Fell of the wagon, need motivation!

Even if you have a rough couple of days or weeks you can't give up. Living a health lifestyle should be a portion of your busy life. I wasn't able to go to the gym for about 5 days because of traveling and work but I went back yesterday and it only motivated me to wake up early and go today. You can try to fit in any and all exercise while you're busy. Take the stairs, take a walk on your lunch break. Most importantly try to prepare your meals in advance so you always have something healthy to grab. Best of luck.

Day 1- I came the to harsh realization that i was a filthy liar and wasnt being honest with my log.

Day 2- awesome.

Day 3- no time for the gym! eep! Walked instead, but those salt cravings hit.

Day 4- snack cake mutilation :-(

Im right back on the wagon, cause my saddlebags are starting to disappear. Ive been fat too long, and this is the first time motivation has lasted more than 2 days. I really want to go into Victoria's Secret, and i cant do that till i hit first goal.

You can do it, just realize that you will slip up now and then.

I try to make a menu a week ahead. Every morning I log what I am supposed to have that day. Doing this also makes me think twice before grabbing that super easy, not so good for you snack because i dont want to have to change my diary

Breaking down a month into weekly goals (ie week 1 I will do 3 cardio workouts and 2 strength workouts, or I will lose 1 lb, etc) and taking progress pictures week to week. Compare the pictures from week 1 to week 4 and you will feel great and want to keep going the next month.

Two things kept me motivated:

1. Do you want to be fat? Is being overweight your goal? If no, then you better get your act together! Keep the big picture in mind, but...

2. Set mini goals. I used 10 pound milestones. I started at 175 so first goal was to be in the 160s, then the 150s, and so on. Seeing the middle number change helped my psyche!

Things got easier when I stopped lying to myself. Sure, I am busy but so are 99% of the people I know. It's about priorities. If I am claiming I have "no time" to work out but can manage 30 minutes in front of the computer or TV at night, then I am just kidding myself. It is tough but be brutally honest when it comes to the reasons why you are slacking.

I was doing great logging in the first couple weeks on being on mfp. After a little while I just stopped tracking. I have not really gained back anything I lost but I need help with motivation. I have not worked out at the gym and I have been busy with life. I know that it is a personal choice and I need to be accountable. What are some of your secrets? How do you keep going?

Today I decided to start logging again. The only way to be accountable is logging and being true to myself on my goals.

Any advice would be appreciated.

You may have ups & downs, but as long as you keep using the tools you have, & be honest with yourself & log everything, even on a "bad" day you'll do fine. It doesn't happen over night, just keep on it.

Last time I fell off the wagon, I gained 8 lbs.

Even though Ive used it before too, I don't like the term "falling off the wagon" because it makes me feel like there is an option of stopping your journey, Like you got left behind the wagon and are stranded because you made a bad choice. Rather, I would like to look at it as you are taking a detour or have gone over a few bump instead but your still holding on tight. Even if you gave up for a year, your still on it...
There is no escape! muhahahaha hehe

Motivation. You know, sometimes it is just not there. I have gone through it, friends have gone through it. The best advice I can give you is to keep doing it anyways and I promise you, it will return. Having a routine of exercising every day/almost everyday is pretty important too. Mostly because it becomes a habit and just part of your everyday life. It turns into if you dont do it, you feel like something is missing.

I would also point out, I would rather exercise for a few hours and get it done rather then feel bad about it for the rest of the day because of what I didn't do.

I know this sounds corny but I always tell myself that I'm an athlete and I'm just getting back in shape. It works...dont know why because I was never a sporty person before haha

I am taking one small step, logging everything I eat into MFP. I don't care how bad it looks. I think if I get some hard data in here that I can look it over and figure out what changes I need to make. But, if I keep lying to myself, then I will never be able to change.

My food diary is just for me to be honest with myself. I am hoping my next step is modifying my diet and then adding exercise. But one foot in front of the other as the Winter Warlock said (or was it Kris Kringle?)

Is there a certain diet plan that you have followed?

Not me. I am a true believer of everything in moderation and to kill it at the gym. I average 1700-2k cals consumed a day but I also burn 1000-1700 HRM calories burned at the gym 6 days a week. Diets are temporary. For long term results- eat healthy, eat the bad food only once in a while and exercise that butt off...literally.