How do you stay strong.
timothyenglebox
Posts: 8 Member
I have a really hard time staying motivated and on a regular routine throughout the week both with food and exercise. What are some of the things you guys use to stay motivated?
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I use my scale and my measuring tape. Weighing daily gets me motivated for the day ahead. I log my food diary a few days in advance. So, every day when I get up, my day is already planned. It removes the temptation to go off track.4
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I use my scale and my measuring tape. Weighing daily gets me motivated for the day ahead. I log my food diary a few days in advance. So, every day when I get up, my day is already planned. It removes the temptation to go off track.
How long have you been at it? Just curious because I'm just starting out.0 -
I've been here 6 weeks. In the first 30 days, I lost 7.5 inches and 10 pounds.
I eat pescatarian which is plant based with seafood, eggs and some dairy.0 -
With exercise schedule a time of day for it and do your best to make a habit of it. I don't always feel motivated to work out but will change into my workout clothes, put my headphones on with my playlist, and force myself to start/drive to gym until I'm actually doing it, then get into it. I'll often tell myself I can stop after a short time but once I'm started I'm good.
Food takes a little planning. Choose some easy meals you can make. I like veggies a lot and haven't had many unusual ones, so I've started making new-to-me veggies and recipes a couple times a week to keep things interesting. I also keep a lot of healthy food in the house- I'm too frugal to waste any of it. Don't know if any of this helps you but it works for me. Keep a pic of you at your highest weight on the fridge to remind you why you want to change if that'd help you.0 -
Honestly, it’s hard. Especially after the first 3/6/12 months, etc. I failed my first go with this. This is my second attempt, so hoping that I learned something from the first.
My best advice is, make small, sustainable changes (for you). Every time you change something in your life (new workout, new way of eating, new habit) ask yourself (and answer honestly)...is this something you can keep up until you’re 6 feet under? If not, then some follow up analysis may be in order. If you can’t maintain this change for life, then what do you think will happen once you stop? Is there a different change you can make that would be easier to maintain? For example, if you can’t give up soda for water, would switching to diet be doable? If you can’t log every day, how about logging on the weekends first, to see if that’s sustainable? If you can’t get motivated to go to the gym, how about a 30 min walk after dinner?
Basically, make small changes that do not take a lot of will power to maintain but can help you make progress towards your goals. Incorporate them gradually until they are part of your lifestyle and don’t require a lot of effort to maintain. Also, find a way to hold yourself accountable and that varies from person to person. Also, having a good support structure (family, friends, online community) that can cheer you on can help as well. Best of luck!2 -
I look into the mirror.4
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It’s hard and sometimes you won’t be motivated or you might go off plan. Sometimes when I really want to overeat I read these posts and I forget about eating for a while! I also got the Happy Scale app so I weigh myself everyday which keeps me motivated instead of once a week which I found demoralizing due to water fluctuations.2
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I do without strong and motivated. I’m probably the biggest baby on this board. But I’ve lost 100 lbs and have maintained for years. I think of weight loss and fitness as problem solving. Over and over and over. One thing at a time.
It’s a two part process, eat in a calorie deficit, and be able to live your life while doing it. Folks tend to mistakenly put all of their energy into the calorie deficit thinking that there is a fast road to their goal. But a plan we can’t actually live with is not an effective plan. It needs to be fixed. But trial and error is time consuming. I’ve found that persistence and determination have taken me a lot farther than motivation.
Making a series of deals and compromises with myself has gotten me a lot farther than, strenght or willpower. Although willpower has its uses, it can be depleated if used too much. Habit will take you farther.
I eventually learned about discipline in the gym. The foundation of discipline is belief in your plan. One day it finally sunk in that if I just kept showing up, and stuck to sets and reps, I would build muscle. (Assuming adequate protein). It had to work. It was science. It couldn’t not work. It was the way my body was designed. It was the power of incrementalism. The only other ingredient was time. The same process can be reverse engineered into weight loss if you don’t wreck yourself over the time issue.
Last- I was able to lose the last 30 lbs or so because I started a food diary. It’s a pain at first but it was worth it. Food diary is a set of things- calculating a modest deficit, using a food scale and measuring cups, planning menus. Likely sounds unattractive to you but like I said, it works.
Start a food diary and keep it going no matter what. Blow up your numbers? Log it and keep going. Just like sets and reps work, a calorie deficit over time will work. Incrementalism and belief that you will achieve your goals is all the motivation you will ever need. Hope these ramblings help you.
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I posted little motivational quotes all around my room. Also just looking at my stomach is enough to make me eat less!1
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consistency, diet and strength training amount depends on your goals0
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Motivation is a fickle friend.
After many failures and finally being successful, my best advice is to create habits that promote success. These habits may vary by person. I had decided to log everything I eat, even when I go off plan. So even if I could not weigh my food for some reason, I would still guesstimate and log. I also got on the scale every morning which reminded me first thing that my health was important to me. Another habit that was really beneficial to me was to eat breakfast on plan. Right now that is usually oatmeal with a ton of fruit which just sets me up for success throughout the day. For me if I eat a sugary breakfast, like donuts, it seems to make me crave sweets all day.
So maybe think about which sustainable habits you can create that will help you stay on plan long-term.1 -
I don't rely on motivation, I make habits. Whenever I start something with a lot of motivation, eventually that motivation just... evaporates. But when I make things a habit, I keep doing them even after that motivation vanishes and I stop caring as much. I also take baby steps so that the things I do seem like extensions of my everyday routine rather than disruptions of it.
As far as exercise, I find that what motivates me is finding something I enjoy about it. For me, that's seeing various wildlife (I've seen deer on 4 different walks, and I've only been walking for 2 months!) and competing with myself (Can I get further this time? Is my pace faster?). If those don't motivate you, that's fine; you just need to figure out what you do enjoy, and make sure it's present when you exercise.3 -
I schedule events. I like to run, so when I first started back up in January (having been out of running for several years), I signed up for a 5k that I definitely couldn't run the way I was then. Knowing that I had already committed and that, when race day came, I would either have to show up or crap out helped get me out the door a few times when I didn't want to. Sticking to my exercise schedule helped with eating better. It was easier to talk myself out of a bag of gardettos when I knew it would be countering some of the progress I'd made towards my race. Once I hit 5k, I signed up for a 10k. Once I hit that, I signed up for a half marathon (which I'm currently training for). I'm super stubborn and hate having to quit something once I've committed, so this was very effective for me. Find something that matters to you and use that as your carrot and/or stick.1
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Maintaining a modest deficit is easier than maintaining a significant one. I also enjoy healthy eating and most of my diet is pretty nutritionally sound...but I still eat things like pizza and whatnot..just not all of the time.
As exercise goes, I don't do anything crazy...I love riding my bike and that represents the bulk of my exercise. I'm up before the sun most mornings to get out on my bike at first light. I usually ride for 30-40 minutes during the work week and it's a great way to start off my day and puts me in the right place mentally. I use weekends to enjoy longer rides.
For resistance training, I'm currently using a bodyweight app and I can do it at home or the office...most of the workouts on the app are around 15 minutes or so...1 -
Set small achievable goals each day,it really helps. There are days I do not want to go to the gym and I’m dragging, so I’ll tell myself to just do 10 min on the treadmill and 10 min as a row. If I still hate being there or feel drained after that, I go home. But usually after 10 min, I’ll think how about 10 more...and it gets easier and easier.
When I hit big goals at the gym (mile time at 8:30 etc) I have a reward system...mani/pedi or I can buy an new workout outfit etc.1 -
I find motivation to be a fleeting resource. I try to focus more on daily habits.1
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