No motivation in exercising
Hello.
I never liked exercising, and even when I was an athlete (10+ years ago) I hated warm-ups and such. Now I work from home, took a lot of weight and cannot do anything to improve. I have lived with depression all my life and now it's getting worse. I cannot set goals for myself (even if I were to lose 10 kilos, why should I care?) Plus, I've unjured my arm lately and cannot even do most basic movements. Basically, I don't love myself enough that I want to improve. I don't feel I'm worth of improving, I don't deserve effort. Do any of you have advice on how to overcome this feeling of unworthyness?
Omg I know. It's like this continuous cycle of self-loathing. I dunno if it helps, But you're certainly not the only one who feels like they are drowning in discouragement around exercise. It's like I have infinity excuses. I feel so lazy and unmotivated. I don't really have an awnser since I'm after one myself. It helped me to read that somone else goes through it to though. Like relieved some pressure. So thanks :)
@GirlKenny88
Yes, it's excuses you make yourself. Don't feel like wearing a sports bra, don't feel like laying on the cold floor doing crunches... I know they're all excuses, but cannot stop. It's just that laying on the couch is so... not scary. And the Spaghetti God knows I'm so damn tired of fighting fears and difficulties.
@friendlyDime1588
The secret is getting rid of fixed negative mindsets that developed and..
start thinking like you were playing as a kid,
when moving was fun, and it wasn't exercise..
it was doing what felt good..
making it a game..
making it as easy and fun as possible.
Ditch ideas about exercise and the gym..
that's all marketing hype from the fitness industry
trying to get you to read their articles and
sell you their equipment and their membership contracts.
Moving by itself can feel really good.
It can be very simple, like a quick stretch, or a quick dance move.
The trick is to experiment and find what you feel is fun and easy.
Forget big goals and pressuring yourself.
The secret to success is to..
Keep it mini tiny, so small and easy it takes almost no will power to do.
Like something you can do right now and only takes 30 seconds to do.
Do it and celebrate what feels good right away.
Say: Yay! You did it. You're having fun! And it feels good!
Then just repeat that and see what works.
Modify what you do over time as you come up with new ideas.
Add music.
Find videos you like on YouTube to move to.
Then as you start to re-learn to like moving like you were as a small kid,
the mini tiny small habits will grow into
all kinds of fun movement things you discover you like to do.
It takes time but it's all constant progress that way.
I posted many threads with idea videos if you need ideas.
Let us know what you think you might like
and we can help you figure it out more if needed.
@friendlyDime1588- brave of you to share your life with us. Congratulations- that is the first step towards healing and better health. Easy for me right now after spending a lot of the past 6 months in crisis/depression/angst. Please get up at least once a day for a short walk- start with 5 minutes- small baby steps. Research has proven that a simple beginning with attainable goals will give you confidence to continue. We do care for you.
@friendlyDime1588
I feel the same way!
@friendlyDime1588
Hi there!
Looks like you have gotten some lovely suggestions from others in the community!.. I am going to move your post to our "EXERCISE AND ACTIVITY" section here in our Healthy Living Subcommunity! Thank you for sharing with us and hopefully you will continue to get the responses that you are looking for.
@friendlyDime1588
Hi there!
Looks like you have gotten some lovely suggestions from others in the community!.. I am going to move your post to our "EXERCISE AND ACTIVITY" section here in our Healthy Living Subcommunity! Thank you for sharing with us and hopefully you will continue to get the responses that you are looking for.
Hello @friendlyDime1588, paradoxically I read that exercise could alleviate depression (sources below). Perhaps then exercise is worth trying. At least try exercising 4-5 days a week for a month routinely and see if it has any effect on your feeling of well-being. I also can relate to you that I did not find exercising (in and of itself) an enjoyable activity, but I learned calisthenics and made a tangible progress in quite a short time. That progress made me realize that my effort paid off (and will continue to pay off) if I am persistent in pursuing my goal.
I know that it is difficult to convince you now that you deserve love and you are worthy, which is why I should not try it. (Though I will state clearly that you deserve love and that you are worthy of every effort a human being can exert). However, it seems that the first step you have to take is also the most difficult: to exercise even when you don't have any motivation towards it. Once you begin exercising, you can see for yourself if exercise can increase your well-being.
Sources:
I am trying to find motivation and start losing weight too... I have been looking for some healthy nutriotion plans and maybe some worout programmes. Also, I would appreciate any help with healthy and working supplements. I found some good ones on Canada Pharmacy, for example, but I would also like to get any tips from you here, thanks!