Hope to help motivate some newbies

A friend of mine sent me a private message and asked how I stay motivated, etc. This was my response to her. I decided to post this because I think there are some good tips here. And I know how discouraging it is to get started at this when you have such a long way to go! Hope it helps someone!



Big motivator for me was seeing the results on the scale, especially when I first started. I ate well/clean for a week and dropped like 6lbs. (I didn't eat anything processed or from a package except for milk, yogurt, etc. and prepared everything myself. A cleanse so to speak!) Now, I knew that was water weight. But, I didnt care what it was, it was off! But, seeing that result made me realize how much water the sodium really makes you retain. So, I was motivated to keep eating well and atleast not carry those extra lbs of water.

The longer I went eating well, the less I craved bad things. I think because I look at food now and think, "is this really worth the calories?" So, when my hubby wants to pick up a burger from Sideboard in Danville (his favorite), I can easily pass and just make a little something for myself for dinner. Because now, embedded in my brain, I'm thinking how many calories and how much sodium is in that burger and fries and it makes me want it less and less.

And as bad as I've been eating since the holidays, not counting calories and eating lots of sweets... fast food doesn't appeal to me at all anymore! I had In N Out on Christmas Eve and thought it was gross! (usually love it!). We picked up Panda Express a couple of weeks ago and I didn't enjoy eating it at all and felt bad because I just wasted all those calories that I could have eaten on something good! Pizza seems to be the only fast food that I'm still enjoying and will splurge on. We've taken a liking to Zachary's deep dish!

As far as rewarding myself, I think key is to really making it a lifestyle change. Because then, in my head, I know that I'm eating well most of the time, I know that I'm being somewhat active and that I'm going to continue this forever. And trying to be healthy shouldn't feel like a punishment. So, if I'm craving pizza or cupcakes or whatever, I will have it. Because I know in the grand scheme of things, that one meal isn't going to sabotage what I do on a daily basis. It takes 3500 calories above your maintenance level to gain 1lb of fat. That's a lot of calories! So, an extra 1000 calories in one day isn't going to sabotage your week! Know what I mean?

I think setting small goals or taking baby steps is really helpful. Like, you and XXXXX can agree that you will not eat out or drink beer for one week. And just watch when you step on the scale after that week; you'll probably see a drop on the scale! Then you set another goal for the next week, we will eat clean/healthy (no take out) all week and then have a "cheat" meal Saturday night for dinner. or whatever! You get the idea. If you take it in small steps, it might be easier to swallow.