How to stay motivated on a diet.

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JoeyFitness1718
JoeyFitness1718 Posts: 38 Member
in Motivation and Support
Sometimes you look at yourself and think your making progress and then other times you look and you think “wow I’m not in good shape”. I’ve been going to the gym for about a year now but never really had a set plan. It’s always just been, go in and work out every muscle on a certain day and then I’d go home and just keep eating bad. I’ve started a diet recently where I will have Porridge and Banana in the morning with a tsp of honey. Then I will have Pasta/Rice and chicken for lunch and then the meal will depend but it normally includes green vegetables and chicken. Sometimes I feel like I’m making progress and then other times not so much which demotivates me and makes me think “I’m eating healthy and still not getting anywhere” it’s only been 2 weeks but I’m just so impatient with it.

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  • mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsa12
    mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsa12 Posts: 204 Member
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    Exercise is good for you, so be proud you’ve kept it up for a year. That’s a routine that will support your health. Great job.

    Losing Wright happens In the kitchen not the gym though, so if you want to lose weight you’ve just taken the right step by taking a look at what you’re eating.

    2 weeks is a very short period of time. Don’t expect dramatic changes. You need to eat fewer calories then you are using consistently over time to lose weight. So, use MyFitnessPal to work out your target calories then weight and log everything. You’re on the right track!

    As you get going try to be mindful of what you’re eating vs how you feel. For example, I really hate to be hungry. If I feel hungry I make bad food choices. I find that eating mountains of veggies let’s me stay within my calorie goal and feel full. That might not be the same for you, but working out what keeps you satiated will help you stay on track. My diary is open if you want to see what I eat, I’m a vegan.

    Stick at it. Unfortunately weight loss is not a quick process. Good luck.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    One of the mistakes I have made throughout my life is failing to apply a particular strength to every area of my life. When you started going to the gym, if you were new to that type of exercise at the time, it had to require patience. There is a learning curve and you also do not started seeing results right away. You just have to maintain the process and eventually things will start to click and results will start to show at least in capabilities.

    Weight loss requires patience. It is hard to be patient if you make drastic changes in the way you normally eat. You need to try and keep the changes from the way you were eating before and the way you eat now as similar as possible while achieving a calorie deficit and keep your hunger under some control. Over time you will keep nudging your process and eventually you may will probably find that you have changed pretty drastically just not all at once.

    Beyond that you just have to trust the process. Eventually all the days you spend in a deficit and the fractions of pounds you lose when that happens will add up to both scale and non scale victories.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,287 Member
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    You need to measure your progress in some way. Be it weighting yourself, measuring your waist, hips, and arms. Or just trying on a super tight pair of jeans once a week to see if things are getting better.

    You can kid yourself and never get anywhere doing what you're doing. You are sort of half committed.. you're just missing that other half (accountability) .. I bet you'll be successful..because you'll know for sure you are by the facts.
  • JoeyFitness1718
    JoeyFitness1718 Posts: 38 Member
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    I agree with you elisa, I feel like sometimes I’m half committed. I love the going to the gym and lifting weights and I can see I am getting a lot musclier but I just can’t shift the body fat.
  • kathleensamuels
    kathleensamuels Posts: 5 Member
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    Have you tried doing some cardio as well? I find that when I eat healthy and add in cardio exercises I lose weight easier. You are building muscle by lifting weights as well which weighs more then fat. Also agree with the other comments. Lots of veggies and salad and meat. What goes out in exercise needs to be more then what you eat. If you lift weights it would be a good idea to add in some cardio, if you are not already. All the best! I am sure you are going to smash it! 😀
  • cherys
    cherys Posts: 387 Member
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    You deserve to appreciate what you have already done and are doing to stay fit and healthy. Imagine what shape you'd be in if you hadn't been going to the gym as well.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Motivation is fleeting--make things a habit. Weight and fat loss depend on your calorie deficit. So, if you're not happy with your fat loss then most people pull out the digital food scale and start logging accurately. If you don't want to, you will have to find another way to be successful. Eating "healthy" does not equal weight loss.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,130 Member
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    As has been said above, motivation is fleeting. I'm not motivated to log my food, I just do it because it's a habit and I know it works (even if adjustments can be necessary). I've been at it for 7 months, I've lost 30lbs so far and I will probably need at least another 7 months to get to my goal. Slow and steady wins the race.

    PS eating 'bad' and eating 'healthy' means nothing really in terms of weight loss. I allow myself to eat all the foods I like, as long as I stay within my calorie goal.

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