What keeps you on your plan?

Strive for balance. I keep vegetable sticks in my fridge, but doggone it I'm going to have hummus too. If I have an apple, I eat it with peanut butter. I make sure I measure out the serving size on any snack food that I eat and stick to that. My biggest problem is mindless eating. I am a stay at home mom and I find myself eating to keep myself occupied, and I have got to stop that.

Getting your mind in the right place is the hard part. Once you can do that , the rest will follow. I applaude you for getting going again. Tell yourself that excuses are for weak people and that you are not weak. Strong confident people get what they want and you deserve to be one of those people.

I feel like it comes down to consistancy and preparation. If you can make eating healthy convenient, fast and tasty than you can do it for life. Search pinterest/google for healthy recipes, snack storage and other things that you get excited about when you look at because you say "hey, i can do that!".

Speaking of snacks these are some i reccomend :

Arctic Zero (hard to find and expensive, but if you look it up you'll see why it is a must have for those 'need a pint of icecream days')
emerald cocoa almonds
yoplait greek 100 peacn yogurt
carrots/broccoli and sabra roasted red pepper hummus
pure protein bars - double chocolate deluxe please!
100 cal mini bags of plain popcorn (not a lot of nutrition, but sometimes you just need to snack for the sake of snacking and not feel bad about it)
sargento light string cheese
healthy life high fiber bread and sugar free jam
oatmeal with raspberries and cinnamon (I could eat oats for every meal and be happy)
myofusion cinnamon roll protein whey - add silk unsweetened almond milk , ice and a touch of coffee - blend and its pretty close to one of those mocha frappe things

Okay im drooling thinking about so much food now, hope I was some help!
Best of luck, you got this!

What keeps me on my plan?
I enjoy walking a block without having to stop three or four times to catch my breath more than I enjoyed that soda.
I like it that I'm comfortable in 80F + weather without getting all sweaty and uncomfortable.
I like it That I don't feel my *kitten* cheeks hanging over the sides of the toilet anymore.
I like it that my butt actually fits in the seat of my Miata again.
I like it that I'm stronger than the magnetic pull of McDonalds advertising.
I feel I'm one of the elite that stuck with it long enough to make a visible difference.

I like that I've made a lot of progress, which has made me realize, that there is still room for improvement. Now that the bulk of the fat is gone, I can attempt to put on some damn muscles.

I just made up my mind one day that I WAS going to do it this time. My father was diabetic & had heart disease. My abdominal fat was getting bigger and bigger & the threat of diabetes was terrifying to me. I hated the way I looked & felt. The gym here is really great & they had a program for 8 weeks that included nutrition classes once a week & personal training twice a week. I rediscovered how much I love to work out. I learned how to eat better...I knew what I needed to do, but I learned how to substitute lower fat options & still stay satisfied. I learned portion control. Then I saw improvements in my cardio fitness, then muscles and then I dropped 3 pant sizes!!! Mfp has been a godsend...so many supportive and caring people on here! You don't have to change all at once...just drink more water & make that a habit, then cut back on sodas one week & make that a habit, then substitute a lower fat option...experiment with different foods. Remember that it is a lifestyle change. You are getting healthy and that is forever.

For salty crunchy fix-Kellog's Special K has cracker chips, or Quakes (especially the cheese ones) are good
For chocolate fix -WhoNu cookies taste a lot like Oreos, or WW has a lot of ice cream treats that are good (giant fudge bar is my favorite)
Protein shakes are good too, especially if you are in a hurry. Syntha-6 makes yummy protein powder (Chocolate or Vanilla Ice Cream are both yummy)

I got a Nutribullet for Christmas & I love it...it helps me get more fruits & veggies in...I have trouble getting enough on a daily basis b/c I don't really like to cook.

Good luck!!! You CAN do this!!! YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!

I think a lot of people fail b/c they think of the big picture (how much they have to lose). It is overwhelming. I make small goals every week on what I want to accomplish and I only think of and focus on that week. I also used to weigh in daily... that can be very discouraging. Now, I only weigh in once a week on Saturdays.

I think for me it's helps that I have it set to lose one pound per week and it gives me more calories to play around with. I tried to find treats that replaced some of my other go to high calorie snacks. I had a really bad habit of stopping at McDonald's and it probably was 1200 calories or more with the chocolate shake. I rarely stop there anymore but what I did in the begining was change the items so I would still get the mcdonald's craving taken care of but less calories.
I rarely eat there anymore and when I do it's cause I decide that I can afford the ice cream cone or the chicken wrap. the car no longer drives itself there anymore. LOL Good luck!

What keeps me on my plan: Knowing that if I stray too far from my plan, I won't see results. Knowing my current caloric deficit is only temporary, and in a few months I'll be eating more than double of what I am right now (to maintain/bulk up). Knowing that whatever foods/substances I put in my body are going to be used to build/maintain it.

Good to go quick snacks: Light string cheese, yogurt, raw fruit (banana, apple, pear, etc.), raw vegetables (cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers), 1 serving of your favorite cereal, granola/protein bars (check labels for simplicity).

Tricks for when you crave "bad" sweets (cake, brownies, cookies, etc.): Chew gum, brush your teeth, drink some water.

The things that keeps me on my plan:

I love how I can see sexy muscle definition on my body
I love how I can pick up any clothes that I want and look good on it
I love how I look in a bikini
I love how I'm becoming stronger
I love the confidence boost that I get
I love how I'm becoming less sickly, be able to keep my blood sugar at bay and be able to get out of hypertension meds.

I want to be healthy!! As a retiree I am just beginning to get this right! Its not to impress anyone! Its for me! I enjoy looking fit and having the fitness level to ride horses and keep up with the grands!

I also want a tattoo (not a rocking chair) and to learn to ice-skate this year!

:flowerforyou:

To stay on plan:
1. I log everything and keep my diary open.

2. I also weigh myself daily and log it.

3. I try to pre-log my meals the night before so I don't have to stop and think about what I should be eating. I almost never stick exactly to the plan, but I at least come close most days.

4. Exercise six days a week. No excuses. Even when I am sick. Even when I don't have time. A minimum of 30 minutes of exercise is squeezed in somewhere. Sometimes it is in 10 minute chunks. Sometimes I use my lunch break at work. Whatever it takes I exercise 6 days a week.

5. I give myself 3-4 "free days" a month where I eat whatever I want in a 24 hour period. I also log everything, but no food is off limit to me on that day.

I have to get my mind in the right place first. But logging absolutely everything really helps, it keeps me from eating some unhealthy foods occasionally, because I just don't want to do the math about it all. Weighing daily too. And small changes! Small changes is the biggest thing. Your pictures are pretty, don't feel so down about your size!