DaninTexas

I just had to make that confession. I am making myself get back on it tonight as soon as I get home from work. No matter how I feel. I was doing so good for awhile there to.

I could make an excuse about how I took a vacation out of town - but that only took up 5 days. It does not excuse 13.

I see myself slipping once again like I have always done - like so many in the Clyde section probably have done.

Not beating myself up over it - I am just posting here to give myself the kick in the pants I need.

So obviously weight loss is a great motivator to a point. But what keeps some of you guys/gals moving who have lost 10+ 25+ 50+ 100 lbs or more?

squirtdad

Can you commute by bike... if you can you are guaranteed 2 rides a day......and in the afternoon if you aren't motivated.....well your choices are limited

Basically I just like riding..... and i have 2 bikes one to keep out and use for errands, commuting etc so that it is easy to make the choice to ride not drive and my road bike for longer weekend rides. I try to get the weekend rides in before other stuff gets in the way. try scheduling the ride. Also try to schedule rides with friends, so it is not just you who is involved.

Surrealdeal

I have two young kids, and before I was trying to get my exercise in after I got them down, at 10PM or later. After cleanup etc. I was hitting the sack at midnight or so which left me tired all the time and sometimes unmotivated to keep going. As it warmed up I wanted to switch from the treadmill to my bike, but was often frustrated b/c I didn't want to take long rides at night and the only realistic time of the week to ride was the weekend, which as a family man, is often booked up leaving no time for long rides.

Anyway, like Squirtdad, in mid May I began commuting - to increase my frequency of riding, the number of miles that I ride and (Most important) to get it all in during a time of the day that allows me to tuck my kids to bed and then go to sleep myself. Commuting provides me with a routine, gives me some excellent alone time (I'm an introvert) and another nice thing about commuting is that my co-workers are unwittingly employed as accountability partners - When I drive in I need to be ready to explain why I skipped my ride that day!

BTW - Since this is a weight loss question related to motivation, another thing that helps motivate me (in the realm of eating, not riding) is to use the nutritional widget at mapmyride.com - I play it like a game, to see if I can keep my calories fats and carbs from going over 100%. I don't expect that it is 100% accurate but I use it as a rule of thumb and it has helped me to discipline myself in my portions as well as cutting back on snacks.

Anyway take or leave anything I wrote for what it's worth - some of this may help you, I know it's helped me. I've lost 33# since mid February. It's coming off slow but I mean for it to stay off this time.

Good luck on your journey, man!

SouthFLpix

Lack of having a car. That's a pretty big motivation right there.

10 Wheels

I like to Ride......I ride in the dark, rain, heat, fog, tropical storms, hurricanes, with a sore butt, tired legs.

If you look for reasons NOT to Ride you won't ride.

sillygolem

It's always too hot this time of year to ride where I'm at, so I plan on doing a bike-related project or two so I have something I really want to ride when the temperatures are more reasonable. Right now I'm fixing up a hybrid a friend found in a dumpster and I'm waiting on a freewheel for a vintage build I'm doing. I still walk in the mornings to try and keep some exercise going.

Now that I'm at a healthy weight, I'm not sure if I want to go ahead and drop a few more pounds to get a six-pack. (That's why we're doing this, right? However, I still have riding and exercise goals, so I find I'm still losing a little weight, just not at the rate I was when I was really concentrating on it.

The most important thing to remember is that stopping doesn't mean you've failed. Not riding for thirteen days doesn't keep you from riding today.

kenoshi

Not dying from stroke/heart attack/diabetes is a great motivator for me.

Besides I'm kind of addicted...I didn't ride today, cause I woke up late, and kid is sick so didn't go into work until 11am. And I hate it, cause I'm missing out on this great weather.

Like 10 wheels said, if you look for reasons not to ride, you won't ride. I look for reasons to ride all the time...So during my free time I'm out on the road somewhere. Commuting is a great way to accrue some miles as well.

DaninTexas

Just got done with my ride. Pretty rough going - but I loved every second of it. First ride where I ditched the gell fatty seat. The stock seat is going to take some getting used to - but I like it better I think then the extra wide seat.

squirtdad - I wish I could commute via bike. I would do it in a second. But one way is 36 miles on Houston highways. Not something I can accomplish right now.

Thanks for letting me vent guys. I posted this thread because I was talking myself out of biking while at work when I was feeling worn out and tired just sitting in front of a computer. Having this thread sorta of made me go out and as soon as I did I was glad. No matter how hot it was.

Thanks all. I think even after 1 ride I am back on track. Riding is just so much fun!

goldfinch

I think about how I am less tired now that I exercise. I go for a day or two off and it just feels wrong. Right now I am more or less out with an injury and I can't hardly stand it.

It took a couple of months to get addicted.

jethro56 

This is one of the reasons I suggest holding oneself back in the beginning. If you get off the bike knowing you could have done more, you'll look foward to next time. Later, you'll be able to leave it all out there and maybe have to force yourself to take a day off to recover.

Tex Bs

A riding partner may be a good idea? Sometimes knowing you made a commitment to someone else is a great motivator.

Crazydad

Glad you got out there! For me, all the reasons stated above and I posted in the 300 mile/month thread. During the week the only time I know I can ride is at 5:30 in the morning. When the alarm went off this morning, the bed was exerting a tremendous force on me and almost won. But I decided I was not going to fail at 300 miles and actually want to see how far over that I can go.

The other thing is it takes a while for habits to form and in the beginning it is easy to get off track. But once it does become a habit, I find I start feeling like crud, physically, if I go 3 or more of days without some kind of exercise.

snowdog650

My motivators:

1. I look in the mirror.
2. I watch the digital picture frame in the living room and see very few pictures of me over the past 3 years because I feel as though I am too large to be in a photo.
3. I lay out my biking clothes the night before in the middle of the living room floor.
4. I watch every stage of the TDF.
5. On my commute I only listen to cycling podcasts.
6. I step on the scale.
7. Did I mention that I look in the mirror?

Rona

I got rid of my car, so I dont have much choice in it.

Right now I'm suffering from kidney stones so I only bike to the grocery store. I miss biking longer distances and that is a big motivator to me. My hubby and I planned a big bike tour next month and I was in the middle of training for it when I got side tracked by these kidney stones. So I suggest setting up some kind of goal that ISN'T weight loss and is fun. Make a goal for a half century, or a century or a special bike vacation tour.

When you make riding a chore, it becomes a chore.

billyymc

Dan - sometimes its ok to take a little break. Maybe 13 days was too much, but when your body says take a break go ahead and do it. Just make sure you have a plan to get back in the saddle.

Set goals to accomplish....and tell people about them -- your wife or kids if you're married with a family, or friends. Not only will it motivate you to achieve those goals, it might motivate them to set some and be more active also.

And then, just ride in way that you enjoy, because that will be the biggest motivator of all. If you try to ride in some way that you don't enjoy, because you think there's a right or wrong way or a better or worse way, then you won't stick with it.

zowie

Scheduling charity rides that I have to train for.

myrridin

It took awhile, but the ride itself is my motivation. I just feel better on days I get a ride in versus those I don't. My rides are short (~ 10miles and less than a hour), and they are the first thing I do each day, no matter how early I have to get up.

DaninTexas

Perhaps I need to start doing this. Wife gets up around 530 to work out - maybe I need to stop hitting the snooze and getting a ride in first thing.

Seattle Forrest

I enjoy riding the bike, and feel like I'm missing something when I can't do it. I look forward to riding, it makes me happy, and it melts my stress away as an added bonus. I don't need to find the motivation to get on the bike; if anything, I sometimes have problems getting out of other obligations. But, frankly, I'm greedy about this, so if my GF wants to watch a movie or hang out with friends, I tend to meet her after we're both done doing our own things.

If you don't feel this way about cycling, perhaps there's something else that will get you outdoors, enjoying the fresh air, and pumping blood...?

BHOFM

I seem to have more problems fitting my life around my bike ridding than
vicie versie.....

It's too hot to mow, think I'll take a bike ride. We are down to half a loaf of
bread, better jump on my bike and run to the store. Think I'll ride down to
the corner and check the price of gas..

magohn

Perhaps this is your issue. Dont beat yourself up because your not jumping for joy at getting up at 5:30 to ride a bike. Biking is fun but there is a fine line where it jumps to being "work". I have been riding at least 3x a week since March 2010. My "secret" is 2-3 per week local 7 mile rides after work. They only take 30 mins or so are just enough to keep my legs going and keep my interest in the bike fresh. They are also short enough that its hard to talk myself out of the ride. Its also a great de-stresser after 8 hours sitting in a cube. Then at weekend I "usually" ride 20+ miles. More if Im training for a long sponsored ride or schedule allows.

This formula has allowed me to slowly lose 30+ lbs in weight (plenty more to go) and ride the 2010 and 2011 Seattle to Portland, 2 day events (204 miles each - back to back century days).

Myself and 3 other family members bought bikes in March 2010 to lose weight and get fit. I was goofed on for my "short" local rides as being a waste of time as the others blazed away at 20 mile rides everyday. 14 months later, Im the only one of the four still riding, the only one still losing weight and the only one whose bike isnt gathering dust in the garage....

Dont ride too far, too often and dont lose weight too much, too soon - it took us years to get how we are and it will be possibly years to reverse it.

This all works for me - YMMV

Neil_B

Hmm. I sense "magic pill" syndrome here. Are you feeling lack of motivation about riding a bike, or about weight loss? They aren't the same.

I was motivated to lose weight because of my health and because once I started I felt good about it.

I was motivated to ride a bike because I didn't know how and it looked like fun. Weight loss, thank God, was never a motivation for me. (I'd lost 125 pounds before I learned to ride.)

myrridin

It also has the advantage in Texas of being the coolest part of the day.

nutmegTN

If you schedule your ride to finish about when your wife finishes her workout you two can then have some time for your "reward!"

Back when I was able to avail myself of a wonderful daily reward like this, I was so motivated to get out and run that I found myself getting up even earlier in the mornings so I could have more time for the reward.

Doohickie

Alternately, ride late at night. That's what I've been doing lately. I started riding again in 2008 after 20 years away from cycling, when my job location changed and was much closer to home (7 miles each way). A year and a half ago, it changed again and now it's 17 miles. I continued to commute when I could but the distance is just kind of too far- it takes too much time out of my prime afternoon hours. With the heat, I've pretty much given up on commuting altogether for the time being. Instead, I go for a ride in the evening, after dinner, after dark. I'm trying to get into the habit of doing it every day, maybe an hour or so.