What do you do/think about when you feel like giving up?

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  • FickleFruitBat
    FickleFruitBat Posts: 40 Member
    I think about my last workout and how I want to better my performance next time. Eating well and continuing to lose weight gives me more physical capacity to be active, and I'm amazed at what my body can do!

    That, and all the cute clothes out there to wear.
  • amyn73
    amyn73 Posts: 241 Member
    I think about how I want to feel and look in order to be truly myself, not a person who hides behind clothing, or avoids social situations because I'm embarrassed of who I am. It's not always successful....I battle every day with food. But it helps when I feel down or want to quit.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
    I made habits out of the things with the most impact...logging for weight management and exercise for body composition. Once the habits are set, motivation is no longer needed. I know that's easier said than done, but it's really how I have managed to keep my momentum for the past 5 years. I don't put much thought into it anymore except when I am altering my intake or exercise for new goals.

  • anl90
    anl90 Posts: 928 Member
    I keep focusing on the numbers I see slowly but surely going down. I also focus on how good I feel after I take a walk, or how proud I feel when I tell myself 'no' to bad stuff. I wish I could be more help, but honestly right now I am more motivated than I have ever been, so I cannot currently relate all that much.
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
    Eating too much never really impacted me, until eventually one day it did. I was okay with being overweight and didn't care what I looked like. Aesthetics weren't enough to motivate me. I had zero incentive to lose weight until it started to influence my health and physical ability to do the things I wanted and needed to do.

    Prior to using MFP? You bet I sabotaged myself and quit, but I learned from it. Now I know that the key to not giving up is to not make weight loss so difficult that I want to. I eat everything I want to eat, in a judicious manner and in slightly smaller quantities. I don't try to lose the weight over-night or expect instant gratification or change everything about my eating and exercise habits at once. I don't aim for the biggest deficit possible. I asked myself what kind of plan I could formulate that I can realistically stick to for as long as it takes to lose the weight. Seems to have worked quite well so far.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,300 Member
    Orphia wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    I don't think like that, and I don't focus on motivation. I can (and do) eat whatever I want, I just can't (and don't) eat anything in unlimited amounts. I only have one body, and I want to take care of it, so I eat enough, but not too much, food.

    Well said. Sums up what I do.

    I eat whatever I most want, within my calorie limit.

    I don't wait around for motivation. I just do it.

    Logging is a habit that takes only 2-3 minutes a day.

    I don't need motivation to check the news, the weather, or my bank balance, and the same goes for my calorie limit.

    same here & even when I was young it wasn't all about looks. I don't like feeling "bloated" or it being hard to bend over or get up from the ground or just moving about plus it was hard to find clothes that fit right
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    My reason for losing weight was because I was not living the way I wanted, was in pain, didn't want to develop serious health problems, etc. I feel so much better since dropping some weight and becomming more active. I continue to be motivated to keep trying to get to a healthy weight and maintaining because it benefits me to do so. If I were 135 lbs I probably wouldn't be as motivated to lose more weight because there would be less benefit.
    I do not approach weight loss is a very restrictive manner or feel like my diet has totally changed. I eat food I like all day every day just in more appropriate portion sizes for me so it is not that challenging to sustain long term.
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    I have never really had a problem with weight, I could gain a little then lose it pretty easy. Then I started having children. My first was complicated and a c-section. I lost weight after he was born, but then got pregnant again. After she was born I "accepted" being a mom meant being squishy (rationalizing) and then I had surprise baby #3 and went through a really stressful situation with family.

    I was taking some pictures when my youngest was a baby and I realized how far I had gotten from healthy. I was still wearing the same size or one size bigger (knit and stretch clothing are really forgiving). The photographic evidence didn't lie.

    My motivation is my children and my future with my children. I don't want to struggle with my kids at the grocery store. I don't want to have to sit down at the park and not participate. I don't want to suffer from health problems when my kids are depending on me. I want to model for my children a healthy lifestyle. With healthy eating. I want to model for them strength and good health. They aren't going anywhere.

    I see my dad and my husband's parents struggling with weight related illnesses. Diabetes. Chronic pain. Debilitating back pain. I don't want to be like that for my kids, if I can do something about it.
  • jjamid38
    jjamid38 Posts: 11 Member
    Gosh this is my struggle too! I have a cheat day here and there, but try to limit it b/c it's so easy to turn it into a cheat week. :/ Big motivator is thinking about how far I've come with exercise and I so don't want to start over. It's easy to "lose it" and have to start back at square one. Also when I'm really feeling unmotivated, I try on a swimsuit ha ha.
  • dansengrl1
    dansengrl1 Posts: 8 Member
    I try on my favorite clothes, look in the mirror and remind myself how good I felt 25 lbs lighter
  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,494 Member
    Not to be mean, but I don't understand the whole "feel like giving up" mentality. I have never once been tempted to give up. My health means too much to me. Do you know what I find harder than moderating my calories? Getting up in the morning and going to work. I hate it. It's miserable. I feel no motivation to do this and yet, I do it. Every day. Because having a job is important to me. It is not optional. Likewise, taking care of my body is not optional. It's just what I do if I want to be healthy and feel good. If I "give up," I just keep gaining weight until it kills me. I cannot imagine a scenario in which that seems like a more appealing option.

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