It seems that I do everything right for about 2 weeks straight and then i get to one day and i completely ruin my diet :cry: Does anyone else have this problem? And does anyone have some advice on keeping motivated and cracking down on these days so i keep my progress rolling.

-Take before pictures. Tape one to your bathroom mirror, and another to your fridge. Now you will see this pic every morning when you wake up, every evening before bed, and every time you go to grab a cold beer. This could motivate you to stay on track.

-Find a picture of your ideal physique. For my first major transformation, long ago, it was pictures of Roger Applewhite, Bill Phillips, and Arnold. Tape the pictures to the mirror, your home-gym wall, or whatever. Picture yourself looking like that some day.

-Tell people. Tell your parents, kids, friends, girlfriend, whatever. Tell them about your goals. Assuming they're supportive (I hope so), ask them to check up on you every week or so and ask about it. Make yourself accountable to them as well as yourself. Knowing they'll check up on you can help you stay on track. Imagine admitting to them "I fell off the wagon...again." Now imagine telling them "I'm down 2% bodyfat and I bench pressed 10 more pounds this week than I did last week!"

I've got a few more, but search around the forum a bit. There should be some good ideas here.

We have a lot of tips, but the bottom line is if you don't want it, you don't want it. We can't make you stay on track. :)

One meal or one "cheat" doesn't ruin a day or even a week...today, for example, was a rough day for me.
I returned from my friend's music concert 4 hours later than I would (around 1am) then I had to get up at 6. At 6 I wasn't hungry, and in my morning haste I didn't pack as much food as I usually do..just a couple pears, a small thing of cheese, a few crackers, and an avocado...there were cookies next to the tea at my school today, so I rather than be starving, I chose to eat the cookies...

Ok, so here we are at 1pm. I'm exhausted, and I've already eaten some food that isn't great, to say the least....I could easily call this a cheat day and do whatever, just do whatever regardless, etc. Or I can chalk it up to weakness/haste/self-blame, forget about it and move forward.

I plan to sleep a few hours, eat healthy the rest of the day and work out later tonight.

I really hate touting the Dr. Phil line of "If you don't want it..." There are extenuating circumstances, there are days when you just don't have it in your to get up at 4:45am to work out, and days when a burger sounds better than a PWO shake. The question isn't whether or not you want it, or even how bad..everyone *wants* it and many people who want to be fit very badly still dont' get what they want...the question is: How *consistent* can you be?

If you can just do *something* everyday, that's better than nothing...I think about this in terms of learning Hebrew...if I can just learn *one* word today, that's more than I knew yesterday...the same is true of fitness. If you screw up completely for a day, or even a week, it's just a small setback in the bigger picture. Deal with it, forgive yourself, forget about it, and move on.

"Always move forward." My dad's greatest piece of advice.

It seems that I do everything right for about 2 weeks straight and then i get to one day and i completely ruin my diet :cry: Does anyone else have this problem? And does anyone have some advice on keeping motivated and cracking down on these days so i keep my progress rolling.

In my experience, lots of workouts and nutrition progams work ... what is different between success and failure is the mindset ... in other words, most people have this issue and in order to address it, you'll need to tackle the mindset. I wish I could explain everything in a post but there really is so much information that I wrote an entire book about it ... that's the one in my signature. It's NOT a diet/workout book, but a book that focuses specifically on the mindset and frustration.

Why not check it out - a purchase benefits the website. You can see from the reviews just how it addresses exactly what you are referring to.

Best of health and success,

Jeremy Likness

It's not about motivation. It's about discipline.

Everyone wants to improve themselves - that's what motivation is. If the whole physical transformation game was about only motivation, everyone would succeed. The key is to be discplined when your motivation is flagging.

What do I mean? This morning I absolutely did not want to get up to go to the gym for my cardio. I was not motivated to do it. Inside of me, I said to myself that missing one session would not harm my progress overall.

A month or so ago, I would have perhaps let that side of me win the argument there and then. However, half the battle is discpline and routine. Missing one session is letting your bad self win. It's letting your mind control your body. You must control your body. I said to myself that I hadn't missed a session since I started SGX, and I wasn't about to start doing that now just because I didn't fancy going to the gym. So I got up, went to the gym and did my cardio.

I now feel a great sense of achievement. I overcame the inner-demons and showed that even if I have increased my weights on squats, deadlifts and bench press lately, the greatest strength improvement for me has come in my discipline.

Make working out and eating right as big a part of your life as your job and your family. You don't go to work because you're motivated to do so, right? You do it because it needs to be done. Sure, sometimes you enjoy working, but a lot of the time you'd rather stay in bed.

You have to elevate your fitness and diet regime to that same status, and once you get in that groove, you will feel truly unstoppable.

Thanks all for your posts...I really appreciate it and i take it to heart. Thanks again!

Texan4Life,

I applaud you for seeking ways to conquer your obstacles. I think setting "absolutes" for yourself is dangerous, and I did this for years and it worked against me. One slip, and I was ready to give myself permission for eating and drinking mayhem.

Once I could forgive myself a little, and remember I had to just pick up and move forward, I made real progress.

Two positive books I re-read which help motivate me are:

1. "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield
2. "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" by Tom Venuto

Though this may be a little misquoted, a friend reminded me yesterday of something Jean Paul Sartre wrote, which is a slightly different spin on getting down to business:

"Who said you should be happy? Do your work."

E.

As someone whose made this same mistake, I can tell you that usually it's about negative re-enforcement. Dumping a routine after 2 weeks, it's probably a reaction to stress. Talk to friends when you get the urge to ditch your workout or have comfort foot, hopefully they can keep you grounded.

BEST OF LUCK!