Over the last 5 years I have lost 100 pounds. i ran a half marathon last month and I was 10 pounds away from my idea weight The last few months though, I have really been losing motivation to diet and now Im even losing motivation to run. I recently lost my dad to a heart attack and I think the depression from that is causing me troubles...... I just dont know why I cant get the fuck up, move on and get back to kicking ass. Ive gained about 15 pounds and that makes me even more depressed. Anyone have anything similiar happen, any advice to break out of my funk?
What is your height and weight? Where were you dieting down FROM when you lost 100 lbs? Was 10 lbs from your ideal weight below, or above? The biggest advice, sadly, is to push through it and exercise. Exercise is a motivator, and has plenty of beneficial effects against things like depression. Death in the family can really suck, but remember that being healthy is a great tribute to your family and ancestors. Pay your father his respects with your sweat as well as your tears.
thanks dude I went from 5'7 285 pounds down to 185 pounds ideal weight for my frame and height is between 170-175 went from triple x shirts and 44 jeans down to Medium shirts and 32 jeans. Im hovering around 200 right now but I want to get back to where i was and then down to my ideal. I just seem to have this huge burnt out mental block.
wow man it's crazy how similar my situation is to yours. I started out last year 5'10 and 250lbs and got down to 170 at the end of october. I had crazy motivation to eat well and workout all the time but after that it just disappeared. I was still hitting the gym but my diet went to hell and now I'm up to 195. It's weird though because in the last 2 weeks, after months of no motivation to diet, something clicked and I'm back on track again. It's just something you have to push yourself through and eventually you'll snap out of it. Just try not to get down on yourself and make it worse.
^ absolutely and where I've gained 15 back, its like I get upset, hit the gym and its like im tryin to lose 15 pounds in 1 week. I'll run 8 miles, lift weights, only take in 1500 calories and I just do more harm than good. I guess I just have to face the fact that I have screwed up the last few months, im still in great shape so not a lot of harm has happened yet, just accept the fact Ive gained a little and start over but realistically. Instead of tryin to lose 10 pounds in a week, I need to just get back on track, and not beat myself up over it. It sounds stupid, but its like u are so afraid of getting back fat, that u almost psych yourself out of doing what u should be doing because it stops being fun and starts feeling like a job.
re-implement the habit, it doesn't matter if you don't do it 100% as long as you show up in the gym every time also monitor your progress ( with charts ) everyday ( toyota method )
One of my problems, apart from just being a little down in general, was that I started seeing huge increases in strength. I kind of used that as an excuse to eat too much. One thing that's helped me recently to turn the corner is to think that not all of the weight I gained back was fat and it shouldn't be as hard to lose some weight and et back into better condition. That and I bought ross's infinite intensity and tried some of his workouts. Realized how bad I let my conditioning go and knew it was time to smarten the hell up.
You could try changing the exercise you do. Instead of running try weightlifting. I'm not going to pretend my situation is like yours but my life changed significantly when I started reading the S&P forum and started lifting heavily for strength.
I find that my motivation comes and goes like a sine function. The blog at rosstraining.com contains a lot of posts on motivation... I suggest browsing it to find something that might help you. Congrats on the large amount of weight lost. I'm trying to drop also, down 52 lbs right now.
Thanks so much everyone. U guys have given me some damn good ideas and insight Thanks for sharing stories ith me and it helps knowing that I am not alone and what is happening is normal. I think I am just burnt out on running. I trained for 2 solid years to do the half marathon and I think Im burnt out on running long mileage. I think my body is worn out doing so many miles. I ran 400 miles my first year of running and I did 1000 last year, so this year I think its taking a toll. I limp around, always sore......... So Im thinking I will start weightlifting, maybe only run 2-3 miles 5 days a week to keep conditioning and maybe vary up my cardio. Somedays run miles, other days do ellipitical machine........
Dude, you just phrased it perfectly. I didn't lose as much weight as you (I lost ~60-65 lbs), but I have been in the same boat a couple times. It's like, you work so damn hard to lose the fat that when it starts coming back, it freaks you out, yet that doesn't necessarily get the motivation back. ...and then you start to wonder what it would be like to eat semi-unhealthy like people you know, but instead of automatically gaining weight, you just stay the same (like other people). At least...that's how it is with me. And then you dwell on that and get even a little more in the dumps. I had a very similar thing happen to me. I started running like a mofo at around the point where I had lost most of my weight. For the next six 8 months I ran a lot. I went from not being able to run 2/3 of a mile without stopping to running a half marathon. It was awesome....and then my motivation died. It just, stopped, for no apparent reason. I gained around 8-10 pounds back and got in a similar slump that you're in. Then after a little while of doing very little to no exercise on a regular basis, I started doing a lot of body weight exercises. I had a routine that incorporated burpees (google this if you're not sure what it is, it's the single best overall body exercise there is that I've found), pushups, crunches and lunges as well as 'core strengtening' exercises (specifically, the first two sections with pictures here: Core Strength Training - How to Develop Your Center of Power ). It worked up a routine of around 30 minutes of pretty high intensity (I know because I feel like I'm going to pass out and I'm sweating bullets). I did that for a while, and got kind of tired of it too. I lifted some weights and did around fifty bajillion crunches to lose all my weight...so yeah, there was a point where I was just burnt out on like damn near all exercises (except for the occasional team sport exercise, which is always fun). However, I started mixing it up and it's been good ever since. For instance, I'll run one day, do my body weight exercises the next, maybe do nothing the next, then do weights and cardio at the gym the next day followed by two days of running followed by the body weight exercises, then rest a day or two, and so on and so forth. There are definitely days when I don't feel like doing anything. Some of those days, I just don't do anything, but some of them I end up doing one of my three workouts. Yeah dude, I feel that I have been in your same boat with regards to being burnt out on various exercises. However, having three very separate and distinct workouts has been extremely helpful in terms of not mentally burning myself out on anything. I would really try this approach out, because it's worked very well for me. And on top of that, I'm in much better total-body shape than I've ever been in either when I was fat and lazy OR when I was just working like a madman on either of my particular three workouts. Mixing them up = better variety + better fitness.
WOW Man I cant express enough gratitude for this post. U just described every single thing I am going through and feeling. I am really grateful for u taking the time to post all of that. It helps already knowing that what is happening has happened to others. Im going to do exactly what u said and I already feel better. I just think of goin and running 5 to 8 miles and I just dread it. Not cause I cant do it anymore *I ran 10 Thursday* its just I need something new to do for awhile. The exercises u described sound right up my alley and Im gonna get started working up new routines. Thanks again!!!
I have motivation problems all the time. I have 4 kids and a business that literally consumes me and my time. It is a 24 hour business, so there is rarely time to take a real break from it. By the time I go to exercise I typically have to force the issue. The thing is when I start I almost always find and remember that I do actually enjoy working out, pushing my limits. Just get yourself to the gym, track, mat, whatever, you'll get it back in due time. Happy trails!
No problem, man. I'm really glad I could help in any way. Let me know if you want any specifics about the body weight routine I have. I mean...I'm not claiming some amazing insight into human physiology, but it's worked great for me. Also, I was going to mention earlier, and it may sound silly, but if you're having trouble motivating yourself, here's what I do. If I'm just sitting there thinking "ugghh.....gaah, I don't feel like doing anything today" then I'll just force myself to drop and do like 20 pushups FAST. It's not really difficult at all to motivate oneself to do 15-30 seconds of exercise like hard, fast pushups, so that's not really a problem. That's kind of what I force myself to do before I decide to take the day off working out. Sometimes I stick with my 'nah, I'm not going to do anything tonight' attitude, but often times, once the blood and adrenaline get flowing just a bit, I'll have a noticable change of heart within the next minute or two. As I said, I know it probably sounds silly, but I don't care. Just make it a part of your nightly (or daily...whenever you do your workouts) routine. Like I said, it's not that hard to force yourself to do 15-30 pushups (not like it is committing 30-90 mins of exercise), and if you can MAINTAIN THAT little daily habit, then I'll bet you money that, by association, you'll also find it easier to maintain a consistent workout regimine. Getting started (or, the act of making the decision to commit yourself to the time and effort) is always the hardest part. Once you get going though, you're fine, but it's the getting going that's rough. And that's where the quick little pushup set can do wonders. If you do try it, let me know if it works for you at all. I'm just curious if it's the same with others as it is with me (that the decision/act of committing the time/energy is probably the 'hardest' part).
Stormbringer, if u could give me some ideas of what u do with bodyweight exercises, Id appreciate it. I've been doing a lot of core type workouts where I stand on uneven platforms, those ball like platforms *Sorry I have no idea what they are called officially* and when I do that with a lot of leg exercises, I do get more tired than when i run 10 miles. I seriously feel I am gonna throw up when I do a huge Core circuit. My problem is I count calories too much. Running, I know how many calories I burn, with the lifting, I can never gauge exactly what I am burning. Is it also great to drink a high protein,glutamine shake after the workout? I heard that really maximizes the gains.
damn that sucks dude exercise does release some endorphins could help u clear your mind sorry about your dad man
^ Thanks dude. Very rough times I got my ass back started today though. I am on a great eating plan as of today and i worked out really hard. I walked/jogged 2 miles Then I ran 3 miles 15 on elliptical to cool down Did some circuit lifting I've taken in about 1600 calories today and i feel really good. I know when I am down to get off my ass and Ill feel better. Thanks again everyone, this thread really helped tremendously I weighed tonight........ Seems I fucked up more than I thought. I weighed 214....... so my fat ass has gained 26 pounds!!!!!!!! I am pissed but Im gonna accept it and move forward.
