What motivates you to get back on track?

PattyB520
PattyB520 Posts: 3 Member
edited November 2024 in Motivation and Support
I have lost my motivation to record my food and exercise regularly over the last 3-4 weeks and struggling to understand why? Winter blahs? Three years ago I use to get up at 4:30am go to the gym for my workout 3-5 days a week. Have discontinued my membership and am set up at home. I am so stiff with muscle soreness in the morning, it is hard to get motivated other than to get to work and by night I am exhausted. Enough whining! So how about some suggestions to get back on track? Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • DannyYMi54321
    DannyYMi54321 Posts: 77 Member
    I can relate, I too seem to have lost my "mojo" or "magic" or motivation - whatever you want to call it, the spark that really got me going and serious a few years ago.

    This is going to sound horrible - and I don't mean it to apply to anyone but myself - I almost wish I could get some really bad news from the doctor, because that is what motivated me back then - and I did a major turnaround and was really successful at losing weight, getting in shape, and kept it off for over 3 years. Fear was a strong motivator, but not necessarily the most healthy kind of motivation.

    BUT, that's my fantasy mind - and it's not a healthy concept, psychologically or physically. So, I know I just have to start making my health a priority again, slow down enough to take the time to do the things I need to do, like cook real, healthy food, drink water again instead of guzzling diet pop and diet energy drinks, and get back to a more regular cardio routine.

    I'm trying to think very "positive thoughts" about what worked for me in the past, and even more, about WHY I need to do this - what the benefits of it are to me, why I loved it the first time around (even through the fear of the health situation), and what I will get out of it by getting back on my true path and staying there.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Look at the progress you've made or the goals you've set. I tell myself that if I'm not going forward I'm going back to where I was. I don't want that. At all. So I get my rear in gear and follow my plan.
  • springerm80
    springerm80 Posts: 10 Member
    Man I know that feeling of slipping, so this is what I did
    1. A major one for me was make my life NOT so much as a routine
    2. Get back into thing you love,hobbies, my was mountain biking /road biking
    3. Hang with friends ,meet people, some of them joined me on my Journey, the more the merrier
    4. Set a goal my is to do a 100 mile road race this year
    Heaviest I ever been with 280 pounds got down to 215. fell off the bandwagon reached 248-250 start it all over again I'm sitting at 207 right now trying to hit 200. STAY focused don't let that hard work go to waste
  • PattyB520
    PattyB520 Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you all for your thoughts and sharing what keeps or gets you motivated! Appreciate it! So I started this journey in November 2016, and have a lot to celebrate, 12 lbs. weight loss, better lab results, and oh, to be so mindful of fear and how that will motivate you in a good way. Word for the day: PLAN. I planned and logged my food for the day. I am awesome at executing a PLAN and today I rejuvenated my eating PLAN...feels good, feels like I am in control of me again! Today is the first day of the rest of my life! Now on to that EXERCISE word.....its all set up and waiting for me...no excuses or laziness....JUST DO IT! 30 minutes, 5 days a week, start easy and work up to that goal! Have a great weekend!
  • DannyYMi54321
    DannyYMi54321 Posts: 77 Member
    I find that I'm time-crunched, often overwhelmed, and I do fight long-term, chronic conditions that are a bit of a drag on my system overall, so I have periods of fatigue, etc. When I'm NOT on the wagon, eating S.A.D. and not getting enough rest and exercise just makes it all worse.

    So, the simple things I need to do are:

    1) Make sure I stick to my macros - I'm supposed to be doing 30-40-30 at 1800 calories a day.
    2) Make sure I eat plenty of non-starchy vegetables - something else I've been doing a poor job of for a while now.
    3) Drink a LOT more water - I guzzle highly-caffeinated diet drinks constantly for the short-term boost, and actually am probably somewhat chronically dehydrated because of the diuretic effect.
    4) Do better at taking supplements I need - I have several things that I get very deficient in due to health conditions that affect either my ability to absorb nutrients or my ability to use them in metabolic processes. Frankly, I take a lot of prescription medications daily, and am not the best at always getting those in either - and I need to be.
    5) Exercise - by "real world" standards I still do well - I'm getting about 6-7 hours a week of a mix of cardio and strength training. But I was also doing a lot of additional cardio - cycling, running - a few years back, and I really benefited from that. For one thing, I could up my calories and still lose or maintain.

    Basically, it's ALL about mindset - I need to get my mind, attitude, and soul/heart/emotions right with this again.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    I have been on here since 2010 but have recently slipped up. I got so busy taking care of everyone else I forgot about me. I can't take care of them unless I am in good shape. I remind myself the time I take for myself is not selfish.
  • brdoyle8
    brdoyle8 Posts: 38 Member
    I try to think of things I really want to be able to do again, or do without difficulty, or remember that I don't want to live with the fear of being the "fat friend" or that I'll always be single because people don't find me attractive, or I want to be able to do active things with my active friends and not be counted out of those activities because of my weight and activity level.

    I am big on writing down and visualizing goals, so on these days when all I want is to get French fries for dinner and skip the gym, I write some of these down. I put some examples below.

    1) I want to go hiking again. I want to be able to say "I did that" after a crazy five hour day of hiking.
    2) Running races. I did a 5k race a week in high school when I ran cross country. I want to know that I didn't lose that.
    3) Mood and Focus. I am about to attend graduate school, I need to maintain a healthy mind and a strong focus. Healthy foods will help me achieve this.

    These are three of many for me. It helps to write them down!
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
    Every year I take a month off, usually around the holidays from tracking and exercising. I just need that break. I usually set small goals out for each week because I'm competitive with myself I usually reach them. Also if I feel I'm in a slump I mix it up. I joined a competitive volleyball league and play tournaments on the weekends. I buy new workout gear. I join a class or gym. I tell others about my goals so that I feel if they ask I feel a little more accountable. I look at old photos and think about how far I've come. I look online for new workouts. Hang in there!
  • PattyB520
    PattyB520 Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you, everyone! I have exercised three times so far this week and tracking my food. Every day is getting better, just taking baby steps and staying focused!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    IDK...IMO, you just kind of do it. My exercise and activity in general tends to dip during the winter...I primarily cycle and prefer doing it outside...so cold, darkness, etc don't make that easy...also, no cycling events until May at the earliest so I don't really have anything to push my training. I do have an indoor trainer, but it's not the same, nor am I as good about getting on it as I should be.

    I get back into things every year around this time as the weather starts to get nicer and days get longer. I don't jump headlong back into riding 6 days per week and 80-100 miles...I just ease back into it and start adding days and miles as I go.

    I love to ride, so it doesn't take a great deal of effort to get going, but it does require a little discipline in that over winter I've adopted different routines and I have to make that initial effort to get cycling back into that routine...doesn't take long, especially when it's a beautiful day.
  • jruck371
    jruck371 Posts: 28 Member
    Nothing. Motivation is fleeting, habits are the real deal.

    I know that sounds harsh, but its the truth. When I have bad days, I focus on the long term habits I want to build or maintain. For me, that means 1 simple thing: if I don't want to eat healthy, go to the gym, eat within my calories etc etc. I make a pact with myself: I will continue to do the thing I don't like in the moment (ie. go to the gym) and if I still hate it after 3 weeks I can quit.
  • shakenbake57
    shakenbake57 Posts: 303 Member
    I'm not sure I really understand why reading the following in another post had such an impact on me, but it did and may be helpful for you too. Someone posted that when we feel like giving-up and we do, that "feeling" wins - we don't!
    For me, I'm working on saying that feeling - the one that wants me to stop, give-up, revert to past habits- is my enemy and I'm not going to let it win! Throughout my adult life I've struggled with weight and will go along well with healthy habits and then just quit - didn't want to wake up early anymore, didn't want to stop at gym after work... NOT this time!! This is not to say I'm always spot on, but if I have a slip, I remind myself I'm in charge and I WILL win this battle! Bring it on!
  • shans34
    shans34 Posts: 535 Member
    This is going to sound horrible - and I don't mean it to apply to anyone but myself - I almost wish I could get some really bad news from the doctor, because that is what motivated me back then - and I did a major turnaround and was really successful at losing weight, getting in shape, and kept it off for over 3 years. Fear was a strong motivator, but not necessarily the most healthy kind of motivation.

    I can relate to this! I never got bad news but used to almost hope for it so that it would kick my *kitten* into gear. Ultimately I just had to make the choice and stick with it! I'm now down 70lbs and I still have another 70 to lose. I'm just motivated now watching the scale. I love seeing the numbers disappear!
  • Hensonator1084
    Hensonator1084 Posts: 195 Member
    My kids motivate me :)
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