Motivation

Sweetcherrytree

How do you stay motivated when the scale is not moving. How do you stay motivated to exercise?

planetamy

Hi Sweet Cherry Tree,

I was very psyched to start, actually found a workout DVD that I liked (!) and did it (!!!) and then had a bad bout of arthritis where I could hardly walk - end of exercise for about a month and the beginning of watching the scale creep up -- very frustrating.

Ironically, the thing that kept me motivated was using a pedometer that my 9 year-old lent me. It really helped to see that even though I felt like I wasn't moving AT ALL, I actually was burning calories just by walking around the house and going to the grocery store, which was about all I was capable of. Then I found this website http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc that allows allows me to calculate calories burned for all kinds of stuff (gardening/housework/mopping/washing dishes, etc). Even if the scale wasn't moving, it helped to know that I was in fact burning calories.

Also, I ***finally*** bit the bullet and tried eating smaller portions. This sounds absurd, but I played massive head games with myself to avoid actually measuring how much I ate. When I was finally in a corner (hurts too much to exercise) I figured I didn't have much choice. (I HATE being hungry.) Imagine my surprise when I found out I **wasn't** hungry all the time!

Also imagine my surprise when I realized that I really could eat whatever I wanted, as long as I didn't eat a ton of it. Friend me and check out my food diary for today for proof!

Anyway I hope this helps, and I'd love to be part of your support group and have you as part of mine!

Amy (aka "Planetamy")