Loss of Motivation..

Options
AshleyLeaaa
AshleyLeaaa Posts: 1 Member
edited April 2018 in Motivation and Support
What do you guys do to regain (and maintain) your motivation after falling out of routine of going to the gym for a few weeks? I want SO badly to lose weight and become healthy and as fit as I possibly can within realistic reason, but my motivation seems to fluctuate and it becomes really discouraging..

Replies

  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    Options
    A post some have found helpful:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818701/the-myth-of-motivation-and-what-you-need-instead/p1
  • primalpam
    primalpam Posts: 64 Member
    Options
    I take some time and think about my WHY. Why did I start this in the first place? For me, food and exercise feed off one another. If I'm eating well, I'm more likely to also workout. If I'm working out, I'm more likely to eat well. Weight loss can be accomplished without the gym at all, so start with the food. Get it on track and then maybe you'll feel better and feel like going to the gym. If not, you gotta just bite the bullet and go one day. Once you're there, you're likely to realize that you've missed it.
  • lisa0527
    lisa0527 Posts: 49 Member
    Options
    I don’t think you’re lacking motivation. You sound like you really want to lose weight. Sounds like you maybe need to take a look at the strategies and tools you’re using. Personally, willpower and motivation get me to about 4 pm, then I’m hungry, there’s nothing to eat in the fridge....and so it begins.
    So get the scale on the counter, sit down and write out a meal plan for the week, clear the junk food out of the kitchen, go shopping so you have everything you need for your meal plan, and make sure you’re logging everything. Good habits/tools/strategies beat willpower every single time.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Options
    Is there something you could do for exercise which you would enjoy more? Very few people are able to keep doing something they hate, long term. The gym isn't for everyone. Is there a sport you might enjoy? Cycling, walking, something out of doors? Dancing in your own room? What's the point at which you end up not going, and can you avoid it?

    I'm injured at the moment and going to the gym just depresses me, so I've been working out at home. The point is I'm still doing something. But first I realized that going to the gym and watching other people do things I can't do right now was making me sad, so I was coming up with reasons to skip it. Figure out what is really driving you to want to skip the gym.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,480 Member
    Options
    Motivation is fleeting and unreliable. Generally habits will carry you day to day. But you need backup strategies and sometimes, determination.

    First issue, was your routine too demanding? You want to be challenged at the gym. Some days you may want to test your limits, but most likely not everyday. No one will stick with a routine that they dread.

    Was the gym convenient? Can you set yourself up so it’s easier to say yes to going to the gym?
    Do you have a backup routine for days when you just can’t get to the gym. It has to be enough so you can look yourself in the mirror and say you did your workout.

    Plan your workout schedule and don’t let anything else into your workout time slot. Defend your exercise habit. Use your backup when necessary. Maybe try this- some days I didn’t want to face the gym. I’d make this deal with myself. I’ll go, but I’m only doing 2/3 of my workout. I’m walking on the track for the rest of the time. It got me to the gym. Once there sometimes I did the entire workout, sometimes not.

    Something is better than nothing.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    edited April 2018
    Options
    what @88olds said but ill add because i know sometimes i fall off anyway and would be looking for a way to get back when my habits failed. It sounds backwards but i would realize im spiraling and give myself 1 day. I would willingly not go to the gym. Mentally it took the gyms power away and made me feel less guilty. Guilt never helped anyone on this journey. During that day id say okay no gym BUT id focus on healthy eating and smashing in alot of greens and veggies and vitamin/mineral rich things. So no junk on my no gym day. The next day id generally wake up feeling clean and healthy and ready to restart. My day off may or may not include a nice walk to relax and still get moving, But only if that walk came from a calm desire in my mind not because i panic and feel i need to.

    Work on your habits and everything follows, Just make sure to have a backup plan in place. A few days never hurt anyone, But you need to be able to cut it off before a few days becomes fully giving up

    edit @ this post:
    Plan your workout schedule and don’t let anything else into your workout time slot. Defend your exercise habit. Use your backup when necessary. Maybe try this- some days I didn’t want to face the gym. I’d make this deal with myself. I’ll go, but I’m only doing 2/3 of my workout. I’m walking on the track for the rest of the time. It got me to the gym. Once there sometimes I did the entire workout, sometimes not.

    Agreed. When the last thing i want to do is get out of bed and go workout, I put my gym clothes on anyway. If i dont want to go out i wont, But i always do. Started when id walk to the gym either way if i didnt want to go in i wouldnt, But of course i always did.

Categories