share the weird things you do to keep motivated!

bernicesmission

Hi i am just curious what you guys do to keep motivated, inspirational quotes and affirmations etc etc
I do several things to keep me distracted when i am struggling and want to give up!

1. When i go for long walks (25km) my ankles will inevitably burn and i get to the point where i think i should stop turn around and go home. My main reason for getting healthy is starting a family so i keep a very soft babies sock that my grandma knitted in my pocket to remind myself why i am in pain and cant give up!

2. I often a spinning class with a friend and when my knees are siezing and i need to get off the bike for 2 minutes she will get off and do a crazy chicken dance to embarass me so i get back on the bike, it also makes me laugh and distracts from the exhaustion!

3. I look on clothing websites and add things to my basket for my slimmer self and promise i will buy them when i get to that point.

4. Also i have a wall of very ugly photos, inspirational quotes and things that have happened good and bad that i look at while i am eating and exercising.

5. when i work out i speak to myself all the time, I can do it, one more etc etc

So here are my crazy things how about yours?

helen8328

I love that your friend does a crazy chicken dance to motivate you to get back onto the bike, I'm gonna remember that one next time my friend thinks about giving up in the gym lol

My favourite quote is 'abs are made in the kitchen', I tell myself this every time I think of reaching for a cookie or chocolate. I was in a lot better condition last year than I am now and I keep a picture of myself from then on my phone to give me something to work towards. Once I get that back I'll change it for another picture to work towards. I think its important to give yourself goals as it motivates you more. My husband has put before and after pics on his phone to motivate himself, as he never wants to be big again. Seeing how far he's come stops him from giving up as all that hard work would've been for nothing.

bernicesmission

the chicken dance is famous at our gym haha good advice about mobile pics it would help when i am out and about or grocery shopping !

littleburgy

If I need a jump, I visualize my training is part of some inspirational movie sequence, like those badass Rocky themes and channel like an inner Balboa shaping up to face Drago. :happy:

Or if it's a combat class I pretend to be punching someone who has made me mad... but maybe that isn't so weird! :devil:

Momto4minions

I have one pair of jeans from my high weight in my closet. When I feel badly about my body, or slow progress, I put them on. I stand there and remember how it felt to have the denim cutting into me. Then i slip my arm down the leg that used to be tight and feel how much fitter I am now.

This makes me pretty emotional too.

drojen

Sometimes, when I run, I hear the theme from Rocky or Chariots of Fire in my head and picture myself heading to the finish line at a race with my ds at the end, cheering his head off. Keeps me going every time.

A quote I repeat to myself when running is your legs are not giving out, your head is giving up. Keep going.

phickman9273

I keep a "SuperStar" board in my kitchen. It has my current weight and my 10 lb count down on it as well as motivation quotes. Every time I lose a pound I mark it off. It only has 10 pounds at a time because I don't want to be overwhelmed with the amount I want to lose. It's in my kitchen so I can read it and look at it every morning before I step out for the day.

thegingerpirate

When I run with my unit in the Army, we always have the same SGT standing at the halfway mark and screaming at us to keep going. So when I run and I feel like stopping, I imagine him standing out in front of me and screaming at me. I can't look lazy in front of my Sgt!

seltzermint555

I throw out my clothes. ALL the time. Right at this very moment there's a big box of clothing on the edge of my driveway awaiting thrift store pickup.

Primarily I donate/toss clothing when it gets big and baggy. I keep changing sizes and I don't need or want bigger stuff in my closet. But also, if I wear a new top and it doesn't flatter me or makes me feel frumpy, I get rid of it too. Even if it fits.

I have a longtime bad habit of "saving" things. Mostly clothes and footwear, but also cosmetics and accessories. Saving it for a special occasion. I have decided I don't want to live like that. It is mostly about my weight loss. But also, I lost everything in a tornado and realized so much of my stuff - clothes, makeup, jewelry, nice dishes even - were barely ever used because I was "saving them"...I decided life is enough of a special occasion. Even if it's just a boring February Monday with nothing in particular going on. I will wear the new dress and love it. Weight loss has actually helped me with this because there's no way I'm gonna just wear my new fav outfit 2 times. I will wear the crap out of it.

This might sound kind of unrelated to weight loss but for me it's all tied in together :-) A better life, a better me, etc.

osuzorba

I plan an extremely difficult day hike for a months in the future, which I imagine will be unbearably painful. And then when I am training I think of myself on the trail, suck air, hurt knees, not being able to get myself off the mountain. The thought of collapsing on a mountain somewhere makes me push hard.

This method has always worked well for me, and the actual hike has ended up being relatively easy and enjoyable. Because I had so much success, though I got over confident. But my last big hike, a round trip of Pikes Peak, I had let life get in the way and I didn't train anywhere near enough before the hike, especially the last 6 weeks before. The last 6 miles I was in excruciating pain, my knees felt like they had broken glass in them and I had pulled my right groin early on. When I got to the car, I couldn't even lift my legs up under their own power, I had to reach down and drag them up with my hands.

So now I am training for even harder hikes, and now I don't have to imagine the extreme pain, I just have to remember what it felt like to be under-trained and stuck on a mountain.