Losing motivation to exercise

Agree that exercise is vastly overrated as a weight loss strategy. Try calorie counting supported with a food diary. Calculate a modest calorie deficit and start crunching numbers. That’s basic weight loss.

But exercise does great stuff for our brains and makes a good compliment to weight loss. I look on working out as where I learned incrementalism. Incrementalism is the heart of significant weight loss. That may not make sense, but stick with it you’ll see.

Motivation to work out? My first workout was 8 min on the stationary bike that I dragged out of the corner of the basement. At 285lbs, 8 min was the most I could do. I got on that bike Monday through Friday. Saturday I took a long walk. I don’t recall how long I stayed at that. Later added a treadmill and eventually moved to the gym.

I think it’s best to try to plan for some kind of daily activity with 1 rest day. It doesn’t matter much what it is at first. Just schedule a time and stick to it. Even when my “workouts” were 10-15 min I made a big deal out of putting on my workout clothes and sticking to the routine.

Avoid the notion that you need to always go longer or with more intensity than yesterday. Do a slow ramp up. Don’t beat yourself up. Work on establishing a habit. The good news is that exercise is very habit forming. More good news is I can tell you as a fact that losing 100lbs is possible. Never quit.

Food is a powerful motivator for me. When I exercise I get to eat more, and I like eating more. This has kept me consistent because I don't want to stop eating more.

Some people are motivated because they have certain fitness goals and achieving them makes them feel good. They stay motivated because they really want that good feeling of achieving a fitness goal.

Some people enjoy their chosen activity. They're motivated to keep doing them because they like the way it feels to do that activity.

Some people use activity to manage certain conditions, like anxiety, blood sugar/pressure control, or mobility issues. Not exercising makes them feel worse, so they're motivated to keep doing it.

See the commonality? In all of these cases, motivation comes from exercise serving a need/strong want. What need or strong want do you feel exercise could provide you? If you can't find a reason to exercise you aren't likely to keep doing it. Good news is that you don't have to exercise to lose weight, another good news is that there are so many types of activities to choose from that if you really do want to be active you may be able to find something you enjoy. Lately, I'm into laser tag.

If you can afford it, buy a FitBit. Having something strapped to my wrist all day that tells me how active I’m being is a real motivator. It also syncs with MFP, so it adds your burned calories to your diary so you can see them every day. My burns per day are in the thousands, but I don’t eat any calories back unless I’m very hungry. Add me as a friend if you’d like. 😊

Personally, exercise felt really hard when I had a lot to lose. I would say manage your calories and maybe go for short walks and do reps with moderate weights until it gets a bit easier. I didn't really feel like I could exercise without dying until the first 30 pounds came off.

To second some great ideas here:

-Agree with Sammi: Do a pre-workout and get started. Tell yourself that if you really don't want to keep moving after 10 minutes, you can stop. Chances are once you start you will finish your routine.

- Agree with Cwolfman & Ann: Find a workout you enjoy doing. My husband cycles on a stationary bike for an hour or so each day, I HATED that and could not find motivation to keep doing it consistently. Instead I found youtube workout videos, which he later tried and hated. Everyone is different, and if you find something you enjoy it won't feel like a chore to work out.

- If you have something you enjoy doing, mix it up so it doesn't go stale. I started losing my motivation after doing the same suggested pre-made video routine for a few months. So I made myself a new one that lasts longer and has no repetition of videos, so I don't get bored.

-And at the end of the day, if you are going to take a break from a habit it is better to choose exercise instead of diet changes. What and how much you eat will affect your weight loss sooner than exercise will.

I'm convinced exercise is very important even though, yes, you can lose weight without it but you'll be much better off in the end with it. I lost 150 lbs while walking & strength training (and of course following a deficit). Exercise helped me feel better, retain what little muscle I started with, regain my functionality, and address health issues. I didn't really need more motivation than that. With 100 to lose, you may have some of these concerns too. In end, I feel it helped me look and feel better when I reached goal and I have continued exercising 2+ years into maintenance.

nevergiveup66 wrote: »

Hey everyone

Just wondering if anyone has some tips and tricks on how to stay motivated to work out?

Surround yourself with like-minded people who are at and above your level.