[ihavethemusicinme]

There is probably a thread that has been started before with this topic, but how do you stay motivated? I stay motivated by trying on a size 14 pants every 2 weeks that my mom bought me for Christmas. When I first got them I couldn't even button them! Now I can button and zip them. I could probably get away with wearing them in public, but I need to lose a couple of more inches first! I'd love to hear some ways y'all stay motivated!

[Brandis]

Sometimes it is hard to stay motivated. But I agree with the whole clothes thing. I have a dress my mother-in-law gave me that is really too tight. But I put it on the other day and could finally get all the parts where they should be. Don't get me wrong, it definitely does not look good. But it will! Soon! And eventually there will come a time when it is too small!

[Chain]

I really love weight lifting, which makes me look forward to doing things that will make me better at it like eating a high-protei/ low-carb diet and lifting routinely. Those things also happen to cause weight-loss.

I never had this kind of serenity when I was trying to lose weight with running or yoga (god I hate yoga), and the pounds didn't come off nearly as quickly then either.

[InControl2Day]

Clothes are definitely a big motivator for me! I love going shopping and just trying on clothes in smaller sizes in the dressing room. I recently got a large full length mirror in my bedroom and I love playing dress up in front of it.

I take a lot of photos throughout the journey to do comparisons so I can celebrate how far I've come and also motivate myself to keep on going.

Blogging and reading other blogs really inspire me because I feel less alone in this fight! When I blog, I stay accountable too.

I make mental lists of what big events I have this year like weddings, family reunions, large parties, college reunions, etc and think of how I want to blow them away

It's weird but I turn negative energy into motivation. If someone or something is bothering me, I use it as motivation to work out 2x a hard.

FB - seeing other people look great on their vacations or w/e motivates me to stay fit.

[pixelllate]

Sometimes not thinking about it at all keeps me going. I just think "one more step" and "actions speak louder than words" I can plan all day, will I actually do it? I'll just mindlessly walk around, go about my routine of only eating the food that I prepare if I feel like giving up. Sometimes if I worry too much, it makes me more unhappy about my weight loss journey.

Sometimes my mind plays tricks with me-"How about one binge?? please?? I'll be good after that" But then I think, how about I try to make it through this day sticking to my calorie plan? its just one day and I think today at least I have the strength to do it. And I do.

Also, a lot of fit people I know do this stuff regularly-eatly healthy, work out, or some variation of that where they don't take in more cals than they burn. And its not torture to them so once I get over my initial fears, it'll get easier and easier to ease into a more fit lifestyle.

My favorite quote is by Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

The dream to be fitter, healthier, my personal defintion of better looking-that doesn't fade. The denial may get strong, and so will my laziness, but my desire to be more lean is always somewhere hanging over my head lol.

[philana]

I have no answer to this. I've noticed that I'll have a "bluh" day or weekend every 2 weeks or so. It has nothing to do with motivation, its's really just a general feeling of not wanting to bother with stuff I know I should do. Sounds the same as motivation I guess, but it doesn't seem like it is. I stay motivated to lose the weight even on those days. I just 'wisely' discuss and decide with myself that in order to reach that goal I have to have my lazy day. lol.

I would get to goal faster if I did not mess up, but I never set that as a goal. I have no real hard deadline either. So there's no 'motivation' to keep myself on a tight schedule. Hence the off-the-wagon days/weeks. But I don't care. I'll get there eventually. Sometimes I get fed up with hanging at the same weight for a while and will step up some.

[LandonsBaby]

My 30th birthday is in 16 weeks. That's motivating me at the moment.

[shapedself]

I make it a habit and don't consider the possibility that I can break the habit. Everyone once in a while the blahs will creep in, but I'm usually able to squash them pretty easily at this point.

Also, I make a point to remind myself every time I have a positive interaction with someone else. Especially ones that I don't believe I would have had with all the extra weight.

[MiZTaCCen]

I really don't know how I do it anymore. I have my days or weeks I'm just in maintance mode...but I think it goes mostly with my mood swings. Then when I'm okay again I continue on with it all.

I couldn't get into Insanity the right way since starting last week. I hardly put any effort into it and was just doing the workouts as I felt like doing them. So yesterday I switched it up and instead of doing the boring 9 minute warm up and the stretching, I skipped to where the workout began, then when that was done went back to the 9 minute warm up did it and then the ending stretch I busted my *** off for the first time since starting it last week! I just need to find new ways to keep my mind from saying. F it don't bother!

It's all mental it really is, I need to dig deep inside my head and use my imagination to keep me pushing. Like pretending I'm in a gym with a group of people etc...

[CaliforniaDreamer]

I just think about how I felt at the beginning of this year when I saw that a lot of the ladies, who joined the site around the same time I did, had met their goals but I was back at my starting weight. It's really depressing so whenever I think about quitting/falling off I just say this time next year I'll be at my goal. I also think about all the progress I've made and how much I look and feel. My best friend and my dad also help me out, my friend bought me a size 7 dress (that's the size I wore when I was 150 lbs) to keep me motivated and I really want to wear it so I gonna try my best to be able to wear it this year. My dad has been getting in shape too and he calls me almost everyday to make sure I'm not slacking off.

[ihavethemusicinme]

I love all of these. I take pictures of myself in front of the mirror too. When I restarted my weight loss journey at the beginning of the year, I was like how can I get motivated to do this again! So I took pictures to remind me that I am still fat. I'm not near as big as I once was, but I still have 50 more pounds to go. I have been having a blah month :/ I feel like after I've reached my monthly goal then I am like okay that's all...I think I may need to stop setting them! lol. Maybe I'll try that in April! I love to blog too! I've decided to let the world know what I am up to and I have been getting nothing but awesome responses!