Share your secret to dedication!

lizblizz2012

Last year around this time I decided it was finally time to get back into shape. I only had about 25 pounds to lose. I joined MFP and did really really well with eating right and exercising. I lost 15 pounds the first month. Then, I started slacking off and eventually gave up. I gained all the weight back plus more.

In November I got engaged. I decided I HAD to get fit for my wedding. No one wants to be fat in their wedding pictures. I purchased a sale dress that was 3 sizes too large and made arrangments to have it taken in before the wedding. I started back up with MFP, and failed again.

April, 3 months before my wedding, I had gained even more weight and I realized it was my LAST CHANCE. I found a very inspirational quote: "If you're tired of starting over, stop giving up."

And then I gave up.

A week before the wedding, I went in for my final dress fitting. The zipper WOULDN'T BUDGE. My worst nightmare. I took water pills and starved myself enough to fit into the dress just barely. It was still tight.

After getting the wedding pictures back from the photographer, I couldn't stop the tears as I looked at myself squeezed into a dress that I was drowning in just months ago. I felt ginormous. I was larger than my husband, an ex football player who used to be twice my size. I decided that I don't have to be miserable for the rest of my life. I want to feel beautiful. I want my husband to be attracted to me. I know that underneath these 50 extra pounds is a girl who is worth something more than what she sees in the mirror.

I feel dedicated, but I still fear quitting like all the other times. What is your secret to sticking with it? I must know! xoxo, Liz

LordBear

been saying this alot lately..but it is the truth... "Cut the bull and the excuses and just do it!"

fitQueenbeast

been saying this alot lately..but it is the truth... "Cut the bull and the excuses and just do it!"

THIS! ^^

"Champions train. Losers complain."
Cowards never start. The Weak never finish. Winners never quit,

Erica

underwater77

Honestly, it's been all the side benefits. I have always been active and never hugely overweight, but I started to creep up on the scale, my sleep was ****, my skin looked awful, I was constantly anxious. I was losing confidence with the quickness, my ever-troublesome knee injury was nagging worse than ever. I have been somewhat serious about losing weight and have lost 8 lbs. I still have about 10 or 15 to go, but it's been SUCH a slow process. I have forced myself to find joy in the other benefits since the scale is moving at a snail's pace. All of the things I was losing - my confidence, my sleep, etc. were coming back tenfold. I am not sleeping like a baby for the first time in YEARS (honestly I think that alone has made this journey worthwhile), I have confidence, I am swimming faster than I have in almost 20 years, and I just feel healthy! I am by no means perfect - for instance, I had a donut this morning at a presentation I had to give. A donut! Oddly enough, I never would have let myself have it even a year ago. But today, I enjoyed it.

Just try to remember there are so many benefits that aren't in the mirror or on the scale. For me, once I started to see and feel those, it was on. I wasn't about to lose them again.

MyM0wM0w

My secret to dedication is simple.

It's fear. I almost killed myself because I couldn't stop eating. NOw I'm afraid of being back in the hospital, paralyzed, and unable to care for myself.

No. Way. I'm in it for the the long haul this time.

MyOwnSunshine

Don't quit.

Don't put off good behavior.

Commit to making small changes that you can carry out every single day for the rest of your life, and then do them every day.

I am committed to logging my food every day, exercising regularly (1 or 2 rest days a week) and weighing myself daily. There is no acceptable reason for me to not do these three things. If I do these things, I lose (now maintain) weight.

Don't accept excuses or rationalizations from yourself. But, then again, don't expect yourself to be perfect, either. Neither one works.

Don't let one slip-up turn into a lifetime of being overweight. Start every day with a commitment to do better, work a little harder and be forgiving of your mistakes.

stormsusmc

Train insane or remain the same
No excuses
Sugar doesnt make you fat, you do
Discipline
Planning
Dedication

DaniKenmir

I'm doing it now so I don't have to later, I caught myself after only gaining 10 pounds, so I only have 10 to lose.

Graceious1

For me there is no secret. I simply have the desire to have the fit and healthy body I had before I got married and became a mother. My husband felt the same about himself. He was an athlete and I did martial arts an trained up to 4 times a week. We both stopped and life got in the way and between us put on 84lb. Then one day we got to breaking point and both discovered that we lost ourselves and each other so we decided that we had to take action. We looked at how things were when we met then said lets go back to doing the things we used to do and we did. Before coming on to MFP I lost 28lb and it took two years to get there. My hubby has lost over half of what I have and we are getting more on track, keeping healthy and less stressed.

We take it in turns to train so that our son is looked after by at least one of us. I kept finding excuses not to go but then I could always find the time to go to the movies or to a bar. Me and hubby had to get our priorities right so now there is less alcohol (once a week for me in moderation now) and a few nights a week for him. Also as we get older we really do need to look after our health and exercise and a good diet can help the whole body, mind included.

I wouldn't exactly call it a secret but I would call it a desire. If you have a long term goal then weight loss or healthy living will be more successful. Short term goals are short term goals. When you reach them, what next? Set another goal or go back to how things were in the first place?

NikkiSixGuns

My experience:

Before I started my journey I was overwhelmed by feeling totally out of control. I started educating myself on what it would take to lose the weight and get in shape.

Once I knew what it would take, the first few weeks (before seeing any kind of results) I ran on logic. I kept telling myself that it's simple math (calories in, calories out) and that if I did everything I was supposed to do the results would come. Lots of patience here. I'm a numbers person, so I logged everything diligently, made charts and graphs and all that so I could see what I was doing. It kept me honest and gave me something to focus on besides the scale and my pants size. I could see that I was doing good things, even if they weren't producing YET.

After seeing results, it got SO much easier for me. I fed off it. Every time I saw a new positive change, I wanted more! I knew the results were coming from the work, and I wanted the results, so I kept at it.

Bottom line for me is that it was about logic. On days when I didn't feel like working out, my brain told me I needed to do it anyway. Brain wins. If I gave in to what my emotions were telling me to do I never would have reached my goal. I had to stick to the choice that I knew was the right one, even when it was the tough one.

oursong1812

Don't quit.

Don't put off good behavior.

Commit to making small changes that you can carry out every single day for the rest of your life, and then do them every day.

I am committed to logging my food every day, exercising regularly (1 or 2 rest days a week) and weighing myself daily. There is no acceptable reason for me to not do these three things. If I do these things, I lose (now maintain) weight.

Don't accept excuses or rationalizations from yourself. But, then again, don't expect yourself to be perfect, either. Neither one works.

Don't let one slip-up turn into a lifetime of being overweight. Start every day with a commitment to do better, work a little harder and be forgiving of your mistakes.

Couldn't agree more! Especially - no excuses. I have a log way to go but it wasn't until I started to think of myself as a person who deserved to be fit and happy that I finally started to not accept my excuses anymore. I was responsible for all of the weight I have gained and now I am responsible for losing that weight. Good Luck on your journey! One other thing - try not to get discouraged with a slow weight loss - don't give up on yourself!

linusr

Right before I started, I was on a team for a local race. My leg was 5.3 miles, and I was the slowest runner on my team. I was slower than the folks who ran two legs, and I thought I was going to pass out in the heat; it was the hottest day of the year, and I had this image of collapsing in my own sweat, puke, and well, there'd be more than that!

Then as I staggered on I thought about my daily candy bar/s, and how they were all sitting in the fat around my stomach. I felt like crap, and now I think back to that feeling when I want to eat candy; I manage to feel the same disgust, mixed in with a certain amount of self-loathing. I have not bought a candy bar for myself since then. Yesterday on my run, I put my hands on my waist and could still feel some more fat that I want to lose, and that feeling stops me from cheating much.

That said, I did go over yesterday, but for the most part I stay on track. A couple of weeks ago I did a ten-mile run, and my pace was faster than I ran that day. Focusing on how bad I felt keeps me going. I want to be better, and I don't want to feel like that again.

bahacca

I've been at it again for a few weeks. My secrets this go round-I'll see if they work-
#1-allow yourself adequate TIME to reach a goal. I wanted to lose weight fast, get in shape fast, etc. I challenged myself this year with training for a 1/2 marathon. I just completed this right before I came back here. I had planned on coming back to lose some weight, and over the past several weeks, I'm being reminded to keep focused.
#1-Pictures from my race. I'm not obese, but I'm fat. I wasn't happy. I am healthy inside and can run 13.1 miles, but I don't LOOK like I can.
#2- A couple weeks ago my ILs invited my family on a cruise with them. It is in APril of next year, on my and DHs 10 year wedding anniversary. I need to look hot in a swim suit, and, more importantly, I want to do this for MYSELF this time.
#3- My oldest daughter turned 7. I realized in the 7 years I've been a mom, I've NEVER allowed my body to reach its true potential. I have NO idea what I look like skinny after having kids. I have pre-kid skinny pictures. None post kid. I'm still wearing the same shorts I bought a couple weeks after I gave birth to her.
#4-Just this week my oldest has asked me "Why do you have such a fat butt?" and told me I looked like I had a baby in my belly. I may not ever get the truth abut how I look from an adult, but kids. "mean" as we may think they are, don't usually lie.
SO, those are the reasons I'm dedicated. I know as my cruise nears, I'll need a new motivation to keep at it. But, I have 7 months to get there and I'm planning on taking these 7 months by the horns and working on diet and exercise like I never have before.

Dandawa

TURNING 39 I TILD MYSELF FOR ONE YEAR WHICH FLIES BY ZERO EXCUSE I HAVE TO DO A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO BETTER MY NEXT 40 YEARS EVERYDAY FOR ONE YEAR. THE ATTACHED POST IS TOTALLY WHERE I AM. NO MORE EXCUSES FOR ME ONE ALWAYS ALLOWED FOR ANOTHER AND TWO ALLOWED FOR THREE SO NOW ZERO ARE ALLOWED, AS WELL AS THE LOGGING ECT . BELOW
Don't quit.

Don't put off good behavior.

Commit to making small changes that you can carry out every single day for the rest of your life, and then do them every day.

I am committed to logging my food every day, exercising regularly (1 or 2 rest days a week) and weighing myself daily. There is no acceptable reason for me to not do these three things. If I do these things, I lose (now maintain) weight.

Don't accept excuses or rationalizations from yourself. But, then again, don't expect yourself to be perfect, either. Neither one works.

Don't let one slip-up turn into a lifetime of being overweight. Start every day with a commitment to do better, work a little harder and be forgiving of your mistakes.
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happygmaof5

After reading all the stories I hope it will give me the motivation I need to keep going. I sometimes want to say to heck with it and quit, but something inside won't let me. I am new to MFP, but have lost a total of 20lbs. I'm trying to get in my walking... 2 miles at a good pace at least 5 days a week. I'm so frustrated, haven't lost a thing in at least 3 weeks. I am keeping carbs below 60 and eating about 1,000 calories a day. I think that maybe my metabolism has slowed because I'm not getting in enough calories. I just can't eat that much. Drinking lots of water, getting plenty of protein. Don't know what else to do. I've got about 45 more to lose. Any suggestions?

Restybaby2012

Motivation?

being able to breathe without pain.



.










. it works

chinatbag

It really takes a change of lifestyle. So far, I've adopted this lifestyle for the past 6 months. Sometimes my diet will get modified, but that's just to be at a caloric deficit until I'm happy with my body composition and weight, in which I'll switch over to maintaining a good balance.

Don't worry about a day where you accidentally mess up - don't let that sabotage you, it isn't the end of the world, it's just one day. Just get back on the next day and that don't won't even seem like it happened.

waterwing

It's all such a head game. Sometimes I find it helps to "hate the opposite".. hate how you feel when you eat too much crap.. hate how you feel when you don't workout.. it sounds negative and of course can be paired with loving eating right and working out and how great you feel BUT sometimes really really disliking the lazy, unhealthy, junk food eating lifestyle is what keeps me focused and healthy.

Squiggs67

No excuses!!! You're a smart girl...just do it!!

lizblizz2012

Thanks guys!

GCLyds

On days I dont want to exercise I put on my exercise gear, and I tell myself, "Just 10 minutes. Only 10 minutes." That little lie is enough to get me started, and since I started I may as well finish. I have never exercised for just 10 min yet.