Staying motivated as you get closer to goal

lavaughan69
lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm quickly closing in on the weight that I usually get to when I get derailed. I hit that 150 mark and when I look in the mirror I love the person I see. I feel sexy and thin, clothes hang well on my body and I lose my motivation to stick with it and keep going to reach my goal of 140. It would be one thing if I just maintained 150 and continued to eat healthy and exercise, but I always find myself slowly slipping into bad habits and gaining all my weight back.

So here I am, 5 lbs away fro the 150 mark and I looked in the mirror and quite honestly, I'm loving this thinner body again! I'm going to dig out a pair of skinny jeans that should be too tight still and attempt to do them up. Best case scenario they will be way too tight and it will remind me that I have a ways to go.

For those of you that have reached your goals, how did you remain motivated once you felt good about yourself?

Replies

  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    Does anyone have any suggestions?
  • clareyoung80
    clareyoung80 Posts: 177 Member
    I'm not sure why you're aiming for 140 if you're happy at 150. I mean, weight loss is one thing - maintenance is a whole other ball game. It's not the end of the road, but rather a new road to start on.

    So, you could start maintaining your weight now and changing the way you think about it. (ie: not a chance to slip back into hold habits, but maintaining your new habits).

    You could also start changing your motivators - start thinking about it more from a health perspective? Like, focusing on improving your fitness, finding new recipes that help you eat well and so on.

    I mean, I'm still about 20 lbs from my goal, but I get the feeling that once I reach that... I transition to maintenance world FOREVER! And I will need to focus on other things like upping my fitness levels, eating more vegetables etc...

    It's a journey comprised of 'phases', as opposed to a finite end goal.
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    I set my goal at 140 because that's the the top of the weight range that someone my height and age should be (5'5", 42). The suggestions are all over the place, anywhere from 112-150. So I've not necessarily set an aggressive goal. Being healthy and fit are definitely on my list of goals so being in the proper weight range is part in parcel of that. Now mental health is another issue. The fact that I like what I see when I look in the mirror at 150 does not always translate into reality of the situation. It's a false perception I think. If I see a picture of myself at that weight it always looks far worse than what I see in the mirror. Maybe that's the solution for motivation. Maybe I need to take pictures so I see the reality. And your right, I'm going to have to figure out how to maintain. I always start out behaving and then I stop measuring, tracking and going on the scale and before you know it, poof!, the weight is all back and then some.
  • clareyoung80
    clareyoung80 Posts: 177 Member
    I'm 5'5" too! My goal is around 120 lbs, although it's entirely dependent on how I feel...

    And I agree with you on taking photos - it's a tricky thing because ideally you would think that if you're happy with your weight when you look in the mirror then that's that. And photos are a whole different ball game - I always believe that I just generally don't photograph well at all no matter what size I am!

    Perhaps a photo project? Take lots of pictures of yourself, and do lots of progress shots too, and see what you think.

    And perhaps think of this goal as phase one, with maintenance for a year or so as phase two - a new goal! Therefore, you're not 'done' so to speak.

    Ps: How did the skinny jeans go?
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    I actually got them on! They weren't that comfortable and I didn't try sitting in them, but they were on! I just did my measurements this morning and I was surprised how few inches I've lost. Or to be more accurate, I've lost a little bit everywhere. No wonders no one has noticed I'm down 27lbs. Seeing how few inches I've lost off my key areas has helped me put in perspective what I actually look like.

    I'd love to weight 125! I celebrated my 21st wedding anniversary yesterday and looking back at the 21 year old me reminded me of what I looked like at 125-130. I'd love to be able to put that wedding dress back on for my 25th!

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