i haven't posted here in awhile, cause honestly i gave up, again. so i have a few questions if anyone can give thier advice on. my biggest question is how to stay modivated, i can't stay on track for anything. i fail everytime i try. and another question i got is, i was thinking about starting to walk, for excercise, but how much benefit comes with walking? i have no time to join a gym or anything like that so i thought about getting up early and going walking. i don't want to do this if im not going to get any results out of it. but i have GOT to do something. i am not really gaining any right now, but i defienalty not losing either. i am so dreading the summer and shorts too. i really want to do this for myself and get back to feeling like me again. so any advice would be appreiciated thanks

Hey welcome back!

Walking if fantastic way to keep in shape, at a good pace you can consider it a cardio.
Motivation, ya know weightloss is so much more of a mental thing. This is about you and what makes you want what you want?
Personally I was checking out the success stories in3fatchicks and WOW! There are some ladies in there that took 3 months to make a difference in their look. That is enough to motivate me, cause I want to be just like them.

Welcome backc krisk Good for you for trying again. Motivation is a tricky thing. For me, setting small weight-loss goals instead of looking at the "big picture" (which can be overwhelming) is what keeps me going. I aim for say a 10 or 15 lbs loss, then once I achieve that, set the next goal for 10-15 lbs. If I proceed like that a few times, I'll eventually reach goal. I would also say that support in your efforts can be had through this website, your family or friends. Or join an organized weight loss center i.e. Weight Watchers which require weekly weigh-ins. I know knowing that I have to weigh in once a week keeps me on track. I do not want to face my meeting leader with a gain and have to explain that I just wasn't motivated... And pick a plan that fits into your lifestyle. You don't want to have to limit yourself to certain food groups if you have a family to feed--plus, learning how to eat better and make healthier choices should be something that you will do for the rest of your life, not just "until I lose X number of pounds".

Walking is GREAT exercise. It is my main source of activity and I've dropped almost 40 lbs with it. I take my dog with me to give her a little exercise and to keep her from going stir crazy at home. I take my 7 y.o. with me when I have a little more time and can take a slower pace. It is good for your cardio health as the previous poster said, plus! If you keep a brisk pace it'll tone up your rear end and thighs Good luck with your efforts and once you find that motivation, hold on to it with both hands.

You got to have some motivation you came back here.....
Try it one day at a time take small steps
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79031
here is a thread that dose just that.....Plan you day and try to make it...if you dont start over tomorrow....we all do......

But dont stop.....you can do this

I set a goal to walk 4 mile every day
I dont make it every day but I try Its done me a world of good.....

thanks for all the advice, i know its a daily struggle, one that i hope we all win!

I can understand completely where you are coming from. I have just recently(a week and a half ago) got back on my "lifestyle change" and let me tell you the hardest thing is getting going. You sound exactly like I did, questioning myself just how to get motivated and how to stick with it. What has helped me the most is planning. I make sure that I will have healthy food available and I try to always plan my meals a day ahead. That way I am not stuck without anything for lunch one day and then decide to just screw it and go get a value meal at McDonald's because it is convenient. Plan, plan, plan!

I also recently read in a magazine that one of the top reasons people do not stick with their weightloss plan is because they are trying to change too many things at once. For instance, reducing your calorie intake, increasing exercise, eating more healthy foods, getting a certain percentage of protein/carbs/fat, etc. I believe each and everything one of those is important, however start with just changing two habits. Focus at first on just reducing your calorie intake and increasing exercise. Once you have those habits in gear and under control, incorporate something new to work on . For instance, work on eating less processed foods. Know what I mean?

And lastly, personally I think walking is a wonderful start to your exercise program. I have read also that people that use walking as exercise usually end up being very sucessful because it is something that they can stick to.

Hope this wasn't too long! Good luck, trust me if I can do it anyone can!

Kris,

Welcome back! Motivation is a tricky thing; it seems we all struggle with that from time to time. I joined these boards several months ago and only recently re-visited because I am also struggling with motivation. I hope that by meeting new people and hopefully making some friends I’ll be motivated by others successes. And I get to hear others ideas. Here’s a tip however small it may be. I recently started cutting out pictures of models/actresses/athletics for thinspiration and post them near my work desk.

Welcome back, krisk! One of the things that has helped me keep motivated at times when I don't have any motivation for myself is coming to these message boards. If I'm having a really tough day or something, I always come here and vent it out just a little, and then people help me out! There are tons of people here who are willing to be cheerleaders for your bad days (and for your good ones too!)

Someone else mentioned the idea of not trying to change too much at once. I agree that this is a really good idea. Change is tough anyway, and if you try to change everything all at once you might start to feel overwhelmed and more likely to give up entirely. In the beginning, just focus on one thing first---say, limiting your calorie count to slightly less than you'd normally get. After you get that part mastered, then double your focus to include limiting calories and exercising, etc. Pretty soon, you'll get the hang of it, and you'll make a routine out of living properly, and it won't even feel like a diet anymore.

The only other piece of advice that I can offer is one that I struggle with daily. Realize that there will be days where you make a few bad choices. This doesn't mean that you've failed. Little detours in your plan are completely expected, so the best thing you can do for yourself when you find yourself in these situations is to remember that the only way that you fail is if you quit. It's a lot harder to practice than it is to preach (believe me, as I say, I struggle with this daily), but it really is the truth.

Good luck to you as you re-begin your journey! You can do it...If I can, anyone can!

ATTITUDE!! If you think you can - you will, if you think you can't - you won't. Just everyday tell yourself you CAN and then do it! No one can convince you of this or that it will be easy, it won't. But it WILL be worth it and you CAN do it. Say that to yourself 5 times in the morning, "It WILL be worth it and I CAN do it" remember to emphasise WILL and CAN, and when you feel discouraged instead of focusing on the "can't" or "won'ts" start repeating, "It WILL be worth it and I CAN do it".

Still in doubt?

Say it with me .... "It WILL be worth it and I CAN do it"

Did you say it? or did you roll your eyes at me?

I am waiting .....

Yes I have the time ....

Okay ready?

IT WILL BE WORTH IT AND I CAN DO IT!!

Now look at ya! All the power in the world.

So you and I and the rest of the board are focused on a healthier, skinnier and gosh darn sexier person ... that is you!

i couldn't agree more Sassy- i know if i don't do it no one else is gonna do it for me. i keep making excuses and more excuses, but the bottom line is.... i CAN do it. i know that i just need to get myself in the mode and stick to it,lol
my biggest excuse is no time and i have kids that need to eat so i eat with them,lol guess its time to pull myself up by the bootstrings and do something about being FAT! thanks for all the replies

Now you are talking!! Nice change in attitude from the first post to now. We can take steps forward now Okay the kid thing, I know, I got one too. But one thing I think about is why am I feeding my kid stuff I won't eat because it isn't "healthy"? Do I want to make my kid fat too? Of course not. So I try to cook things that are both healthy and yummy. She now loves veggies and stir fry is a favorite of hers. Find stuff that they like and you do as well - win-win! Another thing I like to do is make a good healthy veggie meal for me, and then maybe add chicken nuggets for her. Or something else that is kid-fun but I am not too tempted by, such as hot-dogs or the such. Then you can just fill up on healthy food and not add the kid food to yours.

change in attitude isn't necessarliy the problem, lol, its change in appearance im focusing on. i hate looking and feeling like this. i have got to do something! anything at this point, this is the biggest i have ever been i do not intend on staying this way long! so i have talked and talked and talked about doing something and now i feel like i might acctually DO something. im gonna look my schedule over and see how i can fit more activity in and i think this weekend the regular grocery store trip is gonna take on a whole new life in its self. no more junk and lots more veggies and low calorie items. so that is my plan, now i just got to stick to it! thanks for the advice