What do you say to yourself?

Sheisinlove109
Sheisinlove109 Posts: 516 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What phrases/thoughts/song lyrics do you tell yourself when you just don't feel like eating right or exercising? What gives you that extra boost for tough days?
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Replies

  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    Sometimes it helps to look in the mirror. Sometimes I check out the "success stories" forum. I also follow a lot of fitness people on YouTube and Instagram so I'll check those out when I need motivation. Also like to think about my "why"- my reason for doing this (health, confidence, to be a role model, to live longer and to enjoy my life more, to like what I see in the mirror, to be strong and fit and beautiful...)
  • lennyt91
    lennyt91 Posts: 40 Member
    If I am in the middle of a workout and I wanna give up, I always tell myself "The way out is through." I usually just repeat that over and over in my head until it sticks.
    My ex-bf always used to say Pain is weakness leaving the body..I really hate that phrase but I guess that might be motivational to some people.
  • lennyt91
    lennyt91 Posts: 40 Member
    I also really like to listen to the song "You Can't Stop Me" by Andy Mineo.. It's very motivational to me because the "You" that he is singing towards is himself..
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,817 Member
    If I don't feel like exercising, it's because I'm not well or I'm really, exceptionally and unusually tired ... and I need a day off.

    But it helps to incorporate exercise into my day. I walk as part of my commute. I need to go to work, and in order to get there, I need to walk. Can't get around that! I walk to run errands at lunch. Stuff needs to be done and I'm not going to get it done unless I walk.

    As for eating, I make plans to take diet breaks periodically. I can stick to a diet without any difficulty at all ... as long as I know that in a few weeks, I'll take a weekend off. Craving cake or potato chips or whatever? That's OK ... no problem. I'll have them on my diet break. Just not right now. Funny thing is that when I get to my diet break, I think I'll have a long list of food I want to eat, but often the cravings have passed and I eat reasonably normally.

    And the exercise I do every day allows me to eat more ... that's so much more of an incentive than saying some happy words. When I cycle a long distance on the weekend ... I can have pizza and ice cream. :):) It all makes staying on my diet so much easier.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    Lately, I don't have cable or internet, but I do have a couple of good exercise games for the wii, so all I have to tell myself is "I'm bored."
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    If I'm not moving forward, I'm going backwards to where I started. Don't want that, so I keep going.
  • ActionAnnieJXN
    ActionAnnieJXN Posts: 116 Member
    Good question. I have a lot of motivational songs and quotes and so forth on my phone, but I don't really think about them when it comes down to the wire. What I actually do is picture my life how I want it to be, doing the things I want to do - traveling, contributing to the world around me and helping others, involved in many activities, confident, fit, nicely dressed and groomed, and as healthy as possible.

    I didn't start out thinking about that on purpose, the images just kind of popped in my head, and they were quite vague at first, but the more I use those images to battle detrimental eating behaviors, the more focused and powerful they become. Wow. Just now really realized this was happening when you asked, lol - thanks.

    It truly is helping me. I don't want to give up those dreams for a moment's pleasure. I really, really don't. It looks like the more time, thought, and energy we invest in our dreams, the less likely we are to just toss them away so easily - maybe. There's still a lot of retraining of old habits and plain old work to be done, naturally. It's a renewal process, really, and it takes time, but having those psychological tools can really help us stay the course.
  • tgcake
    tgcake Posts: 59 Member
    During exercise, I break down how much longer I have to go. "It's been 10 minutes? You're a quarter of the way there!"
  • merrysailor88
    merrysailor88 Posts: 1,260 Member
    I just look at myself in the mirror. Not being where I want to be, is motivation enough. That and I slam some preworkout and get *kitten* goin!
  • jjalbertt
    jjalbertt Posts: 98 Member
    During exercise if I'm doing cardio I tell myself..Just 5 more mins every 5 mins. That way I make it seem like smaller goals all within my larger 30 min goal.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    I'm more likely to eyeroll than feel inspired by a clever quote or lyric as nothing is ever as simple as that.
  • merrysailor88
    merrysailor88 Posts: 1,260 Member
    MelanieCN77 wrote: »
    I'm more likely to eyeroll than feel inspired by a clever quote or lyric as nothing is ever as simple as that.

    right! Even if I managed to be inspired, I am probably still rolling my eyes
  • Mini_Medic
    Mini_Medic Posts: 343 Member
    For cardio (I'm a runner) I tell myself we are going to do 2 miles minimum and you have permission to stop after that if you are truly tired. Once I hit 2 I break through the tight legs and heaviness feeling and I always end up doing at least 3, sometimes 5. While I'm running I push myself, say to the next bend up ahead or to the flag pole, or it's especially helpful when I see I'm at 3.8 miles and really push it out to 4 knowing I'm almost done!

    For the gym I tell myself I want to be strong and look hard not fluffy. Solid not shaky. I enjoy the gym more because the stretch and movement of my muscles feels so good! Lifting to failure may not work for everyone but I enjoy it and love the rush in my muscles when I'm pumped up.
  • jelleigh
    jelleigh Posts: 743 Member
    I managed to lose a lot of weight years ago by stealing the Nike slogan "just do it". I waa so busy making excuses before that I just needed to tell myself to suck it up and just do it. Self tough love. That helped.
    Now I have a play list of songs that I pretty much only listen to when working out - a lot of empowering girl power type stuff lol. But when I hear it, it's so fused with exercise in my mind that it makes me want to get up and be active!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    I don't say or do anything if I feel like not eating right. I've been eating a balanced nutritious diet for decades so if I have a day where I want to break from that and eat junk I just do it. It's not something I want to do often.

    Exercise is another beast. During nice weather I'm active enough that I rarely exercise just for the sake of exercising. During the colder wetter months it is a challenge. I usually just think of the reason why I should do it, the history of obesity and disease in my family and go with the Nike slogan. I 'just do it'.

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