I give myself pep talks. I've been doing really well these last 10 days but the scale doesn't show any change. I reminded myself it's just a scale. I put on two pairs of pants that were so tight I haven't worn them and they zipped up easily. Still tight for this weather because I wear a second pair of pants underneath but it's proof that I am accomplishing something even if the scale doesn't' budge. I tell myself if I just keep going, little by little, I'll get where I would like to go.
I look at the pictures from my sister in law's wedding and see how far I've come.
I rely on how good I feel now instead of what the scale says.
I look at how healthy my lifestyle has become vs what it used to be.
I think about how awful I feel when I eat high fat/high sodium foods. Bloating, water retention... Ugh...
I go for a walk or do some other form of exercise.
I also tend to lose weight slowly. I've been stuck between 150 and 155 since AUGUST. Most of that is due to falling off the darn wagon when I got discouraged.
I keep a journal, where I log my calories and execise for the day. At the begining of the journal, however, I have about 10 pages that have a kind of mantra on them to keep me focused. The pages just say things like "Yes, you can"; "Yes, you will", and "Get through this moment" - simple things to remind myself, but I I have that page open while I am working, or watching tv or something, it really helps remind me of the bigger picture! Good luck!
I tell myself, "five more pounds, and then if you want to quit, you can!" Of course, I never want to quit once I get that 5 off. And if I did I'd say "5 more pounds..."
This is going so sound a little strange, maybe, maybe not...but I picture an event that I know is coming. Maybe a 4th of July BBQ that the family has, or an up coming vacation, maybe even next Christmas....I picture the people I will be seeing that I don't see often. My family, my husbands family, old friends (maybe if a reunion is coming up)....and I picture myself there, and really give myself a few quiet consentrating minutes to "feel" how it will feel so show up to this up coming get together having lost the weight. I picture the feeling of feeling good to walk in the door, say "hi" to people I haven't seen in a while, to feeling comfortable in my clothes, what type of clothing I would wear now that I am thinner and healthier.
If there's nothing concrete in my future (no get togethers) I imagine one, because I might not know about a party that someone's going to be throwing in June yet, because they don't even know they are going to throw it! But I'm sure at sometime I will be going somewhere once again in my life where I will see people I haven't seen in a while. ****, imagine running into an old friend (or crush) from college. Whatever gets you feeling that "feel good" feeling about looking good.
Doing this really helps me want to strive for my goal. It really helps me stay on track when I want to slack off.
HTH
I haven't been doing this long, but writing little motivational things, positive statements, etc., on index cards helps. When I'm upset or tempted or angry at myself, I go back and reread them. Or just write more.
Discouragement will come...its a part of life. But when it comes along this weight loss path, I stick to it because I know its temporary. I always feel better when I come out on the other side. I hated being fat and I know that if I stop eating right and exercising I am going to get back fat. That is not an option for me....
I'm kind of a scary individual I guess. I growl at myself and say to my body if it thinks it's in pain now, it has no idea what kind of pain I am going to put it through if it can't get through x weight lift, or y cardio when I know I can.
As for the food thing and slow weight loss. You know I'm not really sure... I guess I feel like I have something to prove and yet I have no one to really prove it to.
I just remind myself that there's no hurry. I'm not in a race. Time is going to pass anyhow so I may as well spend that time losing weight. I've been at it 16 months already and I probably have another year or so before I hit goal (whatever that is). So what? The past year went by in a blink, just like the all do. The next one will go by in a blink too.
By the way, if your stats and start date are accurate, you aren't losing particularly slowly, and you don't have all that far to go compared to many. So try not to feel too sorry for yourself on that score - you're doing fine, your plan is working, and you got started to get control of your weight before it got too too too out of hand.
I guess I'm having one of those days. I lose weight so so so slowly, and I have so much left to go.
It's like I'm standing at the bottom of a mountain today - how do ya'll stay encouraged?
you're actually losing weight at a great pace- if i'm guessing correctly, 20lbs in 2 months? that's great!!!
i know how you feel. i look at the 100 lbs in front of my and i'm like jeez...how, when, will i ever??? but then i shake it off. i give my self a goal for the next two weeks, something reasonable. 5lbs. ok. and i don't just look at the scale. i look at how my clothes fit me, if i can push myself harder working out...etc.
losing weight is not about doing it as quickly as possible. i want it to last, and i know i need to make a whole lifestyle change.
-- I remind myself how good I am gonna feel when I'm slimmer ...
-- I remind myself how much better I feel than when I started ...
-- I remind myself that I am getting smaller each day ...
-- I remind myself that I am getting healthier as I go along ...
-- I remind myself how good it felt to be smaller (years ago) ...
-- I remind myself that if I take my time, I'm less likely to regain ...
-- I remind myself of the rewards that I am gonna give myself ...
-- I remind myself of all the things I will be able to do ...
-- I remind myself how much better I will look as well ...
-- I remind myself how bad I felt before ...
-- I remind myself of health issues I have overcome ...
-- I remind myself that I am worth this struggle ...
... and so are you!!!
Last edited by Justwant2Bhealthy; 01-09-2011 at 05:14 PM.
Discouraging days will happen. I can try to cheer myself up or read motivational things or what have you, but it doesn't work; I still look in the mirror or at the scale and think, "What's the use?"
BUT! Discouragement doesn't mean stopping what I'm doing.
I can kick my feet and think, "Why are you bothering? You're already middle-aged, you're just going to sag, you're never going to be attractive again anyway, and it's not like anyone would notice, blah blah blah"--all that toxic crap--but it doesn't stop me from going in and eating just as I do on my happiest, most motivated days because that's who I am now. I still exercise because that's who I am now.
If I relied on feeling motivated and encouraged, I wouldn't get very far. There would always be the grim anniversary of a family member's death or money anxiety or frustration at a slow-down in my weight loss or something to make me quit what I'm doing. But I don't quit, because exercise and eating within a calorie budget are things I do without reference to what goes on in my life.
I don't pick up a cigarette whenever I feel miserable, do I? I don't suddenly decide that meth will cure what ails me because I've never touched the stuff. Well, I won't go pick up a box of cheez-its either because that's no longer in my coping repertoire.
I don't have any particularly good tricks for avoiding discouragement, but I have learned how to make it no longer an issue when it comes to my behavior.
What do you do to keep from getting discouraged?
Most of that is due to falling off the darn wagon when I got discouraged. 
