What keeps you going day after day???
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2 things -
My knees - I have severe arthritis in one, moderate in the other. A bad fall scared me - if I don't lose weight/get in shape I could end up in a wheelchair before the Dr's are ready to do knee replacements. And knowing knee replacements are in my ftuture, I know I'm not physically ready for that surgery. The Dr told me we put 6 times our body weight in pressure on our knees - I can't keep doing this kind of damage to them.
Second, I keep remind myself that if I had only stuck to this when I started a few months ago, a year ago, the year before that - I'd be at goal by now. Do I really want to say the same thing next year?? No. For once, I want to BE at goal.
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The way my clothes fit now compared to how they used to fit 50lbs ago....I used to HATE and I mean HATE myself. I know I dopn't ever in a million years want to have those feelings again. That keeps me motivated. Because NOTHING tastes as good as skinny feels.
Keep your head up girl.0 -
I exercise by doing what I love: walking and tennis. I invited my friends to go for walks, or just go with my family, or with my nieces and nephews. Bottom line is: I have fun exercising. I let myself enjoy it, and the time flies. I worked out every day for about 9 days straight now because I think it's fun. I have to force myself to to take a day to sit still now!
If I have something that's going to put me over, or I know dinner will be a little overboard, I either work out extra before or after. At the very least, if I can't make sure my net isn't in the red, I at least want that number to be smaller.0 -
i keep in mind...my starting weight...i do NOT want to ever see that number ever again....yes there are days where i just kinda go with the flow...but i KNOW that it will not ruin me and i will be okay 0
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I just look at it as time will pass whether or not I am doing something healthy for myself.. I might as well control the one thing in life I can reasonably control.. and that is my weight. So many things in our lives happen that we have no control over. And I take it meal by meal. If I have a meal that has more calories in it than I had originally planned, oh well. The next one will be right back on track and life goes on.. It is definitely a lifelong process.0
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Make small, sustainable changes, rather than trying to overhaul everything all at once. IE, instead of trying to make EVERY meal perfect, I stopped having Pop Tarts for breakfast. Not that an English Muffin smeared with Nutella was MUCH better, but it was lower calories and better nutrition. When those changes become habit, make another change.
Set fitness goals. For me, it was being able to run a 5k with my brother and his daughter. The first race I was going to do with them was about three months after I started running with Couch to 5k. My very athletic niece kicked my butt, but I kept up with my brother, and after about 5 months of running, I was only a few seconds behind my niece.
After a while, I realized that I feel so much better when I exercise and eat well, but until then, it was a fake it til you make it kind of deal. Seeing my fitness levels increase each week kept me motivated. I knew even if I didn't see any changes in the mirror or the scale, I was doing good things for my body and becoming stronger and healthier.0 -
I want to be fit, lean, and strong, so I do things every day to keep myself lean, fit, and strong.0
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I find setting mini-goals for myself keeps me on track.
Last weekend, I bought a slinky little dress for a wedding I'm going to this weekend. So I had 2 weeks to "be good" and really ramp up the exercise to feel confident in my dress.
For a little longer term, I bought a bridesmaid dress for a wedding I'm in next May in the size I am now. The girl at the dress shop told me the dress can NOT be "let out" because the fabric doesn't allow, but it can be taken in if I get smaller. I had to promise her I wouldn't get fat! haha 0 -
I know it is really tough, expecially when you first start off!! You have that little voice in the back of your head saying, go ahead and eat it, It's not going to hurt you, but in your own mind you know it's not good for you and you need to exercise and eat healthy for you. And then that voice says, just do it tomorrow, but really you don't do it, it moves from a day to week to weeks.
Kind of like the devil and God.
I can honestly say what has really kept me going since starting my journey in March is the people on TeamBeachBody.com and on here at MFP and looking at so many other peoples transformation pictures and reading about there journey. It has helped me continue to push forward. Also by joining a group on the message boards who's doing the same things as you, helped out tremendouisly bc you know you are accountable for doing your workout that day along with other wonderful motivated people like yourself. I felt like if I didn't do my workout that day then I'd be behind and I didn't want that. I also said to myself at the begining of my journey, I kept that voice in my head stating: "Kim YOU CAN DO THIS, AND YOU WILL". I made sure I made myself a promise to lose the weight, and be fit by a certian time and NO BODY WAS going to stop me bc I am doing this FOR ME & I was out to prove to my hubby and folks you CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE if you try hard enough and NEVER give up!!
I def. proved myself and it feels great!
You can do this hun!! YOu just have to have faith! Hang in there, take one day at a time!!
Hope this helped! Love to be your friend if you need support for whatever reasons!! xoxo-Kim0 -
Just drop the "get depressed and mad at myself" part... and keep coming back to it. Know WHY you are doing it. Know exactly what you want to accomplish.
And having awesome friends here really makes it easier :flowerforyou:
I SO agree on dropping the bad feelings part. Don't know how it's going to sound, but they kind of don't matter for your (my, our) purpose. So I try to focus on what matters.0 -
Ditto!! xoxoWhen i dont feel like working out, or i want to just eat something nice and fatty
I will read the Success Stories on MFP. I LOVE to look at the stories with before and after pictures and i think, if they can do it then whats stopping me!!
That gives me the motivation to work that extra harder and i also saw a quote just the other day -
"More sweat now, Less Jiggle later"
Good Luck0 -
3. I usually but a pair of cheap jeans the next size down, and I will try them on from time to time to see how much more until I can fit into them comfortably.
I am currently doing this with a dress I bought.0 -
Funny I just posted a blog about having an "Ah-ha" moment and realizing that when I get stressed and go back to bad eating habits and no exercise because I'm discouraged about something (doesn't have to be weight loss) I am only punishing myself. It doesn't hurt anyone else you know. So what keeps me going is seeing how far I've come so far, much too far to turn back now. And why punish myself? I'm doing this for me, and I assume you are doing this for you. So, try not to punish yourself by sabatoging your weight loss efforts. Good luck.0
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Disney.
My SO and I are planning our honeymoon in Disney either May or October next year (depends on finances), and I don't want to be a chubba-bubba like I was starting to become in 2004 when I last went. I want to be able to take pictures and maintain a high energy level when I go (although I could keep going for hours and hours on end down there!). Plus, with every 10 pounds I lose, I put 50-100 dollars in the Disney fund, and that's helping to fund the trip.
The faster it's paid off; the sooner we can go!
That's the short-term goal, though.
Long-term, I want to live awhile and be healthy! I don't want to be like my dad and having a heart attack in my 50s.0 -
Ditto!! xoxoWhen i dont feel like working out, or i want to just eat something nice and fatty I will read the Success Stories on MFP. I LOVE to look at the stories with before and after pictures and i think, if they can do it then whats stopping me!!
That gives me the motivation to work that extra harder and i also saw a quote just the other day -
"More sweat now, Less Jiggle later"
Good Luck
Yep! I often find myself reading the success stories! If others can do it, so can I!0 -
Ultimately I wanted weight off my list of what life throws at me. I wanted to be prepared for family and friends who ask, Hey let's do this fun activity...and I don't have to worry about whether my clothes fit, if I have anything to wear, or if being overweight will take away some of the joy. It took years, but in my mind I asked how long I wanted to do this. I told my brain that the extra 2 lbs over a weekend could set me back a month and I didn't want to prolong the journey any longer than I had to. The world gives us enough problems. This one we can do something about!0
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I am the same way. Im always like " ill just start again tomorrow or on monday.
Weekends are the hardest for me. We can be motivation for each other! Make it a friendly competition. We don't know each other so I think it could work. I find with your close friends, they love you no matter what, so they wont tell you if your failing or that you need to work harder or put the big mac down.
Add me Lets do this journey together 0 -
I have Major Depressive Disorder, and I have yet to find a medication that help, so motivation is important to me. For me it is about getting to the point of repetition. Once something becomes accepted as normal for me, it is easier to continue. Getting to that point is really rough though. Honestly, I am my own drill sergeant. I use my depression and low self image as tools to 'push' myself into doing something. Once I get to the point I've bullied myself to be motivated, I keep going. Once I hit the point it is habit, I focus on something else. It works for me for the most part.
I have the same problem with starting again 'later'. It makes what I am doing more tidy and appeals to the OCD in me. To combat it, I just trick myself, at the moment I think, 'later' I agree. Then after I've calmed down the stress minutes or hours later, I come back to what needs to be done and start right then or if timing isn't right, doing what I wanted to do later, as soon as I can.0 -
For me, I think it's just taking one day at a time. If I have a high calorie day, I don't start again next week, I start tomorrow. I have found that I have these less often as I progress in my weightloss journey. Probably because I really like what I'm seeing in the mirror!0
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My family is my motivation and knowing if I don't do this chances of illness and potentially fatal conditions brought on by my weight could mean I won't be there with them in the future.0
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Thrill of the chase, I guess. Since I started racing, competition is what keeps me going.
You may be the same way - I find that if I'm slipping on nutrition, my exercise motivation goes down, too. And when my exercise is great, my nutrition is spot on. Maybe if your eating is suffering, try to pick up the slack in the exercise department? Or vice versa? It could help get you back on track.0 -
I try to think of next event I have to go to and remind myself I need to fit into an outfit and use it as motivation. Right now I have a wedding in 3 weeks and using that to stay on track when I feel like giving up.I am having the hardest time staying focused and on track. Or I mess up once and just say, "I'll start again next week". How do I avoid that? Then I get depressed and mad at myself and of course, that makes it worse.... HELP!:sad:0
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This has happened to me time and time again. I don't say Monday or tomorrow anymore. I just take it one day at a time.
I read a blog of a girl who lost an incredible amount of weight (135 lbs!!). My favorite line from that blog, which I tell myself anytime I want to give up is this:
"But then I asked myself, “Can you do it today, Andrea? Just today?” And I could. That question made each day manageable".
So whenever I feel like giving up or giving in, I ask myself the same question and I manage to make it through that day!
Hope that helps.0 -
One day at a time honey. If you get off of it one day, then start over the next. There is no "next week I will start over", because most people won't.
One day at a time.
What keeps me going? I love the way I feel, I love the control I have, I love the energy I have, I love that my life may last longer, and I really really really don't want to be old and worried about my health (in and out of doctor's offices) just because I couldn't control myself when I was younger. I want to die of old age, not diabetes or cardiovascular failure.
Viva your health!
^^ LOVE THIS!!! This is exactly it! Dying of old is my dream--I don't want to die of a preventable health issue. I want to have more energy, and live a longer, happier life! Girl, I couldn't say it better myself! So stay strong hon. Don't ever let one day, or one meal or one mistake keep you from your goals. Keep going!! Stay positive!0 -
Fear...Fear is what keeps me going. When I was younger, I was invincible, nothing was going to hurt me, nothing was going to make me sick, nothing was going kill me. I drank, I smoked, I lived the life of rock a star, and enjoyed every single second of it.
I'm older now, this past March I ended up in the hospital with what myself, my fiancee, and the Dr.'s were sure was a heart attack. Thankfully it wasn't. It was an infection on the lining around my heart and on my heart itself. I promised Robin on the ride to the hospital when we all thought it was a heart attack that if I made it (and yes i geniunely thought I was going to die that night) that I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that this would NEVER happen again.
When i got out of the hospital a few days later I was the best patient ever. The Dr.'s told me I had to change my diet and lose weight. And thats what I did, for a while anyway. Then as I got better, and stronger, I let all the excuses of why i could eat right, and exercise creep back in. I began to think I was invincible once again.
Then one day in july I looked at myself in the mirror, and I hated what I saw. I looked older than I am, and I saw a tired man, but worse I saw a liar. How could I give our kid a hard time for not eating vegetables, and drinking his milk, when all I did was eat take out or cook in a very unhealthy fashion. How could I tell him enough with the TV go run around and play, when all i did when I came home from work was lay on the couch and watch the tube myself. How could I make a promise to Robin and not even at least try to keep it. What kind of father did that make me? What kind of husband would I be? What kind of man was I?
It all changed that instant. No more take out, no more cooking bad food. If the boy was going to go out and play then DAMNIT i was going out to play with him. I bought the insanity work out, and i get up every morning a 5 am, and I give those DVD's everything I've got...EVERYTHING.
Like I told you at the begining it is the fear that keeps me going. I would be lying to you if I said i wasn't afraid of what my future may hold in terms of my health, and any illnesses I may be stricken with because of my past lifestyle, because I am. I don't dwell on it, but I do think about it every now and again. But that is not what truly scares me. What scares the hell out of me is the example I was setting for my son. I don't want him to go down the same road I did. I want him to see a STRONG, and HEALTHY father. I want to teach him to be a good man, a man that looks after and takes care of his family. A man that keeps the promises that he makes, especially to the ones that he loves the most. I am afraid of that man that I saw in the mirror, that day in july. And I NEVER want to see him again.
Thats what drives me, thats what pushes me, and when I'm tired and sore, and my mind is telling my body to quit...I close my eyes and I picture myself that day in the mirror. And when my eyes open again I fight and push myself further away from my past, and that much closer to my future. A healthier, stronger, brighter future.0 -
A more active lifestyle with my kids, the desire to fit into clothes in my wardrobe rather than buying something that is only bought because it fits. the need to reduce my blood pressure and to have lost at least 14 lbs by the last weekend in October which is a girls' weekend away for my friends and I. I've just remembered the phenomenal achievements of my MFP friends also keep me motivated.0
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My husband posted a story in motivation and support entitled "has anyone seen my mojo?" That story is what keeps me going.0
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What keeps me going day after day, is, believe it or not, food! I love food and trying all sorts of food. And somehow trying all sorts and keeping them within reasonable calories and healthy as well is actually quite fun! Thus, in order for me to HEALTHILY appreciate food, I make sure I burn a lot of calories thus opening up more " space" in my daily calorie allowance. Hehe.
Above is positive reinforcement lol.
As for negative reinforcement, I am sick of people commenting how fat I have become, and sadly I have to agree. Thus I want them to eat back their words one day, and most importantly prove to myself that I can do this.0 -
I like to think of weight loss like pushing a car up a hill. If it slips a little and you catch it, and keep pushing, you haven't lost much. If it slips and you let it slide, you have to go back down the hill and start all over again. Why climb the same hill twice?
Also, I want to go on a beach vacation very badly. But I'm a little too self conscious to be on a beach right now. As soon as I'm at a comfortable weight I'm booking a flight to Florida 0 -
This is precisely why I say that losing weight/gaining health, is almost more of a "mental" game than a "physical" one. I am not doing anything now and during this past year that I didn't already know I needed to do in order to lose weight/gain health, so why didn't I do it 3 years ago? 5 years ago? Because my head and my heart weren't in it. When I look back at this past year, it really wasn't all that difficult... meaning, I didn't feel like I was torturing or depriving myself of anything. I made better choices and started exercising. You have to have your heart and HEAD in the game in order to succeed! Once you realize ALL that you have to GAIN from LOSING, you will do GREAT!
Good Luck!0
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