How do you stay motivated

I usually buy an article of clothing I project to fit into soon and try it on once in a while, more of a mental thing Also take lots of pictures and enjoy the progress.

Being on MFP has helped a lot. Everyone on here is very helpful and very motivating. Also, achieving smaller goals is very motivating for me. When I first started dieting I started running as well. I could only run about half a mile without having to stop, and I set a goal that I wanted to be able to run a mile, then two miles. I reached both of those goals and my new goal is to be able to run two miles in under twenty minutes. Reaching the small goals keep me motivated to wanting to do more because I feel like I'm actually achieving something along the way.

Yes, small goals. One of my goals was to see if there was any "6 pack" left in my abdomen. Yesterday my son said, hey dad I think I see the some six pack showing... there was my motivation ;-)

One thing I always seem to have trouble with is the staying motivated aspect of weight loss. I always start so strong and then slowly fade....how do you keep yourself motivated!

Since you are a runner (or training to be one), sign up for a race. I have a 5K this weekend, my first triathlon on April 10, then tris on May 1 and June 5. I know I have to be ready to go, so that keeps my motivation strong. Plus, I have friends doing all of these races with me so I have to kick their butts too!!

Wow, I think that keeping motivated is even harder than eating correctly.. To keep myself motivated, I actually found a picture of a body that I would like to have and PhotoShopped my head on it. I know that's a bit hokey, but when I look at that picture when I am feeling like I don't want to work out or just pig out on sweets - it snaps me back into line. I also do what a lot of people on this site do and set mini goals and rewards for myself. It's a lot easier to do this in 5-10 lb increments instead of looking at the total amount that I would like to lose.

When I get to my target weight I am donating my ENTIRE WARDROBE to Goodwill and starting fresh with my new body.

I thinks these are really good ideas. Visualization is a very important technique in staying motivated. If you can VISUALIZE how you will look, leaner, stronger, thinner, you are more likely to stay on track! Then getting rid of the things that fit before will keep you moving forward instead of falling back into old habits. Very smart.

Another thing I think the OP should do is fill out your profile page. When you fill out the part about who you are and why you are here. Once you do that I bet you'll find all of your motivation staring back at you written right there. It's different for all of us and it's important for you to figure out what will keep you going each day. A lot of times that's the hardest part. Be honest. We all want to be healthy and live long, but I really wanted to look good in a bikini on vacation. The bikini kept me coming back

I've been a failure at changing the way I eat in the past, but I'm finding motivation through the success pictures here on the site. Good Luck to all!