anyone have tips help with motivation for someone like me?

[ktrain91]

i started working out last april to build muscle and lose weight (i was 228 pounds) and in 4 months went down to about 210 lbs. then gained most of it all back due to my schedule and depression binging/drinking and not being able to lift from my busy days, along with being around people who eat and dont care about weight and push me to eat (and when i say im trying to lose weight they simply say "oh eat this is low in <insert random ingredient or sugar or any of that> like calories dont matter). i ended up at 220 pounds at the new year.

two days after new years i got up and decided to change my life to become what i want to be and not sit around pointing fingers saying im not the way i want to be because of this person or that person or because of a situation like i did in the past. the girl ive always wanted in my life came back to me and it kicked off the feeling that i need to take control of my life and become who i want to be. im a college dropout and now im going back to become a carpenter. i practice guitar as many hours a day as i can (music is my passion and i want to become a great musician someday) and its all because ive gotten what i needed to push myself. somebody who can push me to do things for myself and those around me. i feel i need to be a motivation for those like me who cant find there way to there goals like i was and still am at some points.

i work out at least 3 days a week with weights and two days with cardio (to rest the muscles and still burn calories) and eat at a deficit. and in one month ive gone from 220 to 210, but this weekend i gained back two pounds from binge eating.

how do you push yourself to not binge eat and to keep exercising when you get depressed? or push yourself in general to not fall off the wagon and keep going with your fitness routine?

ive missed two or 2 days of lifting and 3 of cardio in three weeks because of it, and i had to really push myself to workout today. all i managed was a weak upper body workout cause of it. im going to go back to my workout in a bit and try to make it a better workout.

i need tips to keep going and to stay motivated to stick with lifting and eating right even when depressed. i started trying to lose weight and build muscle without any knowledge of how to and learned so much from this forum.

[kenny85]

Binge eating happens from time to time for a lot of people. Don't let it ruin your attitude. As long as you don't make it habit of binge eating every weekend it will be fine. Sounds like your on track tho since you have already dropped 10lbs. And that 2lbs could go away in a good bathroom trip so don't beat yourself up nobody on here is perfect!

[Rouhanibrah]

photos, pictures, quotes, videos, none of those ever motivated me or made me get off my lazy ass till i saw this vid. i dont know why but it clicked something in my head.

[kenny85]

photos, pictures, quotes, videos, none of those ever motivated me or made me get off my lazy ass till i saw this vid. i dont know why but it clicked something in my head.

^^this. Sounds weird but I " like " a bunch of fitness and workout pages on my ********. Just a little way to surround yourself with motivation. And if your friends don't support you trying to get healthy then it sounds like you need some new fuarking friends

[MrGuin]

Write down your specific goals, then write down exactly why you want them, what theory mean to you on a personal level and how you're going to feel when you achieve them. Fold the paper up and put it in your wallet next to the pic of your gf.

Clear your house of `binge foods`, make it a serious mission to cheat. Too much effort!

Prepare and plan your meals in advance, get up 30 mins early make the days meals if you're going to be out all day.

Log what you eat in a food diary, I use "myfitnesspal". Much lower chance of filling up on icecream if you're going to have to look at it in your diary all day.

Treat yourself every month and buy a new shirt that you wouldn't have been able to fit into last month - tangible, visible, reward for all your hard work. Feels good!

Find a food that does fit your diet that you love. For me its Detour protein bars. Keep a couple in your kitchen or car, but don't eat them. Make them special, something you really desire, then when you get stressed from work, or fight with your gf or w/e, crack out a Detour. You'll get the same psychological rush, and still feel good about yourself afterwards.

Hope some of that helped!

[tacdgb]

finding a reward you like might will help to get you motivated to get it done.....I gave myself a reward the other day. I needed to hit my treadmill and didn't want to (fighting the winter blues) so I told myself if I did hit the treadmill for some serious workouts I would get a new pair of workout capri's and I wore them today for the first time at weight lifting class. I would get the junk food out of the house.....if it isn't there you can't eat it. Also working out can give you the rush you need to keep on doing this. So when you want to eat go workout instead.........

[ktrain91]

thanks everyone. im going to try your tips. the clearing out junk food is tough because i live with my parents and they eat alot of junk. other then that i think those tips will work

[CanadianEric]

You know man, try keeping a journal. I know it sounds corny, but you should not discount the power of writing something rather than just "thinking". Here are a number of tips for keeping a journal:

- if you are depressed/unmotivated (usually the former is caused by the latter, remember that), try stream-of-consciousness writing. sit down and write/type whatever you are thinking. don't over-analyze or try to write "good", just write whatever comes to mind. incredibly therapeutic, and generally you feel much better afterwards, even if you did not actually "solve" any of your problems.

- write your goals down; this has the two-fold advantage of making you clearly outline specific, measurable, actionable goals rather than, in your mind, thinking "I want to be big!" or "I want to lose weight!"; when you write something down, it forces you to be more specific and realistic. furthermore, and most importantly, when you write down a goal it is like signing a covenant with yourself. this totally changes the whole approach to setting a goal: for myself, when I write down a specific goal and commit, in writing, to carrying one through, there is an incredible feeling of responsibility that looms over me... it is like signing a contract with yourself -- and to break it would be an enormous insult and moral travesty directed toward.....YOU!!!

- write letters to yourself...from your future self; pretend you are "you" in five years, sending back a letter to your younger (i.e. present) self. this forces you to see yourself from a third-person perspective, mentally removed from your own personality complexes and defense mechanisms which are currently holding you back or making you delude yourself. when you write in this way, suddenly all these self-delusions disappear and you have a certain 'clarity' of how to overcome your current obstacles....now, since your 'future self' is also the beneficiary of how you are living your life in the present, 'future self' tends to be quite ruthless. usually when I write a "letter" to myself, it takes the form of a bitch slap to the face in which I pep-talk myself out of my current rutt. works like a charm.

[ktrain91]

You know man, try keeping a journal. I know it sounds corny, but you should not discount the power of writing something rather than just "thinking". Here are a number of tips for keeping a journal:

- if you are depressed/unmotivated (usually the former is caused by the latter, remember that), try stream-of-consciousness writing. sit down and write/type whatever you are thinking. don't over-analyze or try to write "good", just write whatever comes to mind. incredibly therapeutic, and generally you feel much better afterwards, even if you did not actually "solve" any of your problems.

- write your goals down; this has the two-fold advantage of making you clearly outline specific, measurable, actionable goals rather than, in your mind, thinking "I want to be big!" or "I want to lose weight!"; when you write something down, it forces you to be more specific and realistic. furthermore, and most importantly, when you write down a goal it is like signing a covenant with yourself. this totally changes the whole approach to setting a goal: for myself, when I write down a specific goal and commit, in writing, to carrying one through, there is an incredible feeling of responsibility that looms over me... it is like signing a contract with yourself -- and to break it would be an enormous insult and moral travesty directed toward.....YOU!!!

- write letters to yourself...from your future self; pretend you are "you" in five years, sending back a letter to your younger (i.e. present) self. this forces you to see yourself from a third-person perspective, mentally removed from your own personality complexes and defense mechanisms which are currently holding you back or making you delude yourself. when you write in this way, suddenly all these self-delusions disappear and you have a certain 'clarity' of how to overcome your current obstacles....now, since your 'future self' is also the beneficiary of how you are living your life in the present, 'future self' tends to be quite ruthless. usually when I write a "letter" to myself, it takes the form of a bitch slap to the face in which I pep-talk myself out of my current rutt. works like a charm.

thats a interesting idea... ive written songs before but thats the only writing i really do anymore haha. i should try the writing letters to myself though cause harsh motivation always seemed to work for me.