I'd like to open a discussion based on some insights i've picked up over the years and which have only recently sunk in.
I don't think motivation is enough. Motivation is fleeting, it's too affected by emotions and external factors - you have a rough day and can't sustain it, or your friends are all gorging on dominos pizza right next to you. Very few people have high motivation every day and every hour to keep them pointed in the right direction. I think what's more important is discipline, committing to small achievable habits, implemented daily.
Through my teenage years I carried puppy fat, and at university my diet and alcohol tipped my weight up again. Then into my career, as much as I wanted to be physically active, my job took priority and I told myself there wasn't time to work out regularly and eat well all the time. I've never been clinically overweight (top BMI was 24 or 25), but I was carrying more than I needed and felt lethargic and unhealthy. But - intertwined through all of these years, I had periods of exceptionally high motivation, where i'd jump out of bed and head straight to the gym for 2.5 hours, and significantly reduce my food intake for a few weeks in a row. And I saw results - I would be able to lose weight and look good (could get my BMI to about 20 this way). But, surprise surprise, after a few months the extra kgs would creep back.
I've since learnt that our body has a fat-set, or the level of fat which our body holds as its base line. Mine has always been higher than i'd like, and it's the weight my body reverts to naturally. The fat set is believed to be set when we are a baby or child - from diet and lifestyle factors in early years, as well as some genetics. It's so ingrained in our body's internal functions that it's extremely difficult to override - you can't trick it with a diet! Furthermore, when we diet, we make our body think it's starving which slows our metabolism right down - that's why when we eat 'normally' again, we often pile back even more, because we're processing everything more slowly. It's also why 97 percent of dieters regain everything they lost and then some within three years :O.
But, the good news is, we're not permanently stuck with our fat-set, it can be altered but not in the short term. To create sustainable change to your body, it takes years of habit setting and daily disciple - we have to reach a new 'normal'. For the last 2 years, i've used the discipline of small daily habits - things like 10 daily press ups, switching in a healthy snack in replacement of a previously unhealthy snack, drinking at least 6 glasses of water, etc and building on them over time. What's key is that the conscious habits turn to subconscious behaviours and then your normal lifestyle - on average making a new habit subconscious takes at least 66 days according to studies. My diet is now under 20% processed (and I don't crave processed), I work out 5 or 6 days a week, I love my energy levels, my brain functions better, and i've started competing in triathlons. I'm even close to having a six pack. Anyone can do this, but it does take years not weeks or months.
I'd love to learn how others have found sustainability over the long term? Do you rely on motivation or discipline or both? And do you commit yourself to small daily habits and stick to them? I've taught myself about some of the science behind body weight gain and loss, so happy to chat more about that :)
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/gdtx4z/discussion_motivation_is_unreliable_small/
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