Where do you get your motivation?

[soontobefit]

When you have off days (stress from work, etc.) how do you motivate yourself to stay on track? Do you look at inspirational photos of women whose bodies you would like to have? Do you talk it through with someone?

[shortie]

One of my biggest stress relievers is actually going and lifting, that and shopping :D

[soontobefit]

One of my biggest stress relievers is actually going and lifting, that and shopping :D
I am totally there with you! Just sometimes after a stressful day, I would much prefer to curl up on the couch! I always feel better after working out of course

[Erik]

Seems given the lack of response to this thread that no one gets their motivation from anywhere. Either that, or they have no motivation.

:lol:

[Inatic]

I was typing!

For me it's all been internally self driven. Having come up to and deal with many unpleasant things in my life, i've learned to just dig deep.

Most anything you encounter is temporary, even if a bit longer term.. In the scheme of life, it's usually short lived. Stress from say work, has nothing to do with your eating and training processes. Its really all about how you allow yourself to think about it. I just never let it get in the way.

""We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails."

You maynot be able to control the things that happen in our lives, but we can control the reactions to them.

[Erik]

From a previous blog post

How do you stay motivated? What does it mean to be motivated?

Stop and think about it. What motivates you? Why are you doing
this? The tightly controlled eating, the 'saying no' to those
off plan meals, the tough workouts (anyone want any more
Bulgarian Squats?), the always challenging interval workouts?

Obviously you're doing this for a reason right? That reason being
that you want to get in better shape, look better, feel better,
and so on.

That goal certainly doesn't change I'm sure so why does motivation
sometimes start to dwindle? Is it lack of progress? In some cases
sure. But stop and look back to when you started on this endeavor.
I'm sure you look and feel quite different. Chances are you're
also stronger. So, it can't really be a lack of progress can it?

To be honest, motivation is really a pretty simple thing to
maintain. All you have to do is hold onto WHY you're doing what
you're doing. And when I says 'hold onto' I mean keep it at the
front of your thinking. It should be driving you. Remind yourself.
Constantly. The more often, the better.

I recently read a neat quote on motivation that said, “your level
of motivation is basically the habit of positivity and that habit,
like all others is created by repetition, in this case, repetition
of thought.”

So, you have to think about what you're trying to achieve. You have
to think about what you used to look like, what you look like, what
you want to look like, and how you'll feel when you achieve the
look you're after.

And as that quote says, do it often.

There's a good piece in yesterday's newsletter called 'Do You Want
The Physique Or Not?' If you didn't get the newsletter email me for a
copy and sign up for future ones. If you did, read that section again.

[Ali]

Surround yourself with like-minded people. (this board)

Look at pictures of other figure competitors for what to look like and also what NOT to look like :lol:

Previous pictures of SELF.

I ask myself who I am. Over the past few years, people have started looking to me for exercise/nutrition/motivation advice. I don't want to lose that identity. It's just part of my life, now. Part of who I am.

[soontobefit]

Seems given the lack of response to this thread that no one gets their motivation from anywhere. Either that, or they have no motivation.

:lol:
LMAO

[soontobefit]

You maynot be able to control the things that happen in our lives, but we can control the reactions to them.I love that saying...its perfect!

[soontobefit]

There's a good piece in yesterday's newsletter called 'Do You Want
The Physique Or Not?' If you didn't get the newsletter email me for a
copy and sign up for future ones. If you did, read that section again.

I thought I was subscribed to it...can you tell if I am? I would love to read that.

[soontobefit]

Surround yourself with like-minded people. (this board)

Look at pictures of other figure competitors for what to look like and also what NOT to look like :lol:

Previous pictures of SELF.

I ask myself who I am. Over the past few years, people have started looking to me for exercise/nutrition/motivation advice. I don't want to lose that identity. It's just part of my life, now. Part of who I am.
Yes, this board IS amazing motivation....

[Ana]

I come here period.
I've made some amazing friends and this is where I draw my strength and motivation from. Or I call them :D

[soontobefit]

I come here period.
I've made some amazing friends and this is where I draw my strength and motivation from. Or I call them :DYeah...I think this board is becoming a very good influence on me!

[Erik]

Yeah...I think this board is becoming a very good influence on me!

:clap:

[Espi]

Part of me still doesn't want to believe I can ever be like people that look so great like Ileen or Ali. Even when I would,I'm still not really thinking that a certain look would be my major motivator. It's so ephermical.. you might attain it one day and then another day, for some reason it can all be gone.

My strongest motivation is curiosity . Intense curiosity at what would happen when I 'consistently eat X , Y and Z gram of those macronutrients and seeing a diet as a game in which I try to hit all of my targets (kcals, PCF). Aim, hit and SCORE!
Zigzagging calores and macronutrients made this even more of a fun exercisie. Yeah, I'm easy to please.

Still when I think 'fuck it'.. I'm easily very easily falling off the bandwagon. That's why I have so many avoidance strategies. Not buying things and eating goodies only late at night. But then by the next day I'm motivated again to hit my targets. It's good there's also not just daily but also biweekly targets so smaller deviations don't always mean that these targets aren't going to be met.
So, perhaps even more than curiosity it's number fetishism?

Espi, the number cruncher :)

[soontobefit]

Still when I think 'fuck it'.. I'm easily very easily falling off the bandwagon. That's why I have so many avoidance strategies. Not buying things and eating goodies only late at night. But then by the next day I'm motivated again to hit my targets. It's good there's also not just daily but also biweekly targets so smaller deviations don't always mean that these targets aren't going to be met.
So, perhaps even more than curiosity it's number fetishism?

Espi, the number cruncher :)
Yeah that makes sense...by training I am a number cruncher too!! I just gotta remind myself, its all about the math! :)

[Anca]

As Erik said, I constantly remind myself of what my goals are- and I visualize them (daily, almost). So, first and foremost, you need to have goals- and not just wander aimlessly and "try to eat healthy and exercise". That's a recipe for eventual laziness and cheats.
I firmly believe that if you don't have a "why" burning inside, you will not be able to stick with this lifestyle.
And frankly, it has actually been a long time since I've stopped and pondered "am I motivated to work out today?" "am I motivated to eat my on-plan meals?"

I just do it. I don't even think about it. I get up in the morning, put on my workout clothes, get my workouts in, get my meals in throughout the day. There is no other option IF I really want to reach my goals.

Pausing to actually think "should I do this?" will most times mean that you won't.

[donnajo]

I love to workout. Ever since my teens. I was an athlete in school and I was naturally strong. So, lifting weights is just fun for me.

Now, as for diet. That I have to really motivate myself with because I like to eat. I usually try on some clothes and if they start to feel tight it puts me in check. :lol:

[Espi]

And what if you hate clothes shopping and most of your clothes are getting baggier and baggier. :D
Thank goodness for stretch pants.

Perhaps it helps for others to keep things visualized, but number crunchers do things differently. Even when you love to eat and you're not highly motivated to achieve a certain physique, there's motivation in hitting goals by sticking to your diet. And having both daily as well as biweekly (14d) targets is very good too, as it gives some breathing space for getting off track one day and still get back on track another day.

I guess that my motivation is very different from that of others. I know how pictures and visualization etc. has helped others tremendously.

[Ali]

Oh, Espi, that's very interesting. For strength, numbers could be very motivating, too.

[sarahlou]

This is a very nice discussion board. I like it alot. I also find the blogs really helpful and motivating. I like Noel's blog very much and have enjoyed her candid discussions.
My coach sends out daily emails that include photographs of her clients and brief blurbs about them and their progress that are really motivating. She also sends out client recipes and periodically writes about different topics. I really find these really helpful. The photos remind me that I am not alone on my journey. I find too often that people post on boards photos of themselves on their big day but you don't see them today as they are and it's really helpful/healthy to know that they don't look like the competition photos on a daily basis. I really like the recipes because I am lazy and not very creative and their recipes reinvigorate my resolve by encouraging me to change up my diet.
Lastly, originally I didn't like it but I am now encouraged by it I find the photos my coach has me take every month really helpful. On a daily basis I get frustrated easily and never seem to see any change. The monthly photos allow me to see myself more impartially and the frequency is just about right for seeing change.
Anyway those are my thoughts.

[Espi]

For strength it is great to have a number fetish. Seriously, the joy of weight training is for over 50% in designing the routine and then looking over the data. Waveloading is the bomb.
But actually this works exactly the same for dieting. Even here there's a wave loading involved, at least in diets that use some kind of carb/calorie cycling. Mine goes even further with calorie cycling that takes the monthly munchies into account. And I've got 3 years worth of dieting data (kcals, macronutrients in grams/%s/g/kg BW plus BW data ) and nearly daily try to see patterns.

One thing that seems obvious but isn't always. It helps to not set the goal too high. Some people think they have failed when they eat more than 1 unclean meal in a week.
I'm starting to wonder if it is really necessary to keep P higher than 1g/lbs BW (2.2g/kg BW). For nearly 2 years I've kept it at around 1.5g/lbs and it didn't make me any leaner. Somehow the body 'yearns' after a certain amount of carbs and fats.
When you raise protein, you can drop carbs and/or fats, but not all the time. Taking the bar a bit lower and keeping to a normal protein intake (1g/lb) , eat a healthy amt of fat (0.5g/lb) and then eat an amount of carbs that makes you not too hungry but also doesn't make you stay on the couch rather than go for another walk/bike ride/jog with dog/kids/friends in case you feel like it.

Setting the bar a tad lower has made it much easier to hit 'targets' . I'm not 100% sure if it will lead to utmost leanness etc. but I'm fearing that is mostly genetics.

[Meechel]

Not sure how I missed this but Ileen hit the nail on the head.

I have my daughter to remind me of one of my goals is to swim with her this summer and not be embarressed in my swimsuit AND teach her to swim in the deep end.

Each time I tell her I have lost 2 lbs or 1 more inch she says "Mommy I just know you are going to be in that pool with me this summer" in fact she holds the stop watch for me on my BW intervals and says you can do it Mommy.

Also for some reason my focus and determination this time around is lazer sharp.

I may not hit a home run each time a curve ball is thrown to me but I at least get on base....where as before I would just strike out and go backwards.

It does help that my clothes are falling off of me and my saddlebags are almost gone and I have cuts in my arms and shoulders :lol: :bannana: :bunny: :lifter:

[Fitwolf]

Not sure how I missed this but Ileen hit the nail on the head.

I have my daughter to remind me of one of my goals is to swim with her this summer and not be embarressed in my swimsuit AND teach her to swim in the deep end.

Each time I tell her I have lost 2 lbs or 1 more inch she says "Mommy I just know you are going to be in that pool with me this summer" in fact she holds the stop watch for me on my BW intervals and says you can do it Mommy.

Also for some reason my focus and determination this time around is lazer sharp.

I may not hit a home run each time a curve ball is thrown to me but I at least get on base....where as before I would just strike out and go backwards.

It does help that my clothes are falling off of me and my saddlebags are almost gone and I have cuts in my arms and shoulders :lol: :bannana: :bunny: :lifter:

Meechel, I love your motivation!!! It's awesome that your daughter is involved, too!

My focus comes and goes too. This winter I seem to have a really strong focus (so far at least). I haven't missed a workout yet... (that may change with this virus! :mad: )

I wrote about this in my journal, but my job is a lot of my motivation. I lead a crew of young men, and I want to be able to at least keep up with them... plus I run a saw and hike a lot in the summer and I hate feeling super out of shape.

Currently, I'm also taking some motivation from competing (in my head; they don't know we are competing :ninja:) with some guys in my office who piss me off...

It's weird... as some of you know I often think of leaving my job... but part of what keeps me is that I wonder what would motivate me to workout if I left my job?

[Blondell]

Seems given the lack of response to this thread that no one gets their motivation from anywhere. Either that, or they have no motivation.

:lol:
:lol:

I had to give this quite a bit of thought b/f I could respond. :lol3:


I get much of my motivation from like-minded friends.

[soontobefit]

Not sure how I missed this but Ileen hit the nail on the head.

I have my daughter to remind me of one of my goals is to swim with her this summer and not be embarressed in my swimsuit AND teach her to swim in the deep end.

Each time I tell her I have lost 2 lbs or 1 more inch she says "Mommy I just know you are going to be in that pool with me this summer" in fact she holds the stop watch for me on my BW intervals and says you can do it Mommy.

Also for some reason my focus and determination this time around is lazer sharp.

I may not hit a home run each time a curve ball is thrown to me but I at least get on base....where as before I would just strike out and go backwards.

It does help that my clothes are falling off of me and my saddlebags are almost gone and I have cuts in my arms and shoulders :lol: :bannana: :bunny: :lifter:Ok...you made me tear up! That is an amazing motivation. That's great that she is involved with your progress!

[Cindy Day]

When you have off days (stress from work, etc.) how do you motivate yourself to stay on track? Do you look at inspirational photos of women whose bodies you would like to have? Do you talk it through with someone?
Certainly I am motivated by results of others, but the motivation that matters and the motivation that moves ME, is ME. It comes from within and it's only the self-driven motivation that gets and keeps me on track.

[Amy]

Certainly I am motivated by results of others, but the motivation that matters and the motivation that moves ME, is ME. It comes from within and it's only the self-driven motivation that gets and keeps me on track.
This is so true. If you do not want it bad enough FOR YOURSELF, it will not happen. Others around you can only do so much. You have to look deep within to really make it happen.

[soontobefit]

This is so true. If you do not want it bad enough FOR YOURSELF, it will not happen. Others around you can only do so much. You have to look deep within to really make it happen.
Definitely...I completely agree

[Inatic]

This is so true. If you do not want it bad enough FOR YOURSELF, it will not happen. Others around you can only do so much. You have to look deep within to really make it happen.

cindy cover your eyes and ears. :p


Ya Gotta Wanna!

[Cindy Day]

cindy cover your eyes and ears. :p


Ya Gotta Wanna!
:lol:

:hug:

:lub:

[Ana]

cindy cover your eyes and ears. :p


Ya Gotta Wanna!
Ever since you first posted this, it has been my motto. The only thing that gets you through holiday eating, parties, your loaded pantry, just life in general is YOU! Nobody is there to hold your hand
ETA I'm not referring to anyone in particular and everyone including myself

[Patricia]

Simple: I'm vain. :shrug:

[soontobefit]

Simple: I'm vain. :shrug:
LOL...I like that :D

[Patricia]

LOL...I like that :D
:lol: It's true. I look in the mirror a lot and want to like what I see.
Of course, this was before I started competing...now I have show dates as motivation as well. I HATE what I see in the mirror right now, but I know it's for the best.

[Espi]

I don't know what happened.. or actually I do know, but my eating habits are in the gutter since a few days.
1 it's X-mas time and supermarkets carry 1 billion goodies that I've never seen before and I'd luv luv luv to sample but can't always (try to avoid gluten, soy, legumes and dairy), yet I indulge in some of this... big time.
2 I'm having a cold again, and reason that the more I eat, the faster I'll recover and .. will train the excess calories away
3 new training schedule is starting in a few days and will have depletion sets included.. all the more reason to eat up!

Or.. or? Don't tell me I'm all wrong.. the scale is saying nasty words to me! I tell it to quit whining!

[jackieleigh]

First and foremost, I get my motivation from myself. Until I really want something I struggle. Once I decide I want to do something, and have a plan to reach those goals, I am golden.

I KEEP my motivation by certain people on the boards. I see how far people come, and how amazingly strong a lot of men and women are here (both physically and mentally) and I strive to have the determination. I dont want to be average...that keeps me going

[Ana]

First and foremost, I get my motivation from myself. Until I really want something I struggle. Once I decide I want to do something, and have a plan to reach those goals, I am golden.

I KEEP my motivation by certain people on the boards. I see how far people come, and how amazingly strong a lot of men and women are here (both physically and mentally) and I strive to have the determination. I dont want to be average...that keeps me going
Awesome post Jackie. It makes me think those that are successful just have an immense and intense inner drive. External factors are just a bonus.
I love what Anca (I believe that's her name) said about not thinking of living this lifestyle and just doing it day in and day out. Once you stop to think if you want to eat clean or go to the gym, you may be more likely to say no.