Lacking in Motivation

I'm sorry if there is a topic on this somewhere already but i couldn't find it.
I've been wanting to get fit for a while now, bulk up a little, trim up here and there. Make myself look good. And yes I understand that some of you might believe that appearances aren't everything and that is correct, but to most, appearances do play a factor, and thats why i've been wanting to do this such a long time. Every time i start working out or going for a swim or run, i always lose motivation.
it sucks, i want this but i always lose motivation. Working out is one of those things where you don;t see an improvement straight away, it takes some time. And since i don't see any improvements, i lose that motivation. And i get lazy.. hahaha...

What does everyone think on this topic? Any tips and/or secrets to gain more motivation?
Help a brother out haha...

I'm about to write a blog as well to further discuss this topic on appearances and so on...
So feel free to drop by, have a chat and add

You should join the weight loss group, all the info and advice you might want all in a single location.

Well I'm not actually fat, its just that the fat that is on my body can easily be turned into muscle, and so i only really gotta lose like 5-10kg's and the rest of it gets turned into muscle... But thanks for that, i will look into it!

Frankly, some of the self-helpers have some really good advice.

I recommend:
(Peronal) Ed Blunt, an actor, motivational speaker, and life coach. He's a personal friend of one of my professors, so he gave us a very inexpensive day-long workshop. Even the people going in with a negative attitude were really inspired.
(Practical) David Allen, author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity. That book can actually change your life. Getting organized, getting junk out of your mind to free up your attention to the things you're actually doing, goal visioning, etc. will all go a long way to motivating you. (My friend Jessica recommends Julie Morgenstern, David Allen's arch-nemesis.)

Classy.

I find it helps if I take something to read or listen to. If I look forward to listening to a book reading on my ipod I look forward to mindlessly going up and down on the treadmill.

Also, there's the threat that if I don't move everyday my discs will start to flair up in my back and I won't be able to walk. If you're not fat, perhaps you could wait to get sick, that definitely motivated my ass.

Find a workout buddy or two and commit to working out together a couple times a week. Set goals together like "by February we're going to be able to bench press *whatever*" or "by February we're going to be able to run *however many miles*" or something that isn't weight or appearance focused.

Yeah, my workout buddy unfurtunately lives an hour away and sleeps when i work, and i sleep when he works. I should find someone thou, thats a good idea... And i love listening to my ipod as im running. I figure im generally fit cause i can get on the treadmill and run 3-5km's. And then be able to get in the pool and swim another km. So i figured im fit enough, but i still got the love handles hanging around. And thats my main focus, trim them up. Goals are good... Gonna try that...

That's kinda funny, because today I was thinking "By February I'm going to loose 30 lbs and drop a waist size" I fail at attainable goals :-)

But the other part of the goal is to get in the habit of waking up in the AM even though I don't have to be to work until 2 pm, and to set aside an hour in the morning for working out, and 30 minutes for meditating. I've got a decent diet I know I can go back into. I've found online calorie journals to be very good tools, as long as you're honest with them.

Whats a good online calorie journal.. Like website or what ever... I might try that out. Today i started my swimming in the mornings. Every morning im going to go swimming for 5 or 6 days a week. I do some workouts every 2nd day. By the end of the new year i want to be able to achieve 100 consecutive push ups. I started training for that 2 weeks ago. I could only do 14 which i was dissapointed in myself. This morning tested myself and i reached 43 consecutive push ups. So my goal is to be able to do 100 consecutive push ups by the new year, plus swim 5 times a week every week before i go back to uni and possibly start running again in the evenings.

http://caloriecount.about.com

Is the one I used. You can enter recipies and it'll break down their nutrional value.

You might also try Men's Health which has an online trainer program that sets up diet and exercise programs and has calorie trackers and other tools to measure progress. You are also prompted every time you log in enter your meals and log your workout before you get the next set.

Also fat cannot be turned into muscle anymore than lead can be turned into gold. You can lose fat and build muscle, but one does not turn into the other.

Cheers for that, i'll take that on board

Motivation is crucial. I have to gain weight and rebuild my health due to chronic illness and face the same problems. You have to be inspired and you have to be dedicated.

For me, the threat of being hospitalized was the only thing that gave me that motivation but I'm stubborn and lazy.



Good luck.

Finding sports or activities that you truly enjoy can help a lot, too. For me, it's hiking and capoeira. I get tired of just going to the gym. Even though staying fit and healthy ought to be good motivation, what really keeps me going is the satisfaction I get out of the actual activity.

FitDay is another good calorie counting website, and it also has sections to track activities/calories burnt, moods, etc.