Please help me be motivated again …

Untilproud11
Untilproud11 Posts: 297 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been so unmotivated for this past year, I had a wonderful journey and lost 40lbs it took me 3 years but I did it and I was so happy and so caring about my health , and then a little by little this whole feeling completely went away . I look for motivation and try in different ways , I see my friends doing so well and its still not enough to get me back to “ Game on” mode Im almost starting to think that its mental somehow
I gained 10lbs back and I really want to go back to my goal weight , I know how to do it but somehow I cant and Im starting to feel frustrated , Im short (5’1) and 10lbs look like a lot on me
I even bought new smaller clothes to motivate me but I wont do well for more than a day or two …
Please help …

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,940 Member
    Well, motivation isn't really something we can teach you.

    Are you logging your food? Getting regular exercise/activity? Eating mostly whole foods? It's more about discipline (I know, I know,) balance, and consistency. The reasons (motivations) for maintaining a healthy body are many and you already know what they are.

    Ten pounds to lose is a whole lot easier than 40, so hopefully you'll figure out your "Why" before it becomes 40 again.
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    Untilproud11 wrote: »
    I have been so unmotivated for this past year, I had a wonderful journey and lost 40lbs it took me 3 years but I did it and I was so happy and so caring about my health , and then a little by little this whole feeling completely went away . I look for motivation and try in different ways , I see my friends doing so well and its still not enough to get me back to “ Game on” mode Im almost starting to think that its mental somehow
    I gained 10lbs back and I really want to go back to my goal weight , I know how to do it but somehow I cant and Im starting to feel frustrated , Im short (5’1) and 10lbs look like a lot on me
    I even bought new smaller clothes to motivate me but I wont do well for more than a day or two …
    Please help …

    I’ve been feeling like this too lately. Journaling in a diary has really helped and creating small baby goals like lose 1 lbs by x amount of time and eat this much protein every day. That’s what we need to do when we get overwhelmed and anxious. Break it all down. Also I’ve removed the pressure of giving myself and end date. I have to go with the flow because life can throw anything at you. So break it down into small steps and focus on your why.
  • pfritsch61
    pfritsch61 Posts: 4 Member
    You are not alone. Maintaining a weight loss is difficult.

    Coming to terms with reality (for me, recognizing that I must permanently change my eating habits for the long haul) is a lot to wrap one’s mind around. For me, it’s about wanting to take care of myself so that I can do all that I want to do now that I’m retired. This is my ultimate WHY.

    I’ve also been struggling, gaining back about 15 lbs I do not want to see. What has helped me get back on track: 1) Logging my food & being honest about what I’m logging,
    2) Staying hydrated, 3) Moving my body, & 4) Seeking support from others who are struggling just like me.

    Reminding myself of my big WHY, moving my body, & seeking support from others have helped me the most.

    You can do this!
  • putotherpeoplefirst
    putotherpeoplefirst Posts: 31 Member
    Keeping thinking positive and remind yourself that your health and welfare are essential to having a better healthier life.
  • Untilproud11
    Untilproud11 Posts: 297 Member
    Thanks !
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,501 Member
    Motivation comes from within. You can be encouraged, cheered on, hyped up, etc., but unless YOU WANT TO DO IT, none of that will matter. You just got to figure out WHY it's not as important to you now as it was before. Were your workouts boring? Did you overtrain? Are you on a diet plan that's NOT SUSTAINABLE? These are some factors where people tend to overdo and eventually have them giving up.

    Have a concise plan you can do for sure. And just be consistent with it.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,012 Member
    I can't speak for you, but speaking for myself as an admitted lazy hedonist, I 100% can't rely on motivation or will power to sustain eating or activity habits. If it isn't pretty easy, and reasonably fun (or at least tolerable and convenient), I'm not going to stick with it. My motivation/will power budget is severely limited, so I need to conserve it, spend it wisely.

    For me, that put a priority on finding new, sustainable eating and activity habits that would gradually lead me to a healthy weight, and ideally keep me there permanently, almost on autopilot. The "weight loss" phase had a lot of experiments - some of which didn't work out, were discarded, replaced - to figure out what those new habits could be . . . then practicing them until they were pretty automatic. (I did need to spend some of my will power/motivation budget sometimes during weight loss to do that, I admit.) Seven years-ish later, I'm still at a healthy weight after around 3 previous decades of overweight/obesity, and I'm still quite active athletically.

    I'm not saying this is the best approach for everyone - nothing is universally perfect, I think - but minimizing the need for long-term will power/motivation, and using the limited amount I had to find and establish new/better habits . . . that's worked out pretty well for me, so far. YMMV.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,895 Member
    I find creating healthy habits and using discipline to stick to them far more useful than motivation. When I'm struggling with depression, I'm never motivated to exercise. Or eat healthily. Or shower. Etc.

    http://www.wisdomination.com/screw-motivation-what-you-need-is-discipline/

    If you want to get anything done, there are two basic ways to get yourself to do it.

    The first, more popular and devastatingly wrong option is to try to motivate yourself.

    The second, somewhat unpopular and entirely correct choice is to cultivate discipline.

    This is one of these situations where adopting a different perspective immediately results in superior outcomes. Few uses of the term “paradigm shift” are actually legitimate, but this one is. It’s a lightbulb moment.

    What’s the difference?

    Motivation, broadly speaking, operates on the erroneous assumption that a particular mental or emotional state is necessary to complete a task.

    That’s completely the wrong way around.

    Discipline, by contrast, separates outwards functioning from moods and feelings and thereby ironically circumvents the problem by consistently improving them.

    The implications are huge.

    Read more...
  • Kait_Dee
    Kait_Dee Posts: 175 Member
    I facilitate a workshop of creating motivation - motivation comes when you have conditions that allow you to thrive:

    Purpose - another post mentioned it - but take the time to refresh your why. Use the tools others mentioned, like journaling. My first 80lbs was literally because I wanted to have a “sexy summer” - it worked ;)

    Mastery - find something to lean into and learn from. Others have mentioned podcasts and such, and posting on the forums or your Newsfeed I are other great options. Celebrate your success and be willing to seek feedback when you need it. Sometimes working with a nutrition coach is a great tool. If you can’t afford that or find that to be overwhelming, perhaps find an accountability thread here.

    Autonomy: being able to choose the time, tools and team you use to lose weight and stay in the game can be great, but it can also be daunting when you’re new or feeling demotivated. Again, this is where accountability to someone or something Mah be useful.

    Every day won’t be a good day, but you can make each day better by doing 1% more for yourself and your goals.

    Consider your post about motivation to be a great start to being 1% more action driven in your motivation. You reached out for help, now the choice is yours on how to use all of the wonderful advice folks have taken the time to share. :)

    Wishing you all the best in your fitness and health journey - I can assure you that whatever investment You choose to make, will make a difference. <3
  • CrazyMermaid1
    CrazyMermaid1 Posts: 339 Member
    For me it’s harder to maintain than lose. Scale doesn’t move. It’s a different mindset in that the reward is not observable change. Also covid brought on lots of stress to some of us resulting in comfort eating to soothe ourselves.
  • Italiana_xx79
    Italiana_xx79 Posts: 588 Member
    I think that having friends/community helps on this journey. For me, community helps keep me accountable. Feel free to send me a friend request :)

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