Needing Some Motivation....

hi courtyjane. you sound like me about 2 months ago. fairly metabolically lucky, living on takeaway and too tired to do ANYTHING! considering how much crap i ate it was a wonder i wasn't morbidly obese. One day I just got up and said to myself JFDI which is now my mantra. the first 2 weeks are tough but now i go to the gym every morning and do group classes which is what i enjoy (you have to like it to some degree) and i eat really well 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time I treat myself but use restraint (ie. half a vegie pizza on a thin base or 1/2 a cupcake vs a whole meatlovers pizza on thick base or 3 pieces of chocolate cake). And when I am completely lazy and don't feel like cooking I eat wholeweat toast and a piece of fruit - not much effort involved there.
And I know it sounds really naff but there is a lot of negative self talk happening here! Be nice to yourself - good luck and I am sure you will find mfp a great tool to help you keep on track.

What about turning this onto itself? You are not feeling motivated. You feel tired. If you exercise & eat more wholesome foods the result promised is increased energy for life, and increased motivation. I know you asked how to become motivated to live healthily, eat better & exercise, but really you need to do those things in order to become motivated. That's probably the main reason why I'm on here as it's what I want to do. I'm hoping that as I start to work out more and eat better foods, this sense of dedication, and the increased healthiness and strength of my body, will enable me to become more passionate for life, more focused & driven. I hope that the strength I gain from living healthily helps me to feel more motivated. I know it sounds odd but it makes sense to me & it's how I find motivation most days so thought I'd share.

The other motivator is stress relief: exercise is great because when you push your body hard you have to focus on your body 100%. You have to be present. That means you can't be thinking about the things you should be doing or whatever, only on that moment. It's a good thing for pre wedding stresses.

Good luck & congrats for your engagement!

You are not feeling motivated. You feel tired. If you exercise & eat more wholesome foods the result promised is increased energy for life, and increased motivation.

That is pretty much the case. If you put junk in your body as fuel you're going to run out of steam because your body isn't getting high quality nutrition. Because your body isn't getting what it needs, it tells you to eat more. Once your body starts getting the stuff it needs, the better it will perform.

Exercise improves your mood, helps with depression, energizes you, and helps you sleep better. It sounds odd, but if you get a reasonable amount of exercise your energy levels will increase. Exercise coupled with good nutrition will take care of that "all I want to do is crash in front of the TV" feeling when you get home from work.

If you're not used to eating right or getting exercise it will be a bit of an adjustment. It will be hard work, but once you get over the hump you'll see that that work was worth it. How do I know? I've lost about 70# and have been through it. I've fallen, got off track, over indulged, and whatever. But I remembered what my goal was, why I was doing it, and kept at it. It's OK to slip up. It's not OK to give up!

No one can do this for you ~ you have to do it for yourself. Come up with a real "why." Why are you really doing this? Have you watched friends die too young, and realized that life isn't forever? Do you have kids who want you to play with them but you can't keep up? Did the doctor tell you to clean things up or you won't be here in 10 years? Until I had a real "why," it was very tough to find the motivation to stay on track. (FYI my "whys" were the first two.)

People make new years resolutions to get fit. Lots want to loose weight to fit into those old jeans or look good for that upcoming cruise. Even wanting to look good for that special someone or reunion have been reasons for wanting to get fit. But I've found over the years that none of those reasons were strong enough to make ME really commit.

One thing that really helped me maintain focus on my "why" was Facebook and all those pictures of the old fat me. When I felt the urge to snack, I'd look at old pictures of me. That's not what I wanted the new fit me to look like. Also some old, but good advice is to make a motivation board. Stuff and pictures of healthy people you want to look like. Pictures of that wedding dress. Pictures of healthy people in swim-suits. Special motivational phrases you've read or something you overheard someone say. Keep this near where you often walk by so you see it all the time.

Congrats on your engagement and good luck with your motivation! I've found this website is full of positive encouragement so it's a good start!