Newbie - motivation required! :)

faemelusine

Hi All,

I'm new to this site.
I've tried all the diets you can think of and I always do really well the first month or so, then get bored or complacent and end up failing.
I want to try a more simple and basic approach - more calories out than in.

I'm not able to exercise much at the moment due a foot injury, its on the mend, and I can walk a little so I'm just doing short bursts when I have time, I have a very busy lifestyle and a sedentary job so planning more 'me time' is a must!

I'd be interested to know how you all keep your motivation after the novelty has worn off. Are there challenges you follow? Do you have a visual goal reminder?

Thanks for reading, hope you all get closer to your goals this week

AEB_WV

People on this site are a real motivator. Seeing other suceed then the small victories you have yourself do add up and provide motivation. Add some friends, read the posts, look at the pictures. There are thousands of people succeeding on this site! It is possible to stay focused!

mroger801

One of the best ways to stay motivated is to have goals that are attainable within a month (perhaps, loose 8 pounds this month) and work as hard as possible to attain it. If you keep setting small goals that you can reach, you should keep your motivation.

The thing that has kept me going is having MFP post to my Facebook page every time I complete my food diary for the day or loose weight. The support I have gotten from my Facebook community has really kept me going.

Another good thing is to see the difference in pictures. Make sure you have some good before pictures and keep taking pictures when you can. A co-worker took an impromptu picture of me at a meeting and sent it to me and I realized how much better I look. Sometimes seeing those types of results can be the best motivation.

As for exercise, have you thought about water exercise? Not sure what your foot issue is, but water exercise is very easy on the body.

Best of luck on your weight loss journey. We're all here for you.

ladytj2003

Hi, Im Lynn from Plymouth.

I have also tried every diet under the sun and very recently tried weight watchers but just cant get on with points. I found this free application on my ipod and starting logging food and exercise immediately. I am recovering from cancer and only finished my treatment 8 weeks ago so my energy levels are very low and cant exercise much yet.

Just using the food register and logging any small amount of exercise I do has been a great help. I started swimming to get me started and its amazing how many calories you can burn just at a slow steady pace in 30 minutes. Would you be able to swim whilst your foot is recovering?

My motivation is more medical, my cancer has put me in early menopause and am therefore at high risk of arthritis and future cancer. I need to lose weight and get fit to help prevent this happenening. I also have an 8 year old and setting her a good example is also a big motivation, but of course the biggest motivation is measurements, I dont go just on weight loss as sometimes you wont loose weight but the inches will still be coming off as you replace fat with muscle.

Keep tracking your food and any small amount of exercise you do and you will see results.

Lynn

LeeLynnP

Motivation comes and goes, but commitment is forever
-Unknown

The answer for me is that I am not always motivated.... I fall of the wagon daily.... but I keep moving forward and giving my best effort....

faemelusine

Wow, Quick and lovely replies!
I’ve written several replies and the page refreshes so I lose it, does that happen often or is it just the PC I’m on? (In work so no control over the settings).
Thank you all for your lovely words, I’ll be taking your advise!
Very True, I can do some water exercise, I’m putting a swimming session into my diary now and I’ll check out the AquaFit classes while I’m there. Water exercise isn't just sitting in the Jacuzzi, right?

I’m finding the phone App invaluable and have set alarms to remind me to use it so I don’t fall behind.
I’ll also get some ‘before’ photo’s done this week, I usually hide from camera’s (I’m training to be a photographer, I like the back end of a camera much more than the front ).
I like the idea about Facebook entries, I’ll have a look at that and make sure it doesn’t give too much personal detail.
Lynn, you’re an inspiration! I hope you feel better soon.
Thank you lovely people!

I’m off to work out how to add friends.

eaglemonster

I find the motivation comes and goes, hence i've been on MFP for some time. I find having a larger network of support has helped in previous weeks; as for challanges they pop up in the forums regularly. You could even set your own open challange just by listing your challange.
Stick with it, just make sure its going in the correct direction.