Hi, GeorgiaLady!
I'll share.
First of all, you lost 20 lbs.! That's awesome!
I'll bet that when you started, 20 lbs. ago, you didn't think that you'd get this far. You may have thought that you would fail again. Or that it's Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, Easter, so you can 'take a break' and indulge.
But you sticked to your guns, and you got results. That's a terrific accomplishment and I'll bet that you feel MUCH better about yourself now than when you started!
Plus you live in Georgia, all you have to do is take a look outside - it's just so beautiful there!
I've posted all of my progress in another thread that you're welcome to read:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...threadid=24503
When I read the things that work for you, they were things that saddened me. I'm glad they work for you, and by all means keep up the motivation!
My motivation is a little different...
I was no larger than most overweight people, so I probably did not stand out in a crowd, but every morning my back was in agony, I felt like I was going to snap every time I got out of bed. I've always been ambitious and thought that there was a great life ahead of me, but over the past few years I've seen my life slip by and had lost the motivation to get up and do anything.
I hated what I had become, and I felt like I was dying inside emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
I decided that this was it. This year was going to be the year for change, because I was losing myself, and I felt that if I continued, there would be no end or no hope to recover. I would die not having recovered from my obesity, not having taken charge of my life, not having triumphed over the depression of getting myself in bad shape.
So, like a bat out of **** I was determined that this was the year I was going to make or break myself: I was going to reconnect with God spiritually, strengthen my body and my back, lose weight, keep a journal of my life so I could look back and see where I came from, and log my meals.
I started in January, but didn't start weighing myself until early February. I started at 218.9 lbs and am around 197-198 today. None of my clothes fit me anymore. I worked in the yard all day on Saturday without any exhaustion. I get up in the morning full of energy, and I'm tired at night.
So, my motivation is that I NEVER want to be again where I was. I love how my body is changing and how I feel refreshed and strengthened!
I'm connected to God and can feel my heart again. Every aspect of my life is so much more meaningful and has so much more love than before and THAT means much more to me than bacon cheeseburgers, french fries, pizza, garlic bread, pasta, cookies, cake and all that stuff. I love my life again and I never want to go back!
So, that's my motivation. As far as what I do (btw. I do these things because I want to, not because I have to. Missing one has no affect on my life, because my life is about my being in control of it, not what I do.):
1) I pray. I thank God for his blessings and changes in my life and for my progress. Sometimes I also visualize what I would look like being thin and healthy.
2) I weigh myself every day, because I'm the kind of person who likes to meet and break records. It helps me to see my weight in the morning, because I want to beat it in the evening. When I don't, I'm more motivated and enthusiastic in my excercise. I have a digital scale that measures body fat as well, so if I weigh 197.9 in the morning, I want to beat it and weigh 197.6 in the evening, etc.
3) I journal all my food, but I don't count calories. I journal my food at
http://www.fitday.com to have a record of what percentage of protein, fat, and carbs my meals are. Many programs work for different people and you have to follow the one that you believe in and measure your results. For me, it's The Zone, and The Zone is about eating the right proportions of protein, carbs and fat from good foods - not about counting calories.
4) I excercise every day because I'm afraid that if I stop I may never start again.
5) I journal my day. It helps me look back and remember how I felt then compared to how I feel now. I stumbled upon an entry from a while ago stating how hungry I was all the time (before I settled into my new eating habits), and now I'm never hungry. It's good to look back and see that there was a time when I could only jog 5 minutes and I thought I was going to die! It brings my progress into perspective.
6) I yoga every night to keep my back in good shape. My back pain is now gone, and I'd had it for about 20 years.
7) I printed out about 20 testimonials from people who have lost a lot of weight, their motivation and what they've done, and I taped it to the door of my office. Every time I walk in, it reminds me that I can do it, and whenever I feel a little sad or unmotivated, I pull it out and read it and it puts me right back where I need to be.
8) If I don't want to excercise, I stop everything and do it anyway. I ALWAYS feel better afterwards.
9) There is no way that I'll ever have a perfect record. If I don't excercise one day, or I don't yoga, or I don't journal, or if I'm at a family gathering and most of the food isn't good for me; I don't sweat it. I do the best I can, pick the best foods I can from what's available and eat in moderation. I make up for what I can the next day, and let go of the things I can't make up. What's important is that the next day I have a chance to do it right again.
Congratulations on all of your progress and good luck! I hope that this has served to inspire you.