Motivation tips: from those who need to/have lost 100+lbs

TighteningStrings

Hello All,

I am fairly new on MFP, but not at the whole weight loss thing. I've had minimal success in the past, but always end up back at the start line. This time I am determined not to let that happen!

I have 60ish Kilos to lose, which works out to be about 130lbs, and I find that it taked a while to see results, and without being able to see them, I lose motivation.

What are your tips and tricks to get you through those times when the head space is wonky, and you can't use a reduced clothing size to show you how far you have come?

dakotababy

Just telling myself "I have to lose 100 lbs" was motivation enough for me. It made it a very serious matter - one that i could not mess around with.

Take before and after pictures! Every month I take new progress pics and put them in my scrap book I have created.

I also take my measurements once a month. As you go through this journey, and as you may already know - the scale is not that accurate and not the only tool that can be used to measure success.

Create a scrap book! I took pics from magazines of strong healthy bodies and glued them to the front and back of an old binder. I added a journal, motivational quotes, calendars, a section for resources and a section for healthy recipes. I also of course put in pages for my monthly progress pics and measurements.

Go out and buy awesome clothes for your journey. I bought clothes in what I think may be my smallest weight. This included nice jackets, nice shirts - Through out my progress, I continue to ALWAYS buy clothes in a size smaller than what I currently am. If i am currently a 14 pant - i will go out and buy 12's. If i am a large t-shirt - i will buy a medium. This helped keep me going and i look forward to being able to wear that awesome shirt I bought a week ago that is a few sizes too small!

While on my journey - if i lost motivation i would 1 - buy new clothes, 2 - look up new meal ideas and 3 - MAKE SURE YOU FRIDGE IS ALWAYS STOCKED WITH HEALTHY FOODS! This pretty much means for me...a weekly visit to the produce section.

kazzsjourney

Honestly you simply have to decide that this is a prioity and stick to it no matter how many times you fall off the wagon. I have lost just over 80 kilos with a lil more then 20 kilos to go...its taken me over 6 years...the time its taken doesnt matter...because regardless each day I am healthier even if I am yet to get to goal - best of luck

TighteningStrings

Hi Kazz,

I actually know you through FB and Amy's Aim Train! lol. Your story is wonderful!.

I've lost about 8 kilos so far, and was going great for two months, and then Uni started again, I got sick, sick kids and it all went downhill quickly. Luckily I haven't gained back, but I haven't lost in the last 3 weeks either.

Knowing that I want to actually get to my goal weight, and not spend the rest of my life saying "I'm losing weight" was enough to kick me into gear, it's keeping going with the exercise that I stuggle with

TighteningStrings

Hiya Dakota,

Thanks. I always forget the measurements! It was a big motivation for me to notice that I had lost 45cm off my entire body!

keeponkickin

I just knew if I didn't get the weight off that I was putting myself into an early grave. I also tell people that ask me...a year always flies by so quickly. In a year from now you can either be heavier, weigh the same or you can be a much slimmer, healthier person. Losing weight and getting healthy is hard, being overweight and unhealthy is hard....choose your hard is what I told myself. It also won't take long to lose enough to need new clothes. When you get to a smaller size be sure to donate or throw away your larger clothes and don't allow yourself to gain the weight and have to buy larger clothes again.

Hang in there. You can do this.

dakotababy

I always tell myself, "If i don't lose the weight - i will only get bigger" No matter what - do not give up, because one day eventually, you will hit your goal! If you slip, oh well - just keep going.

kazzsjourney

Hi Kazz,

I actually know you through FB and Amy's Aim Train! lol. Your story is wonderful!.

I've lost about 8 kilos so far, and was going great for two months, and then Uni started again, I got sick, sick kids and it all went downhill quickly. Luckily I haven't gained back, but I haven't lost in the last 3 weeks either.

Knowing that I want to actually get to my goal weight, and not spend the rest of my life saying "I'm losing weight" was enough to kick me into gear, it's keeping going with the exercise that I stuggle with

Thanks so much! Altho whats amy aim train? LOL never heard of that...best of luck

VanillaBone

Find a plan you can stick to and keep telling yourself that it's not a mad dash to the finish line, it's a whole new way of living. Eventually you will get to a point where you barely even recognize your body; that may be at goal weight, or it may be twenty pounds before it, but wherever it is, it will be awesome.

Anything you want to eat now you can always eat later; why not wait a little and see if you really want it? Drink water. Move more.
You can do it!

TighteningStrings

Hmmm. I swear that is where I met you... Might not be, though! I followed your blog for a long time (mine was An Inside Look)...

kazzsjourney

i had to google it! lol ive never seen that site before....my journal has quite a following tho so quite possibly from there

cappri

I read this quote early on in my journey and it stuck with me-

"Losing weight is hard. Maintaining your weight is hard. Being fat is hard. Choose your hard."

DOElston

I found it useful to make several smaller goals and attach specific non-food rewards to each of them. This way, you have a real sense of accomplishment throughout the journey; not just at the end.

Also, as others have said prior, keeping track of monthly measurements is extremely useful and encouraging when you look at it.

BigGuy47

...it's keeping going with the exercise that I stuggle with

Mark Lauren suggests making a list of both goals and excuses not to exercise. Repeat the goals and excuses until you have memorized them. When it's time to exercise and you think to yourself, "I don't feel like it" or "I'm too tired" - you instantly recognize this an an excuse which hinders progress towards reaching your goals

In order to achieve your goals you will need to overcome many obstacles. Excuses are a common obstacle that stand between you and your goals.

AliciaStinger

Hello All,

I am fairly new on MFP, but not at the whole weight loss thing. I've had minimal success in the past, but always end up back at the start line. This time I am determined not to let that happen!

I have 60ish Kilos to lose, which works out to be about 130lbs, and I find that it takes a while to see results, and without being able to see them, I lose motivation.

What are your tips and tricks to get you through those times when the head space is wonky, and you can't use a reduced clothing size to show you how far you have come?

I don't have quite that much to lose; I started at 207 pounds, currently at 188 thanks to water weight (went from 181 to 188 in less than a week, and I know I didn't eat an extra 28,000 calories), and my goal is about 140, 145...somewhere around there. I started losing weight in 2010 - lost 35 pounds and managed to keep most of it off - but after that, I stopped losing. It was only recently that I started gaining, so I'm back here.

The first thing I can say is STICK TO IT. Even if you can't stay motivated to exercise, keep eating right and logging your calories. You may not lose as much that way, but f you have a calorie deficit, you should continue to lose. (And when you're trying to lose weight, a little bit lost is better than any gained!) So like I said, stick with it. It's great when you visit your scale thinking, "I didn't work out, I must have gained weight" and you find out you've lost some!

As for motivation, think about why you want to lose the weight. For example, I'm visiting a friend in spring 2013, and I want to be at 170 (or below) when I visit. That's motivation...........except I'm a procrastinator, and that seems like a long way off, so I have little things to keep me motivated in between. Last night, I went out with a group of friends. They were all dressed up really nice, and I spent the whole night sucking in my gut each time a camera came out, and thinking about how I REALLY need to stick to a workout plan if I want to dress more like my friends the next time we go out! Another thing that motivates me, as silly as it may sound, is MY PANTS. I have a size 12 pair of pants that fits whether I'm size 12 or 14 (thank you, Lee stretch pants...), but I can't wear that pair all the time. Each pair of pants I have fits differently, and I know by the way they fit whether I've gained weight. When I can't fit into my size 14 stretch pants (which should have been marked a size 12) I know I need to get my stuff together -- and when I put on my size 12 stretch pants (which should have been marked 14 or maybe 16) and they fall down, I know I'm headed in the right direction.

Just think about why losing weight is important to you. Being healthier is nice (and important), but I want to look better and feel more confident. I want to be able to wear outfits like my friends did last night and not have to suck in my gut. I want to be able to dance when I go to concerts without looking like Jell-o. I want to be a musician, and it is hard to sing loudly and clearly when you're out of breath!

Good luck reaching your goals. Stick with it...you'll get there!

Changing_Charity

take before and during pics so that you can see your progress. my profile pic is the progress i have made after only 24 lbs lost! you can notice my weight loss in my back mostly right now. also, set small goals, with enough time to achieve them. I do 10lbs a month. it helps a lot!

this sounds silly but i give myself pep talks and remind myself why i am doing this and that i can. dont look at it as a diet, its a lifestyle change.

byeachmoment

Looking at pictures of myself at my heaviest was my first step to changing my life. I saw a couple pictures after a trip that my fiance and I took and I was horrified. I had tried to lose weight before but something didn't click. This time I knew it was time to get down to business. I had 110 lbs to lose and so far I have lost 104 lbs and only have 6 left to reach my goal. I have continued to move forward and have not gained a lb since I started about 1 year ago. I had periods of no weight loss but I figured out what the problem was and fixed it.

What helped me the most was setting very small goals. When I was 245, I would motivate myself to get to 220. When I was 220, I motivated myself to get to 200. When I was 200, I motivated myself to get under 200, etc. I also looked at my weekly losses and that helped a lot.

504Crystal

As much as it kills me I'm taking a lot of before and after pics. I started at 218 and for my height I'm SUPPOSED to be between 105-120 I believe. That's pretty much 100 lbs. I feel like you often times but I keep telling myself that anything I'm doing is better than where I was. And me sitting around crying and depressed will not help this weight find its way OUTTA HERE! I just try to keep pushing...look at a lot of pics of ppl who've pulled it off. That motivates me.

AliciaStinger

...it's keeping going with the exercise that I stuggle with

Mark Lauren suggests making a list of both goals and excuses not to exercise. Repeat the goals and excuses until you have memorized them. When it's time to exercise and you think to yourself, "I don't feel like it" or "I'm too tired" - you instantly recognize this an an excuse which hinders progress towards reaching your goals

In order to achieve your goals you will need to overcome many obstacles. Excuses are a common obstacle that stand between you and your goals.

I would argue that in some cases, "I'm too tired" is a legitimate excuse. I have a full-time job and also go to school full-time. Without even making a list, I know "I'm too tired" is an excuse; that doesn't make it easier for me to overcome being tired. Normally it takes me two hours to get to sleep -- but sometimes I'll get home from work after 7:00 and be asleep by 7:30, and on Tuesdays I leave for work at 6:45 and don't get home until after my classes (usually around 10:00pm).....................I really am too tired. However, this isn't the case every day, especially on my days off (Sunday and Wednesday) and Saturdays (when I go in early and only work until 1:00). Sometimes a person REALLY IS too tired.

Celeigh12

I try not to focus too much on my goal. First, a goal makes it seem like there is an end to all of this, and there isn't. Whatever you do has to be forever. If you think of this as having a beginning and an end, you're much more likely to go back to your old ways and gain back the weight once you lose your sense of urgency that got you to start losing in the first place. So I try hard to focus on living a healthy life I think I can maintain forever. The weight loss is a nice side effect of that.

Don't get me wrong, I want the weight gone, but I'm less concerned with getting there on a timeline. The deal I have with my body is I eat well and exercise, and it gets rid of the fat I don't need. I never make xx pounds by xx date goals. That's not truly within my control. What is within my control is what I eat and whether I get exercise. The rest I have to trust will happen when it happens.

Good luck to you! This really is doable.

slturner1954

I have been overweight all of my life, now I am 58 years old with 100+ pounds to lose and way out of shape.
I started about a year ago just trying to cut things out or back food items that I ate all the time (Pop, Cheese, Potato Chips, ect). About two months ago I started the "Walk at Home" program by Leslie Sansone (CD's). But I still was not seeing any significant weight loss. My Doctor asked me to start tracking my calories and recommended this website...Oh My Goodness, was I surprised at how many calories I was still taking in every day. Is it easy to take the time to count everything that goes into my mouth???No it is not, but look in two weeks I have already lost 5 pounds. 95+ more to go.










<a href="http://www.myfitnesspal.com"><img src="http://badges.myfitnesspal.com/badges/show/3213/197/32130197.weight-lost-sm.gif&quot; border="0"></a><p style="text-align: center;width:226px;"><small>MyFitnessPal - <a href="http://www.myfitnesspal.com">Free Calorie Counter</a></small></p>

BigGuy47

Sometimes a person REALLY IS too tired.

Of course sometimes we are too tired and rest days are part of the process. Getting enough sleep and rest is a requirement for fitness.

Marks' point is don't let the excuses get in the way every day.

Monday's excuse not to exercise: "I don't have the time"
Tuesday's excuse not to exercise: "I'm not in the mood"
Wednesday excuse not to exercise: "I'll make up for it tomorrow"
Thursday's excuse not to exercise: "I'm stressed, I need to relax"
Friday's excuse not to exercise: "It's the weekend, I'll make a clean start on Monday"

At some point you have to make a commitment to put in the work.

TighteningStrings

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions.

I think legitimate tiredness and a lack of wherewithal is my problem at the moment. It's a horrible cycle with me. I have more energy and am more positive when I exercise, but I need more energy to be able to work out! I guess there comes a time when you've justy got to bite the bullet, so to speak.

I think a lot of it is the mindset of "Well, I've got over 100lbs to lose, and that just isn't going to happen. I'm already fat, so what's the point?". I need to work on that mind set!