I tend to lose my motivation.

cecilia49

Hi all,

I am Cecilia a 23 year old Dominican woman who has decided to change her way of living permanently. I recently graduated from Rutgers University and it was the best time of my life. However, I also gained 75 pounds of straight alcohol in my last 2 years in school. SMH! So now that I am attending grad school in the fall I want to begin this journey stress free and healthier. My goal is to lose 1.5 pounds a week. I’m staying under my calories count but I am so lazy when it comes to exercising in the gym. I bought the 17 day diet novel; which I also plan to follow, but what I need is some encouraging tactics to motivate myself further. I live with my boyfriend who is supportive but definitely not a calories counter. SO, any advice or ways to trick myself or even substitution for exercise will be truly appreciated. I am excited and ready.:)

Karyn1120

One of the easiest exercises is walking. If your destination is within walking distance, DON'T drive there. It's amazing how many calories you can burn up just walking at a slow/moderate pace.

jesshall281

hey there,

no tricking yourself or substitution for exercise, im afraid. Its hard work, and you almost HAVE to exercise if you want to see real results, yes you can lower your calorie intake, but this could take months and months to even see a little bit of a difference, exercise will speeden results, your metabolism and will make you toned in the process.

If its because youre struggling with motivation, just log into MFP every day, we'll give you loads of that

Clew

I just thought I'd share this little tip: Forget the word "motivation" and replace it with "commitment". Sounds overly simple but this really revamped my thinking. Moivation, by design, waxes and wanes. COMMIT to it and to yourself. Then it's less of a lark and more of a promise. Keep rockin'!

BexBarker

I agree with pp. I started this journey only a few weeks ago, and though I haven't lost much in the way of pounds I can tell I look different. All I do is track EVERYTHING I eat, even if I just sneak a handful of chocolate chips, and take three walks per day. My husband usually goes with me on my evening walk. I've found that a long (1 hr) walk in the morning when it's cool, a short (30 min) walk after lunch, and another long walk in the evening has me feeling better and certainly helps me check in at or below my calorie goal every day. So just try to fit in some walking, even if it's several short walks per day. And definitely be super honest in your tracking. Make your food diary public and add some friends who aren't afraid to question some of your choices--sometimes you'll find you tracked wrong and having some honest friends will help! I accidentally posted that I had 8 tablespoons of cream cheese on a bagel the other day, and one of my friends here commented with a "did you really eat that much cream cheese??" She caught the error for me, and I ended up not being over my count as I had thought. Good luck, and feel free to add me if you want to!