How can I stay motivated?

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Hello everyone,

I have been struggling with keeping myself motivated and actually losing weight. I keep on binge eating. I'll lose weight, then gain. How do I stop this cycle? What did you do to keep motivated?

Thank you so much!

Replies

  • MysticRealm
    MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
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    You just have to stop. I have gone through many times of trying to start to lose weight. I will be good about it for a week or 2 then fall off track and go a few weeks before trying again.
    A couple years back I lost 30 pounds in 7-8 months. I then fell off track and gained all (and a bit more back). I am now currently half a pound away from losing 40 pounds (still not quite down to my low weight from last time).
    I do make sure to plan my calories in a way that fits how I like to eat.
    Some things I do are:
    Don't have breakfast, I have never really been a breakfast eater and prefer my cals for later in the day.

    Light lunch, Again, I'm generally busy during the day and not needing/wanting to eat as much so a light lunch leaves me with more cals for when I need/want to eat

    A decent supper that still leaves me with cals for snacking in the evening. I need/want my snacks in the evening, so I plan around that.

    Eating less during the week so I can have more cals on the weekends while still staying in my weekly calorie goal, I tend to eat out more, have more time so want to eat more on the weekends. So I make sure I allow for that.

    Keep busy. The more bored I get, the more I want to eat. Today I didn't go ride my horse (which is a good time waster) and didn't REALLY feel like working out, however, I knew I would get bored and want to eat if I did nothing till supper time. So I did go work out, I also took my dog for a 4km walk.

    I give myself rough eating times. I eat lunch whenever work allows, but I usually eat supper around 6:30-7:30 (depending on how busy my evening has been) then I usually have my snacks between 8-9. After 9 (if I have had the time to eat all my cals for the day) I don't eat anymore. Not because I don't want to eat close to bed time (as meal timing is irrelevant), but b/c having this arbitrary cut off time helps me brain go 'ok, I'm done eating for the night' and for some reason that seems to keep me from craving or needing more food.
  • galprincess
    galprincess Posts: 682 Member
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    I failed alot before I became successful. Look at why you're doing this you want to look better, feel better, improve your health whatever it is write it down put pictures on the fridge. Before saying I will exercise tomorrow work on your dreams today. My mantra on my fridge reads " Turn Cant's into Cans and then Dreams into Plans" everyday is a step towards where you will be make them all count
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Hello everyone,

    I have been struggling with keeping myself motivated and actually losing weight. I keep on binge eating. I'll lose weight, then gain. How do I stop this cycle? What did you do to keep motivated?

    Thank you so much!

    Strip off

    Jump up and down in front of mirror, with your eyes open

  • fearnsey71
    fearnsey71 Posts: 65 Member
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    Have a think about the blockers that are stopping you from continuing. Is it laziness? Is it fear? Do you need more support (weightloss groups for instance)? When you identify these you build strategies to get over them.

    Do you have a clearly defined goal? Target weight, fitness goals and lifestyle goals have helped me. I want to lose 82lb, do couch to 5k and try and get off my diabetes meds. I've lost 40lb, I've started c25k. The meds may take a couple of years but I am determined to get there.

    one of my big helps has been the success stories on this forum. They are massively inspirational and motivating.

    Good luck.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Tape a picture of you naked, eating, to the bathroom mirror.
  • panchango
    panchango Posts: 76 Member
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    Put the amount of weight you lost in a backpack and carry it around for an hour or two.
  • TracyV125
    TracyV125 Posts: 100 Member
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    Seeing results was enough to keep me motivated. The first 2 weeks were really difficult but since then it's just become a habit. I'm goal orientated. I bought myself a fitbit last summer and I "needed" to hit my daily step goal daily. I found new interests to help me hit my daily goal. Hiking and exploring with my son and even downloaded the C25K app and taught myself to run. Challenge yourself. Do new things. Keep it interesting! Step new goals for yourself and enjoy the journey to hitting that goal. It's very rewarding and will definitely keep you motivated. Best of luck to you!
  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
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    Try to analyse why you are binging. Is it a mood thing or are you actually hungry? You probably need to eat more at regular times. AVoid getting hungry. Eat lots of vegetables and fruit and find some deep inner committment to losing weight.

    I keep a food diary, i mean an actual diary and write down everything i eat.

    Go to bed early. Try to keep yourself occupied so that you don't eat from boredom.