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Hello

karentannerteacher
karentannerteacher Posts: 2 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I am very new to something like this and am wanting to say “Hello.” I am looking for tips to help me stay motivated to work towards my goals.

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,497 Member
    Hello, and welcome to the MFP Community! What goals are you working on: Lose weight, gain weight, get fitter, improve the healthfulness of your eating, or . . . ?

    I may not be in the majority here, but for me, motivation is not the best helper toward any of that. I have a limited budget of motivation, willpower, discipline and that sort of thing.

    What worked for me was finding new habits that I could stick with relatively happily long term, habits that led to a healthy weight and improved fitness (which were my goals). That took some experimentation. Once I identified a strategy I thought might help me toward my goals, I spent some of my limited willpower budget on testing that strategy out, deciding whether to keep it, and if so practicing it until it was a routine habit.

    I've been here on MFP for almost 8 years now, just under a year losing from class 1 obese to a healthy weight, and 7+ years of maintaining a healthy weight since, and staying reasonably fit for my demographic. During that time, I've read a lot of posts. It seems like the "lose weight fast, using extreme diets/workouts" route is common, but is one that will work for only a very few, especially if success is defined as staying at a healthy weight long term.

    There are quite a few people like me still hanging around in maintenance - not just to maintain but also wanting to help other folks get there - and it seems like the most common route among that subgroup has been trying to find permanent, sustainable new habits.

    Regardless of how you go forward, I'm cheering for you to succeed with your goals!
  • karentannerteacher
    karentannerteacher Posts: 2 Member
    Hi! Thanks for your reply. I am trying to lose weight and just crossed over from prediabetic to diabetic. Long term goal is to lose 50 pounds, but shooting for 10 pounds at a time. 50 sounds daunting, but 10 sounds doable. I agree that sustainable habits are what is going to help me the most.
    My challenge is portion control and sugar, but now that I am diabetic, in a weird way that may help me to think before I eat something sugary.
    So good to know there is someone out there cheering me on who has been on this journey for some time. Thanks!

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