How do you stick with it?!?

Motivating friends do help - feel free to add me if you like, I'm on here just about every day

Also, log log log log!!!! I got the mfp app for my phone and I just log everything immediately. I'm trying to view this not as a 'diet' but as something I'm planning on doing long term, even once I hit my goal weight (hopefully in the not TOO distant future!!).

But, it's all easier said than done. I've been logging and exercising and eating better for over a year now and am most of the way to my goal weight, but god knows I 'started' a diet a million times in the last 10 years, only to give up and gain more weight. Not sure why this time was different, but I do give mfp and my dedication to logging a lot of the credit. It's kind of like quitting smoking; I honestly can't remember how many times I quit smoking for however long (10 minutes, an evening, two days, three weeks, one time for over 9 months) and then went back to it. But the last time, for whatever reason, it finally clicked and I've been quit for about 12 years now. I can't even imagine smoking now. I really hope this time is like that for health. I'm trying to view exercise and weighing myself as not just things to do now that I'm trying to lose weight but a normal and routine part of my day.

Anyway, good luck. Once you get in a good habit, it's easier to keep it going. You won't necessarily see huge results immediately, but once it starts coming off, you can see differences at every step along the way, which is great. Those nsv's start coming and keep coming, and that's good and motivating too.

success stories.
seriously, visit this topic thread EVERY DAY if you have to.
Plus, I think you've really got to want it. Otherwise any and every excuse in the box will turn you away from your goal.
do it for YOU!

It's never easy to change. I think we all go through this, or most of us anyway. We want to change, it's not necessarily a matter of desire. There are so many things that come into play though. I'm a stress eater also, and I know the feeling all too well. When you're stressed out or depressed, the desire to eat will momentarily override the desire to lose weight, no matter how strong your desire to lose weight is. The problem with stress is that we tend to go into a crisis mode. We don't realize it, but that's why our decision making skills tend to falter when we're under duress. We're not thinking clearly. There is no trick that'll fix this, there's no magic way to make us stick to our plans. It's a matter of re-training, and re-learning. We have to break bad habbits that we've had, most likely our entire lives. And that takes time, determination, and patience. Our slip ups are difficult to bounce back from, because we stress ourselves out further for our mistakes which triggers more stress eating. So when we slack, this mentality causes us to turn it into a slump that can last a while. It's important to learn that it's okay. Know that you're going to slip up from time to time, just don't beat yourself up over it. I know it's easier said than done, but whenever you have a little slip, remember -- it's okay. Constantly remind yourself that it's not a big deal, and you're going to jump right back into the swing of things, no harm done. Stress management is another important thing to learn as well. We're in our predicament because we don't handle stress well, so learning to deal with stress in a more healthy and efficient manner will definitely benefit us in the long run. Unfortunately, there are no tricks to finding the motivation because the motivation needs to come from within. The motivation is already there though, you just have to learn the right ways to push yourself, and you will.

I do searches for weight loss before and afterpics. The results I see on them and these forums keeps me going. I lost 35 before joining MFP, I think it's much easier with this site.

lots of great advice above!! here are my thoughts:

two factors must be in constant play to lose weight and/or to maintain weight loss: commitment and consistency. you must make a consistent, dedicated effort every day to log your food and exercise and to make nutrition and fitness decisions that move you closer to your goal, not further away. you must also commit and recommit every single day--even if the previous day, you ate more than you'd hoped to, or you failed to exercise.

your potential for success is not measured by the number of times you fail, fall or mess things up. success is determined solely by the number of times you forgive yourself, recommit and try again. the more you practice good habits, the easier they will become, and with commitment and consistency, you will start to see changes. it might take several weeks--but most good things are worth waiting for.

it helps me to pre-plan and pre-log my eating and exercise for each day. obviously, things come up, and i sometimes have to make changes. but having a generally structured plan at the ready makes it so much easier for me to make good decisions all day long .

best of luck to you!!

One day at a time. It forces me to have patience.

Being active here. Reminds me of what I'm doing, inspires me to do as well as my friends, and makes me laugh when this all seems too hard.

Finding other ways of measuring my progress than the scales. (It took three weeks before I saw any appreciable difference on the scale.) I take my measurements. I use old clothes and see how they fit. I see how much money I save cutting back on the soda and fast food.

Making my changes in diet and exercise slowly. A week in between each change, bare minimum.

All of that helps keep me from getting overwhelmed and impatient.

Every time I get really fired up about losing weight, counting calories, working out, and being healthy, I stick to it for about 2 weeks and then it usually falls apart piece by piece.

I dont know i seem to be the most motivated person i know. when friendsand i start something im pretty much the only person left still doing it. everyone else stops.. so i dont really know my secret i guess i just do the same things every day.. log my food. running... its about making it a habit i think. and good friends do help feel free to add me