Motivation is MIA (program, gaining, working out, training)

[ElleTea]

How do I get my motivation back?

I've been doing a 6 day a week kickboxing and strength training program nearly a year. (it will be a year in about 5 weeks) I've done ppretty well with going most days, usually making it to at least 5 of the 6 days classes. (because it's at 5:30am I'd say I'm doing good!) But lately, I have lost my desire to get out of bed.

First let me say it's NOT because I am bored with the workout. I like routines. I like doing basically the same exercises, and prefer it when the instructor doesnt decide to try something new. I've tried many other types of exercise and kickboxing is the only thig I can mildly tolerate, as I truly dislike doing everything else. Like, I don't like to dance so any classes that are full of dance-like moves are not for me. I don't run, and get bored with walking vey fast. Etc.

I use an app on my phone to track my food/calories. From July to October I did AWESOME with it, keeping my calories down. I was seeing weight loss! Then at the end of October I lost my Android phone and went to a non-smart phone for nearly 2 months. In that time I was no longer tracking my food (no apps on that phone). My eating, I can honestly say, wasn't THAT bad, but it wasn't nearly as good as it had been using the app. I mean, I didn't go crazy and eat everything in sight or anything, but I know I was going over my calorie goals. When I finally got another smart phone I downloaded the app again, but I can't seem to get myself to use it. And guess what? I've gained back about half of all the weight I lost over the past year.

Back around the holidays, the fitness center took a semi-break, and for 2 weeks we only had classes 3 days a week. I used the holidays as an excuse to skip classes completely. I easily fell back into "lazy mode" and I can't seem to find my way back out. I've skipped 3 classes already this week. I'm just so not in the mood!

I know no one can do this but me, but I'm just frustrated. *sigh*

Thanks for the vent.

[Luckyd609]

Change your exercise routine even if you are not sick of it. Your body needs the diversity, and so does your mind. You will be re-energized at new challenges.

[wutitiz]

I have always gone thru these kind of ups and down, and I over 50 yrs old, and a life long exercise devotee. I am a runner and sometimes go thru several months where I let myself go. I wish I were more consistent, but I always seem to eventually kick myself in the rear and come back.

Over the years I have found a couple of keys to motivation. First of all is habit. If you're not used to doing something, it seems much harder. Once you develop a routine, it's easier. I read somewhere once that if you can do something 15 days straight, you can do it the rest of your life. But you have already conquered that hill.

Which brings me to the second motivator: external stimulus. For me as a runner, this means signing up for a race, which makes me much less likely to skip a workout leading up to the race. Since you're doing kickboxing, are there any competitions that you can sign up for? (I don't know much about kickboxing). Competition adds an element of fun that you can never get from just working out, IMO. Even if you lose every match you enter, it is going to give you external stimulus & hence motivation.

[DRGirl]

I agree with Wutitiz. Habit and external stimulus are what get me out of a rut. I don't like running so a race wouldn't work for me, but I want to look this summer (shorts, bikini) and then there's a dress I bought on sale which was very tight but the price was just too good ($5) to leave in the hanger, LOL, so I took it home and it's hanging in front of my bed. I am determined to rock that dress this summer. So maybe there's a party, a dress, a contest that might be coming up in the next few months that could help you stay motivated. Think about it and keep up the good work. If you did it once, you can do it again.

[Easybreezy]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

How do I get my motivation back?

I've been doing a 6 day a week kickboxing and strength training program nearly a year. (it will be a year in about 5 weeks) I've done ppretty well with going most days, usually making it to at least 5 of the 6 days classes. (because it's at 5:30am I'd say I'm doing good!) But lately, I have lost my desire to get out of bed.

First let me say it's NOT because I am bored with the workout. I like routines. I like doing basically the same exercises, and prefer it when the instructor doesnt decide to try something new. I've tried many other types of exercise and kickboxing is the only thig I can mildly tolerate, as I truly dislike doing everything else. Like, I don't like to dance so any classes that are full of dance-like moves are not for me. I don't run, and get bored with walking vey fast. Etc.

I use an app on my phone to track my food/calories. From July to October I did AWESOME with it, keeping my calories down. I was seeing weight loss! Then at the end of October I lost my Android phone and went to a non-smart phone for nearly 2 months. In that time I was no longer tracking my food (no apps on that phone). My eating, I can honestly say, wasn't THAT bad, but it wasn't nearly as good as it had been using the app. I mean, I didn't go crazy and eat everything in sight or anything, but I know I was going over my calorie goals. When I finally got another smart phone I downloaded the app again, but I can't seem to get myself to use it. And guess what? I've gained back about half of all the weight I lost over the past year.

Back around the holidays, the fitness center took a semi-break, and for 2 weeks we only had classes 3 days a week. I used the holidays as an excuse to skip classes completely. I easily fell back into "lazy mode" and I can't seem to find my way back out. I've skipped 3 classes already this week. I'm just so not in the mood!

I know no one can do this but me, but I'm just frustrated. *sigh*

Thanks for the vent.

Can I ask what the calorie tracking app is called? I just got an smartphone, and am looking for app recommendations. Thanks.

[tommodonahue]

Enter a contest of some sort.

[Opsimathia]

You can track with websites too. You can always write down what you ate on a notecard and then do that at the end of the day. So no matter what phone you have...next time do that. You habits are not ingrained deep enough yet to stop tracking.

I suggest making a to do list and setting beside you bed everynight. Just get up and go at it.
The more you put it off the worse you are going to feel about it. You know that. So tell yourself that when you feel like being lazy....its days of feeling blah...or a few minutes of feeling fretful and then you get the job done.

My goal list if I were you:
1. Tell myself procrastination is nothing but asking for feeling like crap. Talk yourself out of it.
2. Get an app that also has a website to keep tracking
3. mix it up - maybe try something different than kickboxing just to try it out
4. daily to do lists of everything - checking things off make anyone feel more motivated. Attack the small things first.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Easybreezy

Can I ask what the calorie tracking app is called? I just got an smartphone, and am looking for app recommendations. Thanks.

I use (well, kind of LOL) one call Calorie Counter. The icon looks like a little yellow scale with feet on it. You can search a huge foood database for your food, or you scan the barcodes of packages. It's cool! They are liked with FatSecret.com so you can log there too, as well as join message boards, etc. All free.

[TabulaRasa]

Set little benchmarks... I'm maid of honor in my sister's wedding in October, and the dress needs to continue to fit well...incentive enough, even without the others.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by DRGirl

I agree with Wutitiz. Habit and external stimulus are what get me out of a rut. I don't like running so a race wouldn't work for me, but I want to look this summer (shorts, bikini) and then there's a dress I bought on sale which was very tight but the price was just too good ($5) to leave in the hanger, LOL, so I took it home and it's hanging in front of my bed. I am determined to rock that dress this summer. So maybe there's a party, a dress, a contest that might be coming up in the next few months that could help you stay motivated. Think about it and keep up the good work. If you did it once, you can do it again.

I am NOT competitve. I don't like sports and don't care if I win or lose at something. I also don't set goals because if I don't make that goal I say "oh well". I don't get any "reward" from competing or acheiving a goal. I had my bikini top hanging in plain view for months; it didn't do anything to motivate me. My thinking was "well, I guess if I don't lose more wieght I'll just look fat in that again!"

Someone else said switch up my routine. That won't work, either. This is the only form of exercise at all that I have been able to stick with for more than 5 minutes. There is nothing else out there that I will do at all, I've tried!

I was taking to a friend about this last night and I said "It's like I feel like I just want to be happy. I'm happy eating chips. I'm not happy exercising and monitoring every bite of food!"

The most frustrating part is gaining 13 pounds in the last 2 months FOR NO REASON. gRRR...