Loosing Motivation

[carternm31]

Hello all, I haven't posted on here before, but I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and what I need to do going forward.

Basically just over 2 months ago I quit smoking, and also lost my job, to pass the time and to ensure I didn't gain any extra pounds I took to our local gym. First I started just doing a different class (body pump, hard core, hard drive etc) every day and having Wednesday and Saturday off. After a month I felt no better, so I upped this, and joined the local TNT training.

So now my training regime is class or TNT every morning and swimming every evening, morning is High intensity and evening is mainly for cardio. I have saturdays off. I also adjusted my eating habbits, I have cut down significantly on the amount of carbs I used to consume in the evenings. started buying 'clean' foods and oils in which to cook them, added vitamin supplements daily. I have also started eating 3 set meals a day (previously used to just eat dinner) and have also cut down on my alcohol intake.

I am not sure if I am fighting my body against the natural weight gain of when you stop smoking, or whats going on but I have barely seen any results in 2 months. My bmi is average, but my body fat is still high (35%) but my main concern is the fact I have not toned in the slightest? and I have gained weight? I am starting to loose motivation now, some people say that only after 3 months you start to see a physical difference, is this true? I have researched so much, I am not sure what else I can do?

[ChangeOfStyle]

Listen carefully mate, results won't always show up quickly - and many factors impact the effectiveness of those results. For example, if you train consistently and with intensity for 4 days a week, results will show in a month or two and if you train for let's say 2 days a week, your results will still show however the time may vary and so will the effectiveness of it. Diet also is a factor that plays into attaining results however what really matters is *quality of character* and by this I am referring to the quality of Perseverance. You can have good genetics, you can have good luck but perseverance is always more sufficient and effective then both as it's the will to proceed no matter the challenge or outcome. I don't look towards the time of my results, I only intensify my training day to day and the results soon start to show. You just need to remember that consistency and intensity will always lead to attaining results but you just need to have patience.

Cardio is also what you should be doing alot mate if you want to lose some BF - it seems you already have your diet in plan by eating healthy foods and consuming the proper nutrients which is great but you must do cardio alot.

Don't lose the motivation mate, because that's always what's driving you. Results are near, it can be a work-out away and you will never know. Don't stop now and proceed on forward. Hit the cardio with intensity, keep to your diet and keep on going.

[starseller]

Caternm31, Please remember your why you did wanted to lose weight, remember this vision that perhabs was to look lean in the mirror, to be able to wear those jeans that you cant at the moment. it may be the feeling of being light and joyful about yourself since you are eating better and exercising now.

Whatever the case may be, whenever you feel a drop in motivation remember yourself WHY you did started this journey. Like ChangeOfStyle said, results wont come over night, i stopped all alchool intakes, no carbs except 1 meal per week. rigourous constent training is key too. cheer up my friend! Im sure you drop those pounds if you give it all!

[corsair773]

I would suggest taking a very careful look at your diet/nutrition. When anyone cuts calories they usually begin to lose weight even without any exercise. The fact that you've gained weight suggests that perhaps you did not cut as many calories as you think. I would recommend keeping a food log, weighing the stuff you eat and calculating how many calories you are taking in and comparing that to your "maintenance calorie requirement".

I suggest reading the stickies in the "Nutrition" forum and trying your best to adhere to the advice given there. Calculate your macros, cut calories - it's a lot of work but it will be worth it long-term. It will get easier the longer you do it and you will develop routines for calculating macros etc. and it will become second nature after a while.

As an example, it takes a deficit of 7700 kcal to lose 1 kg. This means that to lose 1 kg in 2 weeks you must maintain a calorie deficit of around 550 kcal a day. That's a large deficit! I definitely feel a little hungry when I train hard and eat at 550 kcal below my maintenance requirement. But if someone eats only 100-200 kcal below their maintenance then it might take them 1 month to lose 1 kg. This is all rough estimation but it's not far from the truth. This is why being even a few hundred calories off in your calorie intake can mean the difference between progress and plateau.

One thing you said is you cook foods in oils. Oils are very calorie-rich and frying stuff can add a huge number of calories to an otherwise healthy food. You should minimise the use of oil, butter, fat etc. to keep the calories low. I think that if you educate yourself on nutrition, cut your daily calories and keep a really good look out at how much you're eating you should start seeing a difference after a month. Good luck!

[carternm31]

Thankyou for your comments, Maybe 2 months was a little too soon to expect any results. Not so much bothered by weight loss, more just seeing definition in my stomach and arms, which at the moment still look "flabby" . Not working, not smoking, being in a new country has taken its toll and I know I need to suck it up and find the motivation, it's just harder some days than others. Today was a good day, and I really enjoyed my cardio.

Thanks again, I will be logging my progress more thoroughly this time round.

[willinspires]

I see you have already received a great ton of awesome tips and they are all true. My take on it is simply if 2 months pass by and no results keep going because stopping there and giving up will have you going back to 0 while sticking to it will compound 3 months then 4 then 5 and so own. Put it in your mind no matter how long it takes you must keep going.

A good thing to do though for sure is to take a step back and analyze your routine see where you can improve it and then apply the changes and keep it going. Always be better than you were the day before, the week before the month before the year before! Stay consistent, stay focus and the results will come in do time.