What do you do when you are not motivated to work out & lose weight...
BecomeBetterThanMyYesterMe
Posts: 114 Member
Lag & gain back 7Kg, yet seem to have lost the drive to lose weight?
Lost 16 Kg in more than a year. Stopped working out & gained 7 Kg in 2 months! Got back to the gym, but I lost the drive!
(Sniff)
Lost 16 Kg in more than a year. Stopped working out & gained 7 Kg in 2 months! Got back to the gym, but I lost the drive!
(Sniff) 0
Replies
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IDK...I enjoy my workouts...I love to cycle and enjoy being in the weight room...it's not really a chore. Maybe find something you're into...if you like what you're doing you're more likely to stick with it, even on "bad" days.3
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cwolfman13 wrote: »IDK...I enjoy my workouts...I love to cycle and enjoy being in the weight room...it's not really a chore. Maybe find something you're into...if you like what you're doing you're more likely to stick with it, even on "bad" days.
You are right. I used to enjoy my workouts. But I am lagging now.
Thanks for replying.
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This is just how I've been going about this so I'm sorry if this doesn't help
I've only recently started. It's only been 2 months and just 10 pounds. Even with that slow progress and tiny loss, I get complacent very quickly. I found that weighing myself when I don't feel like working out gives me that kick in the butt to just do it. If my weight is higher than normal, I tell myself, "See, this will just keep climbing if you don't commit." If my weight is lower, I tell myself, "You're doing so well! Don't waste this."
I hope you find the fire you had when you began your weight loss! Don't let the fact that you've lost and gained set you back! You can always just get back on the horse.
!
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I agree, you need to find something you love to do. Also, once you do it for awhile it's an automatic habit and even when you don't feel motivated you do it anyway because you know how much better you feel when it's all said and done.0
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Sometimes, I just have to turn up the music and dance. I know it 's not a huge workout, but gets the blood and oxygen moving and can be a catalyst for my mood.3
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I, too had been hiding from the gym and despite promises to start again 'tomorrow', I always had an excuse. Gained back all the weight I had lost last winter. I decided I needed a kick-start, and joined a small group make-over training series. It forces me to go since I'm paying for it, I get semi-private training, and am accountable to the others in the group as well. I'm feeling better already. I was only going to attend for the 6-week series, but I feel like I still need some accountability before I'm confident that I will be motivated to get up @4:30 am and get my butt to the gym on my own.
If a PT isn't for you, try to find a work-out buddy that you know is gung-ho. It always is more fun when you have a buddy, and you also feel more accountable on those days when it's easy to talk yourself out of a work-out.
Good luck!1 -
I can't say I love going to the gym, but I go everyday. I will never love it.
Getting it over first thing in the morning is the best part about going to the gym. It is just something I have to do, like brushing my teeth, taking a shower, etc. I have only missed one day at the gym in 20 months, and that was because of a snow storm.2 -
If it all feels like too much, have you considered taking a "just for today" approach? I love this idea (can't take credit for it though), because some days the long-term goal seems so far away. Some days I only want to sit on the couch and eat. So I make a deal with myself just for today. Tomorrow is another day. Here is a thread with some great JFT thoughts and also a group:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10099482/just-for-today-daily-commitment-thread
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/108966-just-for-today3 -
Fortunately motivation hasn't been an issue but I know there will come a time once I get to maintenence that it will be. Luckily, there is plenty available in the former of old pictures.0
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I often start the day with every intention of going to the gym after work. Having my gym bag packed and everything ready to go really helps. But a lot of the time work becomes stressful and around 3:00 pm I am feeling like doing anything but going to the gym after work. I know it's a crutch and it doesn't work for everybody, but caffeine usually helps me get back on track. A cup of green tea, coffee, or sometimes even diet Monster energy drink will usually work for me. This is more of a solution for in the moment when you don't feel like going to the gym. Motivating yourself to start going after taking a hiatus is a different story.
Sometimes browsing the success stories here on the MFP community and looking at other people's before and afters helps me get motivated too. Good luck, OP. You can do it! Anybody can. No excuses!2 -
I have a kind of tiered system, I guess. Exercises and activities that are more of a "workout" and then what I consider the bare minimum for health and wellness. Working out is something that's optional. My leisurely five mile walk in the morning while I'm drinking my coffee (to avoid being completely sedentary which is unacceptable for good health) is just a great way to start my day - I enjoy it, it's not forced and since it's tied to my coffee habit it feels weird to skip it.
Maybe set an easy, minimum level of exercise for yourself scheduled for first thing in the morning you can default to when motivation is lacking? Preferably it should be something at home so it's not something you have to go out of your way to accomplish.4 -
If i get the touch of cant-be-bothered-itis, I think to myself whats harder? Being obese and miserable and chronically sick or going for a workout? hmmmmm, that usually gives me the boost I need.2
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There's been many times I lost the drive to even work out. They'll be days with sleepless nights, just overwhelmed with stress family and work. But when you feel the lack of motivation, that's when the discipline needs to kick in and you just got to DO IT. As cliché as it may sound you got to then make it an obligation and hope one day your motivation kicks back in to make it easier and more enjoyable.0
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What do you do when you're not motivated to go to work? You go, because it's your job.
What do you do when you're not motivated to clean the house but it's a sty and people are coming over? You do it, because your an adult and doing things you don't want to do is part of that.
What do you do when you're not motivated to scoop the kitty litter? You still do it, because yuck.
This is where I rank my efforts to lose weight - not as something I need to be positively motivated to do, but as something that simply has to be done.
I hate getting up and going to work, but I have to because I have a certain lifestyle I want to maintain.
Cleaning the house sure isn't my favourite thing, but when the alternative is living in a pigsty, I get it done.
I certainly don't like scooping kitty poop, but I'm sure as heck not living in a house that smells like it!
And I often don't want to, or can't be bothered, or am not motivated to eat right and work out, but when the alternative is not having the lifestyle I want (fit, attractive and active), not having the surroundings I want (a nice body, flattering clothes), or living in something that makes me unhappy (my unfit, overweight body), you bet your bippy I'm going to get it done!
Don't make it optional. Treat it like your job. Don't search for motivation, instead rely on determination and hell, even resignation. Get it done!18 -
What do I do? Well it seems I trash talk myself, eat chocolate, shame myself a little more, eat cake, feel guilty, eat chocolate to make myself feel better, go to bed vowing tomorrow will be different, turns out it's not.....
I'm trying really hard to break the cycle so I hear what your saying.... it's hard. Today I'm trying to give myself a break, be kind to myself and just aiming for 10000 steps, nothing else, food has not been great but I'm ok with that because I'm 400 steps off 10000 GO ME!! I'm hoping by just moving a little more than I have been (ok a lot more) I will find the joy in it again and hopefully somewhere on a walk find the joy in me again.
So my advice, stop hating yourself for putting weight back on. Be kind to yourself no matter how small the gesture and acknowledge each day is a gift. I'm trying that anyway, hope it works...2 -
Think about your reasons for wanting to get in better shape? Motivation will come and go it's not 100% fixed. If your body needs to rest- let it, but you can't stay there.
Try something different. It's easy to get bored doing the same old things. I started group gym classes: zumba, body conditioning and yoga. You don't have to be perfect just keep moving. When I'm down I just walk around going down new paths and roads I haven't traveled before.1 -
Face the fact that if you don't go back you're gong to regain the weight ..all of it..and then some. Because you will. I don't know what you're routine was at the gym. But if you went for an hour.. start going for 20 minutes to start. Just get back to it... for me.. if I don' have music to listen too it seems like I'm on the elliptical forever.
So have music...a device to watch t.v. or movies... try these things as you work out to see if it goes faster and seems more fun. Get back to it don't sabotage all your hard work!!!1 -
Thanks everyone for replying. I'll gain back more if I don't something about it. There's nothing worse than having to start from the beginning.0
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elisa123gal wrote: »Face the fact that if you don't go back you're gong to regain the weight ..all of it..and then some. Because you will. I don't know what you're routine was at the gym. But if you went for an hour.. start going for 20 minutes to start. Just get back to it... for me.. if I don' have music to listen too it seems like I'm on the elliptical forever.
So have music...a device to watch t.v. or movies... try these things as you work out to see if it goes faster and seems more fun. Get back to it don't sabotage all your hard work!!!
From what you have written, are you using the elliptical machine only as cardio workout? How's it going? I like the elliptical & used to do that mostly for about 40 mins. But, I am worried whether it will put on muscles on legs & the last place I need to gain is my legs. Did you experience anything of that sort? Thanks.0 -
My diet had changed for far healthier options now I doubt I could gain weight0
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This couldn't have been a better thread to read today. I too felt very discouraged as of late! Motivation was lacking and I was regaining some of the weight.
There is some rock solid stellar advice here. I am going to take some pics of some of the advice above so I can look at it often! The MFP community is invaluable. You guys are the best!! Thank you! ONE DAY AT A TIME.0 -
BecomeBetterThanMyYesterMe wrote: »Lag & gain back 7Kg, yet seem to have lost the drive to lose weight?
Lost 16 Kg in more than a year. Stopped working out & gained 7 Kg in 2 months! Got back to the gym, but I lost the drive! (Sniff)
I wouldn't use the gym to lose weight. My plan right now is to lose 30lbs before I get back to the gym. I walk about 3 miles every other day or so and am on a very low carb lifestyle. I've knocked off about 14lbs in about 3 weeks, and it's a very lazy sort of process, but I wanted to make sure that what I was doing in the kitchen was getting me the results before I started flailing my arms back in the gym. I've been under stress as well, so I know my body is releasing cortisol to stall my progress even further, but my current way of eating seems to have even broken through that (so awesome!). Keep it simple. If it seems too complex, then it probably is. High Fat. Moderate Protein. Low Carb. There's no need for magic when you've got science. Good luck on your journey! - The lazy low-carb guy0 -
Motivation, Shmotivation!
I don't LIKE doing the laundry, or cleaning the bathroom - but I do those things because they are just things in life that you have to do.
I get up every morning, I put on my workout clothes, and I go to the gym.
To distract myself from the fact that I am sweating, and aching, I read a trashy novel on my tablet while I pump my legs on the elliptical machine.
I know that if I fail to get up and move, every single day, I will sink into the couch - never to rise again. For me, it's not even about losing weight, although that is a side benefit... I do it because if I don't, I will pay in pain, later.
Old Age ain't for Sissies!
It's Nike time, people.
Just DO it.2 -
Thanks everyone.
3 days in. Exercising lesser than usual, but I'm doing something.3
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