DISCIPLINE OR MOTIVATION

I agree with this so much! People will say to me, "You are so motivated" or "I wish I had your motivation." As if I am any more motivated than they are at 5:00 a.m. to leave my nice warm bed! Or like I don't want that doughnut too!

It does take a certain amount of discipline and consistency to stay on this and see results. You have to do it even when you don't feel like it. You have to do it even when you are NOT motivated. But I will say that when you truly make these habits and daily routines, it does become something you just "do." Like showering. Or making your bed. Required. Not an option. No excuses.

I also find with that mindset, you end up saving so much willpower and mental energy. Instead of this back and forth internal struggle of "I should go to the gym" vs "But I don't feel like it" as one example, you don't even give yourself the option to not go. I lay out my clothes the night before, set my alarm, and it's just a given.

Now instead of making excuses in my head, it's become a stubborn pride and determination how to make it happen. I don't know exactly when that shift in my head happened, but making things a habit and daily routine helped so much to stay disciplined.

This is from my blog, a couple of years (and around 60lbs) ago:

Motivation is a fickle, changeable thing which can be fleeting, easily misdirected or lost. It means being enthusiastic and positively wanting to do something, which is great while it lasts, but what about when it goes? All you have to do is look around MFP to see how people struggle with a loss of motivation.

I'm past relying on motivation. I'm not motivated, I'm committed... I'm determined... but most of all I'm resigned. I'm not excited and well keen to get healthy, I HAVE to do it. I NEED to do it. It isn't a pass-time I can pick up and drop at will.

I'm not "motivated" to go to work in the morning. I do it because I have bills to pay, things I want to buy, a household to feed, a car to run and a lifestyle to sustain.

I'm not "motivated" to clean my house. I do it because I have a level of comfort to maintain, a desire to not live in dirty surroundings, a level of health I wish to keep up.

I don't clean the poop out of my cats litter tray because I'm "motivated". I do it because it stinks and is gross.

I don't make good choices with my food and haul my *kitten* out to go running because I'm "motivated". I do it because I have physical pain I want to lessen and/or avoid, a lifestyle I wish to attain/maintain, a level of health I want to keep up, and a desire not to live in substandard surroundings - in this case an unhealthy body.

I have been "dieting" for 18 years. I have joined Weight Watchers more than 12 times. I've done shake diets, I've counted calories and I considered a lap-band. I have "fallen off the wagon" because I "lost motivation" more times than I can count.

Now this time, it's different. Sure, a lot of the time I'm motivated. But a hell of a lot of the time, I'm not. But I'm committed and resigned to the fact that unless I want my body to be unhealthy, miserable, unattractive and broken, I have to do this. Same way as I have to go to work when I can't be bothered, or have to clean my house when I'd rather sit on the couch in my jimjams.

This isn't optional any more. I've put it in the necessity basket. I'm not doing it because I want to - I'm doing it because I have to.

This has been about making this my new "normal". For so long, there was "normal" and there was "dieting". Now sensible choices have to be normal, and the splurges are the anomalies. So there's no needing to get back on the wagon, it's just going back to normal. I think that's what I never got when people said it was a 'lifestyle change'. It's kind of like when I quit smoking. For the longest time I was a smoker who had quit. Then eventually, slowly, I was a non-smoker. This kind of feels like that.

You're similar to me I lost 90 lbs back in the 90s... put some of it back on due to many lifestyle events/choices. I am now 16 lbs from my goal in the year 2016. It is ALL about discipline. It is motivating to step on the scale and see the numbers go down. It is motivating when people comment about weight loss and looking better.

It is DISCIPLINE when you get up every day at 5am, no matter what - to work out. When you log your calories every single day, every single bite, without fail (good or bad). When you step on the scale and see that you've gained 2 lbs, and instead of throwing your hands up and having a cheeseburger... stepping off of the scale and having a grilled chicken breast and veggies. This is DISCIPLINE.