Waht keeps you motivated?
holli1ch
Posts: 673 Member
Share what keeps you going be it a picture, a saying, an upcoming event, etc.
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Replies
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This is maybe super gross, but... about a year and a half ago, I had to have a birth control implant surgically removed from my arm. It had migrated deep into the subcutaneous fat and my OBGYN wasn't able to remove it in office. After he tried, I had a big, gross, mushed around cut into fat in my arm, and had to dress it on my own until it healed up. Seeing my own fat was... disgusting and incredibly vivid. So, when I'm not feeling it, I picture the way my arm looked after the first attempt to remove the implant and get my butt back in action. I have a new implant on the other arm which is probably going to migrate, and I don't want the fat to be thick enough to have to go back in the OR to remove it!
I want it to come out clean the first time!! 16 -
A healthy bit of self-loathing and unrelenting fear of ever becoming obese again.
In all seriousness, motivation is fleeting, but the discipline to continually adhere to something (diet/activity/mentality) that you've placed as a priority is life long.5 -
True...but at times I need to be reminded why I am on this life long journey and need a little fleeting motivation to keep me from taking a detour.A healthy bit of self-loathing and unrelenting fear of ever becoming obese again.
In all seriousness, motivation is fleeting, but the discipline to continually adhere to something (diet/activity/mentality) that you've placed as a priority is life long.
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Short term goals. A stick and a carrot. (something that pushes you forward like a threat or a promise of something bad happening to you vs a reward or incentive to do good)3
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Photos. Especially candid photos taken by family and friends. From age 17 to 35, I HATED 99% of those photos and felt shocked and disgusted by them. For the past 6-7 years I've finally been fine with them or if I hate them it's more like "ha, my face looks weird because I was saying something" instead of focusing on my fat rolls.6
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Feeling so. much. better. than I did when I was fat: Less joint pain, more mobility (and I was actually pretty fit while fat - but thin is better). The normal blood pressure and cholesterol/triglycerides.
And future Ann's well-being. That's a big one. I'm 64 now, hoping to avoid the one-way trip to an assisted living facility for as long as possible
(I'm at a healthy weight now, and have been for a while, still calorie counting and food logging regularly.)12 -
Continuous improvement. Lifting a bit heavier, running a bit faster, realizing I can now do things I didn't think were possible when I started. It's what keeps me going when the scale isn't moving3
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Whenever I go to the dr.s and my blood work comes back perfect or my PCP makes a happy comment about my changes. Last year in April, I was so disheartened from having gained 25 lbs. during the winter(was back up to 160 and could easily see myself over 200 again). Very depressed, talked with her about all kinds of strategies. She actually said many clients had good results with MFP. I have an appt. coming up again in April, and I'm at 135-136 so will be proudly able to share with her my success. I'm a kid that way, need the approval of others.
Plus I simply feel better, can breathe easier. I think back a couple months ago when I first started on the treadmill and was lucky to walk a mile in 20 minutes. Now I walk 2 miles in 38 minutes, with an incline, lots of times 2x a day. I see the progress in how much stronger my body feels by sticking to it and pushing a bit further each week.
I'm 66, my mom had a heart attack at 62 and her cholesterol/BP were through the roof. I would like to prolong my body's breakdown as long as I can.5 -
I don't want to end up like my Dad did. He never took care of himself and it all caught up to him at around age 55 (my age now) . He weighed around 400 lbs at his heaviest....He had a 5 bypass heart surgery, 3 heart attacks that we know of, colon cancer, and the worst was his diabetes that ended up taking both his legs and eventually his life. Dr's kept him alive, but his quality of life was horrible for at least 25 years.6
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In the short term, I think I find it really rewarding to log my food. (I also am one of those weird people who finds cleaning out closets satisfying and organizing things soothing.) So the process of doing is part of the reward. I find it really helpful to get encouragement from and give it to my friends on here. That and participating in threads like this keep my head in the game and keep me focused on what I want.
I want to wear princess-seamed dresses. This means I need an abdominoplasty. This means I have to lose enough weight to qualify.
Also, the thought of my sister's face when she finds that I dropped a hundred pounds by myself when she had to get her 75 off with bariatric surgery....well, that does rather sustain me. (No, we don't get along.) That is a way to give myself a very satisfying and Merry Christmas next year.5 -
Plus I simply feel better, can breathe easier. I think back a couple months ago when I first started on the treadmill and was lucky to walk a mile in 20 minutes. Now I walk 2 miles in 38 minutes, with an incline, lots of times 2x a day. I see the progress in how much stronger my body feels by sticking to it and pushing a bit further each week.
Urgh, I meant 28 minutes for 2 miles, not 38. If I only had a brain..... 4 -
I kept a shirt & pair of jeans from the beginning of my journey to remind myself how far I have come. Also a ton of before/during/current progress pics.
Plus it's always nice to leave a wellness checkup without any bad news or lectures too.3 -
The scale.
Seeing my weight going down through the number on the scale motivates to keep doing what I’m doing.3 -
My motivation is fear of a painful death. Seriously.
I fight obesity, cardio-vascular disease, COPD, and T2 diabetes. I'm not interested in living forever, but I want the time I have left to be better than the time I had. I don't want to go due to shutdown of my heart, kidneys, pancreas, etc. When I go, I'd prefer it to be pain free, and that's not possible with the issues confronting me right now.
So, yeah, I want to get as healthy as I was 30 years ago.6 -
My mom had a heart attack and double by-pass at age 50 and then another heart attack and double by-pass at age 60. My dad had a heart attack and double by-pass at age 61. I 58 and do not want to go through what I saw each of them go through.
Vanity confession = I will attending 2 weddings this summer, in May and June both put of state, and want to 'surprise' everyone with how amazing I will be looking.11 -
cyaneverfat wrote: »Short term goals. A stick and a carrot. (something that pushes you forward like a threat or a promise of something bad happening to you vs a reward or incentive to do good)
Same here. In fact I think that is one of the reasons I am struggling this week. Well that and weather. But I need something very concrete to dangle in front of me and with a very definitive time period. So I will try to come up with something that will do the trick. I can't fool myself if it is not a real goal.
Thanks @holli1ch for posting this. I needed this discussion right now.1 -
Mental discipline that is applicable to professional/personal life.5
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I hit my goal weight two years ago and foolishly expected it to stay without maintenance. The confident feeling I had about my body is what I want back as much as to fit comfortably in those little jeans sitting in my closet.2
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astridtheviking wrote: »This is maybe super gross, but... about a year and a half ago, I had to have a birth control implant surgically removed from my arm. It had migrated deep into the subcutaneous fat and my OBGYN wasn't able to remove it in office. After he tried, I had a big, gross, mushed around cut into fat in my arm, and had to dress it on my own until it healed up. Seeing my own fat was... disgusting and incredibly vivid. So, when I'm not feeling it, I picture the way my arm looked after the first attempt to remove the implant and get my butt back in action. I have a new implant on the other arm which is probably going to migrate, and I don't want the fat to be thick enough to have to go back in the OR to remove it! I want it to come out clean the first time!!
Thanks for reminding me to check the placement of mine!!
I am in a wedding in June where I am wearing a dress that I don't get to actually try on until 2 days before the wedding. We can have it taken in if it's too big but can't do anything about it if it's too small!2 -
I have a vacation in May and I'm a bridesmaid in August. I started setting small weight loss goals for myself, I write them on a tiny post-it note and I have it posted on my computer monitor. That way anytime I feel like partaking in the usual office cookies/donuts/pizza social, I can remind myself I have goals.4
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cyaneverfat wrote: »Short term goals. A stick and a carrot. (something that pushes you forward like a threat or a promise of something bad happening to you vs a reward or incentive to do good)
Same here. In fact I think that is one of the reasons I am struggling this week. Well that and weather. But I need something very concrete to dangle in front of me and with a very definitive time period. So I will try to come up with something that will do the trick. I can't fool myself if it is not a real goal.
Thanks @holli1ch for posting this. I needed this discussion right now.
Because I want to look really good for the upcoming weddings in May ad June I have been looking at dresses. I found one I really like so the picture of it is the lock screen on my phone. This way every time I look at my phone I see the dress and remember my goal!4 -
RosaCruz91 wrote: »I have a vacation in May and I'm a bridesmaid in August. I started setting small weight loss goals for myself, I write them on a tiny post-it note and I have it posted on my computer monitor. That way anytime I feel like partaking in the usual office cookies/donuts/pizza social, I can remind myself I have goals.
I have a picture of a dress that I want to wear to a wedding in May as my phone's Lock screen. Every time I look at my phone I am reminded of my goal.1 -
astridtheviking wrote: »This is maybe super gross, but... about a year and a half ago, I had to have a birth control implant surgically removed from my arm. It had migrated deep into the subcutaneous fat and my OBGYN wasn't able to remove it in office. After he tried, I had a big, gross, mushed around cut into fat in my arm, and had to dress it on my own until it healed up. Seeing my own fat was... disgusting and incredibly vivid. So, when I'm not feeling it, I picture the way my arm looked after the first attempt to remove the implant and get my butt back in action. I have a new implant on the other arm which is probably going to migrate, and I don't want the fat to be thick enough to have to go back in the OR to remove it! I want it to come out clean the first time!!
Thanks for reminding me to check the placement of mine!!
I am in a wedding in June where I am wearing a dress that I don't get to actually try on until 2 days before the wedding. We can have it taken in if it's too big but can't do anything about it if it's too small!
I have a picture of a dress that I want to wear to a wedding in May as my phone's lock screen. Every time I look at my phone I am reminded of my goal.1 -
cyaneverfat wrote: »Short term goals. A stick and a carrot. (something that pushes you forward like a threat or a promise of something bad happening to you vs a reward or incentive to do good)
Same here. In fact I think that is one of the reasons I am struggling this week. Well that and weather. But I need something very concrete to dangle in front of me and with a very definitive time period. So I will try to come up with something that will do the trick. I can't fool myself if it is not a real goal.
Thanks @holli1ch for posting this. I needed this discussion right now.
You got this. Short term goal, maybe of a month. Get a picture of whatever it is and keep is with you to remember why you are on this journey.1 -
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I have my wedding coming up in a couple of years! I really want to be able to wear a dress I want without shying away because of my tummy fat or anything. I want to be happy looking at my photos and for those photos to always be motivation to stay fit (after I get there)3
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When I started I wrote down my list of why this time was going to be different. I have that list in my Iphone, and on my desk at home. And review it ongoing.
Still on my journey but down 80 lbs. But so far I have made it back to being a controlled Type2 diabetic, all my blood lipids are normal. I want to be healthy as I grow older I am 61. I have so much more energy, doing cardio 6 days a week for 45 minutes to an hour. And yoga twice a week. When I started walking 50 feet made me tired.7 -
Fitting into my clothes. I've reached my goal (actually overshot it) and now I need to be as vigilant as ever so everything in my closet doesn't shrink again.2
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kristen8000 wrote: »Fitting into my clothes. I've reached my goal (actually overshot it) and now I need to be as vigilant as ever so everything in my closet doesn't shrink again.
Congratulations on being at goal!
I can't wait until I can say the same.1 -
maureenkhilde wrote: »When I started I wrote down my list of why this time was going to be different. I have that list in my Iphone, and on my desk at home. And review it ongoing.
Still on my journey but down 80 lbs. But so far I have made it back to being a controlled Type2 diabetic, all my blood lipids are normal. I want to be healthy as I grow older I am 61. I have so much more energy, doing cardio 6 days a week for 45 minutes to an hour. And yoga twice a week. When I started walking 50 feet made me tired.
Fantastic to have the energy to do what you want!1
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