motivation?

ebergmann

I've been on MFP for about three weeks now, and I seem to lose a little and then gain it back. Does anyone have tips for staying motivated, or tips for staying power?

-E

Rynatat

Check out my profile & blogs: it takes something personal, a commitment to what you want and how you want to get it. Start simple and then expand. Adding friends also helps: the support, motivation & encouragement really makes a difference :happy:
Also, when you start something new, it takes time for you body to "adjust" to a new regime (generally 30 days of a solid change). So you need to know what you want before you can get it.

Feel free to add me as a friend: I'll try to share all my "secrets" with you :flowerforyou:

chelekaz

Hi and welcome. To help stay motivated, I would suggest filling out all the info on your profile and adding friends. The friendships I have made on here inspire me to keep going when I just want to crawl under the covers. Please feel free to add me to your friend if you want so we can help eachother!!

tameekag

I joined this site for motivation and accountability. Posting my workouts, meals, accomplishments and challenges is helpful for that. I am going to try to be active on the message boards too. I have never really participated actively on forums.

One of my challenges is steering clear of hidden calories. For example, I love coffee creamer. I have 1 cup of coffee a day, but the creamer is adding 140 calories. I didnt realize that until I started measuring the amount of creamer I was using. So, I have cut back to 2tbs only (70 cals). To add more flavor, I add a tsp of cocoa powder and 1 splenda packet. That adds only 6 calories but satisfies the need for the flavor I wanted.

I also get motivated by posting every workout on Facebook. The application on my phone allows me to check-in when I get to the gym. It sounds silly, but I don't want the day to end without being able to post my "check-in", so I have been consistently getting up before work to go to the gym.

What keeps YOU motivated? What kind of support do you need? What are you willing to do for that support?

SLaw4215

I'm new to MFP and don't want to come off sounding all preachy, like I know anything because I'm still trying to figure it out...just like you. Here are a few ways I am trying to keep my motivation.
1.) Plan ahead. What are you going to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner for the next few days? Keep fail safe groceries on hand. For me that's broccholi slaw, tofu angel hair pasta, homemade soups, fresh fruit, Chocolate Cheerios, and Dark Chocolate Almond 100 calorie packs.
2.) Don't go it alone. My BFF and I text while we warm up on our treadmills and motivate each other to get moving. Text: "Getting on my treadmill in 10, want to walk?" Even if we aren't ready at the same time we are motivating each other.
3.) My daughter and I each chose something special that we want to be able to wear that doesn't fit us currently. We display them around the house and I even took pictures of the clothing and posted them with our profiles as constant reminders of the goals we have set for ourselves.
4.) set an alarm or reminders on your cell phone to drink your water/ keep cold water "containers" ready to grab
5.) challenge yourself to try something new every week. We got a juicer for Christmas and have made fresh fruit/vegetable juice (of course) but also nutritious soups and frozen fruit bars. I've been able to get more fresh fruits and vegetables into my youngest child since Christmas than I probably had in the whole 6 months previous. This week I bought 5 fresh artichokes. I had to look up on the internet how to cook them and which parts were edible. It's a little thing but for me it was something that was intimidating. Not anymore! I've been on so many diets that I've become bored and lack creativity and cooking skills however, I aim to change that with the help of MFP and this really superbly supportive community. I am done paying for the same 20 "safe" foods... frozen WW meals, 10 calorie jello, and fiber bars.... a personal goal of mine is to learn how to cook so I have more options and ultimately get away from buying so many processed foods.

I wish you the very best of luck.
Best of Luck

tameekag

4.) set an alarm or reminders on your cell phone to drink your water

Excellent idea! Getting the water in is a big challenge for me! Thanks for sharing.:drinker:

WeightLossTrek

Check out my blog. I just recently posted about motivation.

outersoul

I'm new to MFP and don't want to come off sounding all preachy, like I know anything because I'm still trying to figure it out...just like you. Here are a few ways I am trying to keep my motivation.
1.) Plan ahead. What are you going to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner for the next few days? Keep fail safe groceries on hand. For me that's broccholi slaw, tofu angel hair pasta, homemade soups, fresh fruit, Chocolate Cheerios, and Dark Chocolate Almond 100 calorie
5.) challenge yourself to try something new every week. We got a juicer for Christmas and have made fresh fruit/vegetable juice (of course) but also nutritious soups and frozen fruit bars. I've been able to get more fresh fruits and vegetables into my youngest child since Christmas than I probably had in the whole 6 months previous. This week I bought 5 fresh artichokes. I had to look up on the internet how to cook them and which parts were edible. It's a little thing but for me it was something that was intimidating. Not anymore! I've been on so many diets that I've become bored and lack creativity and cooking skills however, I aim to change that with the help of MFP and this really superbly supportive community. I am done paying for the same 20 "safe" foods... frozen WW meals, 10 calorie jello, and fiber bars.... a personal goal of mine is to learn how to cook so I have more options and ultimately get away from buying so many processed foods.

I wish you the very best of luck.
Best of Luck

Very good advice, especially these two.