Need help... ANY help!!!

5 foot 5 inch female, 32 years old, 196 lbs....

I want to lose weight! But, I can't seem to motivate myself....

Setting goals (even small ones) doesn't help.

Buying "cleaner" foods doesn't help (They end up rotting in my fridge...)

Getting equipment and/or Games/DVDs for cardio doesn't help (they eventually start collecting dust after a week....)

Motivation is a key factor. I feel I'd rather lay around than move my lazy butt around. And it doesn't help when the people around me, while meaning well, say things that enable my behavior.... "You're allowed to relax yourself!" "Treat yourself to some sweets once in awhile!" <---define "once in awhile" please.......

Is it all in my mind? Am I preventing myself from reaching my goals? What am I saying, of course I am!!!! >_<

So how do I break this lifestyle? I do I commit? Is it all just a matter of forcing myself?

At this point, I seriously need a drill sergeant.....

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Replies

  • ivory32
    ivory32 Posts: 12 Member

    How about buy an item of clothing that's a smaller size and aim to get into it? Or aim to walk or run a specified distance? Find something other than the number of lbs losing to work towards.

    Good luck.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Actually, if you've never used this concept before i highly recommend you watch this:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=supVPLOHWPg
  • kayeroze
    kayeroze Posts: 146 Member
    I struggle motivation too on the daily. I find that working out right after work (gym bag packed the night before) and heading straight to the gym helps with at least 3 workouts of the week for me. Eating better comes down to calories. If I obsesses too much over my macros and other benefits, it becomes too much for me to keep up with. Working out at least 3-4x a week for me is success, Sunday is always a rest day, and I always try to workout on Mondays.

    It helps to create a routine, not put too much pressure on yourself, and get back into it, even if you don't diet and gym for two months or a year (I have done both).
  • sstrack123
    sstrack123 Posts: 171 Member
    Definitely mind set for me! I go through phases of great motivation to really low motivation. I know how great I feel when I take care of myself. I took some advice from "tough love" Robert Kennedy yrs ago. He ask how long has it been since you really examined yourself in a full length mirror and learn to love yourself. He also said some may cry which I did but then the tough love needs to come in and learn how to discipline yourself to be consistent in making healthier choices because no one else can do it for you! Start small and overtime you will see how great it feels to show yourself love! The mirror will begin to show the love you are giving yourself.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    Ultimately, the only one that can make you do it is you. The only one who can come up with good enough reasons is you. You just have to do it, or don't.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    Hmm. Motivation.

    No one else will give it to me because they can't. If they gave it to me it would rot in the fridge.

    No one will sell it to me because they can't. If I could buy it, it would rot in the fridge.

    No one can make me want it more than I want something else because they can't.

    No one can make a choice for me because they can't.

    No one can impart the desire for motivation for me because they can't.

    No one can break any of my habits because they can't.



    I can choose to be motivated regardless of whether I feel it.

    I can choose to want health over immediate comfort.

    I can't change previous choices, but I can make the next choice.

    My success, so far, has not been because of some magical motivation. My success, so far, has been because of a vast majority (not all, but most) of "next choices" made. You can't worry about every decision coming. Concern yourself with the next one. That's how you build discipline - which is a far better thing than motivation.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Actually, if you've never used this concept before i highly recommend you watch this:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=supVPLOHWPg

    Now I want the book.
  • clayelliott847
    clayelliott847 Posts: 125 Member
    edited September 2017
    Make sure you go to the grocery store at least once a week. If you have food at home, you will go on that late night McDonalds run a lot less.

    Who is telling you "relax you deserve it"? Tell them you are going for a walk. Want to come with?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    Stop trying to motivate yourself to do things you don't want to do, and find things you do want to do that will move you to your goal.

    If your goal is to lose weight, you need to eat less calories than you burn. Figure out little steps to do that without forcing yourself to do/eat stuff you don't want to. You don't have to eat "healthy" food. You don't have to do a "workout". Take a walk and put less cheese on your sandwich. Eat half the rice and twice the broccoli with dinner and dance around the living room for 15 minutes.

    If you can't find any things you can start doing to lose weight, then you don't really want it that bad. As I've often read here: Being overweight is hard. Losing weight is hard. Choose your hard.

    A great place to start is to get a food scale and just start measuring and logging your food. Don't worry too much about hitting your goal, just log. Afterwards look back at a week or so and see where you wasted calories, see where you did really well, and learn.
  • rayzerwolf
    rayzerwolf Posts: 203 Member
    i watch tv and have a work out dvd going at the same time on another screen two birds one stone. I also have a stepper in my living room and i go up and down on that thing while i watch a movie.
  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
    A piece of advice that someone once gave me here that worked for me, though it wouldn't work for everyone, is just to put your gym clothes on. You can tell yourself that you may or may not exercise after that but right now you're just putting your exercise clothes on.

    This has actually worked extremely well for me over the years and I think it is great advice.

    I also tend to set rules for myself. If there's something you do every day that you really, really love, make a rule that you can't do it until after you've exercised. Back in the olden days, I was a soap opera addict. I was not allowed to watch GH until after I'd exercised. Or maybe now, I'd not let myself turn on my computer or pick up my phone until after I'd exercised.

    It also helps me to preplan my daily menu and write it down (and make sure it contains appealing foods that I have in the house). If I just have a mental menu in mind, that doesn't help me stick to it. If I make a menu of foods I really don't want to eat, I won't eat them. If the menu is dependent on me getting to the grocery store that day, it's unlikely to happen. It works best if I make my usual favorite recipes and just healthify them. Maybe thicken a casserole, soup or gravy with pureed cauliflower instead of flour and butter. Or swap out some of the starches in a recipe for vegetables. Or switch out full fat sour cream with Greek yogurt. Or make a salad with a salsa dressing to fill me up so I eat a smaller portion of a main dish.