Motivation

I use to work out on the regular when I was younger but now that I'm 32 I can't seem to muster up the motivation to get it done. Lets take my last year of workouts for example. I'll go hard for 3 months then I stop. I'll start back up for 2 weeks and then I'll either be traveling or doing something which causes me to stop with my workout for a while. I see results when I do workout but I can't quite put my finger on what my deal is. What do you guys do to keep yourselves motivated and on track?

I got up to a weight I was comfortable with and I started working out. Now almost a yr and half later, I am still at it. After a while it becomes addictive. I just dont feel right if I dont workout.

You have to find a workout you enjoy. I'm a gym rat but now that the weather is changing, I am enjoying working out outside. I recently started running. I never in a million yrs thought I would enjoy running but I do.

When I first started, I found that setting realistic goals for myself worked best. I started out going to the gym 3 days a week for 30 minutes. I slowly worked my way up to a 45min to an hr workout, 4 days a week. I made small changes in my diet (drink more water, cut back on fried foods, cut back on sodas, cut down on junk foods). You noticed I said "cut back/cut down" I still enjoy the foods I love but in moderation.

I hope this helps.

Justice, I totally agree with Lynnieluve - you won't even have to think about motivation f you find an activity that you enjoy, and start over doing the activity for little chunks of time then work your way up to however much more feels comfortable.

Despite being a year-round athlete in high school, to this day I tend to despise exercising. I love playing sports and any other very physical activity, unless the sole purpose is for exercise (think weight machines, most anything taking place in gyms, etc.). In college we were required to take physical education classes for at least 2 years (4 semesters). Since the classes they offered were AWESOME, I took two classes every single semester - Brazilian, Indonesian, and Japanese martial arts, dance, self-defense, yoga, even step-aerobics from an entertaining instructor with great taste in music. When money and time weren't factors (classes were part of full-time tuition and were timed to fit into course schedules) and I could pick activities I enjoyed, I was exercising all the time.

Out in the working world I couldn't pay for so many classes, so I've settled into activities that are fun (usually incorporating music), aren't costly, but can be done regularly. Lately for me since I work at home and travel a lot for work, this includes a lot of DVDs (dance cardio and strength training tapes with great music), and bike riding and walking as often as possible whenever I need to run an errand (usually equates to 30-60 minutes of walking or riding, which is a decent amount of exercise time, and I get fresh air). I've also gotten my partner to start taking me dancing regularly again (once a week). With this variety of activities I really enjoy, I'm usually able to exercise at least 5 days a week, without putting much thought into it.

HTH

I also agree. I gained a whole lotta weight (like 60 lbs) my last two years of undergrad and it was really unhealthy. Like Lynnieluv said, once you reach a comfortable weight you'll find that you'll actually want to work out. Trust me, I like to lay around and do nothing with the best of them so I actually can't believe I just said that lol. Once I got on the ball I lost all 60 lbs.

I actually have your same issue. Whenever I go home for a while or travel or something else that throws my routine off its super hard to jump back in. Forced motivation doesn't work for me I've realized. My mind would be super motivated but my body would be like ummm no. Once I was finally able to get both of them on the same page it was a lot easier to stay motivated....until i go home again or something else breaks up my routine...i haven't figured out a solution to that yet. Maybe keeping up my routine elsewhere? Idk. We'll see how that goes.

And my friend told me recently that Kate Moss said NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS BEING SKINNY FEELS...(Id rather replace skinny with fit but whatever works for you!). I thought that was hilarious!

What motivates me is the fact that I dont want to be 50 lbs overweight like I used to be in high school. I dropped 50 lbs going into the 10th grade and Ive never looked back. My health is very important and alot of african americans forego their health for some ribs and krispy kreme donuts but if we learn moderation and how to stay active we can live a long prosperous life.

I want to become pregnant so getting healthy is the first step IMO.



I also am nearing 40, and the older you get the harder it is to lose weight. I have retrained my mind to make exercising and eating properly a lifestyle change. I try to focus on one day at a time.



Exercising has been a part of my life for years. Eating properly has been a part off and on. I’m hoping losing weight slowly will help me maintain my ideal weight for the remaining 70+ years of life. I know doing the right things now will pay off as I age. I plan to look like those beautiful ladies Essence features who look decades younger than they are.

ChrsLvsBks wrote:I want to become pregnant so getting healthy is the first step IMO.



I also am nearing 40, and the older you get the harder it is to lose weight. I have retrained my mind to make exercising and eating properly a lifestyle change. I try to focus on one day at a time.



Exercising has been a part of my life for years. Eating properly has been a part off and on. I’m hoping losing weight slowly will help me maintain my ideal weight for the remaining 70+ years of life. I know doing the right things now will pay off as I age. I plan to look like those beautiful ladies Essence features who look decades younger than they are.

Chrs what are you doing to lose weight? 35 lbs is awesome!!

BrownSkinDiva wrote:

ChrsLvsBks wrote:I want to become pregnant so getting healthy is the first step IMO.

I also am nearing 40, and the older you get the harder it is to lose weight. I have retrained my mind to make exercising and eating properly a lifestyle change. I try to focus on one day at a time.

Exercising has been a part of my life for years. Eating properly has been a part off and on. I’m hoping losing weight slowly will help me maintain my ideal weight for the remaining 70+ years of life. I know doing the right things now will pay off as I age. I plan to look like those beautiful ladies Essence features who look decades younger than they are.

Chrs what are you doing to lose weight? 35 lbs is awesome!!

Thanks! I exercise often - spinning twice a week, Zumba twice a week now (found a Saturday class), weight/strength training three times a week & other cardio twice a week. Most days I work out during my lunch hour and after work.

I also watch what I eat - count calories. I need to account for my calories eaten and calories burned better. I use sparkpeople.com to track it when I am doing so.

I am motivated by a few differen factors:

1. I never want to be overweight again (I was about 30lbs heavier when I was in college and was VERY unhappy with my body).
2. I participate in exercise classes that I enjoy and love - Zumba, Circuit Training, and Step Aerobics. I hate to miss my classes (even when I'm sick my husband has to stop me from going) and I really do look forward to the new aches and pains that I'll feel later on.
3. I met my husband in the gym and we are both determined to stay fit and fine for each other. We agreed that the only 'fat' one in the relationship will be me when I'm pregnant (and for a lil while after I have the baby).
4. My family has a history of high blood pressure and some have had diabetes and I am not trying to go that route. I want to be healthy in order to enjoy life to the fullest and to be there for my family and my future children/grandchildren/great grandchildren!

ChrsLvsBks wrote:

BrownSkinDiva wrote:

ChrsLvsBks wrote:I want to become pregnant so getting healthy is the first step IMO.

I also am nearing 40, and the older you get the harder it is to lose weight. I have retrained my mind to make exercising and eating properly a lifestyle change. I try to focus on one day at a time.

Exercising has been a part of my life for years. Eating properly has been a part off and on. I’m hoping losing weight slowly will help me maintain my ideal weight for the remaining 70+ years of life. I know doing the right things now will pay off as I age. I plan to look like those beautiful ladies Essence features who look decades younger than they are.

Chrs what are you doing to lose weight? 35 lbs is awesome!!

Thanks! I exercise often - spinning twice a week, Zumba twice a week now (found a Saturday class), weight/strength training three times a week & other cardio twice a week. Most days I work out during my lunch hour and after work.

I also watch what I eat - count calories. I need to account for my calories eaten and calories burned better. I use sparkpeople.com to track it when I am doing so.

I love spinning, but the gym that I frequent doesn't offer it. Spinning is an excellent workout...it is responsible for smoothing out the back of my thighs!

This may sound silly, but setting a goal for myself and getting Oxygen magazine is my motivation. I just recently set myself a goal and set up a game plan. Every week I make a "TO DO" list of everything that I need to do for the week and on the top of that list is "Follow workout plan". I am one of those list people that enjoy the feeling of completing my "TO DOs". I also am very goal opriented, so setting a personal goal makes me work harder. The Oxygen magazine... has anyone ever seen the ladies on the cover?!?! Their bodies are phenomenal... so I have the magazine in plain view so I can see it everyday.

naturalnat!
I went and looked up Oxygen magazine. Those women are hardcore and definitely phenomenal! Inspiring, yes, but I think personally I'll shoot for something with bodies more achievable/desired by me, like Shape Magazine Great articles, though!

Gado-Gado girl... their bodies are quite intense. I LOVE IT though!! (LOL) I don't care for the manly looking bodies, but my goal is to definitely get seriously toned. So Oxygen works for me.
Regardless the magazine, pictures in fitness magazines can be very inspirational... reading the women's stories can also be uplifting. Some of these women have had multiple children, were 100+ pounds overweight, etc and they were able to get in shape and keep it up! What an inspiration!
Fitness magazine has some good articles too. I haven't read Shape yet, I'll have to pick up a copy on my home today.

PS... I love your hair. You twist it yourself?

I WISH I could twist my own hair like that! LOL

Shape is probably akin to the Cosmo of fitness magazines because it has so many "quick results" articles and tips on fitness fashion, but it still includes some solid articles and routines, as well as lots of inspiring stories about women losing weight like Oxygen mag does. Fitness magazine looks similar, if not a bit more serious.

I also have to choose the Australian versions (the US versions are sometimes $16-$20 here!), which aren't as 'meaty' with content as the US versions. But I ma pick up a copy of Oxygen to see if it gets me going more Thanks!

I was blessed with a great health - mentally and physically so I just remember that I should take care of it. Plus I have pictures of hot bodies stashed on my computer and drawer. For a while, Emmanuela de Paula in a bikini was my desktop pic but my dad came on my computer and changed it, lol. I was also previously overweight and dropped around 30 pounds, don't want to go back.

Honestly, my motivation is pretty vain...lol...
I want to look good in a tight dress and in a bathing suit on any given day (i warned y'all....lol).
So i know that the only way for me to achieve that is by getting my butt off the couch....
About 5 years ago, i gained 20 lbs (in 3 months) and it took me a year to loose it. I don't ever want that to happen again....
Also, I'm paying what i consider to be pretty good money for a gym (70$/month to be exact!!! dear Lawd!) but they have every class you can think of.
So all those things combined make me take my happy self to the gym at least 3 times a week...
works for me
I

Motivation is involved in the performance of all learned responses is a learned behavior will not occur if ignited. The big question among psychologists, in general, is whether motivation is a primary or secondary influence on behavior. That is, are changes in behavior better explained by the principles of environmental and ecological influences, perception, memory, cognitive development, emotion, explanatory style, or personality or unique concepts of motivation more pertinent.

Motivation is the driving force, Causes to achieve goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or intrinsic. The term us generally used for humans. The self-control of motivation is understood as a subset of emotional intelligence, person may be highly intelligent to conservative definition.

I have always been a pretty active individual. I was never overweight so I guess I really did not have weight loss as a motivating factor. I started working out hardcore about 3 years ago. During that period in my life I was getting ready for a physical fitness exam for a career in law enforcement. However, that career choice did not pan out for me. I can say that I picked up in the gym where I left off this past January 2011. With starting over in the gym, my motivation has changed from one of a career to keeping me healthy to one of me finally doing something just for me and being motivated by the results that I have seen in the 2 1/2 months I have started my workout plan. It also does not hurt that my husband and I are finally going on our honeymoon this summer so I want to look good on the beach.
When I am asked where my motivation comes from or how a person can get motivated, I always say it starts within. You have to do it for yourself because the moment that person or thing is somehow lost that is motivated you, 9 times out of 10 the working out falls down. Be realistic in what you want and be motivated by the effort and the changes you will see.

I agree with blaque_irish....you have to do it for yourself n yourself only..