Visual people - What helped you start a routine?

thelowcarblady

I have been on this terrible roller coaster of being super excited and motivated to eat healthy and workout, and then other days i still have the 'want to' to be healthy but just like cave at any opportunity to not work out....

I am also a very visual person who likes to write lists, and to do notes for myself -- or try to write out a schedule so I can visually stay on track.

So, for those of you who are also visual people -- I was wondering if there was anything you used to promote you to get up and workout? Was it a check list? A dry erase board with goals? A phone app that reminded you?

I am looking for some good ideas on how to try to work out something that's going to work for me on my good days and my bad days....any help is appreciated! :flowerforyou:

jakicooke

I have lots of things to motivate me but one of my fave ones is that I follow a lot of fitness/weightloss/motivational things on twitter

SezxyStef

When I started I googled 30DS images...and bam before and afters up the wazoo that was motivation enough and since they were here I joined.

The app on my phone, this being my most common page visited when I open up a tab on the internet, the SL app and mapmyx apps on my phone are all enough.

See the constant posts on my FB from those apps as well...my whole world knows what I am doing and if I slack off my whole world will see it...

but mainly...my motivation comes from what I see in the mirror and in my doctors visits...

tinkybell16

There's a smart phone app ( I got mine on the Google Play Store) called 'motivate me!' its really simple and was designed by someone in a simiar position. There are buttons for 'HELP! I dont want to excercise' and 'HELP! I want to eat junk food' you click on the one you need and it provides quotes or reasons you should stay on track. It also has a movitational images section. The other app I like is diet coach where you set your own goals and reminders and can also set them to come on as push notifications at set times - ideally the times you know you will have a moment of weakness!

I tend to find using the 'status' feed on MFP to write notes to myself sometimes helps too ;-)

ninav1980

every month I print out a calendar and write down my workout routine for the month. I have been doing that since April, its nice to look back and see how far I have come and how much more I can kick a** in the gym now than I did back then, lol. As for food, I log my food for the day every morning, or the night before. This helps me because I only have to think about what I am eating once. Takes the guess work out of what to eat next and ensures I stay within my goals at all times.

VeryKatie

I know for running I printed out my program and am slowly crossing off the days. I like how it's getting more and more crossed off.

What if you took photos of your food? Trying to get lots of colour and tasty, healthy things. Then you can have a calendar for food planning if you want and a calendar for how great it looked!

xcalygrl

I created an excel file of a training plan. I added the workouts to my calendar with a reminder. When I'm done with the workout, I format the excel file to "cross it off." I can visually see how I'm doing as the days go by.

thelowcarblady

thanks everybody!! Those are great ideas!

I was also looking at before/afters on google, and also trying to find some things on pinterest like the little glass jars with glass beads in them with "weight to lose" and "weight lost"

I will also probably make myself a calendar with goals written out on it.

Any other ideas are still appreciated!

Lizzy622

I workout in the morning so I put my clothes so they are the first thing I see when I wake up.

happysherri

I am not a morning person and KNOW that I will not get up to work out, so I must exercise after work.

AS Soon AS I Get Home, I go straight to the bedroom and put on my workout clothes. I know if I do this I Will Workout! Even on days I'm tired, would rather sit on the couch, etc... As long as I have my workout gear on, I have no more excuses!

lissdawn

I have a calendar hung in my bathroom. Every morning i write my weight (this is only a good idea if you aren't the type to get hung up on daily fluctuations). "Real" weigh-in is once a week but i like to look at the patterns over the last week or two...even if I'm up on a particular day it's motivating to compare it to a week or two ago. I also write my weight at the top from the last day of the month before so i can always compare what i finished the last month at to where i am currently in the new month. I do the exact same thing for measurements only on a monthly basis-i take them on the last day of every month.

In addition to my weight i also record my daily activity and time i.e. 30 min circuit.

I know it probably sounds a bit tedious for some but i am a numbers person and for me there is something really satisfying in writing it out in that format even though i record it all digitally anyway in mfp and fitbit etc. I think it helps you acknowledge your progress in your head. Ive been doing it long enough now that my workout doesn't feel complete until i note it on the calendar where i can see it along with all my other progress.

mank32

mainly...my motivation comes from what I see in the mirror

this. I am worse than a 14-year-old boy when it comes to flexing in the mirror. as soon as I started seeing new and deeper cuts, I was hooked.