Do you guys use any weird brain tricks to kickstart your weight loss when it slows down? I have a few I'd like to share.

1. When weighing myself, I usually set minigoals, like by Friday, I'll be in the 140s. BUT every so often, I change the scale from lb to kg or vice versa so I stop obsessing about the minigoal because obsessing about the same number for so long makes me lose faith in it. A new, completely different number is more motivating to me.

2. I put on super tight pants/jeans in the morning which automatically discourages me from eating too much during the day, because the food will have no wear to go and I'll pop. Further, if I eat less, my tummy will shrink a little (or unswell, I guess).

3. I like to shop!!! But I have a rule. I can't buy anything for me unless I deserve it. This rule does not appear to be working very well because, as with eating, I will deprive myself for a few weeks and then binge!! And then overdraft fee from Chase.

When I get on the scale, I always tell myself that I'll be glad if I'm at a certain weight and anything below that is awesome. That way, my expectations aren't too high and if I've lost some weight, then I'm pleasantly surprised.

Wearing too-tight pants actually doesn't work for me because it just makes me feel fatter.

I used to do this, but not just for shopping, but for almost everything pleasureable in my life - and boy did that backfire, because I ended up having no life at all because "I didn't deserve it."

I had to learn to do almost the opposite.

1. Decide that losing weight and getting fitter was about pampering my wonderful self, not punishing a "bad" me. I always envied folks who could afford going to weight loss spas and fitness retreats, and could shop in gourment health food stores, and could hire personal trainers, personal chefs, and personal shoppers.

I decided to bring those services to me, by being all those things to myself. I decided to make getting healthier as fun as I could make it.



2 In the beginning, because I had such a history of failure with weight loss, I even took weight loss off the table entirely. I decided that my main goal wasn't to lose any weight at all - it was to make healthy changes that I could commit to even if no weight loss whatsoever resulted.

3. I decided that while I was making those healthy changes I would work at maintaining my current weight and any weight loss I did happen to achieve along the way. Weight maintenance was always priority #1 and weight loss was secondary, and I had to remind myself of that a lot.

4. While I was working at maintenance (and celebrating every day that the scake didn't show a gain) I might as well try to lose "just one more" and then when I did, that pound also was included in the "maintenance". It meant that only backtracking was disappointing, and even then maintenance took precedent over bingeing. Often when only weight loss is celebrated, a stall can seem just as horrible as a gain - and if a gain doesn't feel worse than a stall, then when you do see a stall it's very tempting to think "if I'm not losing, I might as well be gaining, and getting to eat what I want." When maintenance is goal #1, it's a lot harder to feel that a gain is no different than a non-loss, because non-losses are celebrated too (because they're not gains).

5. The scale is not my enemy (nor is it my friend). It's just a tool, and only I can determine how best to use it. For me, that initially meant weighing a bazillion times a day to take the "sting" out of fluctuations. I weight a bazillion times a day to learn to understand the reasons and limits of those fluctuations.

This is counterintuitive because we're all told that weighing more than once a week is counterproductive because we'll be discouraged by fluctuations. When I read studies that found that daily weighers lost more weight than weekly weighers, I started to rethink that logic, and decided that weighing a bazillion times a day didn't have to discourage me. I would only be discouraged if my results didn't meet my expectations - and if I knew more about my fluctuations than I wasn't going to be as likely to expect the impossible or impractical. So I weighed before and after meals, before and after I went to the potty, before and after dressing, and recorded every morning weight on a calendar.

I learned how much food weighs, how much uh potty stuff weighs, how much my clothes weigh, how much I gain in water weight during my period or after an asian restaurant meal, and after increasing exercise .....

and most importantly I learned not to be discouraged by the feedback from the scale, because it didn't mean much in the long run. It was only the trend that was important, not any one measurement.

I also didn't have to avoid asian restaurant meals or stay off the scale during my period - I just had to recognize and expect the resulting fluctuations.

(In weight loss clubs in the past, and even here on 3FC I've encountered advice to give up asian food, give up exercise, and even advice to limit fiber-rich, low-calorie foods like low-calorie vegetables because of the temporary gains on the scale).

I write, and I roleplay. This involves the use of characters that I've created. I also tend to be a slug--I don't always want to work out. I can usually make myself do weights, but cardio. . .man. I really have to drag my butt to cardio.

Unless I do it in character.

That's right. My twenty-eight year-old self goes and plays pretend when she's swimming or walking or running or cycling, in order to make it more palatable. Otherwise, it just doesn't hold my interest. And, you know what? It's actually worked. I mean, I feel like the world's hugest dork, but I've been doing it faithfully. And, know what? I'll take it .

Ok, I love this! Can you tell us more about your characters? I seriously might try this on days I'm lacking motivation!!

OMG! I literally thought I was the only one who did this (and I'm 43). I mean, I knew I probably wasn't the only one, because no one who ever thinks they're the only one of anything ever is the only one, but I never thought I'd meet someone else (at least not anyone who admitted it - especially since I was never going to admit it first).

My deep, dark pretending secret is one of the very few potentially-embarassing weight loss habits that I've been TOO embarassed to ever discuss regarding weight loss. I'll gladly tell you about the gory details about TOM issues without a qualm, but reveal my geeky adult-pretend games? Never, I say never (ok so much for never).



I collect celtic music (everything from Enya to traditional battle hyms and marching music to pub drinking songs). The faster "war" songs are perfect for imagining warrior-training-for-battle scenarios (whether it's a battle that is occuring in prehistoric, historic, or futuristic, sci-fi scenarios).


Of course it's ridiculous for a 300+ woman to imagine being any type of warrior (except maybe sumo), but it's fun and I get to pretend that the 30 minutes/1 mile I can actually manage on the treadmill is longer and further - or that the reason I can't do more is that I'm exercising on a planet with higher gravity than my native planet (either I'm an Earther visiting a planet with higher gravity, or I'm an alien from a low-gravity planet visiting Earth).

WOW. I never thought of pretending I was a super fit, lean, hot chick so I could acquire the mindset of one :s that. is. brilliant!!!!!!! I'm going to pretend I'm Zooey Deschanel lmao

Oh, so I'm *not* the only one!

As far as characters go. . .well, explaining them would probably take a few pages. Some friends and I have this entire world, which has things like angels and demons and immortal sidhe and vampires and werewolves. So, yeah; your basic urban fantasy, albeit homebrewed. I mean, if I'm going to play pretend. . .well, go big, or go home, I say .

I do the Celtic music, too--though I'm often more towards the Celtic-punk end of things--and I agree, it's great for the idea of marching into battle. I like Cruxshadows for working out, too, because they always have this sort of. . .I don't know, this epic struggle feeling. And, you know, a good beat.

For my more normal characters. . .well, the only one I wouldn't feel completely stupid explaining is the guy in his senior year of college who's been sort of thrust into the service of the angels. He's in the process of training with them while trying to keep up with his classes, his job, and his life. He likes to swim.

Of course, characters never have to worry about developing tendonitis from working too hard. . .

I think about how surprised my man will be when he sees me next in two months and i listen to sappy love songs on the tredmill to keep me going. I love math and i do tons of calorie calculatons on my phone while i'm running
also i feed off of other people's compliments. they stick with me.

I love this thread! Playing pretend is so much fun. Not something I've done in the past couple of years due to an unfortunate squashing of a persona (it was not pretty) but I may try it out next time I'm working out or hula hooping.

Clothes are a huge motivation for me. I always have at least 1 pair of pants and 1 shirt in my closet that are one size too small for me. I try them on once a week or so. After I drop a size I go shopping for a few things... I don't go overboard though because I don't want to get stuck in my weight loss because I love the clothes too much to depart from them.

Another thing, I know some people say this isn't good, but I weigh myself every day. It helps me to say 'no' to junk food when the scale says I'm still obese.

I also look at pictures of skinny girls when my weight loss stops happening. Usually it's before and after pictures of weight loss. Usually the pro-ana and pro-mia have some good "thinspiration" but sometimes they go overboard and post sick looking girls... you just have to know to separate the healthy pictures from the sickly looking ones.

When weight loss starts slowing down I also love to switch up my workout routine... My college has free fitness classes and I just either go to a higher fitness level class, or I go do something totally new like hip hop or something.

I've bought something I really like in a size below mine as a way of motivating myself. I've hung it up so that I see it as soon as I wake up. It gives me motivation.

I'd have to say your rule #2 works completely opposite for me. When I wear too tight pants I automatically put myself in a terrible mood which makes me more prone to overeating and maybe even binging because of the sad mood. I wear yoga pants a lot becuase they make my butt look better and I try not to stare at myself too much in the mirror when I'm not at my perfect weight so I don't become obsesed with losing weight (and depressed about it when it's not happening as fast as I'd like it to)

I admittedly get motivated by the idea of buying new 'running music' or upbeat music that I can't wait to listen to. I usually try to make sure I don't listen to those songs /except/ when I'm at the gym (so I don't get too tired of them.) Which sometimes makes me itch to get there already so I can bop my head to the music while I run/walk like an idiot!

And going off the roleplaying aspect, I admit I do this too! It doesn't help that I am a gamer either! Heck, sometimes I even imagine it as 'leveling' my character (must increase endurance/stamina! Must increase strength! Must increase agility!) And sometimes I even think of it as a montage from movies...(even Rocky had a montage! ) Or that I am readying myself for the apocalypse/zombie invasion/vampire infestation/war.