What is your secret that keeps you going?

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  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    I have a goal that I don't think I can reach and I am 100% determined to prove myself wrong.
  • MacHaloC
    MacHaloC Posts: 42 Member
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    There are days when exercise feels like torture. But I do it anyway. Not because I should, or because I'm fighting against my genetics. But because after a good workout when my muscles feel weak and shaky, mentally I feel awesome. That glow keeps me going the rest of my day!
  • tifftaffy
    tifftaffy Posts: 141 Member
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    esjones12 wrote: »
    I have a goal that I don't think I can reach and I am 100% determined to prove myself wrong.

    I love this quote.

    Consistency is the most difficult for me. I have a desk job, typical M-F 8 -5, and I know for a fact that I won't (not can't) workout in the evening. So the only time I'm going to is early in the AM. So my fix for myself is to wake up at 5 (alarm is set for 4:45 so I give myself my needed 15 minutes of prepping myself of being "awake") to do whichever workout is set for that day. Right now it's a combo of Body Beast and Ballet Beautiful videos.

    Also, to make it simple for myself, I got a fitbit Surge to calculate my approximate calories burned to log it for me in MFP, which has an added benefit of encouraging myself to get more steps in. Since I've been doing this, I've walked more at work, have felt better throughout my day, and I've slept better.

    I've just made the decision to make the 5AM wake up to work out in some fashion the same priority as brushing/flossing teeth, bathing, and eating- it's got to be done at least daily. :)
  • lamartinjackson
    lamartinjackson Posts: 5 Member
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    I want to look and feel good about myself.
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
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    Spending 5 minutes with my mother. She has so many health issues and she's not even 70 yet. She has Type 2 diabetes, her legs and feet are in horrible, horrible condition, she can't walk 10 steps without stopping for a rest, basically just stays in her apartment and eats and watches TV. That is NOT the life I want when I retire.

    I also have lost this weight before and I fondly remember having great energy and being very happy with life in general because I could do so many things. I had strength and drive. I'm going to be there again.
  • johnpacuta
    johnpacuta Posts: 8 Member
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    Thanks everyone for posting! Especially the Conan comment hahaha, "I do not pray to you often Grom, I do not have the tongue for it..."

    My secret is that being tired does not matter AND I do this "healthy experiment" thing. When I am facing a decision to do something unhealthy, like have a pop, I say to myself: "I will run an experiment, and do the healthy thing, and see how it feels." Doing the right and healthy thing can be really hard, but I have a curious mind and the "healthy experiment" is just convincing enough to get me to "Just Do It".
  • PeachesNcreamgal
    PeachesNcreamgal Posts: 357 Member
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    Nice thread OP ;) My thoughts resonate with most people's take on working out. My primary motive was vanity and I have always been a health nut purely for superficial reasons. I was a physically active kid so I didn't grow up fat but stress caught up with me so I got a bit chubby at 15, although my well wishers chose to call me pleasantly plump!! So I started dieting at 16 and succeeded and maintained till 20 but then depression hit me REAL hard and I put on weight and I didn't know what to do till jan 2015->its when I turned 27 and rejoined mfp in feb AND I realised after interacting with a lot of people that diet and exercise is for more than physical appearance!! I don't have diabetes(my dad does) or blood pressure and reading about other 20 something people suffering from these issues opened my eyes to the urgent need for clean eating!!!
  • Ashtoretet
    Ashtoretet Posts: 378 Member
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    There is no secret. I just take it one day at a time. Some days are on point, others are a struggle, some are a bit of a failure. I just look ahead to where I'm going and try not to let the present discomfort get me down.
  • PandoraGreen721
    PandoraGreen721 Posts: 450 Member
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    I love how I look now...so there's no going back. B) Works for me...
  • bclarke1990
    bclarke1990 Posts: 287 Member
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    I'm sure most of us that were obese at one point had a lot of those moments, running on the treadmill, where we thought "One day I'm going to be better... I won't go back". Just have to remember how bad you wanted to be healthy and happy.
  • ericGold15
    ericGold15 Posts: 318 Member
    edited December 2015
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    For me: Peer pressure, and control/vanity.
    Fat physicians exist but they are not common. My work group is mostly people younger than me who are thin and active. I cannot be young anymore but I really like being thin and fit like my colleagues.

    Vanity is obvious, control may not be. I get a *lot* of satisfaction out of being able to go or do or ride or exercise wherever I want, whenever I want. I don't want to feel my leg muscles when I rise. I don't want to be stiff, or slouch in a chair. I want control over my body. It is something of an obsession that follows a personality trait.

    Which brings me to a very general observation: the people here who were obese and are now thin (and usually) fit seem to often have narcissistic and/or neurotic traits. I find the neurotics the most interesting and impressive because they have learned to channel their previously destructive tendencies into forum participation, logging, and most of all exercise.

    Freud is not in vogue anymore but he sure understood one thing: sublimation.
    And that is the secret.
  • johnpacuta
    johnpacuta Posts: 8 Member
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    Seems like vanity is a popular answer. My most recent secret is stocking up before any trip outside. Outside is a danger zone, a fast food wasteland. I better come prepared for war with 4 or more pieces of fruit and a sandwich if I find the time to make it. Also, I need the cold hearted commitment to not make that right turn into the too-easy CLAWS of another fast food chain... and they're all the same, the salt, fat and sugar that keeps me from being ME... And today, I will be who I am, who I know I am... fit, healthy, and happy
  • FatMoojor
    FatMoojor Posts: 483 Member
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    Just over 5 years ago, I became a dad for the first time and I realised that I had to do whatever I could to make sure I was going to be around for my daughter for as long as possible.

    I then got in to running and discovered that I love running long distances and pushing my body to its limits, might also be that getting out on the trails for a 3 or 4 hours in me time where I can just switch off from all the normal stresses.

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