Motivation, Habits, and Practice

cc3833

Hello Everyone! Not really asking for much help today, just wanted to talk about the things I've been doing this year to make it successful.

Last year I did a lot of struggling to get motivated to want to be healthy again (About 3 years ago I had lost 40 lbs... got a back injury, got lazy and woe is me). I also worked on trying to get in the groove, learn and read as much as I could about making this change again.... but to have it stick this time.

I follow FatGirlFedUp (and a few other weight loss pages) on Instagram. She is such an inspiration and a wonderful human. She lost over 300 lbs in over 2 years (along with her husband losing almost 95 lbs). Watching her journey made mine seem a lot less stressful, and gave me motivation.

I invested in a food scale and learned how to use it (with some helpful tips from people on this forum). I found the perfect spot in the kitchen for it, making it as easy to use as possible.

After about 2-3 months using the food scale, I decided to join one of FatGirlFedUp’s dietbets (this was a New Year’s Resolution one which started January 7th). I figured why not? I hate losing money... I've been using MFP but not as strictly as I should be, I was working out irregularly (I mean Horseback Riding is exercise right?!?! I mean I do it 5 days a week! LOL) 4% of my body weight in 4 weeks sounded attainable and a lot less intimidating than looking at the 60 lb number I actually had to lose. I succeeded and lost the 7.6 lb goal. I am on my second dietbet and this time I have to lose 7.4 lbs. (I started the first bet at 189.8... today I am down to 178.2... 5'0, my goal weight is 130). I am on my longest log in streak of 57 days! I’ve never kept to MFP this consistently, even when I lost the 40 lbs the first time.

I still go out to eat but I try to be as precise as I can when using my food scale to make up for the guessing on those days. Since I’ve been consistent with tracking my food for about 2 months and losing anywhere between 10-12 lbs (you know weight fluctuation!) I decided it’s time to take working out and my fitness as my next challenge. Today I signed up for 3 months of personal training. It will be 30 min sessions twice a week for 3 months. Just so happens I am going to the Dominican Republic in 75 days! I figured this is a 2 for 1 deal… get fitness back into my routine… and be summer ready! I believe 3 months is a good start. And if after that I still believe I am not confident enough to go out on my own I will renew the contract.

I can actually say that weighing my food isn’t annoying at all anymore. It is just part of my everyday routine. Logging into MFP to log my weight and food is just something I do every morning on my bus ride to work. I ride my horse almost every day after work. It is part of my day. It is planned and routine and I am now comfortable and ready for my next challenge… to make working out part of my routine 3 days a week.

What kind of changes have you made this year? How long did it take you to form your habits? Do you believe 3 months is enough to see a visible difference?