HELP!! I have spent hours on this forum in that last couple weeks as well as looking up recipes and work outs on Pinterest, and I love doing it as I find it super motivating...But I am not actually doing anything about the weight loss in general. Maybe if I think it, it will come? Does anyone else have this problem?

For me...I have to create the motivation, not just wait for it to hit me. It's great finding inspirational stuff online, in magazines, on TV, etc. - but, for me, I have to kick myself in the rear and create it myself. I use the "inspirational stuff" as support and to help keep me on track rather than waiting for it to strike me.

Placing hands on back and pushing you back into plan.
It is hard to stay on track every day. Reading here is great because it keeps you focused on what you need to do, even if the act of doing it is hard. Plus, you may see something that clicks and kicks you back into gear.
I have certainly gone through the cycle of totally OP to sliding down the slippery slope and back to climbing the mountain of getting back OP.
Give yourself a small goal each day and commend yourself for each goal you reach.
You can do this girl!!

My motivation comes in waves, getting through the low points is hard, I feel ya. Have you tried looking at 'before' pictures? Another one is you can eat anything you want but stand naked infront of the mirror or at least in your swimsuit.

Currently I'm really focusing on this image of me in a bikini in califormia when I take a vacation to visit my best friend. Any vacations or plans coming up?

There is no perfect plan. Just start and you can tweak it as you go.

For me, I like to see my goals on paper (or spreadsheet rather lol). I create exercise goals, calorie/comp goals, water goals, etc. I like to have something to work towards that I'm chipping away at day by day. I make everything pretty much progressive too....for example...once I reach a goal, I create and strive for a more challenging one. This helps eliminate boredom with the same ole plan. I say, create your own unique plan and work towards it. What do you want to accomplish? Set a goal for it and let your drive to acheive it keep you motivated.

I have been having a rough time staying on plan lately, so I had to take it off of auto pilot. I am making a specific plan every morning and reporting the next day. I feel like if I can get through two weeks like this - not perfect compliance, but close - I can go back to my looser, saner long-term plan. I am on Day 2. :-) #sigh#

I read about weightlifting online for months before I actually did it myself. It's easy to delay action by collecting and absorbing information, but knowing something and living it are two different things. Get in there and apply your knowledge!

Sometimes making it a game or contest with yourself can help. For example, I add a bead to a charm bracelet every time I lose 5 lbs. I also saw a neat idea someone here posted about buying two glass vases, dishes or jars and some pretty stones. You label the first jar something like "Pounds to lose" and the other "Pounds lost" then as you lose weight you move the corresponding number of stones from the first jar to the second (and if you gain you move them back). You can make each stone symbolize whatever amount you want, kilos, pounds, quarter pounds, half pounds... whatever works best for you.

I use sticker charts for weight loss and for exercise too. Sure it's a bit "grade school," but just having some tangible reward or progress acknowlegement can help. I think the "immature" rewards actually work best (at least for me) because they add a touch of whimsy and humor to the endeavor. Sometimes weight loss can seem so grave and serious that it becomes depressing, by keeping it lighthearted I don't get bogged down from the stress of being afraid to make mistakes.

For me, that's what often kept me from starting - fear of making a mistake. It's important to adress those fears, and remind myself that I can't really make an irreversible mistake with weight loss methods - well maybe if I decided that a chainsaw was the best way to get the pounds off, but for the most part, weight loss experiments aren't going to have life-threatening consequences (especially if you use your head and take the precaution of running any plans, especially extreme or unusual ones by your doctor. I know most people don't counsult their doctor but it really is a good idea. A dietitian is even better).

But as John said, it's more important that you start, than where you start. You don't have to find "the perfect plan" before beginning. You can tweak as you go, and you can even do an about face, and try a totally different plan. You can lose on twenty different plans as well as you can lose on one (as long as you don't participate in the "tradition" of bingeing and regaining between plans).

I've lost my 105 lbs so far on at least a dozen plans (and probably about half a dozen variations of each). I just transition from one plan, right into the next. I've used Atkins, South Beach, Volumetrics, several variations of Paleo, Weight Watchers, exchange plans (lots and lots of exchange plans, in fact I translated most of the other plans into exchange plans).

So just start anywhere. It doesn't even have to be a big start. My first start was clipping a step-counting pedometer to my shoe (because I always lost it when it was clipped to my waist - I learned this tip in Weight Watchers). At the end of the day (or the next morning if I forgot) I'd write down the pedometer reading for the number of steps into that day's box on the calendar and I'd zero out the reading for the next day. My goal every day was to "meet or beat" the previous day's reading. Since I used a step-counting pedometer I could usually "beat" the previous day's record, even if only by a couple steps.

I started very small and slow, because I was extremely incapacitated when I started. I was only a hair's breadth away from being bed-bound. I needed my husband's help for even routine tasks like getting into the shower safely. My strength and balance was terrible. I still don't have the best balance, but it's far better than when I started this.

So just start, anywhere. And if you're not happy with your progress do not assume you're failing in any way. That I think is one of the biggest weight loss pitfalls. When the weight loss slows or stalls (and it usually does) it can seem hopeless and all sorts of ridiculous ideas pop into our heads "at this rate I'll never be thin. If I'm doomed to be fat forever anyway, I might as well at least get to eat what I want..."

I had to short-circuit those thoughts by focusing my efforts on maintaing weight loss rather than losing. "Not gaining" became my first and foremost goal and "losing" became second. I had to remind myself that every ounce matters and that even if for some bizarre reason I couldn't lose another ounce, keeping off what I have lost is still important. It's a lot easier to think this now at 105 lbs than it did at 20 - but even the FIRST pound was worth maintaining.

PUSH:

Jonah - that is BEYOND cool. Thanks for posting.

Start by making sure your plate is 50% fruits and vegetables. Every meal, and you've got to eat all of them. That's it. While you're plotting, doing that in the meantime should take about 10 pounds off, and get the ball rolling.

jonah,
Great job !!!

I think I needed all of this! Thank you so much. Love you all!

Jonah that pic is so awesome!

What changes can you make today that will affect tomorrow? What can you do this week that will help shape who you are next month? Where do you want to be one year from now, and what steps do you need to take to make that happen?

These are the kinds of questions I started asking myself back in March.