Lost Motivation-Looking for help

bobbi29
bobbi29 Posts: 138 Member
edited October 4 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been with mfp a couple of months. I was really excited at first but I just can't get motivative anymore. How do you get out of your rut. I start the week really good but and the end of the week I just so lose it. I have a hectic schedule and just tired all the time. How do you fit exerise in? start day at 4:30am get home at 6:00pm. So tired in bed by 9:00. Need to lose 100lbs. Any Ideas or strategies would greatly help.

Replies

  • netchik
    netchik Posts: 587 Member
    Hi Bobbi - I have a long day too... I do things like getting off my train a stop before i have to and walking the extra distance. doing some of the faster workout DVD's like 20 minute zumba express and 30 day shred, and after doing them i always sleep better. Hope that helps. Add me if you like!
  • Happy0326
    Happy0326 Posts: 159 Member
    just keep loggin in every day...even when you don't feel like it. Sometimes you have to really PUSH yourself & think about what the end result will be. You will begin to see tiny progress then you will begin to push harder & see tiny progress has now formed into soemthing bigger & better. Read other MFP profiles get inspired by their success & know that you have to put in the work to make it happen. Keep in touch with your MFP's to get encouraged. YOU CAN DO IT!!! Never give up!!!!
  • Purpleflipflops
    Purpleflipflops Posts: 563 Member
    By having friends and an open diary! When I know that people can see how I am doing, and See what I eat, I do so much better! Plus, my friends are nice and comment on my achievements, it makes me feel better about myself.
    Feel free to add me!
  • lhinds85
    lhinds85 Posts: 65 Member
    One step at a time is my approach to my journey. I started here almost a month ago on the 29th. I tried to exercise but with my out of control schedule i was failing at doing it. So i stuck to my logging my food daily and staying within my calorie goal. Now that i am getting a handle of planning my food i am now ready to commit with excerising daily. I find that reading the success stories has helped and motivated me to stay on track. If you need support please feel free to add me. Good luck on your journey and remember you can do it.
  • nyy03
    nyy03 Posts: 635 Member
    How about walking during your breaks or going up and down the stairs. It's easy for others to give suggestions, you know your schedule, try to fit in some exercise, even if it is just 20 minutes. How's your eating? Try to stick with some healthy snacks.

    Hope you get out of your rut, we all go through it at times. All the best.
  • I know how you feel...but working out and exercising has to be scheduled just like anything else in life. If you don't plan and schedule the time you won't do it, or at least I won't. I suggest you sit down with paper and pen and write out your weekly schedule and add exercising somewhere into at least 5 days per week. I read on here that one member does her work out as soon as she walks in the door from work every evening...maybe that's something you might want to think about. Good luck :)
  • dablaksista
    dablaksista Posts: 48 Member
    Hello hun. I too have the same weightloss target as you! I think first of all you have to be prepared mentally to loose the weight. Secondly I suggest you utilise this website fully! There are some wonderful people and inspirational people on here who will have your back! Be prepared to not loose weight quickly. Prepare yourself mentally for that. My target is my wedding day. I have just under 2 years to do that so I have paced myself at around 1lb weight loss per week. It might not appear alot at the moment, but in time you will reap the benefits.

    Take everything one step at a time. Rome was not built in a day. Even if you slow down your weightloss to half a pound a week, that is still better that giving up completely. Chip up ma sista. We gonna do this!!
  • czechsmate
    czechsmate Posts: 556 Member
    I am really not a morning person myself, plus I feel better working out right after work. I usually do a 30min. walk (2mi) but have also recently started 30DS...this is only 20min. Best bet is to do this right when you get home from work...its only 20mins. and I believe you will find you will actually have more energy (well maybe not the first few days) but it will come! Good luck! :happy:
  • One step at a time is my approach to my journey. I started here almost a month ago on the 29th. I tried to exercise but with my out of control schedule i was failing at doing it. So i stuck to my logging my food daily and staying within my calorie goal. Now that i am getting a handle of planning my food i am now ready to commit with excerising daily. I find that reading the success stories has helped and motivated me to stay on track. If you need support please feel free to add me. Good luck on your journey and remember you can do it.
    Good plan! Set yourself small goals, meet them, then add another!!!
  • trishlambert
    trishlambert Posts: 213 Member
    just keep loggin in every day...even when you don't feel like it.

    For now, don't worry about exercise. Focus on doing this. And log EVERYTHING, even if you've had a "bad" day. Make this an absolute habit NO MATTER WHAT, and it will make a huge difference.

    As someone else said, DEFINITELY get yourself MFP friends and open up your diary so people can see it and offer you suggestions.

    And do get back to exercising...

    The most important thing to do is to be kind to yourself...I don't mean kind in the sense of allowing yourself a treat or making it okay to exceed your daily calorie budget day after day. I do mean not using your slips and overages as sticks to mentally beat yourself up with. Do not entertain that voice in your head that tells you that you will never succeed, that you don't deserve to lose weight...all that stuff.

    And BE PATIENT. I've logged on every day for somewhere around 280 days, and the weight is coming off verrrry slowly in a sawtooth pattern (a liitle bit up, and little bit down, but overall in a downward trend). Celebrate the victories and don't allow the non-victories to stop you!
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    who says exercise needs to take an hour out of your day, and getting dressed in special clothes?? tomorrow morning try waking up 10 minutes earlier then normal. splash some water on your face, pee, and then while in your pjs and barefoot do the following:

    1.100 jumping jacks to get warmed up.
    2.Set a timer for four minutes.
    3.Do as many push ups as you can - write down the number. Move immediately onto #4
    4.Do as many air squats as you can – write down the number. Move immediately onto #5
    5.Do as many pull ups/dumb bell rows/dips as you can - write down the number. Immediately return to #3 and repeat the process until 4 minutes is up.


    Honestly, that shouldn't take you more then 7 mintues, and thats if you do the jumping jacks really slow. but if you can't get to a hundred yet, do 50.

    good luck.
  • mussmom
    mussmom Posts: 362 Member
    Losing those first pounds when I started eating healthier, drinking lots of water, and adding exercise (slowly) first motivated me. Then I hit that loss of motivation. It helped to join a support group on this site. Having other women to talk to and share goals with has been great to keep me on track. Sometimes I just ask them to "chew" me out and I have gotten what I asked for! The best one was "Quit making excuses!!!! You can always fit in some sort of exercise!" They were so right, I was making excuses. At work, I can stand instead of sit, I can walk around and grade papers, and talk to students about their work. You can park as far from your work building as possible. Take an exercise ball to sit on at work instead of a chair. Do arm lifts with small items at your desk. Take the stairs and walk the extra flight, then back down. Walk around the building during your break. Drink water instead of soda. Find a coworker to walk the hallways with during breaks. If you are stuck in traffic, stretch your arms, do some butt squeezes, in the morning before you shower, take ten minutes to stretch, then do some small leg lifts. The list goes on...you can do it!!!! Remember, any activity burns calories. Then balance that out with good food. Plan your lunches and breakfast. Try to cut down on eating out. Good luck-you will have an Non Scale Victory (NSV) and it will be great!!
  • Amy911Gray
    Amy911Gray Posts: 685 Member
    I'm glad someone else has the exact same problem that I had...

    Here's what I did. I researched all of the different kinds of exercises while sticking to my new relationship with food. My relationship with food has been a constant thing my whole life. I'm from the south, where we fry everything. Have you ever tried deep fried french toast? Deep fried snickers bars? And rice and gravy (as a main course)? Gumbo (the base is oil and flour--roux)? I'm also the product of baby boomers -- Does the "clean plate club" ring any bells?

    So, I stuck to it, got encouragement from my young men (19 & 18) and my wonderful husband, and lost about 25 pounds. During this time, I was (still am) looking for full time employment while working a full time contract and a part time contract position. I researched all of the different things I could do and that I liked and came up with a plan. 500,000 steps, or 250 miles, until June. And I walk every day, maybe 30 minutes or an hour, but every day. I take the stairs at work now and try to at least do two flights every day. I've also started 10 minute solutions: Fat Blasting Dance Mix. 10 minutes is not a lot, but it kicks my butt every time.

    I still have 77 pounds to go, but I feel so much better. Try to add to your steps a day. Every extra step you take is increasing your movement and every extra movement is adding to your daily routine.

    Add me as a friend...I'm glad help others as I have been helped...and they have made all the difference in my success!!!

    Amy :happy:
  • It sounds like your schedule is similar to mine: I have a long commute and used to get up at 4:30 to get to work on time. I'd get home after 6:00, later if there were errands. When I added exercise to my day, I chose to do it first thing in the morning. I did this for a couple of reasons:

    * Exercising in the morning boosts your metabolism for the rest of the day, resulting in more calories expended by your day-to-day activities.
    * If I work out as soon as I get up, there is no time to talk myself out of it.
    * If I wait until I get home from work, I *will* find a reason to blow it off.

    So this is my reality. I now get up at 3:45 each weekday to get my workout in, and it's working for me. Talking to a friend recently, he made the comment that he wouldn't "want" to get up that early. My response was that I don't "want" to, but I to it because I "have" to. If I want to make this change in my life, I have no choice. It's not an option.

    I also have an hour-long lunch period at work. I use half of that to walk 2.5 miles each work day, on top of the routine I've done that morning.

    The hardest day for me is Saturday: I'm not on a schedule, so there's no reason to jump right into exercise. So I find myself procrastinating, and it's that much harder to make myself do it.

    The good news is that as I've lost weight and conditioned my body, I have found energy that I didn't have before.
  • santini1975
    santini1975 Posts: 175 Member
    I ditched the idea that I could only work out at a specific time. I would PREFER to workout in the mornings, but if I get too busy I do it in the evenings. Surprisingly, when I get stuck waiting for hubby to get home to take over watching the kids (around 8pm) so I can hit the gym, I come home with a ton of energy! The hardest part of working out is getting started! Plus I know I will feel crappy tomorrow if I skip it. When I really don't want to workout, I tell myself I will just do 20 minutes. Then when I get started I say... maybe I can do 30! It has also helped me a lot to plan my workouts around my favorite shows. If you have a machine at home or your gym has individual tv's, get on the treadmill and start walking when the show starts. Just enjoy the entertainment and forget you are even exercising! Before you know it, your workout is done! My favorites are MTV "I Used to be Fat" and A&E "Heavy" for great motivation!
    I've battled my weight most of my life and I'm about to hit my goal! Add me if you like, I'll help however I can :D
  • rbryntes
    rbryntes Posts: 710 Member
    We can;t make you find your motivation - only you can.
  • lhinds85
    lhinds85 Posts: 65 Member
    I ditched the idea that I could only work out at a specific time. I would PREFER to workout in the mornings, but if I get too busy I do it in the evenings. Surprisingly, when I get stuck waiting for hubby to get home to take over watching the kids (around 8pm) so I can hit the gym, I come home with a ton of energy! The hardest part of working out is getting started! Plus I know I will feel crappy tomorrow if I skip it. When I really don't want to workout, I tell myself I will just do 20 minutes. Then when I get started I say... maybe I can do 30! It has also helped me a lot to plan my workouts around my favorite shows. If you have a machine at home or your gym has individual tv's, get on the treadmill and start walking when the show starts. Just enjoy the entertainment and forget you are even exercising! Before you know it, your workout is done! My favorites are MTV "I Used to be Fat" and A&E "Heavy" for great motivation!
    I've battled my weight most of my life and I'm about to hit my goal! Add me if you like, I'll help however I can :D

    I love i use to be fat and Chelsa Settles. I record them so i can get more motivation each week. I like to keep myself surrounded by different things that inspire my weight loss journey.
  • czechsmate
    czechsmate Posts: 556 Member
    who says exercise needs to take an hour out of your day, and getting dressed in special clothes?? tomorrow morning try waking up 10 minutes earlier then normal. splash some water on your face, pee, and then while in your pjs and barefoot do the following:

    1.100 jumping jacks to get warmed up.
    2.Set a timer for four minutes.
    3.Do as many push ups as you can - write down the number. Move immediately onto #4
    4.Do as many air squats as you can – write down the number. Move immediately onto #5
    5.Do as many pull ups/dumb bell rows/dips as you can - write down the number. Immediately return to #3 and repeat the process until 4 minutes is up.


    Honestly, that shouldn't take you more then 7 mintues, and thats if you do the jumping jacks really slow. but if you can't get to a hundred yet, do 50.

    good luck.

    Wow...nice plan when you are in a pinch for time!
  • Cathleenr
    Cathleenr Posts: 332
    I have been with mfp a couple of months. I was really excited at first but I just can't get motivative anymore. How do you get out of your rut. I start the week really good but and the end of the week I just so lose it. I have a hectic schedule and just tired all the time. How do you fit exerise in? start day at 4:30am get home at 6:00pm. So tired in bed by 9:00. Need to lose 100lbs. Any Ideas or strategies would greatly help.

    Actually, you only need to lose 2 pounds this week.
    Then worry about next week :)
    whats your nutrition look like? That is the best start for getting a simple plan together. when you can consistently eat 4-5 meals throughout the day, then plan to add in exercise on your days off. start with 20 minutes of brisk walking.....get a heart rate monitor if you have to, but get your heart rate above what it is when you are just walking normally. work that into your schedule and maintain your eating...then add more exercise sessions after work a couple nights a week. then start with strength training after that. its a progression, take it bit by bit...but be consistent in your dedication and determination and you will get there.
  • pholbert
    pholbert Posts: 575 Member
    Do your logging everyday and walk where you can. the walking adds up.
  • I have been where you are. I made the decision one day that I needed help. I called the local Y and told them I was over 50 needed to lose 100 pounds and had spinal fusion. They hooked me up with an awesome trainer that filled my head with postive thoughts and pushed me to work harder each time we met. We only met twice a month, so the cost was ok. Good luck
  • you can lose weight without exercise just make sure you eat right high in protein and fiber.. try working out 3 times a week when you get home. Try like a 20 minute circuit they have free vids on tv.. working out gives you energy..one you start those "feel good chemicals" release. You have a goal you CAN reach! I prepare my meals before i go to bed so when i wake up everything is ready
  • bobbi29
    bobbi29 Posts: 138 Member
    I want to thank everyone with all your Ideas and input you have made me re think,redo and re evalate. Yes I am more motivated. :)
  • dablaksista
    dablaksista Posts: 48 Member
    great stuff!! Don't forget to add peeps who have already completed their weightloss cuz they know exactly what we are going thru
  • Myzstarr
    Myzstarr Posts: 32 Member
    take baby steps first then things will start coming together for u to take larger steps but stay motivated with all u do
  • danstewart1978
    danstewart1978 Posts: 30 Member
    Hi Bobbi,

    I understand how dificult it can be. It's worth it in the end though.

    In honesty - you only need to force yourself to exercise and eat healthily in the short term. You need to mix both exercise and healthy eating despite your lack of free time. If you can persevere just long enough to feel and see a difference it'll become much easier.

    It's a vicious circle as if you're overweight, that extra weight tires you out.

    My gran was a nurse years ago and did the old trick you've maybe heard before - she got me to fill plastic bags with unopened bags of sugar (in kilo bags) equal to my extra weight and told me to lift it....find something that weighs the same as your extra weight and lift it - then imagine carrying that with you every day - it's what makes you tired, drains your confidence and generally gets you down.

    The thing that you HAVE to do is to FORM HABITS...

    Decide that you're going to the gym or a class regularly and stick to it....even when I was sore or didn't feel like going to the gym I would force myself to turn up....even if you barely do a workout that day...you're still in the habit of going so it's easy to go next time when you're more "up for it"...

    If you start missing your exercise, you slide out of the habit.

    If you do manage to get some regular exercise - initally you'll be even more tired but before long - you'll sleep better at night and wake up feeling like SUPERWOMAN!!!

    Good luck!
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