How do you stay motivated?

Thank you my friend @Shanvy for quoting me and bringing me here :biggrin2:

I wish I could just give you a simple answer to this @laks! Exercise is kind of an addiction and I have to get out. That said, initially when I began heading out in the cold, almost all my friends called me crazy. As naive as it sounds, it helped me - I do love being crazy, so I head out. But on a serious note, once you are out, you realize there are perhaps a 100 others who are doing the same and that is motivating enough.

I allow myself to be nice to me and sleep in :biggrin2:

Same here. But since my gym schedule is at 5.30 am, usually I sneak in a workout as DH can help me then.

In the recent past, I have figured out that I workout more than necessary when I am stressed out! I have had gym workouts extending over 2.5 hours every other day for a few weeks. So I have learnt to perhaps may be go for a walk or sit in some meditation or chant to de-stress vs focusing on missed work outs and then head out.

You have a lovely plan already up your sleeve. Here, I have to be honest. Yoga has come to my rescue. Some reason, I know certain foods and my yoga workout will be awful what with the need to want to burp, the smell of junk food etc etc. My fear is not say chips by themselves, I could never do it but I worry about chips with rasam or curds!! God hep me there. So I do make a dry curry, always!

Unfortunately only need based here and am working on improving here. I had signed up for a "drink this much water" challenge with my instructor and it helped me then.

The only things that have helped stay focused if I were to short list are :

I work out to stay healthy and weight loss is incidental, not the goal - I am not being dis respectful to any of you lovely ladies there. Just that I am not goal oriented and I need to sneak in goals. Yes, I could use some weight loss, seriously!

A routine workout no matter what else I do has helped me. For ex, no matter how much I run, I don't skip my early morning gym work outs!

Yoga has sustained me well in eating, stress and staying focused. The challenges you mentioned are the ones I face when I try to bring myself to my mat and I continue to work on it - keeping a routine of three yoga sessions in a week either through a class or my own practice.

Except for my own gym routine of 45 mins spinning, I seek out groups - for running, yoga to keep motivated. Of course a lot of reading on yoga and philosophy lets me reap the benefits of a work out for, I do believe that all that I do is simply for that inner quietness, to silence that voice that seems to be telling me to do either more of this or that or continues to chide me for not doing enough - it applies to all walks in life, doesnt it?

 

@Srama see the perspective you bring in.

these days honestly i don't bother about weight loss, but then if it were to happen fine.

i am looking at being fit and healthy and not degenerate more (my osteo..) so i need motivation and i am going to watch this thread for more motivation.

@breeze01 , @melon123 , @mahesaran , @anu1215 , @sunnaa , @Alpa , @blessbabydust , @pman16
(some of these people already keep motivating and cheering..)

 

@shanvy thanks for tagging me. @Laks09 I would love to contribute here.

For my health is happiness, exercise does not necessarily mean just staying in wow shape ..it is a way to shed my negative emotions on a daily basis. I identify negative forces around me and feel exercise is the best way where Im totally ME and I have trained myself not to think about anything else going in any part of the world for that one hour.

Also staying in US where we are away from our family....we have to set a good example for our kids and I feel that is possible only when I have a positive mindset to deal with myself first.

I count my blessings everyday, say my prayers and thank God for good things in life. If I start looking at bigger picture of life, then staying 'motivated' becomes a very minor thing.

I also read health articles on internet and youtube success stories and yes...Shiva's blog is in one of my bookmarks.

My yardstick to measure if Im successful in my approach is a simple thing - I should sleep good end of the day effortlessly and thankfully exercise is the solution for this.

Having said all this, it does not mean Im an abnormal human who never get demotivated. I too have situations on which I have no control....so I do not push myself to workout on such days because I feel stress already occupies a major part of the brain and it should not be overloaded more.

I too love to go to zumba dance workouts but oflate I feel it is too intense...my mind now demands more peace so I decided to explore our age old yoga. It has been just a month that I started. I plan to reach certain level in this and this new quest keeps me going. I see youtube videos related to yoga by different people and trying to aim the best.

Last but not the least....I also browse through keepfit forum here to see whats going on and try my level best to help other women trying to lose weight.

 

Like everybody here me too trying to find answer for your questiond How do you stay motivated ?faintingsmiley

Most of you know me very well...

During my childhood / teenage days I was never overweight nor slim, so there were no worries...

Even after my 1st baby I was slim too... Around 52-53 Kg /158cm

As a working mother I was doing everything alone @ home without maid, so there was no need for any other exercise, my weight never went up.

My maid joined with me during my 2nd delivery, since then weight started piling up & in 2008 (1 year after my 3rd kid) I realized that my weight ballooned to 79 Kg, during this years I donnow why I ignored my weight / healthdoh1

I had a treadmill in my apartment, started doing 30 minutes daily from July 2008.

Weight was not coming off that easily, by December 2008, I reached 72 Kg.

Atlast on 31st December, 2008 I joined Gym, it was real struggle to go there after work, went straight from my office, 5-6 days a week, by June 2009 my weight went down to 59 Kg.

I renewed my gym membership for many more years, but was not very serious as before, for few years managed to maintain my weight, after that slowly started gaining back. Last 2 /3 years I am in yo-yo. Now I know one thing very well, hard work pays off, if you do cheating it will show in your body toooo...

Now I am exercising regularly, it's part of my routine, it gives me happiness, sometimes I am not losing weight still I am continuing my exercise hoping that one day I can wear my all my favorite dresses.

If we don't do any thing weight loss will be more difficult for us in future, this feel itself keeps me going, so don't waste days, do your best, weight will drop off:cheers

Tell yourself you can do it...

Imagine thinner you....

Set realistic goals & try your max.

Nothing impossible, we will make it possible...

Do small small changes at a time, let your body adapt it...

I am not weightloss expert to give you advice, but this is I am telling you from my real life experience.

All the very best to all my buddies:thumbsup

 

thanks for tagging me Shanvy...

and I loved reading everyone's reply.

I agree sometimes it does get difficult to stay motivated. Like I was doing well and then I injured my knee. Now I haven't done anything for over a week now and this puts me off track. Now once I'm fine I'll need to motivate myself to get back on track again.

I think this is what helps me

1. Posting on IL definitely helps. I have realized that I'm regular with my workouts when I have to post my update everyday in some thread. It feels like I'm answerable to someone.

2. Because I have had a lot of medical issues, I feel I need to stay healthy for my own good.

3. I didn't like the way I looked when I was 55 kgs. Period. I wasn't fat but I hated how round my face looked then. And that thought motivates me to not go there again. When I get lazy, I remind myself, do you want to go there again? If no, then go run and it actually works.

Having said that I eat all the desserts and chocolates on a regular basis. It's just not my thing. I can't stay away from all this, the only thing that works is that I eat little. So even if I eat chocolate everyday I'll just eat 1 piece, so I guess that helps. I have never tried to deprive myself of anything and I will never do that. If i want to eat something, I eat it, it's that simple.

I don't know the secret to stay motivated but I guess giving fitness a priority in life helps. I workout because I want to stay healthy forever.

 

thanks Shanvy mam for tagging me in a positive way i have another 10 kilos to shed nothing to lose only my weight hehehe .... You are the best motivator for me .

 

Hi @Laks09,
By default, I have the tendency to lift myself when I go off track.
I clearly tell my close circle of friends and family members that I am in a state where I need to put extra effort to pull me into the track. letting them know about my goal helps me to be consistent and I personally love the great feel of being consistent and achieving every day's goal of exercising and following good diet. By the end of the day, I feel I really had a great satisfying day.
Since I exactly know the after effects of placing myself in high weight spot, I work religiously just to save myself from being caught in that trap. Once trapped,not only physical discomforts, I feel inferior and lose all the self confidence inside. To get the great feel about myself and to get personal satisfaction, I work like a bull especially on all the days / days following my pig eating days.
I am very glad that those pig eating days have been drastically reduced in my life style. And I also learned to bounce back immediately the next day. It took years for me to do this. I always have a starting trouble, but once started, no body can stop me from doing what I have planned for that day. If I miss it, I feel I am missing something very badly for the day. Just to elevate my self confidence and to enjoy the great feel after workouts, I never miss mine. Thanks to my family members to let me go on my way.

My long time goal of seeing myself in 'normal weight' range is a strong motivation for me to keep my leg on the move. I always think of my favorite stars of IL when ever I lack motivation...
Here is the list...

@Buds
@SGA
@rampriya
@Alpa
@Sunaa
@Shiva
@Shanvy
@Sravani
@anithapartha
@geevee
@anu1215
@laks09

laks, the before and after pictures of shiva,Buds,Sravani,Shanvy and yours will all mesmerize my sluggish body, to move...
would love to see mine soon...

For me, just being around with like minded friends is a great support to keep me in high motivation mode.

I always like to be inspired by my successors and always like to be an inspiration by myself.
Another extra work from my side, to keep me balanced...
Along with physical work, I always need my right dosage of internal work, which took me from so far...I strengthen myself internally first, and fill all my cells with super energy, which drives me and teaches me to do what I need to do.
you wont believe Laks, so many days,I have just re read the running updates you post, treadmill updates Buds posts,JM workouts Rampriya posts, Walking updates shanvy posts, to hit my shoes to my kick boxing classes...
Least, but not the least, IL transform my life at my hard times...the biggest motivation to see all of you pushing each other to lead a healthy life! I am proud to be part of the team!

 

Thanks a lot Shanvy for tagging me. I certainly need that "moti-weight"ion and "moti-wait"ion from time to time.

A perpetual state of remaining motivated is quite alien to me. It keeps coming and going in fits and starts.

After a lifetime of exercising - include walking miles, yoga, aerobics, swimming, extensive house work ..... basically the works - going on near starvation diets, losing a lot of weight, only to have some "real life" (as in change in routine) popping in and throwing me totally off course, I have now realized some important points. The only thing that helps me, (esp. when regular exercise is not something I am very much into) is a modified diet and smaller portions in such a way that I can pretty much stick to it all my life. No cutting out on goodies altogether. But for every cheat, some other stuff needs to come off. That certainly helps me stick to a diet.

Motivation to lose weight:

• The hope that it will help my spine and reduce pain!

• The desire to fit into my old jeans. I used to keep all my old jeans till I realized that it was futile to push myself to unrealistic goals. I have, however, kept some reasonably sized clothes and am able to wear them again. Now I wear those and they will warn me of any major changes.

• I kept weighing myself every single day and multiple times a day, adjusting what I ate and drank accordingly. I also kept a daily diary of every single morsel that crossed my lips. I now know I am slipping going by the simple logic that I have not managed to write down stuff for a while now - have been travelling a lot and attending weddings and functions and even if I control what and how much I eat, it is certainly different from what I make for myself at home. Reason enough to get started again.

Exercises: Only walking recommended. However this is a non-starter. If I get company to go to something, of which walking is a part, I enjoy doing it e.g. bird watching. But ask me to walk up and down the road for half an hour everyday, alone, it is the biggest punishment for all my sins. Though this is not excuse enough. Need to find motivation to do this.

To motivate myself to get off my back side, I have started home composting. Practicing driving is enough motivation to get me out of the house, to go for physio etc. Such stuff also gives me the motivation to keep going when I feel really down. Being around for mom was what kept me going earlier. Now I keep trying to find some reason to justify my existence. Have started going back one day a week to teach.

 

Logged in after a week Wow so much happened

My motivation is mostly short lived. I start anything with over excitement thinking,talking, doing only that one thing and over some time NIL happens on that one :roll:

IL friends has been a great inspiration. SGA, Priya, Shanvy, Buds, Laks, Srama, Sri, Sunaa, Shravani.....many more. Inspiration not only in exercise, have learned many more values of life from everyone and still learning so much. I am not a very determined person and I easily give up. Trying to improve myself If no mood then I don't do it period.

I like the wave of exhilartion the exercise "high" and I can't explain the feel and happiness I get at that moment. Kind of addicted to it and I love group fitness as it helps to motivate me.

I have learnt the lesson strongly "Health is more important in life than everything"
I had an opportunity to work with intellectually disordered individuals and my perspecitve of life completely changed after that. Now everyday I thanks God for all the blessings he has given in life. Yes I get moody, crib and complain and do all the other silly things but it's short lived as I now know how to count my other blessings. Supportive DH and his counseling helps a lot too.

 

This sort of thing - even if it is off and on - keeps me motivated.

Tomatoes from my balcony - grown from discarded seeds



So what if a precious kalchatti breaks? Grow methi in it!



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