Exercise Motivation???

T

Tesla

New member
Hey all. I've been working out with a friend of mine for a while now and I've lost 45 pounds this year so far. However, now my friend is preoccupied with other things a few nights each week and when we do workout together it's a fairly light workout. My problem here is that on the days when he's not there to make me exercise I don't do anything. I've looked up all sorts of "reasons to exercise" but none of them seem to work for me. They're all things like "look better in a swimsuit" when to be perfectly honest I couldn't care less what people think of me, so my appearance doesn't really matter. "Feel better about yourself" ... I was fine with myself when I weighed 300+lbs... I just wasn't healthy. "Be healthier"... just from losing the 45lbs I'm the healthiest I've ever been... anyway, you get the idea.

The point is, knowing that I should try to get healthier isn't good enough motivation for me to actually do it. Any suggestions? Please?
 
No offense, but it sounds like no matter what we say, you are going to find a reason not to go. There a a ton of reasons you should exercise. The only one that will matter, though, is you truly wanting to do it. You are the only person that can motivate yourself with this. Yes, we can be here to support you, but you need to have that 'aha!' moment when you KNOW what you need to do.

"Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est."
 
Tesla said:
Hey all. I've been working out with a friend of mine for a while now and I've lost 45 pounds this year so far. However, now my friend is preoccupied with other things a few nights each week and when we do workout together it's a fairly light workout. My problem here is that on the days when he's not there to make me exercise I don't do anything. I've looked up all sorts of "reasons to exercise" but none of them seem to work for me. They're all things like "look better in a swimsuit" when to be perfectly honest I couldn't care less what people think of me, so my appearance doesn't really matter. "Feel better about yourself" ... I was fine with myself when I weighed 300+lbs... I just wasn't healthy. "Be healthier"... just from losing the 45lbs I'm the healthiest I've ever been... anyway, you get the idea.
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You're lying to yourself. It's simply human nature that you want to look good. You really will feel better and be healthier.
No one can tell me that they don't want those things, because deep down, EVERYONE DOES.
it's human nature. period.
 
Monster said:
You're lying to yourself. It's simply human nature that you want to look good. You really will feel better and be healthier.
No one can tell me that they don't want those things, because deep down, EVERYONE DOES.
it's human nature. period.
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:iagree: The added perk of being slim, fit and healthy is you look damn good - take a look at the thread of before and after pics on this forum - every single person looks bloody awesome with the weight gone.
 
Monster said:
You're lying to yourself. It's simply human nature that you want to look good. You really will feel better and be healthier.
No one can tell me that they don't want those things, because deep down, EVERYONE DOES.
it's human nature. period.
Click to expand...

Actually, I rather like looking like Jabba the Hut. It keeps my bounty hunters in line. Rawr!

"Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est."
 
"It's simply human nature that you want to look good." Ok... even if that's true then I still have the problem that I don't want to look better MORE than I dislike exercise... if I could find a form of exercise I actually enjoyed that would solve everything, but I haven't managed to find anything so far (I find sports boring, swimming and biking are only fun if someone else is with me, and the few things I WOULD enjoy that I could think of require money, which I don't have enough of at the moment). So that leaves just sucking it up and working out anyway... I'm trying to break a 21-year-old habit of doing nothing all day.

I don't mean to sound pessimistic. Don't get me wrong, I'm GOING to lose the weight. It's just a matter of how long it's going to take. If nothing else, I'll still be doing the light workouts with my friend every once in a while and I've been cutting back on the food (I've done my homework so don't bother lecturing about starvation diets). I'd just like to be able to motivate myself to exercise on my own since there won't always be someone else there to give me the kick in the butt I currently need.
 
1st thing I get when I read this post is that you are unhappy with yourself!! 1st you need to change your way of thinking. At my gym I do a biggest loser 2 times a year. It motivates people to join and to work out due to the competitions. You need something like that.
You need to get off ur butt and do something every day. If you actually worked out for 30 days straight you would find that you like and will crave it. Not eating only will make you feel tired and more lazy then you already feel. You need to eat and do something. Though I know from experience. You can't lose weight for someone else, you can't think about it, you have to want it. If you want it you will make it happen.

I know I sound harsh, but I just say it as it is and my clients like it like that. The nice little push to motivate you.
 
Tesla said:
"It's simply human nature that you want to look good." Ok... even if that's true...
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Um, yes. This is true throughout nature. That's how you attract a mate.
(I've done my homework so don't bother lecturing about starvation diets).
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This is just plain rude. No one here lectures unless someone needs it. You seem like you need an attitude check, not a health lecture.

I'd just like to be able to motivate myself to exercise on my own since there won't always be someone else there to give me the kick in the butt I currently need.
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Then why are you here? You want to motivate yourself, yet you came to a forum that is built on motivating your peers. We have given you suggestions, and you've thrown them back in our faces. You just need to TRY things. It's not rocket science. You know what I do for exercise? Dance Central. It's fun, and kicks my butt. There are SO many ways to have fun while getting physical activity.

I think you really need to fix some things internally before you worry too much about your outside. You will never make a lifelong change physically if your mind isn't in a good place.
 
I am like you - almost nothing motivates me to go work out unless someone is coming with me. One thing I do to trick myself into working out is I have my whole workout outfit ready and lying on my bed, shoes and all, so when I get home, I feel guilty if I put it all away without working out. Sometimes you need something like that staring you in the face to force you to exercise.

Also, I force myself to think of all the things that make daily life difficult at this weight and imagine how freeing it will be to not worry about them - things like being able to fit in seats at an amusement park, not worrying about breaking flimsy chairs, not being over the weight limit to do things like bungee jumping, etc. These are just some examples in my life, but I'm sure you can come up with several examples that work for you. Write out a list if you have to, and look at it when you're thinking of skipping a workout. It really helps.
 
@imaninjadangit: "That's how you attract a mate." We humans can attract mates in ways other creatures can't... for example, intelligence, sense of humor, honesty, etc. But you definitely have a point.
"This is just plain rude." Sorry. I didn't intend for it to come across like that... I just meant that there was no need for the usual 5 paragraph explanation of starvation mode and all that that generally follows the statement "I'm going on a diet."
"Then why are you here?" To find a way to keep myself motivated. More specifically, to see if anyone here has any suggestions on how to do so since I couldn't find anything looking on my own. I wanted to hear what motivates others and what others do to keep themselves going.

@GVPrincess: Thanks for the idea. I'm not sure if there are any competitions like that around here, but maybe I can come up with some sort of contest between my friend and I. I'll see what I can come up with. :)

@wiresandwood: Thanks. I'll try leaving my workout outfit out and ready to use and I'll get to work on that list right now. :)
 
Let's start off with some lovely and relevant quotes from this conversation:

"I'd just like to be able to motivate myself to exercise on my own since there won't always be someone else there to give me the kick in the butt I currently need"

"1st you need to change your way of thinking."

"The only one that will matter, though, is you truly wanting to do it. You are the only person that can motivate yourself with this. Yes, we can be here to support you, but you need to have that 'aha!' moment when you KNOW what you need to do."

All on the right track as far as I'm concerned. The question, as always, is HOW?

By learning how, by taking control of your brain and making it so that your ability to motivate yourself is not dependant on anyone, or anything, else.

Perhaps I can help you a little more if you let us know what thoughts and feelings you have when thinking about working out, and how you feel when you're there (this second one should give us some great info, given that you are there AND not working out...)

Keep it coming,
George SuperBootCamps
 
Hey Tesla, congrats on the weight you've lost so far. I think you answered your question right in your post. You know what works; get out there with a friend. It's always tough when things change like they did with you, but maybe it's a good thing. The more people you get involved with in getting out and getting a work out of whatever sort, the better off you'll be. It will help to motivate you even more to take on that much more and not leave you high and dry if one person quits out.

Keep at it and get in touch with the inner social butterfly. :)
 
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