Newbie!

Fuzztak

Hello everyone, looking forward to using MyFitnessPal to help me on my weight loss journey. What tips do you have to keep me on track and motivated?

MargaretYakoda

Motivation is a fickle beast.

The real trick is to keep going. And if you fall off your plan? Get back at it and don’t beat yourself up over it.

We all experience an occasional slump or setback. It’s a part of the journey. The trick is not to rely on motivation, but to build habits.

Everyone is different. Find the things that work best for you. And if it doesn’t work? Ask questions. Explore options. And keep on going.

That’s the secret. That’s the one and only secret.
Keep on keeping on.

AnnPT77

My main tip is to pick an approach that requires the minimum of motivation to stick with.

Too many people arrive here determined to lose weight fast (often very fast), to cut out all supposedly bad foods (including some foods they crave and enjoy and would be capable of eating in moderation), eat only supposedly healthy foods (including some they think taste yucky or that are expensive and impractical), then add a punitively intense exercise routine on top of that.

Nine times out of ten, that's going to fail before enough time has passed to lose any meaningful total amount of weight.

More moderate plans can work. Changes can be made gradually. We don't need to eliminate all joy from eating: Being fat isn't a sin we need to expiate via suffering.

We also don't need extreme, exhausting exercise . . . in fact, extreme exercise can be counterproductive for either weight loss or fitness improvement. Instead, find some ways to introduce more movement into your life, whether daily life movement or official exercise. On the exercise front, ideally chose things that are fun, that you want to do. At minimum, chose exercises that are tolerable, convenient, and generally practical.

I don't know about you, but I want to not only lose weight but also to stay at a healthy weight long term. A sensible plan can get a person to goal weight in less calendar time than some extreme thing that causes bouts of deprivation-triggered over-eating, breaks in the action, or even giving up altogether. As a bonus, a moderate approach can help us find and practice new, relatively pleasant routine habits that will serve us well to stay at a healthy weight.

Wishing you success! Speaking as someone in year 8 at a healthy weight after a year of loss from obese, the improved quality of life is more than worth the effort.

Best wishes!