Why so hard?

How can something you want so bad be so hard?

I'm feeling a lack of motivation and want to know if anyone out there has been in the same boat (yes, all of us right?) and what helps you to stay motivated. I'm needing some hard core stuff!!!!! I need a good kick in the butt!!!!

Mon. Jan 15, 2:50pm

I've been slumping

and I blame winter, even a mild winter - because I do think that the lack of spring/summer UV ray intensity has an effect on at least me. I know i want to hunker down not move as much, nestle in, etc...

This year, I fought back hard, but in december when I got sick (nasty 4 week cold) and just family issues, pressures that happen when extended family visits around the holiday all contributed to my being somewhat in a malaise.

my PT team had a few members who also were fed up and we had week long challenge that's still going on. One of my members is visiting family and while sh'es doing that she wanted to do a personal challenge, so we did it with her.

Basically you make a calendar with what you plan on doing and the names of the others doing it with you - and if you all worout, you get a smiley face. I don't actually have a calendar, but I have a mental image of it all and I've been really pushing. We've been posting a song of the day in our comments section to really rev us up:

We're not gonna take it (twisted sister)
Love it loud (kiss)
Unskinny Bop (poison)
The warrior (Scandal)

To name a few.

Just commit for a week to do something extraordinary - just ONE WEEK and it might rev up your engine.

if that doesn't work - if you live where it's winter, only about 10 wks til spring.

Monday, January 15, 2007, 3:09 PM

I've been dealing with this issue a little bit lately...
My problem (I think) is that I'm too focused on my GOAL and not focused enough on the process. It's like saying "I really want to be a millionaire!" and then sitting around, hoping to win the lottery, and not bothering to work or save any of your own money.
We want great bodies! We just forget that those bodies are going to take WORK!!
For myself, I have (temporarily, anyway) shifted my goal from "I want to weigh x-amount of pounds" to "I want to exercise x-amount of times this week - - and I want to only eat x-amount of calories this week." I have taken the focus off my weight. I know that by exercising and eating right I will eventually get the body I want, but this way I'm reminded of what I need to DO on a daily basis to make that happen.

Monday, January 15, 2007, 3:15 PM

Some researcher who won the Nobel or some other huge prize not too long ago, I forge this name, studied how people usually mis-judge what will make them happy, or how they'll feel about anything in the future. The general idea is that we don't have good depth of field when peering into the future. I think this applies to long, slow processes like weight loss. It's hard to believe in the reality of losing weight from depriving or pushing ourselves in the present. As humans, we're different from animals in that (among other ways) we have the capacity to imagine the future. But we're not perfect at it. Hence: diet malaise.

Monday, January 15, 2007, 7:02 PM

Everyone would like an easy road to weight loss, but the truth is, there's only one way you'll lose the weight for good. It took me a long time to finally sit myself down and say, 'you know what, I'm going to have to do the work if I want to change my body.' Eating right and exercising regularly is the only way to lose weight in a healthy way. Yes, it's frustrating when you only lose a pound a week or every two weeks. But you know what? Isn't it more frustrating when you go years without losing any weight--or gaining? You have to be ready to make this change. Anything worth having is going to be hard to get.

Liz
Team: "Stop Making Excuses"

Tuesday, January 16, 2007, 12:01 AM

I think there's a lot of factors working to make it seem harder

The quesiton I think is why is it so easy to be so unhealthy... and that's our own making as a society.

Obviously it depends where in this world you live. But where I live (Massachusetts, USA), it's easy to be lazy because stores aren't close enough to walk to (suburbs), I work 40 hrs a week as an engineer (mostly seated), I've got kids who'd like to spend time with mamma in the evenings, and it's dark and yucky (not too yucky, we've been lucky) to make it hard to get outdoor walks together in...

So it's really easy to eat badly too - despite the fact that my body thinks it should lay low this time of year as far as calorie expenditure, the truth is, it's really easy for me to "hunt and gather' oreos no matter what itme of the year it is.

Now, I don't even eat oreos, but I used to. I do however sometimes eat funyuns or cheetos - or simply too many bowls of cornflakes... and it does add up.

So what? It's hard - we know it, we know why, really - but the trutha bout the human race is that we are realy strong and we can overcome a lot. Let's overcome gluttony and laziness. WE CAN DO IT.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007, 8:14 AM

Attn 3:15 pm poster.

You are brilliant. Would you give me permission to suggest this to someone in one of my groups who is struggling because she has taken her eyes off of her accomplishments and feels like her ultimate goal just sat down and squashed her? I do not know who you are, so can not credit you with your ideal

mariarose

Wednesday, January 17, 2007, 5:21 AM

I did not mean to have a run on sentence in the above post. I need to proof read my messages before I post.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007, 7:19 AM

proofread or face the wrath!!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007, 9:14 AM

Capitalize or face the wrath! LOL...

I was feeling the same lack of motivation--but then I tried to motivate another PT member by challenging her to a week of good choices--her and me, workout every day, good food choices--and it helped a lot. So then I brought it up to my real-life exercise group leader and she and I are coming up with a challenge for our exercise group. Challenges seem to help me. Not competitive ones (who will lose ten pounds first), but just the type that are based on "You and me, we're gonna do this, here we go!"

Wednesday, January 17, 2007, 10:22 AM

8:14 - I think you hit it on the head with the question "Why is it so easy to be unhealthy?"

For me the key to good progress is activity and winter makes it hard. For the first time I joined a gym this year (I had to get over my gym phobia so this was not a small step for me) and except for a couple weeks around the holidays I have been very good about going. It has really made all the difference!

But it is easy to be unhealthy - I have to make an effort every day not to do things that will sabotage my progress. Since motivation can be hard to come by - I fit the rest of my life around my food and exercise and that makes it harder to slack off in these areas and since I have made sure I have my exercise time free - to have the time slot and not go is really obvious (especially since I have to pass my gym on my way home whether I go in or not). I buy only what I intend to cook and write down every meal I'm planning on the front of the fridge, so to not cook one of those meals is really obvious and leaves me with the healthy fixings for precisely one meal sitting right in front of me going to waste if I don't cook what I planned (and I hate waste). To get through my motivational slumps - I have done my darndest to make it harder to not do the right thing and to make it more obvious when I'm sabotaging myself. So far it's been working quite well. Good luck with finding the key(s) to what motivates you!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007, 11:24 AM

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