What IS the matter with me? I know I should eat better, I WANT to eat better, and yet I've gone completely off track since my last weigh in on Wednesday. Since then, I've had fast food every single day - I'm craving soda like there's no tomorrow, and I'm not being able to resist. I've given in every single time!!!!!!

How do people hang on to their motivation? Where do they get their will power?

I feel guilty, horrible and miserable. And totally unmotivated... I'm sure this week will show a gain

I find that a long term goal will keep me motivated. I'm going to Ecuador in March, so that's my motivation!

You need to forgive yourself and believe in yourself. When you do, it's possible. You might crave, but it's a habit and it's something you need to work on long term. You can do it, now lets get your butt into gear!

is your motivation to be thin or to be healthy?

mine at 48 is to avoid diabetes and heart disease. fast food does not fit in to that motivation.

you need to first figure out why you want to lose weight... and go from there.

Spoz is right - forgive yourself and move on. You can't change the way you ate this past week, but you can decide how you will eat moving forward from this! So you ate some fast food and drank some soda. That doesn't make you a bad person, nor does it make you a failure (and yes, a hippo would eat way more than that - you are not a hippo!). I'm sure we've all had weeks just like that - I know I have had several. If you gain as a result, you gain. Take it and move on. Don't let it dictate your actions tomorrow, or next week - get back on track!!

As for motivation - well... The best I can suggest is that you write out a list of reasons why you want to lose weight and refer to it often. Write down as MANY as you can possibly think of. Take a moment to reflect on how far you've already come. In the end, it comes down to being committed to weight loss, even when you are not motivated - which means picking yourself up, brushing yourself off, and plodding forward at whatever cost!

Being fat is hard.
Losing weight is hard.
Maintenance is hard.

Pick your hard.

My motivation is being thin for the first time in my adult life. I never get tired of that. As Oprah says, nothing tastes as good as thin feels. It is true! While I try not to deprive myself of most foods, I NEVER eat fast food. It is just garbage for your body. Do forgive yourself and MOVE ON. Today is a new day. Just move forward. Good luck!

Thanks guys.

xdominic89x: the problem is i often forget to keep long-term goals in sight I'm one of those "immediate gratification" people, and easily lose focus - but you're right! I do have long term goals - and I should remind myself of that!


Spoz: hahah yes ma'am! and thanks

ladybugnessa: i know the answer should be "to be healthy" but I'd be lying if I dont want to be thin just for being thin's sake... But here's hoping for both...


suitejudyblueeyes: thanks! I know I will gain this week when I weigh in on Wednesday but like you pointed out - oh well - time to pick up and move on. I'm making that list you recommended - some of the reasons for wanting my weight loss are funny/trivial but i'm hoping they'll keep me resolved. I've never actually made such a list - altohugh I talk about weight lsos all the time!

Jane: hahah I'm going to print out that mantra and put it onmy bulletin board. love the quote!

traveling michele - thanks i'll need it! But feeling optimstic today

no the answer is not "to be healthy" truly.

the answer for YOU is whatever it is for you.

if it's "to be thin when i see my ex boyfriend and make him eat his heart out for dumping me" then that's what it is....

IF you lie to yourself and say "to be healthy" it won't work.... so don't lie.

i'll be honest... for me it was not to be healthy when i was in my 20s or even my 30s... not till i got old...(read middle aged) and really started having problems, that it became about health....

so the best thing to do to find your motivation is to be honest with yourself (and tell the rest of the world whatever you want)

Maybe start by not equating the food you ate with what a hippo would eat. Such a gross exaggeration is just mean. Would you say that to a friend you loved? How about, "I ate what a 137 pound woman would eat (or even what a 180 pound woman would eat, or whatever). Not what a 120 pound woman would eat." That gives you something real to work from. It shows you in black and white what choices you're making, that you ARE making a choice, and what you can do differently. With an exaggeration involving hippos it all becomes so punitive, and really, just very vague. It might seem like being so hard on yourself is about facing up to what you ate, but really, it's a way of NOT facing reality.

^ I love the honesty. It's totally true. Don't figure out why other people think you should be losing, just whatever actually matters to you - you can add to your list and revise it later as your priorities change but who cares what your motivations are as long as they work for you?

ladybugnessa - heh, it's even more trivial than the ex-bf story but yes you're absolutely right. I think what happens is that I feel guilty for my reasons sometimes - because they seem so trivial ocmpared to other people's reasons for losing weight - BUT having said that, i do hope that I'll be able to articulate my specific reasons. I'm making that list suitejudyblueeyes recommended and it's proving harder than I'd thought to put my reasons on paper !

julie - haha i know i know - a lttle dramatic, wasn't I? But I did feel like a hippo. I have a lot of body issues, that I've been working on, and negativity is definitely one of them. I tihnk you're right - by overexaggerating, in a way it's almost like a defense mechanism/hiding from reality... (but , 5 cheesebuger meals in 3 days? that's what i had! ) - i went on a food binge for that time, and i tihnk i stunned myself into how much i can eat for no apparent reason!

suitejudyblueeyes - u're absolutely right! heh - as i as saying earlier, this list is actually hard to articulate! BUT at the same time, it's fun I've spent an hour tihnking about this.. and boy is it makign me appraise myself thanks!