What motivates you?
 

I don't mean the typical "what do you want to do when you reach your goal weight" kind of motivators, but what do you have around that helps motivate you to keep on track? Pictures? A pair of clothes hanging around your room you can't wait to fit back into? Quotes? Affirmations? Etc.

I guess just the progress that I have made so far. I've come too far to quit now! Plus I bought a bikini for summer so i want to look half decent by december. And in the short term my boyfriend bought some t-shirts for me that are arriving in a few days/2 weeks so I want them to fit!

Right now two things- a photo of me at 16 when I was a size 11, and a pair of size 14 jeans sitting by my bed, waiting to be put on- I can put them on but I can't get the button done!

I am with Beerab...... the jeans motivate me. I know to some size 14 is "big".... but oh it is so awesome to know I can wear a 14 and I can shop in the "normal-- un plus sized" clothing section.

I was a little bummed b/c I messed around and I am not going to make my "goal" WL by my year anniversary..... then I get to thinking.... last year this time I was almost 270 pounds, I just flew to Virginia to see my son graduate AIT.... and the seatbelt on the plane was TIGHT, and I was in a 20--- needing to be in 22.

So, that is what motivates me!

There are a couple of things for me...

One thing is that I ONLY measure myself once a week, so generally it's over 2 lbs that I've lost...and I just keep thinking "okay if I keep doing this well I could reach my goal by next summer and totally buy a cute swimsuit"...lol.

I think this site has helped me a lot as well. I use it to hold myself accountable...I post in a weekly weigh in thread, and Its also a great place to look at other people's goal pictures and motivate yourself.


Oh, and I have two huge plastic bins under my bed with all my old clothes that don't fit anymore. I've got everything from medium to XXL shirts, and from size 11 to 20 jeans....so I guess I'm excited to get back into some of the clothes I used to love (although I haven't gone down a full size yet...it's taking FOREVER)...lol.

=D

I have a picture of me 70+lbs heavier hanging on my fridge and every time I look at it it reminds me of where I came from and how hard I have worked to get where I am and how much I will NEVER go back there again.

Clothes always motivates me...I love getting all dolled up to go out or of course the ever dreadful swimsuit season - and I live in South FL - that's motivation right there. I've been a little too careless lately so I MUST GET BACK ON TRACK.

The feeling I get when shopping in 'normal' stores like Temt & Valley Girl & Rockmans was awesome so this is now motivating me to get back on track

Hm, I would say that right now that my biggest motivation is my desire to stay committed to plan and loose the weight so that I can FEEL young again while I'm actually STILL young. The weight I put on after high school (about 50lbs or so) really cut into my energy levels and consequently made me feel sort of "old," so the thought of shedding enough weight to have the energy (and subsequent confidence) to truly be myself again is what motivates me the most.

Aside from that, the massive tangle of denim on my bed representing the sizes of jeans I've worn over the past 3 or 4 years motivates me a lot, too. ;D

i want to set a good example for my daughter...i want her to see me living healthy and grow up to do the same

I just want to make my family proud of me, they say they've been worried for ages and it makes me feel ashamed to think that at my PEAK (early 20s) I'm sooo overweight. So I crack a smile everytime I see the numbers on my scale go down.

at the gym tonight: looking at my triceps while i did rowing and thinking "keep going! no more waving arms if you keep doing this! it IS worth it!" i hate being jiggly!

i hate that i can't wear the clothes i want to wear. i've always looked at clothes and weight as "yeah okay i can get 'that' on but just because i CAN wear it doesn't mean i SHOULD wear it." i want to look like i SHOULD wear "it"!

possibly shallow reasons: my best friend is absolutely gorgeous and turns heads in ANY place we walk into. i want to give her competition!

biggest motivator: telling myself that if i'm unhappy, it's nobody's fault but my own. remembering that 2 years ago i was mad at myself for being fat, out of shape, and unhealthy. 2 years later i'm still all those things and still mad because i didn't do anything about it. i don't want to look back 2 years from now and say, "dammit and i STILL didn't do anything about it!"

biggest motivator: telling myself that if i'm unhappy, it's nobody's fault but my own. remembering that 2 years ago i was mad at myself for being fat, out of shape, and unhealthy. 2 years later i'm still all those things and still mad because i didn't do anything about it. i don't want to look back 2 years from now and say, "dammit and i STILL didn't do anything about it!"

That is great that1girl! It hits close to home!

I stick post-its next to my bed to motivate me to get up and go for a walk, and stay on plan for that day. They are the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see when I get up in the morning.

I write things that I know will press my buttons, like "Show the world you can do it! Show yourself!" or "Don't just lie there and feel lazy and defeated" and my personal favourite.... "Don't let people think they are better than you!", that is a good one because I work in magazines, with a lot of fashion girls who look down their noses at you because you are overweight!

I change them sometimes, but I always make them 'kick up the butt' kind of statements. I need to be a bit hard on myself. But I'm finding it really works!

Good luck and stick with it. WE CAN DO IT!

Thanks so much Nikki! That was the kind of answer I was looking for (they were all great, but I was looking more along the lines of this)! Great idea!!!!

I have a whole bag of clothes that my cousin's wife donated to my cause. They're all between a size 12 and a 10 and as long as I can fit into them, I don't have to spend money to buy new clothes this winter.

hmm that saying "You'll always wish you'd started last year" is sort of what motivates me. I've just never been fit, that's motivation enough. Progress motivates me too, just seeing all the time that has passed trying to lose weight.

I'm still looking for my motivation but my mother is good at it! lol Her highest weight was 315 lbs, she then had gastric by-pass and is dont to 170 (8 years out) but things are tight again, so what she does (and it works because she's already lost so much weight it doesn't hold the same value for someone just starting out) is I do Henna(skin staining) and I put a 315 in between her knuckles (the one right next to her nail and the one that connects her thumb to her hand) on her right thumb, so everytime she goes to put her hand to her mouth to eat anything she sees her highest weight and whether or not its worth putting in her mouth what she is, its worked really well for her I just wish I've lost enough weight for that to make an impact on me! but sadly 5 lbs isn't enough yet!

I have two whole tubs of "skinnier" clothes that I would really like to get into (since I'm broke and can't spend more money on clothing right now!), plus, I'm a performing bellydancer, so the thought of being able to perform without covering all my trouble spots is really coo.

But right now, what's getting me motivated is the fact that my DH is finally down with the whole "getting healthy" thing. He's cooking healthy meals, we go on lots of walks together and he's got a friend who's teaching him how to lift weights. I'm thrilled for him (he's always been heavy), but if he gets hot and I don't, I'm going to be pissed!

I want to feel comfortable in a bathing suit :)

I need visual reminders, otherwise I get distracted minute to minute and forget about being good. I have found the best way to remind myself is to write down my goal weight (or my next mini goal) on a blank page and take a picture of it with my camera phone. I then set that as the wallpaper on my phone so it is there reminding me every time I look at the screen. This works for me as I must look at my phone ever 20 minutes.

LUV - I actually that that exact thought today so I made a new ticker. As of right now we have 8 months to swimsuit season. I plan on being at goal weight by then and there is no reason but myself as to why I can't be!!!!

For my first 40+ pounds I had a pair of jeans hanging up in sight. I looked at those jeans everyday! I also bought myself a treat (a new work out dvd or jewellery) after every weekly weigh in.

Right now I have a date motivating me, as you can see in my ticker, I signed up for JC for 16 weeks. The program is super $$ so I am very motivated to make each week really count. I'm ready to be at my goal weight!

I was 228lbs on Feb 17th, the birth of my daughter on the 18th really motivated me to not only lose weight but to feel better about myself. I am now down to 170lbs, and I am hoping to be down to 140 by her 1st birthday Feb 18th 2010- that would be a real accomplishment. My entire world has changed this year and my being healthy has been on the top of my priority list. I actually want to be healthy, and for the first time in my life I am able to run! When I think of all I have accomplished in the past 7 months, I know I can keep going and do just as good in the next 5! I feel absolutly on top of my game for the first time in so long, and it feels amazing to know that I am doing this for myself and my family.

My cellphone and ipod! i'm dreadfully attached to them.... so - on my cell phone - the wall paper is a photo of a very pretty, fit woman and I have reminders that ring an hour and half before work and 30 minutes after work to go to the gym.

Then on my ipod, i download my favorite shows to podcast so I have motivation to listen to them. i will only be able to plug in for an hour at a time at the gym! i also have streaming pictures on it of women who are working out, at the gym, etc...

I also keep post-it notes around. On my dashboard it says "is it worth it?" - because i'm a drive-through-a-holic. and I keep a calendar up with christmas circled - when i'm going to go see my family for the first time in almost 2 years and I desperately want to look my best!!!!

Lets see... what else.. My favorite pair of jeans! I keep them folded on my dresser so every time i change my clothes, I'm reminded of the jeans that I want to wear so badly but cannot pull up over my bum!!

:)

.... "there is no reason but myself as to why i can't be" .... you just gave me a new motto to have flash on my phone a few times a day!!!! I was looking at how long i've been on this site.... and how i've been to Onederland... and back up and now back down again and the ONLY REASON i'm not in the maintainers forum is ME.

I have a 1950s car show coming up next June and have been invited to take my Mini. My friend Kirsten & I are dressing up - she is very much a straight laced kinda gal so she is wearing a poodle skirt, bobby socks, sweater set etc and I have decided to go Grease/Rockabilly to contrast. i would love to be goal weight by then so I have pics of outfits on the fridge/in my wallet to motivate me - e.g. (sorry for pic size :o)

http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0...AAAAAV5sTg.jpghttp://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/c/0/0...AAAAAFwSAw.jpghttp://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...jL._AA280_.jpg[
http://media.80stees.com/images/prod...zo-Costume.jpg

Two things are working for me right now..

My mom is being treated for breast cancer and I'm gonna see her again by end of November, I want her to notice a difference and I want to be a bit more lighter so I can help her out around the house etc :)

Another thing is, I didn't wanna mention this so I don't jinx it lol, I heard through the grapevine 'his mom', that 'someone' might pop the question soon... so I want to be ready and look my best for when 'that' happens ;)

I have a little journal that I write in every night and I always write to myself "Don't give up!" Cause I know I can either be the same person who looks the same after a year or a changed person who has lost weight and is more outgoing, so I always tell myself to not give up.

What motivates me is a vacation to Paris and London this summer, I really want to look good in skinny jeans. I want to be able to shop without any restriction since everything will look good on me and fit when I am at my goal weight.
Also, listening to Jillian Michaels radio show playbacks, and watching biggest loser is getting me even more motivated. HTH!

Excellent idea :) Love that line too.

THis site motivates me more than any other thing! I notice that when I visit this site I stay on plan when I dont I start to lose ground. Seeing what others have done help me so much on this journey!