Hi Successful Mfp friends, What was the mind set "ways" that helped your mind "click" to succed?

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111grace
111grace Posts: 382 Member
in Motivation and Support
Congrats all who have succeeded, and all who are still keeping on going :)
I would LOVE to listen to mfp friends sharing the way your minds/hearts clicked into place, your Aha moment that got you to make a true change and achieve victory :)
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  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    1. My first small success gave me the confidence that I could have a different life. I had written down that I wanted greater mobility. The first time I kept myself from falling on the ice (thirty pounds down), I realized I could do this.
    2. Reframing negative thinking, cravings
    3. Accountability, having to report in to a stranger every week.
    4. Stanford's Chronic Disease Self Management Program - removing the angst from the process and simply re-evaluating and setting new goals every week
    5. Baby steps. Make one small change, build in to a habit. Make another small change. I am taking a running class right now, C25K. If you had told me a year ago I would be running this winter I would have laughed in your face. I started a year ago with twenty minutes a day on the treadmill, sedate pace.
    6. Drop the "all or nothing" thinking. I've had lots of setbacks along the way including cracking some ribs in a work accident, but I was confident when my enforced rest for six weeks was over, I'd be back at it.
    7. Love my imperfect self and have fun along the way. There's LOTS of activities and foods to choose from. Pick those I truly love, and I can stick with it without pain.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Can you see this picture? I celebrated reaching under 200 lbs this past Friday, my one-der-land party.

    https://plus.google.com/photos/101031800144975623378/albums/6084597118531148689/6084597117978945938
  • 111grace
    111grace Posts: 382 Member
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    Congrats Hope you had lots of fun :) flowers for you :)
  • kcjchang
    kcjchang Posts: 709 Member
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    Seeing my father's organs shutting down one by one; alive but heavily dependent on medical intervention. I'm half way to the finish point after three years of fits and starts; started at 210 now at 177 and hope to see 160 mid new year. Breaking the upper 170s stopped me the last two tries and hope this time it will continue until the end. End of the year was always my weak point followed by 3-4 months of steady regain before restart. The good and bad is that there's not much celebrating this year end as the family is more focus on keeping my dad's status quo.
  • 111grace
    111grace Posts: 382 Member
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    Hi kcjchang , I understand, Kind regards to you.
    I just lost my mother 2 October 2014, to cancer.
    I am struggling to find a healthy and Happy balance.
  • moonbeams896
    moonbeams896 Posts: 191 Member
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    I had been complaining for a long time that I wanted to lose weight. I was chatting with a friend of mine who told me his sister is a nutritionist and would help me, but I have to promise to keep a food journal for a week. So, I started looking online and found MFP. It seemed so easy. I started using it and the weight started coming off right away. That's when it all clicked!

    Shortly after, I started working out. Slowly, just a half mile here and there. Now, when I walk, I go between 3-6 miles or I do some aerobics workout videos. But, I realized that I never had the right mindset before. It's finally time for me to lose the weight. I always thought it would be tough because I had PCOS and the doctor told me the weight will cling to me. This was a diagnosis from 20 years ago. And, it may cling, but I'm fighting it and winning!

    Being accountable everyday for what I put in my mouth is what really helps me. And seeing that I can now fit into pants that are three sizes smaller than when I started helps keep me motivated. Good luck! Add me if you like, I'm here everyday :)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    111grace, thanks for your kudos. Nice thread.
  • shadowloss
    shadowloss Posts: 293 Member
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    For me it was a series of events that lead me to change. Pants were too tight, towel barely fit around me, belt was getting too small, felt like crap, couldn't stand looking in the mirror.

    What changed, I started to research and found success stories and realized these people are no different than me. So started to lurk around MFP success stories as well as a few others. Finally decided time to put it all into action. I gathered every ounce of will I had and took my before photos, and that is when it hit me! I have the before, now time to get the after. It literally, changed my thinking that instant. I've since taken progress pics, but can't see the change, so will continue until I get the AFTERS.
  • HornedFrogPride
    HornedFrogPride Posts: 283 Member
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    Finding out I had high cholesterol forced me to make a lot of changes. Added #meatlessMondays and Fridays. Dropped junk food and pop entirely! Lot more exercise, lifting weights, getting serious about improving my life. Then for me it was a matter of upping the ante to run my first ultramarathon (a 50k), runstreaking (running a mile or more every day), counting my steps/activity with my vivofit, and just sticking with it. Have lost 44 lbs+. Finding good examples and modeling your conduct/habits after theirs or as someone put it above "reframe your habits". Good luck! Y'all can do it...success is closer than you think but it takes work and a significant perspective/mindset shift. B)
  • mommyrunning
    mommyrunning Posts: 495 Member
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    Understanding that this is journey and not something that happens without struggle. There are ups and downs like gaining weight, losing weight, eating too much, eating too little, etc but if you keep working at it and make adjustments as you go you can reach your goals.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    I'll give you ONE GUESS!
  • Michifan
    Michifan Posts: 95 Member
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    I weigh myself every day on my fitbit scale - not to judge myself, but because I like the data. I hate tracking calories, but I do that every day as well. I am retraining my brain with data - which fits my personality.

    I also have dropped sizes of clothing, sold my old clothes on eBay - bought new clothes there as well during my interim sizes. I am 100% committed to my goal and frankly its gotten easy. I'd like to be done - but I am not worried about getting from here to there.
  • SammieDQ37
    SammieDQ37 Posts: 37
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    @ kcjchang and 111grace, my prayers are going out to the both of you and your families and I am wishing you both a wonderful Holiday season with great memories and lots of love. I lost my father on 10/16/14. I also watched his strong but weak body shut down little by little for 1.2 months until the final decision had to be made to take him off of the support. Boy was that hard. Since then I have not found my balance and I found it even harder to keep the comfort foods away and to justify having to live my life with restriction. Yes this battle is hard but I also know that It is worth it, which is why I keep coming back. With the proper support and prayers we will make it to the finish line and beyond. Good luck to the both of you and all here on MFP.
  • pscarolina
    pscarolina Posts: 133 Member
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    yoovie wrote: »
    I'll give you ONE GUESS!

    Tell us!

    For me it was seeing myself teaching on video. I was in decent shape for "average" people, but my knees were bothering me & given my teaching schedule I should not be in double digit clothing sizes. When I submitted my annual video evaluation I thought...no more. I am dating a powerlifter (masters bench press world record holder as of this weekend) so I knew what heavy lifting would do for me. I was just too lazy to do it until it smacked me in the face. I started lifting outside class, logging my food (again - after a stalled attempt at 1,200 calories about 18 months ago) & doing research. While I'm not always perfect I just do it. I hardly ever weigh. I just picture me in that damn video & try on some tight jeans. That's all the motivation I need to get me in the right mindset.
  • 111grace
    111grace Posts: 382 Member
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    Thank you, Being on Mpf I realized what was also missing before, struggling to do it on my own, understanding nutrition and stuff!! Being here with like minded people :) Thank you all for being here big hugs to all :)
  • slucki01
    slucki01 Posts: 284 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    Can you see this picture? I celebrated reaching under 200 lbs this past Friday, my one-der-land party.

    https://plus.google.com/photos/101031800144975623378/albums/6084597118531148689/6084597117978945938

    That's an awesome way to celebrate! Congratulations on your progress.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    I turned 40 and realized that I wasn't likely to see 50 if I continued on the path I was on. So I changed.
  • ljones27uk
    ljones27uk Posts: 177 Member
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    Mine was partly my fathers heart attack, (non-fatal Im pleased to say) and partly being given some tough love when someone told me that I was just making excuses for being overweight and that I had to take responsibility. 108 days in to my MFP journey and I'm 33lbs down and loving every step of it. A change for life, not a short term diet!
  • Kevvboy
    Kevvboy Posts: 81 Member
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    When I moved to my current town, I chose an obese MD because I figured he would be more understanding. It wasn't too long before he announced that he was going to have gastric bypass surgery - and I would be next! After that, every 3 mos. when I went in for blood work, there was less of my dr. and he was more certain I was the ideal candidate for the surgery. I did NOT want the surgery because I felt it would not work for me long-term. I knew too many people who'd done surgery and gained all the weight back. Finally I realized I either had to do the surgery - or lose the weight the "hard" way. Fourteen months later - the dr. is thin but complains about things he can't eat, post-surgery. And I am thinner than he is - HA HA HA! Sometimes revenge (or the urge to shut up somebody's nagging) can be a strong motivator!

    When I told him he was a "negative motivator" for me the MD smiled and said, "whatever works."
  • Msadams224
    Msadams224 Posts: 5 Member
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    It took a long time for me to really truly understand that phrase "lifestyle change." People think they comprehend it, but they don't. I had a moment (after losing and gaining the same 20-30 pounds a couple times) when I realized that it wasn't about picking a date to start and "being on plan." I started making changes that seemed feasible to continue for the rest of my life. I added more veggies to my diet, because I like them, and because that's simple enough to sustain forever. Doing that made it easier to eat within a calorie budget while still being happy and satiated.

    Exercise has always been an on again/off again relationship for me as well. I would pick something up, then drop it a month later. I still struggle to find a specific activity I believe I can do for the rest of my life, but I embrace the every day activities with health benefits. I LOVE yard work! I could rake all day long, so whenever those tasks are available I jump on them. I've also come to realize the true value of strength training. In my experience cardio is a straight calorie's added activity. Running 2 miles allows me to eat 200 extra calories that day (for example). However, consistent strength training buys me a buffer for those times that I am not perfect. After regularly training for 3 months I went on a week long vacation during which I ate whatever I wanted and drank LOTS of beer haha. I was expecting to come home with 5 extra pounds but actually maintained despite the vacation.

    The most important thing is to be patient and find out what works for you. Every person's body is different. For some people cardio alone may help them buy a "buffer," or metabolism boost. For me, circuit strength training is the key (Kayla Itsines Bikini Body guide has changed my life). There will be perfect days and terrible days, but all the days in that middle portion of the bell curve are what adds up to weight loss over time. Patience is everything. I'm 38 pounds down... It's taken 2 years, and has been very gradual, but 38 pounds is 38 pounds!

    PATIENCE AND CONSISTENCY!!!!!

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