How do you all psych yourselves up to get to the gym at the end of a long day? (Or at the beginning?) I need some ideas to motivate me to workout!

Also, how can I be happy with my appearance one day, and then feel gigantic the next? It would really help me stick with a healthier eating plan if I was consistently unhappy! Motivational tips and tricks for this as well?

BTW- I don't usually make desperate pleas for weight loss help at 1 am, but I drank a diet coke around 11 and can't sleep.

What motivates me the most to haul my butt to the gym is remembering how great I feel when I am done. And lately I have been going to the gym in the morning because that helps me have less "feeling gigantic" days. And that is motivation enough for me. This way, if I have a long day at work, I know I can just go home and relax because the workout is done!

I also find that depending on what I eat will make me feel fat and frumpy. If there is something in my stomach weighing me down it also weighs heavily on my mind (i.e.; body image).

I think motivation is sometimes overrated when it comes to weight loss. Exercise is just one of the things I schedule for myself, like cleaning the house, grocery shopping, taking a shower each day, etc. I give myself the flexibility to decrease the intensity if I'm really not feeling up to it (even if I've got a headache I can at least go for a walk) but I WILL do SOMETHING during that time. And I can stop early if I want, but 99% of the time, getting started is the hardest part.

I wish I had an answer for this one! My body image will fluctuate so much from day to day, and it seems so random. If I feel too positive I'll think "oh I'm doing so well already, I can have a treat" and if I'm feeling too negative I'll eat to soothe my emotions. So not helpful!

I am, by nature, a morning person so that being said, getting my behind out of bed at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. to go for my 3k run is not really a stretch, lol. I find that hour of the morning to be peaceful and I can really think when I'm out running. At night is when I do my weight training, Pilates and core work after my kids are in bed b/c it's just easier for me that way. Staying motivated for me is easy. I'm turning 40 this November and I want to personally debunk the myth that being that abovementioned age means you are automatically out-of-shape. I want to fit into my new clothes and look good in a bathing suit. It's taken me a lifetime to get here and I'm not going back. Ever.

My body image does ebb and flow with any given day. TOM is a bad time for me. After a hard workout, I feel invincible. I think it's different for everyone.

Hope this was somewhat helpful.

Thanks to all who responded. I guess I need to change my way of thinking about working out instead of looking for outside motivation. This might take a while...

I motivate myself by believing that each day counts - that each exercise and that every thing I put in my mouth is going to pay off. If I had been working out consistently and eating well, I wouldn't have put the weight back on. I look at how much time I wasted in the past and decide that now and going forward, I'm not going to make that mistake again.

If you find the secret to motivation, let me know! lol I can't seem to motivate myself either.