Hello

since i started mfp i would say i have found something always keeping me motivated i love it. i will say this much though i think the key is to find what you really like and to know why you are doing this. with that said i will elaborate, if you are doing this for anyone but yourself you will fail maybe not right away but you will it is okay to say i want a healthier life so i can spend more time with family friends etc... but ultimately these are your goals. every time i have tried to lose weight in the past i would try these ridiculous diets that i would stick to for maybe a week or two and say forget it. when i stopped looking at my life as a diet and a way of life is when i started to succeed. what i mean is that i started saying hey i am gonna eat what i like but i am gonna portion it out and try to make some better choices but if i want something i am going to eat it. i found with myself if i do not give into something i want every now and then it only leads to binge eating and eating things i didn't even want because i was not satisfied beforehand. so moral of this story learn what you are eating still eat it but maybe cut back and portion it out don't give up what you like because this is your life and if you wanna stick with this plan it has to be something you can live with. as far as exercising goes i find myself to get bored very easy doing the same thing for awhile so i challenge myself to new things, i may not like them as well as something else but if i do the same thing for too long i don't want to go sometimes and it also gets too easy. so i say if you find yourself getting bored with exercises spice it up, you can do the same thing with food, reward yourself every once in awhile you are doing a great job and you should be treated. if you eat the same thing day in and day out you will get bored, fulfill your guilty pleasure it's not wrong remind yourself how good you are doing and deserve a little something i have found i have lost the most weight this way. i have lost 5 pounds a month and i am close to 30 pounds and i feel great i had lost weight before finding this site but i love this site it is wonderful. don't give up you can do it!!!!!!

Welcome to MFP!
People here are very helpful and very motivational. I've even talked a few co-workers into joining!
Add me as a friend if you would like!

First - great job AMSCOBRA! Every single pound off is cause for a celebration! (just no cake)

Second - I just posted something similar to this on another 'welcome' thread, but the word hope needs to just GO! Decide that this will work, and it just will!

The number one reason for failure in my experience with my clients is that they stop logging food on the "bad days" - yeah I have them too! You can not allow that to happen. Sometimes just knowing that you WILL log all the food you eat, every single day, is enough to get over the hump on those temptation days!

Believe in yourself! Trust yourself! Log every bite you eat, every workout you do (hopefully daily!) and it's almost impossible not to lose weight. Keep those macro-nutrient percentages in line as well. The MFP macros are a little wacky with very little protein, if you need help with your numbers, hit me up via email or whatever, I can run them really quickly.

Not good luck - just make it happen!

Steve
knightfit.com