How do you do it?

clewliss
clewliss Posts: 640 Member
okay, i'm struggling with sticking to anything! I love to walk, so I chose that to get started, but even at that, I don't walk everyday (maybe 2 x week) I have an elliptical machine, videos and everything I need to be set up, but I just can't get started. I like what someone said about a goal of one lb! Maybe that's what I need to shoot for. I'm so down about it and no ones to blame but me. I'm happy for all of you who are losing, I really am! Can you please share how you started, what kept you going, and just how you are doing it! Please?:ohwell:

Replies

  • clewliss
    clewliss Posts: 640 Member
    okay, i'm struggling with sticking to anything! I love to walk, so I chose that to get started, but even at that, I don't walk everyday (maybe 2 x week) I have an elliptical machine, videos and everything I need to be set up, but I just can't get started. I like what someone said about a goal of one lb! Maybe that's what I need to shoot for. I'm so down about it and no ones to blame but me. I'm happy for all of you who are losing, I really am! Can you please share how you started, what kept you going, and just how you are doing it! Please?:ohwell:
  • réalta
    réalta Posts: 895 Member
    what kept me going was seeing the number of calories i was burning on my elliptical, love to see those numbers go up, and i know if im badany day that i have my 30 mins of exercise done so i dont beat myself up too much :drinker:
  • ce_fit
    ce_fit Posts: 299 Member
    Getting a buddy to do this with is a great way to succeed. We can say no to ourselves but it is sure hard to say no to a friend! :wink:

    You can do this, keep track of your calories and meet up with a friend 3x a week for a walk!
  • Fab140
    Fab140 Posts: 1,976 Member
    :flowerforyou:

    First of all, welcome!!

    Now, here are a few tips I've picked up along the way:

    Start small. One goal at a time. Once you have mastered that goal, add another.

    Be Patient! It took more than a day to put the weight on, it will take more than a day to take it off.

    Weigh in ONCE a week. Not every morning. Not every time you use the rest room. Once a week.

    MEASURE MEASURE MEASURE. It is amazing how that scale will go nowhere and you still lose inches.

    Find something that works for you! This means diet AND excercise. If eating carbs scares the heck out of you, try the South Beach diet and learn to add in healthy carbs while leaving out the bad ones. (I crave bad stuff when I allow it in my diet.....) If you hate the gym (like I do! I love to work out, but I HATE gyms....bleh gross!!) then consider walking, but add hand weights. Play tag with the kids. Dance your booty off to some great beats!! Not EVERYTHING has to be boring to be working out!

    :flowerforyou: You have to be doing this for yourself to be successful.....because you have to have that epiphany where you go "WOW, I really need to get healthy!".

    Best of luck!!
  • jules1984
    jules1984 Posts: 439 Member
    I took something I used to love to wear that was too small and I hung it on the back of my bedroom door. It took a couple weeks to get started but it helped. Also I bought good food and a new workout shirt.
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
    The trick to losing weight really isn't excercise. Exercise will contribute to your overall health and you muscle tone, but it won't make you lose weight on it's own, a deficit will. If you need to eat 1800 calories a day to maintain your weight, and you want to lose 1 lb per week, you will need to eat 1300 calories a day. That is without any sort of extra exercise. So really, all you need to do is concentrate on counting those calories and keeping them at around a 500 calorie deficit... which is automatically set for you by MFP.

    Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying you shouldn't excercise. I actually think you should, but don't think that if you miss a day of it, or even a whole week of it, that you won't lose weight. You still will, as long as you keep an eye on that deficit! :flowerforyou: good luck!
  • christelpistol
    christelpistol Posts: 246 Member
    make small goals.

    enlist a buddy.

    tell yourself NO when it comes to eating that thing you KNOW isnt good for you.

    move your body!

    chin up!
  • Fab140
    Fab140 Posts: 1,976 Member
    I took something I used to love to wear that was too small and I hung it on the back of my bedroom door. It took a couple weeks to get started but it helped. Also I bought good food and a new workout shirt.

    Ditto....I have a pair of jeans that haven't fit in ages.....have them hanging right next to the "fat jeans" that don't fit either...:noway:

    But!!! Now I have two goals. Fit into the "fat jeans" then into the "skinny jeans". :laugh:
  • skiski
    skiski Posts: 173 Member
    Hey clewliss,

    I think the key to staying motivated is to write it down why you are doing this...then put it somewhere you will see it everyday..i too found it so difficult to get started, like your self i had the dvds, books, exercise classes nearby but for the life of me just couldn't get started...

    i deided then to sit down and look at the excuses i was using not to get started...


    Thought: too tired after work Challenge: i could fit it in the morning, by getting up half hour earlier or maybe if time aloows a walk outside during my lunch break.

    Thought: not enough time Challenge: If i don't make time i will not achieve my goals thus i will make time, insteadd of sitting & watching tv i do a floor work out during my fave programmes...getting the best of both!!! by making time- the exercises become routine & you will soon find it was as if you have always done it!

    Thought: time consuming Challenge: all activities are time consuming, it is inevitable but excercise always seems to be even more time consuming...find something you really enjoy, start small and build up...if you want it it will take time x


    i think making excercise part of your routine and finding something you like are so important but most importantly find your reason...your motivation...your focus- to achieve your dreams...

    best of luck skiski xxxx
  • EALNG
    EALNG Posts: 13 Member
    I did what Jules did, I took a bikini that I would like to be able to wear comfortably in the summer and hung it up. Whenever I see it , it helps me to remember my goal and that I have to work hard to get there. Sometimes it helps to start by starting small. Give yourself a goal of 1-2lb loss within a week and once you achieve that it becomes much easier. I find now that not exercising makes me feel at a loss. I try and at least do something active each day just to feel great about myself. I also have just started this program and so far I love the motivation behind it. I wish you luck in reaching your goal, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • ErinRNinMaine
    ErinRNinMaine Posts: 460 Member
    Hey clewliss,

    I think the key to staying motivated is to write it down why you are doing this...then put it somewhere you will see it everyday..i too found it so difficult to get started, like your self i had the dvds, books, exercise classes nearby but for the life of me just couldn't get started...

    i deided then to sit down and look at the excuses i was using not to get started...


    Thought: too tired after work Challenge: i could fit it in the morning, by getting up half hour earlier or maybe if time aloows a walk outside during my lunch break.

    Thought: not enough time Challenge: If i don't make time i will not achieve my goals thus i will make time, insteadd of sitting & watching tv i do a floor work out during my fave programmes...getting the best of both!!! by making time- the exercises become routine & you will soon find it was as if you have always done it!

    Thought: time consuming Challenge: all activities are time consuming, it is inevitable but excercise always seems to be even more time consuming...find something you really enjoy, start small and build up...if you want it it will take time x


    i think making excercise part of your routine and finding something you like are so important but most importantly find your reason...your motivation...your focus- to achieve your dreams...

    best of luck skiski xxxx

    This is great. Really, for everyone who has an excuse as to why they aren't eating healthy or exercising, the question to ask yourself is what is your motivation? I have seen excuse after excuse after excuse as to why people don't work out: don't have time, don't like to exercise, don't have the willpower, etc. Well if you are finding yourself even spending one hour a day watching some dribble on tv, you are wasting valuable exercise time. If someone says they don't have 20 minutes per day then they aren't scheduling their time effectively. If you don't have the willpower, then you haven't reached the point where you want it bad enough-try again at another time. If you don't like to exercise, then find an activity that you do enjoy-there are plenty out there. Gym memberships only give you so much-did you see the Biggest Loser where Jillian couldn't believe her team spend those days camping and were braindead because they didn't "have a gym"?? As for proper nutrition, take it a step at a time. Start replacing that white bread for whole wheat, skim milk for 2%, etc. You will start makinig better choices and feel better about yourself at the end of the day-giving you motivation for the next.
    No one is perfect, we all slip up occassionally (I know I tick myself off when I eat great all day and then cave into a craving only to realize it didn't taste that good anyway and wasn't even worth it), we have those days when we just don't feel like moving. But to go day after day not doing anything and complaining about one's weight....nope, not acceptable. Honestly, it is all about motivation---I find it at 10pm when the guilt of not doing a damn thing catches up with me. And I have three children, a husband, and work. We can all do it, we are all worth it, we just have to know where to find it!!!

    Now this post might piss someone off, and that was not the intent. Just a little harsher way of looking at things! :flowerforyou:
  • Anna_Banana
    Anna_Banana Posts: 2,939 Member
    Here's how I do it. I don't set weight lose goals. Yes I have my over all goal, but I don't set up little weight lose goals. I set up healthier living goals. Like this week my goals are to exercise at least 3 times and to drink at least 6 glasses of water a day, and only 1 pop a day. I also have the goal to stay with in my calories all the time. By reaching these little goals, it keeps me on track to lose the extra weight.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    How do I do it?

    One day at a time.

    Somtimes.....1 minute at a time.
  • connieq288
    connieq288 Posts: 1,102 Member
    I know a lot of people say to start with little goals but I have been reading lately that it is better to do the big goal. I have actually seen this in a quite a few places. One of the articles said that if a woman actually puts her goal at 120 lbs then she is most likely to lose more weight than someone who doesnt in the same amount of time. My goal is 150 right now but that was close to 150 lbs to lose also. I also read that if you start all of your new changes at once than one at a time you will also lose more weight. That one is easier read than done though. Like someone said in a earlier post you just have to have that epiphany and say I need a change. That happened to me when I stepped on the scale and it said 297. I decided there was no way I was going to hit 300 lbs and now I am down 21 pounds since then. That was in August. There are lots of people on here who will offer you support and will become your friends. Just do it one day at a time.

    Connie
  • ErinRNinMaine
    ErinRNinMaine Posts: 460 Member
    I know a lot of people say to start with little goals but I have been reading lately that it is better to do the big goal. I have actually seen this in a quite a few places. One of the articles said that if a woman actually puts her goal at 120 lbs then she is most likely to lose more weight than someone who doesnt in the same amount of time. My goal is 150 right now but that was close to 150 lbs to lose also. I also read that if you start all of your new changes at once than one at a time you will also lose more weight. That one is easier read than done though. Like someone said in a earlier post you just have to have that epiphany and say I need a change. That happened to me when I stepped on the scale and it said 297. I decided there was no way I was going to hit 300 lbs and now I am down 21 pounds since then. That was in August. There are lots of people on here who will offer you support and will become your friends. Just do it one day at a time.

    Connie
    I read this article, too. It makes a lot of sense. If you're only shooting for a 1 pound loss, well you may not put that much into it because it seems like it may be "too easy". But if you shoot for, say, 20 pounds, well that means you have to work much harder and be that much more disciplined, right?
    Good for you on the 21 pounds!! You rock! Keep up the good work and it will pay off!
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