Motivation near end.

Check out the Maintenance area of the MFP community.

For me, personally, I wouldn’t dare risk thinking of reaching goal as “the end”. That implies mental permission to relax. I can’t ever do that. I’ll be weighing and logging til my fingers fail me.

Best advice I ever heard on this forum was “treat maintenance like you’ve still got a few pounds to lose.” So I stay vigilant.

I know my “sweet spot” and if I go over, I’ll cut for a few days til I drop back. If I go under, I’ll permit myself a large treat to boost my weight back up.

Recomp isn’t the mountain you imagine it to be. I actually find it kind of fun. Starting from zero as I did, there’s lots of PRs (personal records) to be had, so it’s exciting and challenging. I know there’s an eventual max but I think it will still be satisfying.

As for goals, well you’ve already spelled them out yourself. You’ve got to decide if the effort is worth the results.

It doesn’t have to all be weights. I’ve found Pilates to be a real core workout and body changer, too, as well as comparatively challenging yoga.

gdfrew wrote: »

Thank you. Can you please go into more detail of what you found fun? I'm intrigued to hopefully find it fun as well. I've enjoyed the ride so far, the compliments are always nice. I'm looking forward to maybe joining some classes next year when things hopefully settle down and are actually open and on so to speak

Oh wow. I am 58 and spent the 25 years after my kids were toddlers with my butt planted on a sofa, a sack of M&Ms and/or package of cookies within easy reach, and the weight piling on. So for me, being able to move my limbs, throw on a pair of shoes and just go, it’s all fun right now.

I weight train at a competitive power gym. I don’t think of it as hard work because that’s what I see the other, heavy lifters doing. Kinda keeps it in perspective. To me, it’s like a giant playground with jungle gyms and I can’t even take it seriously because it’s just fun. My favorites are the “chest press”, the thing you wrap your feet around to do squats (sue me, I like squats), and the thing you fold over in half and then lift your chest in the air. Today I’m benching with the bamboo bars, which are a hoot. My trainer loops weights onto the ends with resistance bands and the object is to lift the bar as steadily as possible. Sounds easy, but they wobble like jello. I love it.

I started running last year. Running was not fun for me, but after several hard falls my trainer forbade me from running and showed me the joys of power walking. Huh? This is a thing? I love to walk and power walking is a fun challenge. I was a slow runner. My goal is to PW as fast as my running speed. I’m almost there.

I started weight training specifically to improve my yoga. As @Lietchi says, strength helps with yoga. After years of not being able to do arm balances if any kind , I can do most of them now. It’s such a rush. I am known as the “student who will try anything”, and I sincerely hope I’m also known as the one who laughs when she fails. I’m especially proud that I lost it in a headstand the other day, and fell forwards, which has been a terrible, terrible fear of mine. To my utter surprise, my body knew right where to go to land safely.

Pilates? Fun. Took a minute to get there, though. The first couple months were grueling.

I think, and I’m the most negative Nancy you’ll ever meet, it’s all in the mindset you take to it. It can either be a grind, work, something to force yourself through, or you find the workouts you enjoy, and you look forward to doing them, and miss them when you can’t. I find it works best for me when I challenge myself to go faster, lift more, hold a pose longer. There’s a LOT of satisfaction in being able to kick *kitten* at this age- even when it’s my own *kitten* I’m kicking.

If losing weight has been easy for you.. I'd just lose the last five..then set new strength and toning goals to define your shape.

You're fortunate that you don't have diet fatigue. If you did.. you could also just maintain for a while and enjoy your success; then when willpower and motivation return..get back to your fitness goals.

also.. if you stomach still has fat on it after you reach goal.. you may have to lose more weight to get that off.. you can't strength train fat off your body.

Weight loss is not my primary focus. My goal is to be healthier, more fit and take better care of myself overall. Weight loss is just one small bit of that. For me at least, focus on weight loss alone: does not work because I neglect other things that NEED to be important.