Maintenance Weekly 11th September 2006 - Maintaining Motivation

[Mitra]

I thought we could tie in with the monthly challenge this week, and think about the aspects of motivation that are particularly relevant to maintenance.

The obvious one is the time factor - maintenance goes on for a very long time. But there's also the lack of obvious "rewards." During the intervention stages, the positive changes are very motivating: changes in size & weight, reducing body fat, improving blood pressure or lipids, various other symptoms getting better or disappearing... At maintenance, there's just the reward of not getting all those bad things back again, which, of course is a very good thing, but not as captivating as seeing things change week by week.

Wanting to keep fitting into my current set of clothes is definitely a part of my motivation, and I'll confess to some addiction to the number I see on the scale :o . It's also useful that some of the effects of too many carbs are obvious quite quickly: getting sleepy after meals, crashing if I don't eat soon enough, fluid retention. I don't know that I'd say they motivate me, but they're like those textured lines on the edges of motorways - they give me an early warning before I've gone too far astray.

Keeping in touch with this board, and reading things like the Eadeses' blogs keep reminding me of the long term costs of eating badly, so they also play a part in maintaining motivation.

Do you find that motivation gets easier or harder as time goes by? (For me, it's easier, and more habitual, requires less active willpower.) What helps sustain your motivation for the long haul?

[cmcole]

I think lately my motivation has been to keep at it, partly as an example to my hubby, who is trying to get his blood sugar levels under control, and partly to see if I can work on the part where the remaining fat has settled - the abdomen.

I feel better when I eat more appropriately, but I find myself obsessing over the fitday entries. I'm such a statistical fiend, and sometimes I wonder why I need to do that.

I wonder if it keeps me in line, seeing the charts and numbers - an indication of slack behaviour or of consistency - whichever I have been doing.

[Relief]

I relate totally to the need/wish to lose ( excise?, excuse?) several pounds of bellyfat and skin. after 8 pregnancies and then menopause--:eek: I swear that there is at least 5 pounds of just SKIN hanging on there!

I have been thinking about motivation a lot lately and ask what do we really mean when we use that particular word especially when it come to this WOE.
do we mean the REASON we need to eat this way or the determination to actually do it and very often the reason--weight and poor health-- seem strong enough to actually propel some people into DOING it. afte being on this woe for over 6 years, I both have been on and off plan and have lost determination, gotten it back, have fallen off the wagon, gotten back on and have finally arrived at a place where I no longer even think about motivation. Eating this way is second nature and I do not have to excersize "will power" to overcome any "temptations" which will lure me "off Plan" I just dont' even think that way anymore. I do eat " this" I don't eat " that" period Now, it seems easy:D it was't always so!

after years of watching people on this board cone and go , succeed and fail I have noticed a couple of major catagories of issues that come up over and over which are behind folks " losing thier motivation" and drifting away.

the first is a lack of confidence/belief in this WOE-- either that it won't work for them, that it will be "too hard" ,or that it is unhealthy, the latter belief fueled by media and by unhelpful comments by overbearing family and friends. this is where the internet has been so beneficial both in education--the amount of material to convince one of the health benefits is huge--and in the support area so that if you close associates are un supportive you have somewhere to go to get that confidence bolster to keep plugging away. personality types that "need to know why" ( like me :D ) can find every bit of information needed to solve any problem and more social types who need community can find that as well. I do think that most of the people who say they "know they should" but don't, are really still in this place of no confidence that this WOE will make a difference. ( sure there are personality types who are just plain stubborn enough to refuse to change just " because" but I believe that that is true pathology--like my ex who is basically killing himself: overwieght, diabetic, and has heart disease--does all the research on-line, "knows all about it" and just won't do it--I think he has a death wish!)

the second issue is carb addiction, and a misunderstanding of that mecahnism which IMHO covers a large portion of the problems/ excuses which lead to people falling away: stress eating, emotional eating, I just couldn't say no, " i can't seem to stop eating it" and on in that vein. when people blame themselves for a lack of will power and beat up on their poor little selves--it doesn't make for an inner climate that leads to success. Once most of us understood that the tlittle voice that says " I need that" was the addiction talking, and rooted out those foods that were causing us to stay in that craving spot ( which can be very individual wheat/gluten and dairy being prime suspects besides sugar, but it could be coffee or soy or ANYTHING for you personally)-- magically that need to have will power just disapearred. I really truley think that anyone who is troubled by stress eating derailing them should think carefully about addiciton. and see what part it is playing. I don't think that there is anything worng with eating when you are stressed out emotionally--as long as what you are eating is steak and asparagus instead of a deep fried twinkie!

when I was thinking this through this morning I thought that there was a third catagory of "excuses" but the brain has gone dead.

NOW if I could only figure out how to apply all this thinking to why I cannot get myself down the stairs to my very own home gym to work out! I guess I must still be in that place where I don't really believe that it will do any good--or ENOUGH good that it is worth the pain that I will surely experience the first few days :lol: