Hi ladies
!
I just copied/pasted the following from another thread -- it is something I wrote about motivation last week. I think we need two different types of motivation: motivation to get STARTED, and motivation to KEEP GOING.
Here is what I wrote in the other thread:
"Motivation is a tough question. Everyone has to find something that motivates them as an individual, and no one can tell you what that motivation *should* be. You could start by asking yourself WHY you want to lose the weight. How is the weight effecting your life? Do you have a goal that you want to achieve, but feel that the weight is getting in the way? Do you have children for whom you want to be a good role model? There's a million reasons and ways we all keep motivated. For a humorous -- but VERY *real* -- look at some of the motivating factors for folks on 3FC, check out the recent thread "Legs" by paperclippy:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63942
As for me, my motivation has evolved over time. Originally, I just didn't want to be a (tight) size 18 anymore. I'm single, and I thought "If I could just lose this weight, maybe someone would marry me!" But the more I worked out, the more I thought "Gosh. I feel GOOD. And I'm a size 16/14/12/whatever -- which is cool, too!" My motivation has since evolved into the fact that I know now that I want to feel good for ME -- I want stronger legs and better cardio endurance. And yeah, it would still be nice to get to a size 8, but it would be FANTASTIC to be healthy and active for the rest of my life. I want to wake up in the morning with a smile on my face -- focused on my LIFE -- instead of thinking "Ack. What am I going to WEAR today?" and letting how I look in the mirror set the tone for my mood and my day.
So I think the key is to find YOUR reason, and to allow that reason to evolve and change as your body evolves and changes -- it will come naturally, believe me. And stick around here for a while. These folks are fantastic!
Here are some of the things I do daily (or hourly
) to keep me motivated. Like I said, you have to find what works for YOU, but I know that I like to see other people's plans/strategies/etc., so here ya go:
1. If it's a cardio day for me and I just don't wanna do it -- which happens VERY often cuz I despise cardio -- I tell myself "Those minutes that I'm on the elliptical are going to pass either way. I might as well do something productive with the time." ALSO -- and I think I posted this somewhere else -- if I'm actually ON the elliptical and thinking "I can't do this anymore," I think about how insignificant 30 minutes is in the scheme of the whole day. And I KNOW it's worth 30 minutes of work to have 23.5 hours of feeling really good about myself -- and PROUD -- because I am still working hard toward my goal.
2. Food motivation...I don't know how much advice I can give on this because to be honest my eating habits are pretty much ingrained at this point. BUT when I was first starting out, that cheesy line (some) grandmothers say: "A moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips" was a real motivator for me. It made me stop and think every time I put something in my mouth. Now, when I'm tempted to cheat, I think "Hmmmm....okay, this bottle of Coke is 200 calories. It takes me about 20 minutes on the elliptical to burn 200 calories. I HATE THE ELLIPTICAL, therefore, I ain't drinkin' this Coke."
3. And then all those changes in your energy level, body, outlook, mood, digestive system
, self-image, personal pride, etc., etc., etc. come along and you find yourself discovering a million other little reasons to be motivated."
When you're first starting out, these little changes can take some time to appear -- I found that to be the most frustrating stage. That's the point when all you *see* is the hard work you're doing, and feel like your body isn't changing at all. But once those "little things" start happening -- looser clothes, more energy, people's compliments -- everything starts to snowball and you'll have more and more reasons to stick with it. It will take some time for these things to happen, but it is SO WORTH IT IN THE END!!!! I PROMISE!!!
You gals can do it!! 3FC is a GREAT place to get motivation, support, etc.!
- Kate