I started obsessing and all I thought about was my next meal and counting calories. I needed a break before it became an eating disorder. I stopped counting and focused on eating healthy foods but not really tracking calories or weighing in. Just going by how I felt. I switched my birth control to the pill and BAM! I gained weight! More than I was when I started! I've also been less active lately which definitely hasn't helped. I need to find a way to motivate myself to get up and moving again. I am thinking about signing up for a triathlon to see if that motivates me, but I also don't want to sign up and then end up puking or drowning myself in a race I couldn't motivate myself to train for! Any thoughts?

How did you find the motivation?

What helps drive you off the couch to the gym after a long day of class and work (or one or the other)?
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Replies

  • SandyEdge
    SandyEdge Posts: 72 Member
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    I would go back to tracking your calories - just dont get obsessive about it.
  • kao708
    kao708 Posts: 813 Member
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    I'm still trying to find my motivation again. This is the 3rd time I'm trying to lose the same stinking weight and it's so much harder this time. Can't figure out why...guess I've just gotten comfortable and lazy!

    Good luck!
  • valerieheat
    valerieheat Posts: 17
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    My trainer gave me a good tip. Take a "before" picture of yourself from the backside. That sure keeps me motivated~! I also get one free day a week when I do not have to work out or track what I eat. Today they had baklava at the office. I wrapped two small pieces to go to save for my free day which is Sunday.
  • mom23nuts
    mom23nuts Posts: 636 Member
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    I'm still trying to find my motivation again. This is the 3rd time I'm trying to lose the same stinking weight and it's so much harder this time. Can't figure out why...guess I've just gotten comfortable and lazy!

    Good luck!

    I too am having trouble....I think it is because you never lose fat cells they just shrink and they have an incredible memory for staying at a set point and have no trouble expanding all over again.
  • CrochetGator
    CrochetGator Posts: 23 Member
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    I got motivated by getting tired of the little tings I noticed about my body, like my belly, and my thighs. I also got really tired of feeling like I didn't have any energy and seeming exhausted after simple things. I have less than 20 lbs to lose but I have a lot of strength to gain. I like to count down to how much longer I have to work out than how much longer I have to go. It seems to go faster for me that way. : )

    Hang in there.
  • misscfe
    misscfe Posts: 295 Member
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    I go to the gym straight from work. If I went home first then I probably would not work out. At the beginning you may have to force yourself but after awhile it will become a habit. Start a routine working out the same days at the same time. After a couple months it will be a habit and you shouldn't have to force yourself to go anymore. Try to find something you really like to do. If you like to dance I would see if you can find a Zumba class. I just recently added that to my routine for some more variety and love it. If you can't find something you really like then make sure you mix it up a lot so it doesn't get to boring for you. Add me if you would like some extra support. Good luck!
  • WifeMomDVM
    WifeMomDVM Posts: 1,025 Member
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    You've got to think hard about WHY you want this... then write it down. Then look at it. Everyday.

    I want to stave off cancer, arthritis, and osteoporosis for as long as possible. I want to see my great grandchildren grow up.

    I educate myself about what eating a cheeseburger and a chocolate bar does to my liver, brain, pancreas, endocrine system, energy levels, blood vasculature, and emotions and then I research what spinach, fish, almonds, etc... does to those same systems.

    Then the choice is clear and easy for me.

    But then again, I'm a big nerd and I like to study about nerdy things like that. :)

    I really like Dr. Mehmet Oz's book, YOU: on a Diet. He does an EXCELLENT job describing the above - an entertaining and informative read.
  • davidrt
    davidrt Posts: 162
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    guilt is what does it for me i feel bad if i dont work out or eat right
  • mom23nuts
    mom23nuts Posts: 636 Member
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    I had been tracking my calorie intake and lost about 10lbs. Well I started obsessing and all I thought about was my next meal and counting calories. I needed a break before it became an eating disorder. I stopped counting and focused on eating healthy foods but not really tracking calories or weighing in. Just going by how I felt. I switched my birth control to the pill and BAM! I gained weight! More than I was when I started! I've also been less active lately which definitely hasn't helped. I need to find a way to motivate myself to get up and moving again. I am thinking about signing up for a triathlon to see if that motivates me, but I also don't want to sign up and then end up puking or drowning myself in a race I couldn't motivate myself to train for! Any thoughts?

    How did you find the motivation?

    What helps drive you off the couch to the gym after a long day of class and work (or one or the other)?

    I think hormones have a lot to do with gaining and losing weight. I am reading the book by Taubes Why We get Fat and he explains a bit about how the loss of estrogen disrupts the body's way to process and store calories.
  • Mommawarrior
    Mommawarrior Posts: 897 Member
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    I don't want to be fat, that is the only motivation I need. Maybe that will help for you too!
  • ltf304
    ltf304 Posts: 132 Member
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    You've got to think hard about WHY you want this... then write it down. Then look at it. Everyday.

    I want to stave off cancer, arthritis, and osteoporosis for as long as possible. I want to see my great grandchildren grow up.

    I educate myself about what eating a cheeseburger and a chocolate bar does to my liver, brain, pancreas, endocrine system, energy levels, blood vasculature, and emotions and then I research what spinach, fish, almonds, etc... does to those same systems.

    Then the choice is clear and easy for me.

    But then again, I'm a big nerd and I like to study about nerdy things like that. :)

    I really like Dr. Mehmet Oz's book, YOU: on a Diet. He does an EXCELLENT job describing the above - an entertaining and informative read.
    Yes, what she said. I would recommend doing some reading on health and nutrition. How do you want to feel when you are 70? I want to be strong, fit, and enjoy my life. You look at most 70 year old people and they are riddled with health problems. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. You want to enjoy your life and you can start by taking care of yourself now! This is what motivates me every....single....day. :)
  • deanadimples
    deanadimples Posts: 419 Member
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    My biggest motivator for exercise was....results.

    I wanted to run. I'd love to do a 5k....so I started running on treadmill. Just doing 5 mins with 2 mins walking. Within a week I was noticing a difference in my endurance. 5 weeks later, I run 10 min stretches at a faster speed. I figure if I can see results like that in a month, what will it be like in a couple?! I kept my workouts to 30 minutes. 45 or 60 and I seem to talk myself out. "I don't have time, it's too long etc". 30 mins I could fit in easy with no excuses. It's over before I get bored.

    I also did Jillian Ms 30 Day Shred...and again, saw results. Within 10 days. For the first time in AGES if not ever, I'm getting biceps. I do these workouts together some days...other days 2 separate workouts. I like it because it's a 30 day concept. I treat it kind of like a workout class. Fit it in for 30 days. But after 10 results kept me going even when I didn't want to.

    Doing is easy. The hardest part is STARTING. When I started, workouts were a means to an end. 5 weeks in I enjoy my workouts because I view them as changes not as "workouts". Every week is stronger and better. Every week I feel things shrinking. THATS what keeps me going.

    I have a new goal.....I want to do P90X or Insanity. I think I need to shed a lot more and get my endurance a little better first. But now my workouts are for a goal. Do those. And live through it lol
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    I look at my *kitten* and BAM instant motivation. Really, and seriously. When I'm not sure if I want to work out or if I want that 400 calorie cupcake I do a butt squeeze . . . thinking about all that maximus on my gluteus makes me feel all sorts of icky.
  • kanonxbou47
    kanonxbou47 Posts: 265 Member
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    I had to do that too...I got really critical of other people too, and it just had to go.

    My weight really didn't change at all, 'cause I kept working out and ate okay.
    Sucks that that happened to you.
  • Nana_Anne
    Nana_Anne Posts: 179 Member
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    First there are medications that don't make you gain as much weight....I still take three that do but It used to be four but one was able to change.

    Today I have no motivation at all but I'm sick as a dog and those days happen.

    The day before I had no motivation because I gained 2 lbs!!!!! I was posting to someone else and went back to check mine and yep BAM! the day before my sodium was out of this world from a family reunion BBQ. Now I don't feel so bad. I'll take Sadie for a small walk. Sometimes just the smallest thing will build. like I had started with just a two block walk of 10 minutes now I am at 35 minutes pretty fast walk (my dog thinks we can run) and I add stretchingof 15 minutes and 10 minutes of things like crunches and leg lifts. Just a little helps. And if this is all I do then thats ok too. I loose a little each week. Even if I just loose 1 oz thats ok I'll get there.

    About the posting. I said to my daughter just this afternoon, I think it's bad when I think of lyeing on MY program or not eat because I would have others see or damage my back (I have X-spots recently put in for spinal stenosis) or even make a new account to be just for me that was the truth..many other ideas came to mind...then I was like hey! everyone here has been thru the same thing and this is MY diary and program and I don't have to be or say or do things for other people here and we ALL have set backs whether we say so or not. AND biggest of all to me you just posted this which shows me you are getting motivated. I know you will continue to be more and more motivated until you love it. I know that. Because you are asking for help :smile:
  • DiamondRubyMom
    DiamondRubyMom Posts: 147 Member
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    Honestly do you have to be on "the pill"? The pill causes a women to go through constant PMS: depression, decreased libido, decreased motivation, and weight gain. The are other natural, safe, and just as effective methods out there such as the SymptoThermal method.
  • tyra1017
    tyra1017 Posts: 4
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    I understand totally, I am doing it so I can be alive to see my children grown.
  • jessdeweerdt
    jessdeweerdt Posts: 128
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    I go to Success Stories. Everytime I try to talk myself out of a workout. If each of these people can do it (and lots had much farther to go than I), I can too.

    I do the 30 day videos with Jillian Michaels.. I see a difference after a week, it keeps me going.

    I take pics of myself weekly, and measure because I know the scale is not always (or usually) my friend.

    I look at a pic of myself at my worst and know that I cannot be like that anymore. I remember what it feels like to be like that.

    I saw somewhere that some one else suggested taking off your clothes and looking in the mirror.. if you like what you see, fine, but if you don't, you prob need a work out.
  • Janelle_Teaches
    Janelle_Teaches Posts: 155
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    What gets me off the couch? Knowing..that when I'm finished..I will be that one step closer then I was before. Also...I have a goal skirt..I try that on when I need a little "kick in the butt"!!! :)

    I'll also say..hanging around kids gets me motivated..I really want to have a baby, but at my weight (and health reasons) it's not in my sights..so if I hang out around kids I get that..awww.I want one...feeling and then I want to work out!! :)
  • KimbersNewLife
    KimbersNewLife Posts: 645 Member
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    I'm still trying to find my motivation again. This is the 3rd time I'm trying to lose the same stinking weight and it's so much harder this time. Can't figure out why...guess I've just gotten comfortable and lazy!

    Good luck!

    I too am having trouble....I think it is because you never lose fat cells they just shrink and they have an incredible memory for staying at a set point and have no trouble expanding all over again.
    That makes so much sense! I have gone back to my old ways of eating lately and it is so hard to get back into things! This makes sense now if only we can figure out how to resolve it ;)

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