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Okay it is not part of my MO but I am going to ask the group for Help.
I’ve been feeling kinda lazy over the last couple of days.
Yes, I have worked out but ....
1) Not as strong as I normally do.
2) Dreading every step of it.
3) Feeling as though my life is not mine because I have to work out/eat well and it’s becoming something I am not looking forward to each day.
4) Can’t find an activity that I love and will stick to (I feel as though I’ve tried it all).
I know that exercise and eating well is good for me. I know I feel better because of it. Yes I know it. But living it is a totally different thing.
I’m not approaching a stressful circumstance, I am just tired of it all.
I’m tired of feeling guilty if I don’t work out.
I’m tired because I feel as though I’ve been exercising my whole life (and I mean from when I was really young 7/8) and I’m still not at a body I am proud of.
Yes, I’ve lost a lot of weight and feel great about it - but it took a lot of hard work and I’m tired and the thought of having to do this my whole life - scarry.
Hey… you’ve done great but you just can’t overcome the “human” thing that you just happen to be.
You know to focus on your success already so I wont say anything about that at all. And you know that you body is build to exercise your entire life and only stops when it’s time to die so I won’t focus on that. And you know that everything in life is’ scary so having some control over your body no matter how small is really easy.... so I won’t say anything about that. Nope… I won’t say a thing.
The truth is.. you’ve done great and you deserve to be feeling a little burnt. Heck - I do too. In fact, I’m about ready to take 6 days off without any workout and with plans to loosen up my diet a bit. My head and my body need the break so I’m going to take it.
Of course, I also have plans not to gain a pound.. which means I can go up to 15 oz and still be fine right?
The point is - everything you are experiencing is very human and you will get that body you want when you can master and balance your workouts and diet with your life. Why not start now? Take the pressure off yourself but keep yourself on track. Try new stuff or even try a break. Experiment with your plan and see what results you get… at least that will keep you motivated and inspired.
Trust me - everybody… and I mean everybody who is successful passes through these feelings and eventually learns to master them to the point of almost being automatic.
Rock on and have some fun! After all, life is all about living… even when life gets in the way!
It’s good to hear that I am not alone in this boat and perhaps I am a little burnt out.
I’m kind of like a kid that gets a brand new toy and then gets sick of it after a while. Then I feel guilty for not playing with because I’ve whined and complained that I wanted that toy for a long time.
When you wrote that you were planning to take 6 days off without any workouts. I am SO not there yet. If I wrote that I swear I would probably gain weight just writing it LOL.
I hope that one day I can get to that point. I need to take your advice and learn to balance my exercise life with some rest days. I find that on the rest days I do not feel necessarily like resting so I go at it full throttle or at least half throttle.
Do I need to totally do absolutely nothing on my rest days?
Thanks again for your support Scott. Enjoy your days off. You deserve it since you do so much for so many people!
Believe me, we’ve all been there! Like Scott said, what you’re going through is called “being human,” and last I checked we all are in that boat.
But let me try offering a few suggestions to get you back on track.
First, it sounds like you’re trying to do a lot at once. If you tried to do too much, too quickly, it’s possible that you’re going through a bit of backlash. Try cutting back on one or two areas and focus on only one until you’re comfortable with it. Remember, it’s the little changes over time that will get you where you’re going: the 10 minutes a day of cardio, not the 2-hour session once every two weeks. Slow and steady really does win the race.
In terms of moving, there are so very many activities out there that I can’t believe you’ve tried everything. “Exercising” doesn’t need to mean a health club! There’s karate, dance, sports, long walks on the beach… anything! If you like, try some “fitness personality” quizzes online like this one or this one to get some ideas. I bet you’ll be inspired!
Finally, don’t feel guilty! You’re moving your life in the right direction, and even if you hit a few stumbling blocks along the way, you’ll get there in the end! It’s only a matter of time! (I wrote a post last year in this forum called ”The Metaphor of the Mountain” which touches on this—you might want to check it out.)
Good luck, and keep moving! And if you’ve got more questions, just come back and ask again!
Wow!
Thanks Julie for your words of encouragement.
And you are absolutely 100% right. No 110%.
I am doing too much too soon, not hydrating myself enough and not resting properly.
I’ve really gotta find balance though.
When I have my eye on the prize though, I just want to go FULL THROTTLE.
Probably because I fear that if I stop or slow down, I will stop.
I did try out the quizzes you sent. It was a little tough so I just tried to find the answers that were closest to my persona.
I found that I am competitive (there goes my full throttleness) and that I should exercise in groups.
So I need to investigate this more since it involves others and my schedule can get a little crazy at times.
That’s why I exercise solo alot because I am alone a lot. I travel (out of city, state, country) 50% of my time for my work but have a lot of downtime in the evenings, however I prefer to exercise in the morning. That’s why I do exercise DVD, go for walks in the morning, or exercise in the Hotel Gym, walk in the mall.
I loved your post on the mountain. It reminds me of a mountain called Satan’s Hill in Tennessee that I had to climb two years ago at a Fitness Camp that I went to. It was tough but I toughed it out. Very interesting.
Thanks again for your support and I am open to change. I have to do this for the long haul so I’ve gotta feel good about the exercise that I do.
Competitive and exercise in groups, huh? Does your company have an office sports team? I bet you’d be the star player!
Seriously, as I look at your list of stuff you do (DVDs, walks, hotel gym, etc.), those all strike me as solitary, non-competitive things! No wonder you’re getting bored! If you really can’t work out in groups because of your schedule, how about this as an idea: start a pool among your co-workers or friends for who can do the most push-ups in a certain amount of time, or who walks the furthest in a given week, or whatever. Everyone puts in a dollar at the beginning of the week, and the winner takes the pot. That way, you’re turning non-competitive activities into a competition!
Just remember what I said about going too fast to start off though! Just because you’re in a competition doesn’t mean you should start hurting yourself! Drink lots of water, and listen to your body: it’ll tell you when it’s being pushed too far.
Let me know how it goes! We’re all cheering for you!
You are just so creative, Julie.
Thanks for thinking of that idea.
I hate being a “Ya But” girl because as a speaker I run into them all the time.
The workouts are solitary because I work for myself, I have no co-workers and I just moved to my area so making friends at that level have been a little tough because I do go away for biz a lot.
Joining a gym to do a fitness class is not cost effective because I am not at home alot (thus have no car).
I am trying to find a way to make it competitive for myself. I’m looking on the internet for drop in classes. So I am really trying to find something that I really like. I am feeling much better however, I really think I need to deal with this issue or I will continue to go up and down the scale, up and down in health etc.
Do you do business regularly with other companies, who might be interested in the “workout pool” idea? Or maybe you’ve got friends in Far Away Places who will do it with you? Heck, you can use MTM if you want, that’s what the Crunchapalouza and Push-up-alouza are for!
If there’s no company sports team (because you work on your own), does your community have a local team? Is there a place active people congregate near you (bike trails, rivers for kayaking or swimming, hiking areas, parks, etc.)? Have you checked the “Local Motivation” forum to see if there are any MTMers near you (you may be surprised!)?
Just a few thoughts to get you started. How about a thought experiment: instead of asking yourself “why won’t think work?” (which is what you seem to be doing), change the question around and ask, “how can I make this work?” It’s quantum linguistics, and just changing the phrasing may make all the difference.
Teresa, how ya doing? I just realize I haven’t heard from you in a bit, and I hope everything’s going great! How about a little post to let us all know how things are working out for you?
Hey Julie!!!!!
Well I definetly took your advice.
I was willing to try anything because I just thought I was at the end of my rope here.
But I was definetly burnt out and needed a rest. I took about 3 days off - still did a walk here and there - but not as intense as before.
I got some new DVDs.
I got an IPOD which is just awesome now for my walks.
And I joined a fitness class. Tonight I went to a belly dancing class and it was alot of fun. I so sweated up a storm! It felt like a real work out although it was fun.
I definetly was exercising alone too much. I needed to get out. When you move to a new area and are not home alot due to being away from home for work, it can be difficult. But after your email, I searched the internet for a class I remembered being advertised in my area and I dropped in tonight.
It has also made me realize that if I can find a drop in class here I could probably find a drop in class where I am for work.
Thank you so much Julie for your support, suggestions and just checking in to see if I was okay I do appreciate it!
Thanks for popping back in! It’s great to hear from you!
First, ipods on walks—I’m *so* with you! I think I’d go nuts on my walks if I didn’t have my podcasts and music with me. I swear, these little mp3 players have changed the way I move.
Belly dancing, huh? I bet it’s fantastic! I know a few friends who do belly-dancing, and they love it. I’ve tried a class or two, and it’s lots of fun. Even better: once you start becoming a regular, you’ll make friends with all the other belly-dancers, and you’ll start meeting them outside of class to do stuff, and you’ll have an amazing time at *that*, too! Ain’t it great?
