Motivation

mrfxc89564 · August 26

I really want to lose weight, but I lose motivation really quickly, can someone please tell me what I can do?

BenDeRue7769 · August 26

Get a group of friends together and play The biggest loser you all waiger $20 and at the end of 3 months the person with the highest weight loss percentage takes the pot

Lietchi · August 26

Hi there and welcome!

Here are my thoughts on motivation, having lost 70+ lbs myself:

There are types of motivation. I presume you have some sort of deeper motivation for wanting to do this? Mine was and is to feel better about myself and to avoid turning into my mother (so obese that she's out of breath after any little effort, depressed,...)

And then there's the more superficial, enthusiastic type of motivation. That motivation ('feeling like it' or raring to go) isn't what made me lose weight, it's is a finite resource and unreliable.

If I only did things I 'felt like' doing, my life would be in a sorry state 🙂 I would have rotten teeth (I don't particularly 'feel like' brushing my teeth), no one would want to be near me (washing myself or my clothes isn't the most fun thing either), my kitchen would be full of dirty dishes, my house would stink of cat poo/pee, I'd have a terrible credit score (for not paying my bills) etc.

I try to consider exercise or minding what I eat as a task like the ones mentioned above.
It helps if you keep your routine and goals more or less enjoyable: a type of exercise you enjoy doing, at a reasonable frequency (don't aim for 1 hour of exercise each and every day if you are just starting, for example); foods you enjoy, in a reasonable amount (not banning all the foods you like or having a very low calorie goal).

It's okay to skip your exercise occasionally, or perhaps put in a minimal effort instead of a good one from time to time.
Some examples:
- you could say that if its a hard day, you allow yourself the option of stopping your exercise after 15 minuten instead of the full session
- you could allow yourself a maximum number of days (for example 2) in a row to skip exercise

You could also plan for hard days:
- have some easy meals in the freezer/ fridge as a backup option when cooking seems like a giant effort or there isn't enough time
- do food prep in the weekend if you are regularly too busy on week days
- exercise in the morning if it's too hard to fit it in in the evening (or vice versa: do it in the evening if its tricky to fit in in the morning)
- always have your workout clothes ready if you think having to collect them is an extra barrier in starting a workout.
- aim for maintenance calories instead of your weight loss calorie goal on very hard days

Set small intermediate goals and change your habits gradually, don't use motivation as the foundation of your weight-loss 🙂

SorenMoller · August 26

Motivation. For me, I find having a purpose is the most motivating of all. My purpose is to run run faster at the upcomming Half marathon on 15 September 2024. Secondary, I want to feel better about the way that I look in the mirror.
Happy hunting!

springlering62 · August 26

I made it a game. I chopped into mini-goals and rewarded myself (not with food) with each goal achieved. I treated myself to new leggings with each five pounds lost. When they got too big, I passed them on the MFP friends and kept getting newer, smaller ones.

I treated myself to some new clothes, too soon, as it turned out. But I enjoyed wearing them briefly, and then gave them away as they got too big. More cautious the second and third wardrobe til I settled in where I’ve been for several years.

At a size 22, I bought a cute pencil dress from TJMaxx in a size M. It cost all of $12.99, so not a crisis “if” I failed but I had not intentions of failing. I hung it sideways in the closet so I had to move it to one side to get dressed in the morning. I’d talk to it every day, stroke it and tell it what fun we were going to have together.

It took months, but one day I got up the nerve to try it on and it fit. Now it’s too big, but I still have it, in the back of the closet this time.

I tried to make weight loss fun and engaging, and to be careful about criticizing myself. I grew up with a mom who used to stand in front of the mirror, slap herself and shout “you fat ugly *kitten* “ at herself. I could easily have gone down that route, kinda had for decades, but it never made her any thinner so I figured I needed to let that go.

A frequent closing for practice at my yoga studio: love and be kind to yourself, because, if you can’t, who will?

“Motivation” isn’t a tap you (or we) can turn on for you. For me, it came down to a strong desire to not be the fattest person in the room, to not be my mother declining in health and making demands on everyone , not to blow through savings in retirement because I was flat out too lazy to do something about my health, to travel in good health and full enjoyment instead of being the shuffler holding everyone else up, and to be able to play with grandkids when the came along.

Beleive me. Desire outweighs “motivation”.

yirara · August 26

You need to find your motivation yourself. Everyone has a different reason to want to lose weight and become fitter. My current reason is that I regained weight after an accident due to sheer frustration. I'll have surgery soon that has certain aesthetic implication and I want to be back at my normal weight before. I'm losing super slow for that and make it a long-term project. Not more than half a pound per week weightloss. It's easy because I eat hardly less and don't notice this.

Your reason: You need to find it, really. Just wanting to wear that one bikini in 3 weeks is likely not a good reason: the time is too short and you'll likely give up thereafter. Find long-term goal and hold yourself accountable.

csplatt · August 30

I love what Leitchi said about giving yourself permission to stop after 15. I've done that before (just one short video in front of the TV) but once that one is over, I feel fine and can add a walk or do another video.

AnnPT77 · August 30

As a hedonistic aging-hippie flake, I pretty much stink at motivation, discipline, willpower, and all that kind of stuff.

I focused on finding relatively easy, relatively pleasant, practical and sustainable new habits - eating and activity - that required the minimum of white-knuckled motivation to keep up. When I had a momentary burst of motivation, I'd try to figure out some manageable change I could make to improve my situation, and practice it until it became routine habit.

I feel like a lot of people try to make weight loss fast, so adopt really restrictive eating rules, then maybe stack punitively intense, unpleasant exercise on top of that. For me, that's not going to last long enough to lose a meaningful total amount of weight, let alone stay at a healthy weight long term once I get there.

For myself, I decided not to do anything to lose weight that I wasn't willing to continue long term to stay at a healthy weight, except for a sensibly moderate calorie deficit until I reached goal weight. At this point, I'm in year 8 at a healthy weight after about 30 years of being overweight to obese before loss.

No one approach is going to work for everyone, but that mindset shift has worked out pretty well for me . . . so far.

Best wishes for success: The results are worth the effort, in my experience!

Motivation

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