How Do You Stay Motivated?

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  • Well, I am back . Been gone all summer and fortunately only gained 2 pounds but I didn't lose much before. It's my fault I know (hate to exercise and just love food to much). I have dragged my DH in this time so we are counting calories together and I think that will help .

    It's just soooo hard to stick to eating right everyday. We have been doing pretty good since last Monday (our start date), but we did declair a FREE day on Fridays. We're working pretty hard (and I am really proud of DH, cause he is a real EATER ). I am trying to walk a few times a week (I did say I hate to exercise) but this is really hard.

    How do you stay motivated and just say no to fattening food? This, we are struggling with. We havn't given in too bad yet but it sure is tempting .

    I'd love to know how everyone stays motivated to resist that restaurant food.
    Any advice?
  • back abbyin ....

    It's not an easy tast this losing weight ... But I think we just have to take it one day at a time and on some days, one minute at a time. It gets easier over time and you are really lucky to have hubby by your side that way you can clean the kitchen and he won't complain too much...

    Hang in there and keep posting
  • Hello! I'm on Weight Watchers, I love it! How do I stay motivated? Seeing the scale move every week, seeing my clothes get baggier on my body and getting the compliments from my DH, feeling GREAT after I workout, and seeing the changes in my body from working out!

    I've been on WW for almost 4 weeks, and in the first 3 weeks, I've lost 15.5lbs. I eat whatever I want. I need to have my daily sweet, sometimes I have a swee something twice a day!

    I know you'll do great! Just be careful on those free days
  • Hey, glad you're back again!

    Motivation is a problem, that's for sure. I suppose it comes down to how many cycles of gaining, losing, gaining, losing, gaining again have to pass, before a person finally figures it out!

    I thought I was exercising enough, but as it turns out I wasn't doing enough physical activity after all. So I had to change my mind about that and do more.

    I thought that eating "naughty foods" now and then would be OK--but as it turns out, I was eating them too often, and I had no idea how many calories I ate. Did you know a Whopper, single, no cheese, has 670 calories? This is according to the BK website. So, I do eat at restaurants, but I'm careful with the calorie count. I have to "leave room" if I'm going to eat something high in calories.

    So, one thing that can help motivation is to track things better, just for curiosity if nothing else. Like with FitDay or some other calculator to track calories eaten, calories burned.

    With 15 pounds to lose for you, and not all that much more for your DH, it shouldn't take forever! Only a few months at most. But the important thing it seems is to develop more healthy habits of activity and eating.

    I hope you hang in there! And enjoy!

    Jay

    SW/CW/GW
    186/181/155
  • Quote: Did you know a Whopper, single, no cheese, has 670 calories?
    I suspect that a lot of those calories come from the mayo, if the toppings are included as part of that calculation. I used to work at BK and I loved that mayo... I weighed so much and was SO unhealthy when I worked there
  • I don't say no to the junk food...constantly. I learned to say no to it as a daily plan. Ocassionally, I'll have something not on my healthy eating menu, and have it in moderation. I don't order pizza every Friday now...and eat 4 slices. But I might have 2 slices every 2 or 3 months. To keep it at a minimum, don't be around it. Since you're both doing this, you can easily get it out of the house. Replace your breads/pastas with whole grain, stock up on fresh fruits and veggies, keep loads of bottled water in the fridge instead of sodas. Go only to restaurants that serve a healthier menu. Plan your meals ahead of time, even when eating out. Know what you're going to order when you get there and it's nutrition info (you can find it online).

    Force yourself to exercise by scheduling/planning it. Put your gym bag in the car if needed. Park far away from doors and always opt for the stairs...that is daily exercise you can get used to doing without actually feeling like it's taking up your time or taking a lot of effort. It becomes habit after awhile. My dad is handicapped. When he's with me, I often forget to park close to the door and have to back out of my spot at the back of the lot and park closer. LOL
  • I don't stay "motivated" (as in a "feeling") but I don't expect to. It is a decision -- just like going to work every day. I want the results more than I don't want the consequences of NOT doing it.
  • Quote: I don't stay "motivated" (as in a "feeling") but I don't expect to. It is a decision -- just like going to work every day. I want the results more than I don't want the consequences of NOT doing it.
    I agree 110%. I want to be skinny that is it. There is no motivation to me, I just want it and I do want I need to do to get what I want.
  • How I stay motivated:

    1 - I look in the mirror.

    2 - I think of my parents and family members that have diabetes.

    3 - I think of my doctor's message: "Eat healthy, exercise regularly, lose weight, and maintain a healthy weight so that you don't end up like your family members."

    4 - I think about the fact that I do not want to spend my money on prescriptions in the future.

    5 - I think about the fact that I am 25 and single...oh probably because I'm chubby and no professional, successful man would want me, so I need to become a trophy wife.
  • What I did was to wean myself slowly from junk foods. I was a soda junkie so I limited myself to a can a day of the real stuff. Same thing with dessert. I normally would have a small dessert of an iice cream sandwich or two Reese's Buttercups every night.

    Eventually though for me, the sugary stuff lost its appeal. It's just too sweet now and I feel ill after eating it. I used to be a chocolate fiend and now I'm only interested in eating fruits. Potato chips and other junk foods make me want to gag.

    Instead of reaching for chocolate, perhaps you can try eating fruit for dessert. I used to eat a piece of fruit for lunch, but started eating it as my dessert instead when I realized that I enjoyed eating the fruit much more than I did the junk dessert.

    I do allow myself a treat meal, but it usually ends up looking like every other meal. LOL

    Another thing that keeps me on track is to eat for preformance or eating right to help with exercising. Set a goal fitness-wise and work towards it and use healthy eating as part of your training plan.
  • Thanks guys for all the great advice. We are tracking our calories on fitday and we're not going too nuts on Friday . I do need to work on excersizing more and making it more of a routine. I have a pretty sedentary job.

    We'll keep plugging along! . Wish us luck!
  • It's total easy to say no to junk food, sweets, desserts once you discipline yourself and go without for 2 weeks. The cravings are gone and its not a problem. The problem comes when you tell yourself that you are being "deprived" instead of seeing this as a choice to ensure a healthy life. Attitude is 90% thought and 10% doing. I do not feel like I'm missing a thing because the stuff no longer even tastes good to me.
  • My favorite trick when I'm really craving something bad - like my Latte of Doom concoction or something - is to remind myself of two things. 1: I always feel crappy after eating something that I know isn't good for me. 2: It will be there tomorrow if I still want it then.

    Using those two things, I can pretty reliably keep away from the worst food/drink temptations.

    Exercise is another matter...I'm trying to use my signature on here as a self-prodding system. I'm tracking minutes per week and miles per month. I've set goals, and seeing it laid out graphically like that really helps motivate me.

    But we're all different in what motivates us. Good luck!
  • Quote: I don't stay "motivated" (as in a "feeling") but I don't expect to. It is a decision -- just like going to work every day. I want the results more than I don't want the consequences of NOT doing it.
    I would also have to agree with Misti. I like the "going to work" analogy; some days you show up late, sometimes you're just not very productive, but whatever minor slip-ups you have, you still keep going.

    If there was a guaranteed way to feel motivated all the time, weightloss would be easy. The key lies in going to the gym and being mindful of what you're eating even when you don't feel like it (and being able to forgive yourself when you do slip up and just move on and try to do better next time).
  • The following quote sums it up for me:

    "Decide what you want; decide what you're willing to exchange for it; establish your priorities, and go to work." --H.L. Hunt

    I have decided that I want to be thin and I'm willing to exchange eating the way that I used to eat to be that way. So, when I want a glass of wine or a piece of cake, I just ask myself if it is worth the delay in getting to my goal to have it. Sometimes it is but most of the time it isn't.

    What also helps is that:
    1. For the most part, I like that foods that I eat. I am constantly experimenting with new foods to find things I enjoy eating. So I don't really feel deprived on a daily basis.
    2. I don't deprive myself all of the time. I go out to eat once or twice a month and don't worry about the calories when I do. Sometimes I have a glass of wine or two with dinner. Often times knowing I have a treat like this planned will help me stay with my program--e.g., I don't need a glass of wine tonight because I'm going to have one at the end of the week.
    3. I don't buy the foods that I really have trouble resisting. There aren't many foods that fall into this category, but there are a few and I just don't keep them in the house. Once I threw out an entire bag of trail mix because after the first couple of servings it was clear I was going to eat the whole bag in a couple of days if I didn't get it out of the house. Won't be buying that again (at least not for a long, long time).
    4. Just like not buying foods that I can't resist, I resist restaurant foods by not going to restaurants. We just don't eat out anymore unless it's some sort of occasion or we are going out with friends. The days of "let's go out because I don't feel like cooking dinner" are over for me.
    5. When I'm 80, all bets are off! I'm not doing this forever; once I turn 80 I can eat whatever I want. Granted, that's over 40 years away, but the thought still helps.
    6. If I manage to maintain my weight for two more years, I get to buy myself a convertible. My SO totally thinks I'm joking about this but I'm not! I'm way serious--I'm thinking maybe a Miata or one of the Toyota convertibles!

    - Barbara