What inspires you?

trail_seeker

I'm starting to feel a bit of a plateau hit combined with the urge to snack non-stop. I know it is hard to pinpoint exactly what makes people change their habits, but I'm looking for things you seek out to inspire you to continue on your journey to health.

Do you read blogs or websites that motivate you? I'm basically looking for the health or excercise equivalent of Un****YourHabitat for cleaning. I already read the subreddit on running: http://www.reddit.com/r/running. This can sometimes be discouraging when people post their amazing running times without saying how they got there for us relative newbies. Learning that increasing your running distance increases your speed blew my mind so I'm trying that now.

Are there people you surround yourself with that inspire you? Does having a workout buddy make you work harder or show up to a workout when you might have gone home and plunked down on the couch? Or do you find it easier to get your workout on your own terms?

Is there music that you listen to that revs you up? My newest obsession is Azealia Banks "212".

Do you make these changes to reach some goals that you have set? If so, what are they? Besides running more consistently(3x a week) and running a 10K (at the minimum), another goal of mine this year is to try rock climbing.

Please share your inspiration with me! I'm feeling stuck in a rut.

tatiana131

I know what you mean about Un-eff your habitat - what a fabulous site. I am highly motivated by other people, so reading others' success stories is very inspiring. I'm also motivated by my friends who are on the same path as I am, I'd hate to see everyone else tone up, lean up, look great, while I'd be left in the dust. So - a bit of negative motivation I suppose?

On the positive motivation side I love looking good in clothes and not having to suck in my stomach and shift to look less fat. I miss the confidence of really liking my body. I also have a bit of a crush on my personal trainer, which is very motivating Also - photos - they are a huge reality check and I'd love to take a picture I don't cringe about again.

Celeigh12

The scale moving inspires me to some extent, watching my body change, being able to wear new stuff, being able to do new things I wasn't able to do 150 pounds ago. But day to day, I don't think too much about motivation. I figure motivation is fleeting and nice to have, but not necessary for success. But commitment is a constant for me. My commitment to change my life is strong. My mother passed away 2 years ago and her health and weight were terrible. I'm inspired to not walk her path anymore. Something good should come from her early unnecessary death.

On a more entertaining note, I will say I think it's fun to look at before and after success stories. Huffington Post has a big collection of them. I like looking at the success stories here too. And my friends list on MFP motivates me quite a bit. They are great and so supportive!

bwogilvie

Ah, the urge to snack. I try to deal with it by waiting a bit, and then drinking a glass of water. If that doesn't work, I have a dill pickle or two. Often, though, I find that if I don't snack, the urge goes away after 15 or 20 minutes. I'll sometimes also convince myself not to snack by asking myself what I would cut out of my dinner in exchange for having a snack now. And sometimes, I'll have a more substantial snack.

Celeigh12 makes a great point about commitment. I've decided to change the bad habits that had led me to slowly gain weight, and to commit to a different sense of who I am, in that aspect of my life. But I do occasionally need some motivation. Usually it involves thinking about what the future offers if I continue on this path (or, contrariwise, what it looks like if I go back to my old habits).

I've got a number of reasons to lose weight, but what motivates me on a day-to-day level is becoming a faster cyclist. I ride in hilly terrain, and I know that I'll go uphill a lot faster if I weigh less. I like going on long rides and tours, and I plan to get into the sport of randonneuring, which involves long rides (200+ km) done within a time limit that's pegged to the distance. I should add that cycling is fun for me; I enjoy doing it. Where I need motivation is to do the interval training that will make me a stronger, faster cyclist; intervals aren't fun, but they do help me improve.

I'd also like to get back into running, but at my current weight it's too hard on my knees. I think back to when I was lean, a couple decades ago, and imagine what it will be like to be like that again. That's motivating too.

And the scale is motivating, especially since I read "The Hacker's Diet" and discovered the exponentially weighted average, which is a way of smoothing out the daily fluctuations that can otherwise be depressing. Even if I weigh 2 lbs. more one morning than I did the previous morning, it's OK as long as the reading is still below the weighted average.

I don't find music particularly motivating, though in the dead of winter, when I'm exercising on rollers in the basement, it's necessary to avoid complete boredom. I usually do hard workouts alone. I cycle with my wife, but we're unevenly matched, so a moderate workout for her is active recovery for me. We do a lot of rides together, though, because it's fun.

Good luck getting off the plateau!

trail_seeker

I have an update since I last posted. I definitely have a new perspective. I was feeling passive and controlled by my snacking urges (i.e. controlled by food). Then my 10K training got delayed when I fell while trail running and tore a ligament in my shoulder. I'm in a sling for a few weeks and cannot run. That means it's back to the drawing board - watching my caloric intake closer, and going for long walks to replace the running I was doing 3-4 times a week. It's given me a new viewpoint to my journey with everything - working on improving my health, how I do business in the office, how to ask friends for help. It's really been eye opening.

I hope to get back on track soon! Look forward to seeing some NSVs too if I can do this correctly. II expect to muscle since I can't run, but hope to at least maintain my current weight while I try some other things out.

bwogilvie

Injuries are tough. Get well soon!

I've had a cold for a couple of weeks, and I had to cut back dramatically on my cycling. However, I've continued to count calories and to lose weight. It is hard eating less, but it can be done.

Have you figured out how to limit the urge to snack? If so, the rest of us would like to know your weird trick. :-)

jessamynwest

I'm in the decently lucky position that I've hit my target weight and if I keep going to the gym and eating decently (but not as restrictedly) I'll be okay. But man it's hard to go in wintertime. So I have a few TV series that I only watch at the gym (Downton Abbey was the last one, now moved to Elementary and Life on Mars and so when I want to veg out and watch those, I have to go to the gym.

My big thing about snacking is finding delicious stuff that is low cal. So first it's getting ALL junk food out of the house and then bringing back things that are tasty or have good mouthfeel but are not such a hit caloriewise. If I just need a good flavor in my mouth I'll pop a cough drop but I experimented with spinach and kale chips (not bad) small squares of dark chocolate and rice cakes with various tasty non-peanut butter things. I also keep a big thing of iced tea in the fridge.

I also had a unhealthy parent die a few years ago and that helps me stay at least on the average path knowing that it's easy (and maybe even genetic) to get lazy (for me) and backslide

trail_seeker sorry about your injury. I had been on MFP for two months when I broke my ankle and it was a really annoying summer with very little exercise and a lot of salads.

trail_seeker

When I eat better food on a regular schedule I don't have the same urge to snack. Filling up on veggies and skipping lots of sweets and processed foods helps. Having healthy options around helps a ton.

I find I am more likely to snack when I haven't gotten my 8 glasses of water in that day. I've been doing more fruit-flavored seltzer which feel like a treat (lemon-lime tastes like Sprite but without all the sugar that makes my body crash).

Right now, the problem is grocery shopping and cooking ahead with my shoulder being out of commission. Might be time to ask my friends for some more help to get myself on track.

trail_seeker

Jessamyn - thanks for your comments. I love your idea about only watching certain shows at the gym, what a great reward system. My mom suggested I try stationary biking so I can still do something to get my heart rate up. Might be time for that gym membership (plus it gets way too hot in Florida to run outside past May or so).

I feel like I wouldn't worry so much if I was just trying to maintain. But instead I'm working toward a goal and do not want to gain anything while I heal. It's hard with a daily calorie deficit and limited options for excercise. Might be time to branch out into more lower body excercises to increase my strength.

I've been good about keeping out trigger foods like cereal, bread, individual-sized portions of desserts, etc. Trying to swap fresh fruit, veggies and hummus, and low-cal smoothies has been good but I still like to eat dried fruit and cheese more than I should. It's been amazing to see how poorly I ate in the past, even as a vegetarian. Tracking food on MFP has been great for allowing me to make better decisions. Later tonight I'm having pizza out with friends, but will get the vegan option without cheese (or cheese substitute) and with lower calorie toppings like peppers instead of pesto.

I can't wait for spring and summer eating when I can get by on a lot of less cooked dishes and tasty water flavored with cucumber, herbs and berries.

trail_seeker

bwogilvie - when you get back into cycling, please do not be discouraged if you find your capacity a bit limited at first because you have been sick. You'll bounce back once you get back into whatever routine was working for you before you got sidetracked.

That's the cool thing about becoming athletic - I've definitely learned that my brain is usually my biggest barrier to success. Bodies are great are snapping back into what you want them to do.