How do you stay movitvated when it is so easy to give up ?

Because I like a challenge! Giving up is too easy, plus, stronger, fitter that's the push. I do it to prove doctors wrong, doubters wrong and myself wrong.

If I say I can't do it, that's a challenge to then do it!

I have given up before and don't like how I feel afterward. I Just keep plugging away and chipping away at the pounds. There are some days I am more motivated than others. There are also days I don't exercise or eat at maintenance. I will not give up though. These are short breaks of maybe a day or two.

To me, motivation comes and goes. Success is a matter of decision, and at times it's separate from mood and emotion. I don't always feel motivated to go to the gym when I get off work. Some days I'd rather curl up in bed, especially when the months get darker and longer. Sometimes I would really like that extra glass of wine or a larger bowl of ice cream.

But conscious decision isn't swayed by fleeting moods and emotion. I may feel like telling someone to F*** OFF if they give me a tight work deadline, but it doesn't mean I should, and more often than not, it's best if I make the conscious decision not to. So there are times I make the conscious decision to go to the gym even though I don't want to. Or make the conscious decision to not have the cookie that is offered to me at work.

If I have decided that I want to be fitter and lose weight, if I want results, I have to stand by it, regardless of how I feel on a particular day. (Granted, there are days if I'm battling illness or it's my birthday I will be flexible) but as a rule, I find the Nike way to make the decision and "just do it" gets it done when motivation isn't always there. I hope this makes sense. :drinker:

It can be hard to keep motivated when the scale slows down. Which it always does at some point. When I was my top weight at 237, and my Triglycerides were close to 700 which meant Diabetes was knocking on my door, I started making changes in my diet and activity level. After my mom died, right before my granddaughter was born and I turned 49, that was the final push to get really serious about losing the weight as well. Not wanting to hit 50 at that weight was a huge motivation.

But now the 50th birthday has passed. My weight is out of the Obese range. My Triglycerides are down to 147. And I am in size 12 jeans. (down from 20s). I look and feel so much better. All my family and friends are telling me I am skinny (yeah, right) and even my doctor has said I have lost enough.
But I am still around180. That is too much for 5'6". That extra 25 lbs is still too much extra stress on my back and joints.

So I have to remind myself that this is not a diet. This is a permanent lifestyle change. And even tho I am lucky to get 1 pound a month at this point, as long as I continue to make any progress at all, I will eventually reach my goal weight, and this will remain a way of life for me so that I don't gain any weight back.

I so wish that I could open the eyes of many of the young people today to look forward to the time they will be 40 or 50 and decide where they want their health to be at that time, and start working toward that goal NOW.
It was SO much easier to simply lose weight when I was in my teens and 20s, but I really wish I had educated myself more about nutrition and exercise back then, so I never would have reached 80 pounds overweight by my 40s.

Kudos to you OP for taking control of your health at this age. Trust me, it doesn't get any easier.

Focus on what I have accomplished rather that how much farther I have to go.

Focus on seeing the next lb off on the scales. Forget the overall goal..concentrate on the next lb and set yourself mini targets..

I listen to the Rocky theme tune. There's nothing like some funk bass and a brass fanfare to make you want to get outside and exercise. Or just put a headband on and punch stuff. Either is good.

DebbieLyn63 thank you for posting. We're almost twins in age and numbers and your post really really touched me. I had bacterial meningitis in Feb( 4 th major hospitalization for issues from cancer to gall bladder to blood clots then meningitis in past 8 years ) and each one was a 20 pound loss in the hospital, 3-6 month recovery with minimal activity and gain back of weight + 10 because activity was walking from couch or bed to bathroom Then After meningitis I had to take Depacote for migraines and instead of going back to my 230-240 range I actually saw 260 in the doctor office who quickly told me people gain 20-30 pounds quickly like in a month with depacote. So now decreasing that med and taking water pills and logging got to first 250 and then 237 on here. But am 45 and have very high cholesterol and tri numbers which my dr said he rarely sees in any of his patients and have a brother and sister with juvenile diabetes and my Dad boarder line adult onset and am also on blood thinners for clotting issues for life and welchol for cholesterol and about 8 other meds.... Anyway at 45 years old and still have a pair of red jean Mickey Mouse shorts size 12 that I quickly lost weight and went from 210 to 180/ 175 "easily" in my 30 s to wear to Disney World then. But know at 5'6" if I could get to the 180/175 these would fit again and make my trip in 4.5 months such a reward. I want to hit 46 at that weight and if I slowly go lower by another 10 pounds in 10 months after that fine. It's soooo much harder now being just a few years older and lots more health issues.
Thank you for posting. Your similar age and numbers helped me relate and not feel so list and alone and in a dark place today.
Good luck. You're my blessing for today!

WILLPOWER!
it really depends on bad u want it?

I look at my old pictures and my empty nightstand which is now free of medicines that were due to my extra weight and that is more than enough motivation for me to keep up the fight. I have iron will and refuse to walk that road again,

After 2 years, it's become habit. The only motivation I've had has been to be able to buy clothes at regular-sized shops. Now that I can do that, I keep going because what I've done is build habits.

I'm glad this photo happened.

I'm a very goal-oriented person, so my weight loss goal is like any other goal. I do not accept failure.

I will keep working at it until it is accomplished. So, when I don't feel like it, I remind myself of what needs to be done to achieve the end goal.

I stay motivated by setting small, incremental goals and by realizing this is a long process.

There is no secret, no crash diet that works long term, no magic pill or supplement, no way to jump start the weight loss, and most important, there is no excuse to not move more.
Being tired is NOT a valid excuse, even a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood is better than that same 20 minutes spent sitting on the couch surfing the 'net and eating.

Also, for me a huge part of successfully reaching my goal weight was I kept my goals and what I was doing to myself. I made no grand announcements to friends or family. I just started eating better and moving more. That took the outside pressure off to be immediately successful and allowed me to play around with what worked.

I rely alot on visual things. There's a dress that I love by can't fit into, and that's lying out. I've got a note next to my bed telling me to run when I wake up, not hit snooze. I keep reminding myself that if I like losing weight more than I like being lazy, and I feel better losing weight than I do being lazy, then how come I keep being lazy? But also diversion tactics. Like brushing my teeth when I'm hungry.