What Do You Do To Motivate?

SeasideOasis

I've been an on and off serial calorie counter. I was completely on point and doing great a couple years ago. Well, needless to say I "fell off the wagon"....Hard. A couple days ago, I'm back at it and glad to be counting again, even if I go over a little...

Yesterday, while going through some old pictures I found some pictures of me in 2007, when I was in the best shape of my life. I've always had a an hour glass and I've never been smaller than a size 5. I was a healthy and fit 125 pounds and had great muscle tone. Nothing insane, but I was happy and fit. I printed the picture and tapped it into the front of my weight loss journal/diary/thing. If I am having a rough day, I will have the journal to remind me what my goal is.

Which led me to question, what does everyone else do to stay motivated? Is it a promise? A picture? An athletic goal?

Stripeness

We have the Bloom County weight loss series of comic strips taped to the refrigerator. From when Opus the penguin was trying to lose weight.

It reminds me to keep a sense of humor, and really? I've been fit and strong most of my life. Got knocked down badly in recent years, but I'm absolutely confident I'll recover, because fundamentally that's who I am.

TArnold2012

I bought a fitbit one. It has really helped me stay focused on moving. It has been 3 weeks now and for the first time in my life I find myself actually pushing to do exercises. I am loving the motivation of beating yesterday's numbers.

usamantha23

PINTEREST! so many motivational quotes, and tons of workouts and healthy meal ideas!

Muddy_Yogi

Motivation comes and goes....routine is what works best for me...it is just something I have routinely done....sooooooooo I do it because it is what I do. Routine makes me comfortable.

seltzermint555

For me the number on the scale is good motivation, even though a lot of people think that's the worst it works better for me than most other things.

Shreddingit84

This is my second time but looking better and at a higher weight than the first time back in 2011... This time i found the right pals to keep me motivated! They r truly awesome! So get some good ones on your side!

meshashesha2012

Make non vague goals and be committed to them and you won't need motivation.
An example of a vague goal is 'i want to lose weight' . A non vague goal is something like wanting to run a 5k, wanting to be able to walk up steps without being crazy out of breath, Etc

Ejourneys

From my first day on MFP, my avatar picture on the left (from June 2002) served as my inspiration to get to goal. My avatar picture on the right (from Dec. 2013) dates from when I reached my goal weight. Now both of them inspire me to stay there.

Motivation comes and goes....routine is what works best for me...it is just something I have routinely done....sooooooooo I do it because it is what I do. Routine makes me comfortable.

^^^ This. I keep certain foods around the house to have when I need them and have an exercise routine that I love. I log here and weigh myself daily. If anything breaks my routine, I get back on it as soon as I can because it's what I know and it's comfortable.

Make non vague goals and be committed to them and you won't need motivation.
An example of a vague goal is 'i want to lose weight' . A non vague goal is something like wanting to run a 5k, wanting to be able to walk up steps without being crazy out of breath, Etc

Signing up for a 5K, even when I first resumed running and could not cover the distance, inspired me to train. I gave myself enough lead time and I also knew that I could do a walk/run if necessary. Last September I climbed 110 flights of stairs as part of our local hospital's 9/11 Memorial Fitness Challenge. I didn't know if I could do it; I knew only that I would try. Finding ways to challenge myself and see just what I can accomplish is another form of motivation.