No Motivation.....help

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As time goes by, the weight keeps adding on, the numbers slowly creeping in the wrong direction on the scale. How do you get motivated? I know I need to get a hold of this before it spirals out of control. My intentions are always good, but I can't seem to follow through. Does anyone have any suggestions to help guide me in the right direction.

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  • DinkyDini
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    Well, what are your goals?? Why do you want to lose weight? I couldn't get motivated either, the weight kept adding on, I kept growing out of my clothes and got more miserable with every passing day. Finally I had to sit down and make a list of exactly why I wanted to lose weight, and then I put them in order of most importance. Some of those were goals of mine that I felt were VERY important to my happiness in my life and an investment in my future. I sat down with my Fiance and told him how I felt, got him on board and just jumped in. It's not easy, every single day is a struggle. I feel like a drug addict or alcoholic...I'm always thinking about food...about what I'm going to eat, how I'm going to nourish my body and ignore my cravings. Every time I pass up something I love that does not fit into my plan, it hurts at first but then it's a victory I can be proud of.

    So try listing exactly why you want to lose weight, every reason from cosmetic, health and lifestyle goals...then figure out if you want it badly enough to work for it. Tackle one thing at a time...if you just want to fit into a certain outfit again...put it where you can see it and work towards it...make a pic of it you background on your phone or computer..constant reminders help me. And make some friends on here, they have helped me so much, even by just reading their posts and food diary's. I'm going to add you, and maybe we can inspire each other, because I struggle a lot too!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Well, I'll tell you what worked for me. First I started logging my food. I was shocked that the very little amount of food I was eating on a normal day added up to over 2,200 calories. I started making changes right away to what I was eating and how much. I read everything I could on here, especially the success stories and motivation sections. Then I realized that diet alone wasn't going to be enough for me. I got more interested in the fitness threads, and I watched what my friends were talking about from their workouts. I decided to start doing a Jillian Michaels DVD at home. I started seeing changes in my body so that motivated me to keep on. There are so many stories here of people who have overcome a lot of difficulties and lost weight and got fit and healthy. I just keep telling myself if they can do it, then so can I.
  • KLEALEE71
    KLEALEE71 Posts: 33 Member
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    Thank you very much for replying to my post. I just joined this site tonight and was hoping I could use this tool to help me, and now I see that there are actually people like you who are willing to give suggestions and share with me. I am happy to have joined. I will write my list of my goals, at this point I don't know exactly what they are but once I figure them out, I will keep the list at hand.
  • xdaysbingefree
    xdaysbingefree Posts: 98 Member
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    I think that the easiest thing to do would be to make smaller goals. Something simple like "I am going to stick to my calorie limit for 1 week". Whenever your goals are bigger (ex: "I will stick to my calorie limit for a month") it can be harder to stay motivated. If you have more short-term goals, you will get to feel a sense of achievement more frequently, and this can definitely help to keep you motivated!

    Also, it can be motivating if you allow yourself to have a rest day and a special meal after a week of hard work. I absolutely loveeeee chocolate, and I find it easy to not indulge throughout the week because I know that I will allow myself to have some chocolate treat every sunday. Also, I find it easy to stick to an exercise routine if I know that I will get to take a certain day off each week as a reward for working so hard on all the other days.

    Finally, I find this website to be very helpful in terms of motivation: http://www.losertown.org/eats/cal.php I printed out the chart of when I will meet my goal weight, and I look at that every time I feel like overeating.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    I think that the easiest thing to do would be to make smaller goals. Something simple like "I am going to stick to my calorie limit for 1 week". Whenever your goals are bigger (ex: "I will stick to my calorie limit for a month") it can be harder to stay motivated. If you have more short-term goals, you will get to feel a sense of achievement more frequently, and this can definitely help to keep you motivated!

    Also, it can be motivating if you allow yourself to have a rest day and a special meal after a week of hard work. I absolutely loveeeee chocolate, and I find it easy to not indulge throughout the week because I know that I will allow myself to have some chocolate treat every sunday. Also, I find it easy to stick to an exercise routine if I know that I will get to take a certain day off each week as a reward for working so hard on all the other days.

    Finally, I find this website to be very helpful in terms of motivation: http://www.losertown.org/eats/cal.php I printed out the chart of when I will meet my goal weight, and I look at that every time I feel like overeating.

    ^^This. Smaller goals, and making your goals about your behavior and not the number on the scale may help.
  • cloud2011
    cloud2011 Posts: 898 Member
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    If you're trying to lose weight, but find yourself gaining, you could also decide that for two weeks, you just want to maintain your current weight.

    During the holidays, for example, I decide that my goal is just not to gain anything. Then, when the stress of the holidays is over, I can get back on track.

    So the question is, is something stressing you out, or is the whole idea of weight loss the stress? In any case, you can go slowly at first. The advice to log your food is a good one, but if that alone is stressful, it might not be the time to drastically cut your intake. Maybe you need to log and see what you're doing and then reduce the calories if necessary.

    Hang in there! You can do it!
  • wilkin777
    wilkin777 Posts: 73 Member
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    Definitely agree with the above. It is so much easier to keep short term goals...especially at the beginning. I also have one long term event in mind (eg my 30th birthday in June). You don't have to do this but I find it stops me giving up partway through a week.
    The other thing I try to remember is that it's ok to have 1 or 2 not so great things but that if I eat a burger at lunch I won't just give up on the rest of the day. It is sometimes too easy to feel as though the diet is "broken" so you can just have the rest of the day (or worse, week) eating more junk.
    The other thing I find is that if it's not in the house I am not tempted and if there is stuff that is not part of my daily lifestyle (my boyfriend loves chocolate and chips) I stop before eating it and ask myself "what do you want to look like?" Nine times out of ten I don't eat it.
    Good luck with your journey and I wish you all the success! : )
  • KLEALEE71
    KLEALEE71 Posts: 33 Member
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    Thank you all for your advice and help. I will def. use all the tips mentioned. :happy:
  • Usbornegal
    Usbornegal Posts: 601 Member
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    Welcome to MFP. It can certainly help you down the road, but you need to be the one to walk it. Congrats on making the decision to open the door to your new life.

    It is very true - you need to figure out what will power your journey. For me, it was a combination of medical issues and genetics, realizing that I had another 40 years or more in this body and wanting to be able to choose what I want to do instead of doing what someone else allows me too. So my driving force is my health and independence in the future.

    Once you have the 'Want To' you need to get to the 'Stick To'. MFP tools make it so much easier than doing it on your own. Nothing is truly forbidden unless you choose to ban it. You enter it into the food plan and adjust for the day.

    Then is the 'Keep To'. One day at a time. Today you do what you need to in order to reclaim your life. If you happen to have a bad day, get up the next morning, reclaim your path and do it right for that day. No one here is going to yell at you, be disappointed in you or make judgements on you. We are all on parallel paths towards the same goal.

    Friend those who are supportive, ignore those who are too self-absorbed to help.

    You CAN do this.
  • spacecampsucks
    spacecampsucks Posts: 33 Member
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    I've made a list of everything I want to do (that I can't do at my size)

    There's a surprising amount (because I'm currently the size of a house)

    Maybe you could do something similar?
  • momonwilson
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    Small changes lead to big changes. What is one thing you are willing to modify? There is a lot of trail and error in this process.