Hi all,

I am (once again!) on my weight loss journey, however I can't seem to just keep motivated. On tv, they have shown a weight loss calendar and posting small goals to your mirror/wall so they are seen daily, but does anyone have any motivation tips that work well for them? I'm just curious to see what everyone does to stay motivated.

Thanks!

On a regular day, nothing really. No daily motivation, its just all a routine for me.

On really tough days, I just imagine myself 300 lbs heavier.

I find that for most days (regular days with average ups and downs) anything that doesn't involve a lot of mental energy/investment works best for me - I just do it cause its just part of the day. I see my eating as "me eating" just like when I was overweight and "just eating" I just do it in a different way. I see my workouts as "my moving" just like the past, except that I do it a bit more often.

I'm big on seeing actual loss, so for me instagram works really well!! I look at various users (fitandhealthy is a good one!) I also kind of love this hers

http://instagram.com/myweightlossfr#

Seeing this gets me through plateaus, wanting to binge, it may seem materialistic but it really helps me!

I had to remind myself every day why I started. It's so easy to undo our progress and throw in the towel...I've done it so many times but never again!

Maybe make a list and print it out in a fun font and read it as a quick once-over every day in your bathroom while you brush your teeth?

I also hung a goal outfit on the front door of my closet and I'd try it on about once a month to see how much further I had to go. The day it fit and the day I had to declare it TOO BIG were instrumental days on my journey and I never want to lose that motivating excitement about my own success.

Posting here daily too was extremely helpful. We all understand here so it doesn't have to be happy-go-lucky posts all the time.

My life will never be the same after joining this forum. It was magic the day I googled weight loss forum and found some forever friends here.

I like reading about other weight loss journeys. Seeing their success and reading about the food choices they made and the excercise they did help give me ideas and motivation to keep working at it.

We also booked a cruise for December of this year. It will be our 25th wedding anniversary! I'm determined NOT to buy a size 24 swimming suit!

I used the beach as my avatar to remind me of the upcoming cruise!

I think if you are struggling with motivation, your mood might be a bit low. So work on doing things to raise your mood.

I get depression from time to time and have very long periods of no motivation. Its like lacking motivation is the bane of my life at times and i don't know the answers and can't find any.

However, when i start doing activities that i actually really enjoy or want to do, my motivation lifts with my mood. And it can all change overnight.

Right now motivation is not a problem for me because since last August i have been working on starting a new business, though i did have some procrastination issues after xmas that i had to really push myself hard tog et beyond through.

I only started my diet in early january but because i am on an interesting mission in the rest of my life, motivation on my diet has been good.

So maybe take a look at your lifestyle and think about what dreams you are not doing. You need to find something good to make you want to get out of bed in the morning and enjoy your day doing. I know its not easy. I have spent many long months struggling with it.

If you need a quick sort of solution, would joining some competitive or team sporting activity help? It has helped me in the past. When i took up triathlon, i joined a group who would run together. I was extremely unfit to begin with and too fat to wear shorts but i stuck with it. I would easily do my exercise and keep to my diet in between those once a week runs. But in the end i got a knee injury, and a job and quit my new sport. And all the weight came back. It was mainly the injury that ruined that for me though. I was advised to stop running for at least 10 months.

Nowadays on my diet, i don't actually do any formal exercise at all, though down the track i want to train to do a race. I don't want to rely on too much exercise for my weight loss and maintenance because i have trouble sustaining the lifestyle. For my activity, i do gardening. I have a big garden and i don't do half as much as needs doing but on days i do it, i notice a drop in my calories the next day.

I just keep in mind that Im really close to getting diabetes so that keeps me moving forward cause I definitely dont want to get diabetes.

My sister is 13 years older than I am. We have the same body shape. I see all the medical issues she's having and I know I will be in the same spot in a few years if I don't change. When she had her left foot removed two months ago because of diabetes complications, I forced myself to look at her diseased feet. Then after the surgery I looked at her foot when the nurses would remove the bandages. I've used those images as motivation. I will NOT let myself get to that point. Good health is too important.

My motivation is to be healthy and free of food dysfunction. But I don't rely on willpower or motivation to get me through the day, I just chug along and try not to worry too much and hope that the more good choices I make the more it will be a habit. At the end of the day I only wish to look back and see more good choices than bad choices. Then I go on to the next day.

All I need to do is look at a recent photograph before I started. I never want to go there again.

I also love weight loss stories! It was hard for me to believe that it's possible to lose weight with diet and exercise at my weight, but finding people who have lost the amount that I need to, is one of those things that keep me going. I am so thankful for the people who share their journeys.

Also, I love mini-goals. I focus on tackling the next ten pounds. Right now, I just want to see the 220's. When I was in the 240's I was obsessed with seeing the 230's. It helps me to always have an automatic goal without a time limit set on it, and every 10 pounds lost feels like a small victory!

Whenever I need to be motivated, I watch before and after weight loss videos on Youtube. I mostly come on this site and go to the Goal section and read people's accomplishments too. It all helps motivate me on a daily basis.

My scales are my daily motivation. I weigh myself every morning. If the number is up, I'm motivated all day long to get it back down. If the number is down, then I'm motivated all day long to see that number again the next day or go lower.

It's working for me! And has been for quite a long time now.

Why are you trying to lose weight?

Diabetes is my motivation. Last May had my wake up call and started on a low carb diet. I had high blood pressure (over 200 when I went in) gout, and was in bad shape. I started walking to the end of the street and have worked my way up to 5-6 miles. I know that the diabetes isn't going anywhere and that if I want to be healthy I have to control it. My goal is to get off the meds.