Losing motivation to keep up execrise and diet

[unseengundam101]

I never really worked out before till June of this year. Since then I started working out constantly to lose weight, and so far I have lost 25-30 lbs. I started out really motivated working out 5 days a week, for 1 hour+ each now. These days, I just don't really feel like working at all. I usually drag myself to gym 3 days a week for 30-40 mins. Also, I am back to eating more fatty food (burger & fries). With my lack luster motivation, I might just stop watching my diet and exercising all together.

Thinking about here are list reason why I seem to be losing motivation:

-My belly fat doesn't seem to be completely gone yet. I might have to work harder to lose 20 more lbs.
-Its winter and I hate cold. I am very lazy even to walk from car to the gym!
-If I do more weight lifting I keep on hurting myself. Like I have shoulder pain now for 2 weeks, it almost gone though. Before, I similar shoulder pain that took week to heal.
-One of main reason I started working out was because I thought I might finally try going after girls. Let say this has gotten anywhere, and is no longer a key motivator for me. If want detail you can look at my crazy post in the relationship forum...

Anyhow, one reason I still try work out some and diet is because I don't want that 5-6 month of effort to go to waste. I devoted like 8 hours (including cleaning up) each week for those months. It seem like big waste if I get back my big belly. I don't how long though I can keep forcing myself to head to gym. Any ideas for a new form of motivation to keep going?


For reference, here are my current stats:
Male
25 Years olds
5' 9.5" (small build though)
Weight = 155 lbs
Still have fat around my belly

 

[Alone]

Drink more whole milk, lift more. You're awfully light for your height. Eat more food and keep lifting more.

If you have any doubts look at your progress pictures. That should be plenty of motivation.

 

[irishScott]

I never really worked out before till June of this year. Since then I started working out constantly to lose weight, and so far I have lost 25-30 lbs. I started out really motivated working out 5 days a week, for 1 hour+ each now. These days, I just don't really feel like working at all. I usually drag myself to gym 3 days a week for 30-40 mins. Also, I am back to eating more fatty food (burger & fries). With my lack luster motivation, I might just stop watching my diet and exercising all together.

Thinking about here are list reason why I seem to be losing motivation:

-My belly fat doesn't seem to be completely gone yet. I might have to work harder to lose 20 more lbs.
-Its winter and I hate cold. I am very lazy even to walk from car to the gym!
-One of main reason I started working out was because I thought I might finally try going after girls. Let say this has gotten anywhere, and is no longer a key motivator for me. If want detail you can look at my crazy post in the relationship forum...

Anyhow, one reason I still try work out some and diet is because I don't want that 5-6 month of effort to go to waste. I devoted like 8 hours (including cleaning up) each week for those months. It seem like big waste if I get back my big belly. I don't how long though I can keep forcing myself to head to gym. Any ideas for a new form of motivation to keep going?


For reference, here are my current stats:
Male
25 Years olds
5'11" (small build though)
Weight = 155 lbs
Still have fat around my belly

You're 5'11" and you want to be 135? Dude I'm 5'11" with just a medium frame, and if was 135 I'd be freaking emaciated (currently 165 and happy with it). D:

There is such a thing as a thing as a healthy layer of fat. You're never going to get rid of all of it. Check your posture. Keep your back straight. Standing improperly can make your belly bulge out and give the illusion of extra fat.

 

[unseengundam101]

Drink more whole milk, lift more. You're awfully light for your height. Eat more food and keep lifting more.

If you have any doubts look at your progress pictures. That should be plenty of motivation.

I just added in another important info, I keep injuring myself more weight lifting I do. When start increasing my weight, frequently I end up with muscle main for 2-3 weeks. I must not be doing it right. Since I really don't like pain and I have lack of will, these day mainly I have been doing cardio.

Also, are you sure eating more and lifting will get rid of belly fat? Might build some upper body muscle but not sure how it reduce my stomach area.

Looking at old picture does help motivate me a bit. But not enough for put more time and effort back into it.

 

[Alone]

If you lift more you'll burn calories. Cardio on off days to trim more fat. More muscle makes you appear to have less fat.

Eat more to have enough energy to lift, plus you need to gain weight. You're tiny.

 

[unseengundam101]

You're 5'11" and you want to be 135? Dude I'm 5'11" with just a medium frame, and if was 135 I'd be freaking emaciated (currently 165 and happy with it). D:

There is such a thing as a thing as a healthy layer of fat. You're never going to get rid of all of it. Check your posture. Keep your back straight. Standing improperly can make your belly bulge out and give the illusion of extra fat.

FYI, I recheck my height, I am actually more like 5' 9.5" to 5'10". Last time I was actually thin, I weight only 118 lbs (in 9th grade)! From that I am calculating my right weight just maybe 140 lbs.

I am pretty sure my belly is bulging out, no matter how straight my back is. Not a lot, bug I still see the fat deposits. I guess I can take figure (even though I am shy) if you still don't believe me!

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I just added in another important info, I keep injuring myself more weight lifting I do. When start increasing my weight, frequently I end up with muscle main for 2-3 weeks. I must not be doing it right. Since I really don't like pain and I have lack of will, these day mainly I have been doing cardio.

Also, are you sure eating more and lifting will get rid of belly fat? Might build some upper body muscle but not sure how it reduce my stomach area.

Looking at old picture does help motivate me a bit. But not enough for put more time and effort back into it.

What kind of lifts do you do for shoulders? Also, does that mean your legs don't work? Squats and deadlifts will aid your weight loss, especially since they'll put you in an optimum hormonal state for losing fat weight rather than both muscle and fat mass.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

We are the same exact height 5' 9.5" and I weigh 177lbs. If you are 155lbs and have alot of body fat to lose you must have no muscle at all. You're first priority should be weight lifting. If you keep injuring yourself than either get a personal trainer or just do like I did and watch tons of videos and read a bunch of muscle magazines and learn proper technique. Going to the gym and staying in shape really isn't an option. If you don't stay in shape you are gonna pay down the line. It's really a small sacrifice as far as I'm concerned. It's great to be able to go biking or hiking when I feel like it and being physically fit enough to do it. I enjoy going to the local park or gym for pickup basketball and I'm in better shape at 29 years old than the 19-23 year old guys that frequent them. I plan on being in shape til I'm dead. I'll be the 70 year old guy still jogging the local trails. If you have a wife or kid you owe it to them to stick around and keep yourself in shape so you can continue to provide for your family. Keep at it. And do you really want to associate yourself with the people eating at McDonald's?

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Maybe you should watch your food intake really carefully and take a break from pushing to lose weight. In the process of going from 215-~125 (5'5") I took 3 breaks, but I made sure I never gained back more than 10 pounds. I purely dieted from 215-160 though and only do some running/pushup/situp kind of stuff (and not a lot of it) from 160 down.

 

[NAC]

What lifts do you do regularly and at what weight? Free weights or machines? How many sets and reps?

My recommendation to you would be to buy Starting Strength and follow it. It teaches you the best exercises, and the right form. It is also enjoyable because every day you get to add weight to the bar. And as you add weight to the bar, you will build muscle. You will look better, fairly quickly.

For that program, you’ll need to gain weight. You’ll need to eat enough to gain weight. I recommend you do it for a couple months, and eat enough or drink enough milk to ensure you are slowly gaining weight.

If you follow that plan, I have no doubt you’ll be pleased. Then reassess if you want to do a cutting cycle to lose some fat.

I have a similar build to you – in fact I’m just about exactly the same height and weight. I have no gut however, and am happy with how I look. Although I do plan to gain more muscle and lose more fat and show my 6 pack in the future.

Disclaimers: I’m assuming your shoulder issue is due to using weight lifting machines or bad form, or not having adequate range of motion. I know I had some occasional issues with shoulder or elbows when using machines – but none using free weights. You might want to see a doctor about it.

 

[douglasb]

IMO, 155 lbs is way too small for 5'9.5" if you are doing any weight training whatsoever. I train 3 days on, 1 day off (so 5-6 days per week) and I'm the exact same height, but somewhere between 195-200 lbs. Body fat % is in the low teens, but even if I dropped to single digits, there's no way I could weigh less than 175 or so. 135 lbs is unimaginable, unless I contracted AIDS or cancer or something. That is just not a healthy weight for that height.

That being said, I think that if you put on some muscle, you would like the way you look a little bit more. Particularly if you build up your shoulders, traps, and lats. That will give your physique a more "tapered" look and make your waist look smaller.

 

[darkewaffle]

The cold weather kills it for me too. I go through it every year, struggling to keep myself active during the late fall and winter. If only there was a room in my house for my lifting equipment

 

[Kaido]

First - what time do you go to bed?

That's the single biggest thing that affects my motivation. If I stay up late, I don't care about sticking to my plan. If I'm tired, it's way too easy to eat junk food, skip the healthy food, and just not exercise at all. If I go to bed early, I have a lot more energy and motivation, instead of dragging myself through the motions.

Second - what is your clear goal?

Having a strong goal in front of you is very motivating. I got into H&F about 2 years ago. I had never followed an exercise program before. I decided that I would spend 6 weeks eating healthy, exercising daily, and going to bed early to lose some weight and get into shape for a triathlon. I lost a bunch of weight and never felt better. My 6 weeks ended and I totally fell off the wagon...no clear, strong goal to chase after, nothing exciting to pursue. Some people are motivated by simply "being healthy", but I need waaaaay more motivation than that lol...exercising and eating right is real work!

So set some clear goals and go to bed early and see if that helps at all...that's what helped me

 

[Alex Ferguson]

Hi Alex here i am new on this forum. I want to share information that i have about loosing motivation for fitness and exercise. Motivation is the “internal mechanisms and external stimuli that direct our behaviour". In other words, it's the reason why we exercise, diet and try to get fit. Without motivation we will quickly loose interest and stop caring about what food we eat and how we live our lives. With motivation, on the other hand, we can sustain an exercise, diet and fitness regime which means we can live our lives to the full and not feel constantly under pressure. Keeping fit should not be a burden or something we hate doing. If it is, we will not keep up the activity and interest.

 

[blackdogdeek]

you sound underweight for your height. i'm going to guess that you're not eating enough and so you're body is in starvation mode and storing as many calories as it can in your belly area. it also means you're going to have less energy for working out which would definitely affect your motivation. so like most other posters in this thread i'm going to suggest you eat more and do more weight training.

when you say you are in pain the more you lift, do you mean muscle soreness or do you mean sharp pain? soreness is a sign of progress while sharp pain is a sign of injury.

 

[unseengundam101]

What lifts do you do regularly and at what weight? Free weights or machines? How many sets and reps?

My recommendation to you would be to buy Starting Strength and follow it. It teaches you the best exercises, and the right form. It is also enjoyable because every day you get to add weight to the bar. And as you add weight to the bar, you will build muscle. You will look better, fairly quickly.

For that program, you’ll need to gain weight. You’ll need to eat enough to gain weight. I recommend you do it for a couple months, and eat enough or drink enough milk to ensure you are slowly gaining weight.

If you follow that plan, I have no doubt you’ll be pleased. Then reassess if you want to do a cutting cycle to lose some fat.

I have a similar build to you – in fact I’m just about exactly the same height and weight. I have no gut however, and am happy with how I look. Although I do plan to gain more muscle and lose more fat and show my 6 pack in the future.

Disclaimers: I’m assuming your shoulder issue is due to using weight lifting machines or bad form, or not having adequate range of motion. I know I had some occasional issues with shoulder or elbows when using machines – but none using free weights. You might want to see a doctor about it.

I use both free weight and machine. I am not really familiar with what you exactly call these machines. Does that "Starting Strength" tell exactly what the machines are and how to use them? I really just jumped right into gym with studying anything too much, except knowing the spot reduction supposedly doesn't work.

 

[unseengundam101]

IMO, 155 lbs is way too small for 5'9.5" if you are doing any weight training whatsoever. I train 3 days on, 1 day off (so 5-6 days per week) and I'm the exact same height, but somewhere between 195-200 lbs. Body fat % is in the low teens, but even if I dropped to single digits, there's no way I could weigh less than 175 or so. 135 lbs is unimaginable, unless I contracted AIDS or cancer or something. That is just not a healthy weight for that height.

That being said, I think that if you put on some muscle, you would like the way you look a little bit more. Particularly if you build up your shoulders, traps, and lats. That will give your physique a more "tapered" look and make your waist look smaller.

You know I swear I am fairly small build. I am south asian, and I do believe even some girl have bigger build than me.

I definitely don't have much muscle, but I do some now. I had basically 0 muscle when I started 6 months ago. I like said in my other post, I may need guide book to tell me what machines to use and just exactly how to train my muscle.

 

[unseengundam101]

If you have a wife or kid you owe it to them to stick around and keep yourself in shape so you can continue to provide for your family.

You know right now I am sure if I can actually get wife or even have kids. In fact, I do doubt that I could even geta girlfriend. I am wondering what is point to exercising and living a long healthy? You know if I fall over and die tomorrow, I would feel like I am not missing out much in life. That just is my KEY problem in motivation.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

You know right now I am sure if I can actually get wife or even have kids. In fact, I do doubt that I could even geta girlfriend. I am wondering what is point to exercising and living a long healthy? You know if I fall over and die tomorrow, I would feel like I am not missing out much in life. That just is my KEY problem in motivation.

It seems like you need to re-evaluate your viewpoint on life before worrying about the gym. Seriously, take some time to appreciate life and the people sharing it with you (even if you have to actually make new friends to do this). Go see a psychologist if you have to. This kind of attitude is outside the scope of "poor motivation." This is depression.

 

[NAC]

OP –
You do sound depressed. You should make time and find the money to see a therapist. Depression is something you can deal with and get over. And if your therapist isn’t helping you after a couple months – find another. Different folks work better with different therapists. Depression is not uncommon, and is not something you should feel ashamed about or feel you should conquer on your own.

And, I would recommend still working out. Working out and being active should help you to feel better. It is a great way to spend a few hours a week. Especially if you set goals and start to achieve them and start to feel happier about your body.

This is the book I was talking about:
http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Stren.../dp/0976805421
It teaches you how to use a barbell to perform a few basic lifts. No machines. You can also google starting strength – there is also a forum and a wiki. There are tons of guys like you – who want to but need help on how to build muscle. And the author has helped a lot of them to get on the right path. I worked out for years following various books and friends’ advice. Trying to piece things together myself. None of it could touch what he did with that book. I highly highly recommend you get it and follow it. A a minimum, follow it for a few months and decide for yourself.


Regarding your height/weight – ignore what people say. You are not too skinny for your height. People put on fat and muscle differently, based on genetics. The link below puts you smack in the middle of the table for height / weight, and in fact above the normal weight for a “small frame” person. Or if you use a BMI calculator – your BMI is 22.9, which is slightly above the middle of the normal weight BMI.
http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm

That being said, however, you will feel better about yourself when you add muscle onto your frame. And that is why you are here – asking how you can.

 

[f4phantom2500]

you can try motivating yourself by asserting that the self-confidence you will build from exercising will attract most women more than the physical results of exercising. if you can get yourself to keep exercising, surely you can get a girlfriend .

spend time pondering on the impermanence of life. think about the person that you ultimately want to be, the things you want to have done with your life, and do what you can while you're still young to achieve those things. the older you get, the harder it gets to start exercising (physically and mentally). honestly dude, if you're working out 3 days a week for 30 minutes each time, that is more exercise than most people get, and if it's vigorous exercise then you're great with that. maybe you should spend some time trying to learn to cook some healthy but also delicious meals? this will help you lose that fat, may help you get the motivation to continue working out, and hell if nothing else at least you can cook dinner for a girl.

also, you might want to consider meditation.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/the-benefits-meditation

i started meditating a few weeks ago, and i've noticed pronounced differences on my views of my life, both on a personal and social level, as well as improved views about life in general. i even decided to run a marathon xp!

 

[Aztech]

I use both free weight and machine. I am not really familiar with what you exactly call these machines. Does that "Starting Strength" tell exactly what the machines are and how to use them? I really just jumped right into gym with studying anything too much, except knowing the spot reduction supposedly doesn't work.

I know "Starting Strength" is a highly regarded book, but I don't think it would be right for this guy at this time. I bought the book and read through it (not every word), and although I got some things out of it, I decided it really wasn't for me and that it is really targeted to a certain group, namely student athletes. It's going to be too much too soon for this guy, IMHO.

I've recently started working out again, after a looonnnng break. I picked up a copy of "Body Rx" that I found cheap in a bargain bin. I like the sound of it and I started it a couple of weeks ago. The plan is basically all weight lifting for exercise (no cardio required), and the diet part is high protein and high fiber. It made good sense to me and hopefully I'll post at a later date with good results.

Anyway, there are many workout plans out there, so choose one and go for it. You have to lift heavy to gain muscle, and you gotta eat big. Start doing those things now, while you figure out what else to do.

Join a gym and get one of those hot personal trainers to show you the ropes.

Make a lifestyle change that includes a new workout program, a new diet, and whatever other new things you have wanted to try.

I once heard the quote "Happiness is a decision". While I do like that, I also know that depression is real. Try to get yourself out of your funk first, but if you can't, seek help.

Good luck!

 

[QuantumPion]

Regarding your height/weight – ignore what people say. You are not too skinny for your height. People put on fat and muscle differently, based on genetics. The link below puts you smack in the middle of the table for height / weight, and in fact above the normal weight for a “small frame” person. Or if you use a BMI calculator – your BMI is 22.9, which is slightly above the middle of the normal weight BMI.
http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm

That being said, however, you will feel better about yourself when you add muscle onto your frame. And that is why you are here – asking how you can.

Thank you for this. The meatheads on this forum think if you aren't 190 lbs of pure muscle then you are anorexic or something. Not everyone is trying to be a professional body builder here.

 

[unseengundam101]

Thank you for this. The meatheads on this forum think if you aren't 190 lbs of pure muscle then you are anorexic or something. Not everyone is trying to be a professional body builder here.

Yes, I used a similar calculator and it showed I was average. I am definitely not skinny. Building up muscle is probably the next step for me. Somehow though, I am accident prone I just twisted my wrist yesterday at the gym! So, I didn't go to gym today...

 

[unseengundam101]

I know "Starting Strength" is a highly regarded book, but I don't think it would be right for this guy at this time. I bought the book and read through it (not every word), and although I got some things out of it, I decided it really wasn't for me and that it is really targeted to a certain group, namely student athletes. It's going to be too much too soon for this guy, IMHO.

I've recently started working out again, after a looonnnng break. I picked up a copy of "Body Rx" that I found cheap in a bargain bin. I like the sound of it and I started it a couple of weeks ago. The plan is basically all weight lifting for exercise (no cardio required), and the diet part is high protein and high fiber. It made good sense to me and hopefully I'll post at a later date with good results.

Anyway, there are many workout plans out there, so choose one and go for it. You have to lift heavy to gain muscle, and you gotta eat big. Start doing those things now, while you figure out what else to do.

Join a gym and get one of those hot personal trainers to show you the ropes.

Make a lifestyle change that includes a new workout program, a new diet, and whatever other new things you have wanted to try.

I once heard the quote "Happiness is a decision". While I do like that, I also know that depression is real. Try to get yourself out of your funk first, but if you can't, seek help.

Good luck!

Is this the Body Rx (6 pack prescription) you are talking about:
http://www.amazon.com/Body-Rx-Dr-Sco...1865704&sr=1-1

I am willing to maybe buy both of these books and try it out.