I need serious motivation!!

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I cannot seem to stick with the eating healthy and exercise for more than a few weeks at a time. I feel like I am failing and giving up.....

I know I am ready to do this. I am tired of being overweight and I want to feel healthy again. I just cannot seem to hold onto that drive.

any tips?

new friends?

ugh

Replies

  • clacourse
    clacourse Posts: 41 Member
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    I'm in the same boat as you are. :smile: It's aggravating... maybe we need an accountability partner? Take a picture of yourself (in the tightest clothing possible - bra and underwear, if necessary) and put it up somewhere you know you'll see it every day. Maybe inside that box of whatever it is you may get the hankering for at 9:00 at night... That way, you'll see it and think of what you don't want to be anymore and what you do want to be! You know what I mean? I don't know if that will help you, but it's a thought. I've thought about doing it, myself... :embarassed: LOL!
  • Disciplined74
    Disciplined74 Posts: 298 Member
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    I've had the same problem along the way.

    Over the years I'm tried and failed. Tried and falied.

    Even when I started MFP two months ago, there have been rough days. BUT I have learned to listen to my body and if I need the calories that day then eat. If you're craving a bad food, have a few bites (not the whole thing but a few bites usually satisfies the craving).

    Regardless of what you eat or if you have a bad day, log it and keep going. Cause it may take you a couple of days to get back on a nutritional track but you will do it and do it faster if you use MFP and keep going.

    Don't be hard on yourself.

    Look at the progress you've made and keep going.

    WE are here to support you. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help.
  • teasdino
    teasdino Posts: 228 Member
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    Ok, well that you are here should make you feel good. Dont beat yourself up to hard. Its a little self defeating. Deciding to make a lifestyle change will take time. The habits you have right now are the ones that you have had for more than for just a few weeks. Making new habits and changes will take some time. Hey..look at it from this point of view. IF it takes you a year ;or even 2, to lose the pnds and develop habits and make changes that will stick with you for your whole life, you will be able to look back at yourself in 5 years and be proud of where you stand ;-]
    jac
  • brockly25
    brockly25 Posts: 150
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    i can help you ... just be a friend and i do what i can to get you to your GOOOOOOOALLLLL!!!!!!! ;)

    you can do it ... just need a helping hand :)
  • Lana_Kay
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    Try the pictures, but put them every where there is food that you get in. Find the next size down in new outfits that you really like and BUY IT. Hang it somewhere you see it all the time. It just might help it did ME from extra LARGE TO MEDIUM!!!! GOOD LUCK :):)
  • MandyGirly
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    I think a lot of us have the same problem, but that's why we're here, right? I've only been doing this for 2 weeks now, but already I'm finding that, just knowing that other people can see what I log for food and knowing that they are there for support, totally helps!
  • mom23kids
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    Every one loses motivation at one point or another. Just remember that if you screw up one day it's ok. The next day is a new day to start again! Don't beat yourself up to bad. We all have those days, but you need to think of this as a life style change not a diet. You can do this! You will succeed!
  • hartsmart
    hartsmart Posts: 141 Member
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    everyone's got great suggestions. by far the best is to not be too hard on yourself. I have tried and tried and tried all my life to lose weight, but never felt motivated enough to stick to it when it seemed 'to hard' or i felt like i fell off the wagon and there was no point in trying again.
    since i've been on MFP I've had great success. partly because of the support and partly b/c no matter how bad of a day i have, i still log everything. you can find if you have patterns and how you can adjust your habits. I often write myself a little note on in my food diary on the days when i'm over. that way i can remember, or keep in mind, if something set me off, or if i just needed a drink that day!
    but keep at it, and think of the day when you are just maintaining your awesome weight loss...that is what i do!!
    friend me, if you like, too!
    (i also like the 'facebook'-esque set up on here. it makes it a little more personal and fun.)
  • mykaar74
    mykaar74 Posts: 253
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    you may want to see why the road blocks keep coming up. it may be something emotional linked to it, which makes you sabotage yourself once you get so far. I know for me I would get a certain size and then as my family & others would notice I was losing, I would get scared that the teasing would come back, or the jealousy that ppl harvested against me. Also I am very subconscious about how i look in clothes because I always fear that something may happen to me. (just fear from when I was molested). I wish you all the best on your journey.

    Have you tried entering some of the challenges on here, then that would hold you accountable to others for meeting a certain goal, because you would have to check in. Well hope you find something that works
  • ambercscott87
    ambercscott87 Posts: 11 Member
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    thanks everyone for the great suggestions... and for the new friends. This gave me the motivation of walking 2 miles on the treadmill tonight. i definately need to take pictures. its hard b/c i dont even want to look at myself in the mirror, but i know it'd help.

    thank you all!!
  • Nadine32
    Nadine32 Posts: 13 Member
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    I am in the same boat, so the posts are great to read. I am not far away from my goal and am self sabotaging! very weird why we do that! Good Luck to you!!!!
  • AngelaCourtneyjones
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    We all need serious motivation...if it were easy we wouldn't be here. This site and the new friends i've made really do help to keep me motivated!!!!! I know that someone is watching. I always try to remember "To thine ownself be true." Don't cheat yourself. Always workout when you don't want to...it always makes me feel good after i'm done. Log in your menu everyday!!!!!! and give yourself a day to eat what your craving...One time a month I eat anything I want it's something for me to look forward to...if it's not your cheat day and you just have to have something your craving, take 2 bites and walk away...this should help w/ cravings...remember, this is not a diet. This is your new life!!!!! We're all here for the same reason...SUPPORT...so use us.....we can all succeed..........................:flowerforyou:
  • AmberMagdalena
    AmberMagdalena Posts: 461 Member
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    I have the same problem. I think one good key thing to have is a bunch of awesome, positive, motivated people around you. Kind words help. Power songs and I-pod lists. Not getting bored with your food. those are all good things, but mostly you're as driven as the people you choose to surround you! :)
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
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    My group of friends are the bestest...no offense to the rest of ya. Positive attitudes mixed with good natured ribbing. All the right ingredients to help out.
  • kpierce
    kpierce Posts: 1 Member
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    It's all a mind game for me. If I can get through the first day, the next day and so on are like building blocks. Before long, there's a week built up, then 2, ...then a month. And so on. Kind of like one day at a time.

    I try to picture myself in the future, for example, my daughter's birthday is in January. So, if I can stay on track that long, where will I be! Then my birthday in Feb, spring break in March, my son's birthday in April...that's 5 months!

    I want to finally have a summer where I'm not saying "if only I had stuck to this 6 months ago..."! I want to keep going through it all so that I can get on with enjoying life instead of ALWAYS having weight issues in the back of my mind!
  • tacey21
    tacey21 Posts: 73 Member
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    i definately need to take pictures. its hard b/c i dont even want to look at myself in the mirror, but i know it'd help.

    I read somewhere that people with full-length mirrors are more confident because they see their bodies every day and its a familiar thing. This went for people of all sizes. (I wish I knew where the article was):

    Things that are helping me:
    Decide to change one thing at a time.
    PREPARE. Set aside a day in which you'll do all your meal planning, shopping, cooking, and scheduling for the week.
    Dieting - make sure you eat foods you like! Just make healthier versions.
    Set small goals.
    Dont beat yourself up. Ever.

    The hardest thing for me still is to stop self-loathing. If you hate the way you look and feel, you wont listen to your body... and listening to your body is whats going to get you through this. Notice how you feel when you eat certain things or when you do certain activities. If you slip up, remember the feeling of how good it was go exercise, or how you felt when you ate good food... and remember that good feeling instead of remembering how awful it feels to be fat.

    i hope this helps.
    You'll get on track and once you find your groove, it'll be so easy. I promise.
  • esorcel
    esorcel Posts: 459 Member
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    I find that the longer you continue, the more you adapt to your lifestyle change. It takes a while to become accostomed to it. I think everyone has a fall out in the first few months.

    If I meet anyone just starting to lose weight, I don't expect them to become excellent at it right away. Change occurs in stages.