SABOTAGE!

Mainly it's me. My husband goes along with what I do. If I am eating healthy and working out then he is at least eating healthy. If I am not watching calories then neither is he!!

However, I always try to be the motivating friend. I provide as much positive encouragement to everyone I know who is trying to make their lives better. I try to be the cheerleader in the corner I am the one that reminds people to get their run in, who asks friends if they are ready to work out with me (after they express desire), who asks how their eating day has been and what their activity is going to be. Ya...I'm that friend, the one you love when you are doing the "healthy thing" but the one that holds you accountable even when you arent

My wife.

We both put on a lot of weight over the course of our relationship. All the dining out in the early years, the convenience foods after having children.

We were both sick of it. Whereas I walked around just being disgusted with myself and unhappy, completely sedentary, Lucy started counting calories.

Then she started working out; simple stuff at first.

Then she was doing HIIT daily. The results were happening faster and faster.

I realized that maybe I wasn't doomed to an ever-fattening abyss of shame and cookies. Maybe the reason that most of America was so damned fat was not because it was inexorable, but rather because they didn't DO anything about it.

I started counting - it was made so much easier by my wife preparing nutritious home made meals and having already calculated the calories per serving for herself.

With that incredible advantage, I got my eating under control. Small changes began to happen. I quit smoking. More changes. I started Couch to 5K. Faster changes. I hit my goal weight. I wasn't happy with how I looked but at least I wasn't having to wear tents as garments anymore [figuratively].

By this time she had started weightlifting. The results were immediately apparent. I saw her developing the physique I wanted - - strong, healthy, normal human anatomy. Eventually I sucked it up and asked her to teach me her lifts.

I started lifting too. My whole world changed.

I am deeply grateful to my wife Weese17 for having such an amazing will, and for inspiring me to fall into with what Taso once called "the virtuous cycle".

Aww, I love this.

Myself. Cause at the end of the day, I'm the one who makes the decision about what I eat/do not eat, and it is I who gets up at 4am to get my training done first thing in the morning. I'm freaking awesome!

This is what I was going to post (except for the 4am wake ups, can't manage that). It was me that decided I needed to change the way I thought, and who followed the 'Beck:the diet solution' CBT programme, and it was me that worked really hard on eating well and exercising.

Other people have been encouraging but it's up to me. You can only change yourself at the end of the day.

Besides my MFP friends,

My Husband. Mind you, he still offers me cookies, candy, etc all the time. Eats whatever he wants, and stays skinny. He also eats in front of me when I'm done for the day. In the beginning those things irritated me. The temptation was hard, but I knew if this was going to work, I had to control myself. It wasn't his responsibility to change.

Aside from all that, he's my biggest cheerleader. He constantly tells me how proud he is of me, and listen to me ramble about fitness or food, all with a smile on his face.

This! Except he's my boyfriend, not my husband. He's proud of me, and that spurs me on.

Initially, at least in the fitness department, a good work friend of mine was a huge inspiration. The same year I started with my weight loss, she was just coming back to work full time after having been out of work dealing with breast cancer treatments. She was signing up for triathalons and bike races and I couldn't help but think "If she can handle all of that, what the HELL is my excuse?!" I signed up for a 10k walk that was part of the same event as her bike race and spent the next several months improving my distance and time. Although she's now fully recovered and even a new Mom (yay!!!), I still keep that in the back of my mind.

Also, my best friend and husband have both been huge supporters along the way. My husband is kinda clueless about what eating right means but that's sort of made it fun because I'm able to share what I'm learning and show him that healthy doesn't mean it tastes like cardboard.

Funny this topic would come up, I had a situation that happened to me not too long ago, I was going to a local sandwich shop for lunch with my wife and I come across a mother and little boy who had to be at least 5-6. The boy was very over weight for whatever his age was but here's the crazy thing.. He was pleading with his mom to get something from the sandwich shop, His mom on the other hand argued back and said that she wasn't going to spend money eating there when McDonald's has more food next door.. Pardon my language but WHAT THE ****! Are you serious.. My wife quickly looks at me as to say mind your business.
Now I wanted to put this lady in her place but was in no position to tell someone how they're raising their kid. Then it dawned on me, Since I was purchasing lunch using a buy 1 get 1 free coupon I politely asked the woman if she'd help me out. I said I had a coupon but it would be for 2 sandwiches and i'm only going to eat one and my wife now wants a salad.. I asked if she'd be ok with coming inside and letting her son order the other sandwich.. At first she kinda gave me a rude look, but I think she felt as if she would be even more in the wrong not letting her son get what he wanted to eat for free. So her mood completely changes (But I am totally aware that it was fake)
The great thing is the boy orders a turkey sandwich and says he wants diet bread ( he meant he wanted flat bread) he called it diet because he said regular bread is no good for you. LOL then he says NO MAYO that gets you FAT! He then says Put lettuce and tomato because thats what gets you strong LOL
This little boy was awesome and funny as he explained everything he wanted on his sandwich.. His mother thanks me again on the way out in a manner that still to me was fake and the boy says on his way out I'm gonna have muscles like you on my birthday..
Kid was so awesome I wish I knew his name. Sad, I hope his mom and family support this little boy. I mean how many little kids you know would give up McDonalds.. I have a hard time driving by one now without wanting to turn in LOL

IRL, my best friend is my hugest supporter. She's so awesome...she's seen me through thick and thin(ner). She loves me either way.

On here, I've met a couple awesome people who are just so AWESOME! If I'm having a down day, I know I can message them and vent. I feel so relieved knowing that there are people who understand.

Kid was so awesome I wish I knew his name. Sad, I hope his mom and family support this little boy. I mean how many little kids you know would give up McDonalds.. I have a hard time driving by one now without wanting to turn in LOL

What an incredible story man. Thanks for sharing that.

+1

This is a great thread!
First off, nobody but me could motivate or sabotage myself and i have learnt it all too well this time around(i have matured i guess LOL) After the birth of my daughter and gaining weight while breastfeeding and looking at my photos- inspired me to lose the weight once and for all!
My hubby. He encourages me to do what i love. He does not see me as fat or thin, just ME! He shifts around his schedule and also helps out a lot with baby and food and fitness which keeps me going. As a new mom last year, i was ridden with guilt to workout away from her, but he kept pushing me to get it done and also helping me get over that guilt!
My in laws and parents, baby sat while i worked out and that has been such a great help!
And last but not the least, MFP and my MFP friends have been awesome! They inspire me and motivate me every single day. I have the most amazing, awesome and hardworking FL and i love them !

Kid was so awesome I wish I knew his name. Sad, I hope his mom and family support this little boy. I mean how many little kids you know would give up McDonalds.. I have a hard time driving by one now without wanting to turn in LOL
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YOU, my friend, are a HERO!

Shame on Mom................!

When I was young my mom always used to say well girls after you have kids it just ruins your body but its worth it. She had us 3 girls. I heard that all the time and she's a bigger woman. She wasn't really around much she was too busy out with other men while my dad was home with us. I do love her bc she's my mom but those words have stung my whole life that once you have kids you will be huge. My dad always taught me you have to work for what you want. I always applied that to my career, being a mom and the woman of the house. I never thought to apply it to my health and fitness. Every time I had a child I made sure to work off the fat I gained. Never thought about going further than that. Once I joined MFP I started surrounding myself with health and fitness inspirations on fb, instagram and twitter. This has helped a lot!! My MFP friends are so supportive, my sisters, my dad, my cousins, sometimes my friends will be supportive. Then other times friends will try getting me to cheat or say things that make me second guess but then my mind snaps out of that moment and I say this is my lifestyle nothings going to change and I don't need that garbage. This road hasn't been easy but its worth it. My mom couldn't cook so I used to live off pasta when I was a teenager. I didn'ttake nutrition classes in high school bc I always wanted to be with the guys=). Science was not an interest either. Now I find myself digging into research and teaching myself all of this now. I look back and think I really wish I was this focused back then. Science and nutrition is amazing and there is so much information!

My anti-sabotage team:

Hubby - who has been totally willing to try all the new foods or tweaked recipes, without a word of complaint, and encourages the kids to do the same. He helps me find time for workouts and watches the kids. When I told him I needed a kitchen scale, no problem - he bought it for me. When I said I needed a new bathroom scale, same thing. I warned him that our grocery budget would likely increase (although, it's been a net gain, as we don't eat out as often as we used to), he said "no problem". When I said I wanted race entry fees instead of things like flowers for Valentines Day, he was totally on board. He's been super encouraging.

My kids - who have been trying the foods, traveled with me to races, and have even done their own!

My mom - who asks me how I'm doing with all this, whenever I call, and makes all the awesome happy exclamations when she sees me every 6 months.

A few IRL friends who have tolerated me talking about this stuff, ahha! They have been ace, no lie.


I've been very lucky.

You rang? :laugh:

In regards to who helped me, I've had a few friends who have been to the gym or swimming or running with me. Really, any of my friends who have put up with me rambling on about TDEE and TEF and hypertrophy etc. etc.

Food wise, I've pretty much done it on my own. I get tetchy when people suggest I should eat this food or that food.

MFP friends have been a real help. I may have quit many times without the knowledge that they were waiting with baited breath for me to log on and acknowledge their existence. That's how it works, right?

My husband-- when we met I was sick and weak, and about to have to leave my job because of chronic illness. He cheered me on when I started to lose weight, and when I started to walk, then lift weights, and then run. He even weighs the ingredients when he cooks now, because he doesn't want to mess up my count for the day.

My MFP friends-- From DavPul who told me to just go workout already, :laugh: to all the veterans who answered my newbie questions, to the ladies whose success stories first made me want to lift, to the many people on my friend list who just show up and are awesome every day.

This is an amazing thread.

MFP and the friends I have made here. Also the success stories and incredible transformations I've seen have kept me trying again and again to reach my goals. Even though I continue to have horrible days (food-wise; exercise has become second nature), I keep working on making those days obsolete. Without the MFP support system, I would be back to where I started by now.