Need motivation

pinkladys4
pinkladys4 Posts: 1 Member
in Motivation and Support
I was doing really well in the summer. Pretty much cut out all the cakes, chocolate etc and was eating really healthy and it helped. I'm now back to eating the rubbish again but I travel alot so it's hard to fit the routine of diet or exercise when you're grabbing a bite here or sneaking a run there. Any ideas!?!?

Replies

  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,239 Member
    Stay focused and forget about what happened yesterday.
    Start over today and you can do this!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,985 Member
    Motivation is usually not long standing especially if you have a long way to reach a goal.

    Create a plan you can do and stick to CONSISTENTLY. Once you've made it a HABITUAL BEHAVIOR, you won't need any motivation. You do it because it's routine day in and day out like brushing your teeth.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,222 Member
    pinkladys4 wrote: »
    I was doing really well in the summer. Pretty much cut out all the cakes, chocolate etc and was eating really healthy and it helped. I'm now back to eating the rubbish again but I travel alot so it's hard to fit the routine of diet or exercise when you're grabbing a bite here or sneaking a run there. Any ideas!?!?

    Um, that sounds a little . . . rigid? Food is just food, it doesn't neatly separate into "healthy" and "rubbish".

    Personally, I'm a fan of tactics that take a minimum of motivation, because motivation isn't my strongest suit.

    Sure, it's a good thing to eat healthy food. But IMO that doesn't need to be 100%. Including a few treats now and then - things I am able to moderate - helps make a routine I can stick with long term. (I'm in year 7+ of maintaining a 50-pound loss, after most of a year losing that.)

    Personally, I try to hit certain personal nutrition minimums the overwhelming majority of days, include a few small treats when I have the calories (once I've hit my minimums), and don't worry about the occasional celebratory or indulgent day that doesn't fit my routine nutrition, as long as it's reasonably rare. Honestly, I'm probably more structured about that than a lot of long-term maintainers here.

    As far as travel, there are some reasonable options at chain restaurants. Figure those out if you go to places that have chains, and you can fall back on those when necessary. Most sit-down restaurants (IME) will slightly modify things on the menu when possible, if I ask politely. That might mean asking for a sauce to be left off or served on the side, asking if you can have a plate of all the vegetable sides, getting something grilled rather than fried, etc.

    If you eat some meals on your own, you can visit a grocery store and get small items. If your hotel has a microwave and/or refrigerator, use those. If it has hot water available for tea, you can make soup cups or oatmeal cups. There are shelf-stable foods in pouches (tuna, chicken, bean dishes, etc.). Convenience stores usually have yogurt, hard boiled eggs, etc., that you can buy and eat as a quick breakfast or lunch.

    Exercise may be harder depending on location, but I lot of places I've gone, there are opportunities to walk a bit in spare moments, or the hotel has a fitness room (usually sad) that I can use. I've even swum laps in tiny hotel pools. (Often the pool is empty; swimming the diagonals gives a slightly longer distance :D , or just water-walk.) If I can sneak in some exercise during a stressful trip, I find I usually feel better after.

    Mostly, I think the issue is finding strategies that are relatively easy and suit YOU. If you commit to working at it, I'm betting you can experiment and find some things that work. It doesn't have to be perfect right off, if you keep chipping away at making things gradually better.

    Best wishes!
  • iLive2Walk
    iLive2Walk Posts: 5,425 Member
    edited December 2023
    @pinkladys4 Have you tried a challenge on MFP? I have tried lots of them; the following are my favorites. They are both friendly competitions with teams - but in a really fun way. Noone really cares who wins, but you work together to try to make your team be on top. Both have new rounds starting in January if you are interested. I highly recommend them. I am still a work in progress, but have lost 64 pounds this year and I owe a lot of my success to these groups.

    The first is based off the Biggest Loser TV show, but of course noone gets voted off. There are teams (full disclose I am co-leader in the Determined Desert Tortoises so kind of biased on the best team) who are competing to get the highest score in the challenge and the highest weight loss percentages. The weekly challenges change each week (like a bingo card to check off - with excercise, nutrition and self help chores). The Determined Desert Tortoises are a wonderful group; sharing great ideas, support, motivation, and accountability in such a nonjudgmental way. We would love for you to join us!

    If you are interested in joining the BLC 54 you will need to join our registration team and read about our teams to be ready to join us. Registration runs until Dec 27, the next round starts right after the new year - January 3. Give it a try - you won't be disappointed. Follow the links above to learn about the teams and to register.

    FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DETERMINED DESERT TORTOISE TEAM:

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kdkCp1eT1WatM9XalyEY8gx3j7IKTQLdrwlg6NiJdFM/edit

    FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIGGEST LOSER CHALLENGE :

    https://blcteam.weebly.com/orientation-page.html

    FOLLOW THIS LINK TO THE REGISTRATION TEAM AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS THERE TO SIGN UP

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/140750-the-blc-biggest-loser-challenge-registration-team


    If you are a Harry Potter fan - this challenge is AMAZING. So creative! I am not going to lie, if you do everything (you don't have to), it is a lot. I am in the Hufflepuff house. Here is the next round sign-up thread which starts January 12.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10905099/hogwarts-weight-loss-challenge-term-48-9-week-challenge-january-12th-march-17th#latest
  • Dianedoessmiles1
    Dianedoessmiles1 Posts: 13,975 Member
    I get exactly what you are saying!! At first I did the SAME THING, but it was also to my downfall. I could not maintain that. I found the 5% Challenge in which I slowly learned to put in healthy habits, while I also still ate what it is I like. I've gone from 288 to 170-172 and have been maintaining it for quite sometime!

    lcg7vwgfudou.png


    Want the support I've found? We are about to start up again for the Winter of 2024!! We keep our teams under 30 in order to have one on one help.

    Here's the description of the 2024 Winter 5% Challenge
    Plz join and have fun as we lose 5% of our weight, improve our health and make new friends. Race to Fascinating Places for 10 WEEKS! Now you can write your own success story! Have a chat or post questions in the Airport Lounge Discussion. Your friends are welcome too. Start date Saturday January 6th.

    Practice week starts on Dec 30th (A week from Saturday) through the 5th of Jan. You'll be able to get help, oh man did I EVER NEED HELP!! You can see I got it also!

    we hope you do join. After joining PLEASE PICK A TEAM

    YOu may email me with ANY questions (Anyone is welcome to join and write too!)
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/145715-2024-winter-5-community-team-plz-join-us
  • Skylightsauc
    Skylightsauc Posts: 16 Member
    pinkladys4 wrote: »
    I was doing really well in the summer. Pretty much cut out all the cakes, chocolate etc and was eating really healthy and it helped. I'm now back to eating the rubbish again but I travel alot so it's hard to fit the routine of diet or exercise when you're grabbing a bite here or sneaking a run there. Any ideas!?!?

    I've been in the position of traveling a lot, eating big restaurant meals, or buffets in business meetings. It takes effort to turn all of that down for healthy options. If you are traveling, take some foods that don't need to be prepared. Flavored tuna pouches, celery sticks, string cheese, and fruit. I always carry an orange wherever I go now. If I'm hungry it takes a few minutes to peel, then I can eat it slowly. Even if i do this 4 times a day it's better than a piece of cake.

    I sometimes eat tuna with celery or string cheese before going out to eat. The protein keeps me from being so hungry that i eat a huge meal. I think chewing, as with celery,
    helps my brain realize I'm not really starving. So I eat a smaller meal.

    If you are staying in hotel rooms, pull up a stretching exercise video or chair exercise on youtube and do it in the room. Hope this helps.

Categories