Skip to content
  • Register
    • We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

    Does anyone else have weird motivation methods that they secretly use?

    2

    Replies

    • Posts: 1,581 Member
      There's a forum on reddit called fatlogic. I find it very useful and motivational.
    • Posts: 9 Member
      I just thought about doing this yesterday. Now I know I am not crazy :)
      Dariasen wrote: »
      I've bought a few pieces of clothing that are just 1 size smaller than I am now. I hang them in front of the mirror and try them on once a week. Being able to add some into my clothing rotation is like getting to shop twice!

    • Posts: 1 Member
      ashdawg8790 wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      I did that when I used to go to the gym!! Now I pick a show to watch on Netflix that I can ONLY watch if I'm on the elliptical at home - great motivator to see what happens next AND get in a good workout!!

      YES! I did this with weights and Mad Men and WAY back in the day with the Hills.
    • Posts: 195 Member
      I used to look at pictures of other fit people as motivation, and sometimes I still do, but I find that it leads me personally down a path of "Well my bones are bigger, I'm built wider, my legs are stocky, etc and I'll never look like that" which brings me down. So instead I look at old pictures of...myself! When I was at a weight I want to get back to. And I get inspired because that's me, I know I can look like that because I did once, so that works better for me! Sounds a little vain, though ;)
    • Posts: 1,014 Member
      Don't judge me but (or judge away, I reeeeally don't care), there's a particular porn star that I aspire to look like when I reach my goal*, and I may or may not be getting her calendar for my living room. :D(AKA the place of all the workout video activities.)

      *Before anyone jumps down my throat, I know you shouldn't aim to look exactly like specific people. I use her shape as a motivator because a) she's built like me, b) she used to be bigger and slimmed down a LOT, and c) she's my bra size twin. So yeah, I'm super motivated by her body! :D
    • Posts: 4 Member
      As others have said, TV helps. My 600lb life freaks me out (I got really heavy and was having problems going up and down stairs which started my health change). Also (and my kid thinks this is akin to an eating disorder) I watch a LOT of food network. You would think that would just make me hungry, but now that I have been eating healthier for 3 months, I'm totally sated by watching someone pound out a pork chop, filling it with herbed cream cheese, wrapping it in bacon and deep frying it. I know if I ate it, I'd be sick, but watching Guy Fieri eat it makes me feel like I've just binged :)

      Super weird, but it works for me.
    • Posts: 34 Member
      I used to work out on a regular basis my freshman year of high school becuase i was in JROTC and i was class leader so my motivation was i better get fit and be able to do all the P.T excersises becuase if im in front of the class "leading" i better do it right. One time i did something wrong and my instructor yelled at me so bad i cried. Didnt really want to go through that again. Plus it was cool being a girl and being able to do more push ups then some of the boys so we would have little compettions with eachother. Another big motivation for me was when i would have a crush on a boy i would work out extra cuz i wanted to look good for them lol
    • Posts: 130 Member
      I watch sports on TV while on the treadmill and think about being a strong, fast athlete. I also look at clothes on Polyvore and choose outfits i'll be able to wear when I lose weight.
    • Posts: 226 Member
      I watched a bit of the tour en France (or whatever it's called) - the bike race, the other day and I found myself thinking about it during the end of my spin class. I was like if they can bike across France, then I can get through this class.

      Biggest loser motivates me to push myself too. If I'm struggling with the last couple of reps I picture Jillian yelling at me to not foam it in haha. I always think the contestants are kinda pathetic when they can't finish their workout, so I finish to avoid being like them.

      Looking at pictures is a big motivator for me too. I use pinterest for that. I also like looking at my progression pics and just seeing the results in the mirror really.
    • Posts: 163 Member
      I listen to a couple of Arnie videos from youtube :o
    • Posts: 7,097 Member
      • I want my iPhone 6 Health Steps graph to keep showing a daily average of 10,000.
      • I my MFP feed to keep posting every day that I'm under my daily calorie limit.
      • I want my weight chart to keep showing a downward trend till I reach my goal.

      Data nerdiness for the win!
    • Posts: 995 Member
      When I'm running and I feel like I'm about to slow down I'll pick a landmark in the distance and tell my self "ok give it everything I've got from here to there then my legs can collapse." Then If I'm not ready to die I'll pick a spot even further down, until my legs give out. This works so good for me, I always end up pushing myself more then I thought possible.
    • Posts: 401 Member
      Proper tracking--I love putting in my exercise and seeing green at the end of the day--and watching the Karate Kid movies. Any of them. They are so terrible, but 'wax on, wax off' reminds me that exercise is one part of a bigger equation and it matters to do all the steps of that equation to be succesful.
    • Posts: 54 Member
      If there is something I want to buy and can't wait to purchase it (not food, lol), then I will purchase it but not let myself have it until I reach a mini goal. :sunglasses:
    • Posts: 116 Member
      Which boxers are in my weightclass. Nothing has caused me to exercise harder than knowing Golovkin was in my weight category.
    • Posts: 107 Member
      mackenzies_frenzies wrote: »
      Don't judge me but (or judge away, I reeeeally don't care), there's a particular porn star that I aspire to look like when I reach my goal*, and I may or may not be getting her calendar for my living room. :D(AKA the place of all the workout video activities.)

      *Before anyone jumps down my throat, I know you shouldn't aim to look exactly like specific people. I use her shape as a motivator because a) she's built like me, b) she used to be bigger and slimmed down a LOT, and c) she's my bra size twin. So yeah, I'm super motivated by her body! :D
      That beats watching my 6-00 lb day lol
    • Unknown
      Unknown
      This content has been removed.
    • Posts: 51 Member
      I watch "my 600 lb life" and see what these people go through everyday yet still do what they can to lose the weight. It makes me think, if they can motivate themselves to get off the couch and workout, why can't I?
    • Posts: 202 Member
      One of my biggest motivators is to think about how I feel as soon as I finish a workout. I rationalize that the workout itself isn't that long in the scheme of things (usually ~40 minutes), but that great feeling of completing it and being DONE resonates a lot longer.

      Really, what feels better than finishing your workout? That's sometimes the only thing that gets me going... because you can't feel it if you don't do it...

      Also, if I'm particularly tired and 40 minutes seems like an eternity, I'll tell myself "OK, you don't have to do the whole 40 minutes... just get to a 500 calorie burn (I know it's not a true 500 calorie burn, but just as a measurement/goal per the readout on the machine, it works as motivation). So then, even though my motivation to work out at all is lacking, my intensity goes up so I can just "be done"... and by the time I reach that 500 cal burn, I usually only have 5 minutes or so left anyways, and I say, "Well, might as well finish the whole time out" and then I can feel good about not only having completed the workout, but having hit it harder than if I'd just gone for the 40 minute mark.



    • Posts: 300 Member
      Wine. Wine motivates me. I need to get moving to fit it into my calories.

      Also, I just look around at people around me who are too heavy to walk properly and it makes me appreciate everything that I can do with my body. It makes me want to keep it active for life.
    • Posts: 578 Member
      I mix together amazing music for the gym, and I purposefully don't listen to music till I hit the gym. It's like a mini reward system.
    • Posts: 294 Member
      I keep a pair of my former size 24 jeans and look at them sometimes. I also keep a pair of my goal jean size 8 and look at those also. I am getting close currently size 10! yippppppyyyy
    • Posts: 15 Member
      i think of the times when i was humiliated by others for my 200lbs. i imagine them looking at me in awe and jealousy. so i tell myself, run.. run.. you are almost there! another km more.. another 20 more calories more" my boyfriend also motivates me as he is trying to gain weight and sends me his gym day pics to me. i push myself to make a change visible in me :smile:
    • Posts: 15,151 Member
      Read the success stories in here.
    • Posts: 8,680 Member
      I think of my future self.
    • Posts: 1,030 Member
      Dariasen wrote: »
      I've bought a few pieces of clothing that are just 1 size smaller than I am now. I hang them in front of the mirror and try them on once a week. Being able to add some into my clothing rotation is like getting to shop twice!

      I do this too!
    • Posts: 1,014 Member
      scarlet67 wrote: »
      show previous quotes
      That beats watching my 6-00 lb day lol

      I've always been more motivated by the direction I want my own body to go, rather than watching other people achieve their goals. I can TOTALLY see how that would be motivating, but my go-to porn star gets my workout engine going better, haha. ;)
    • Posts: 8,680 Member
      mackenzies_frenzies wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      I've always been more motivated by the direction I want my own body to go, rather than watching other people achieve their goals. I can TOTALLY see how that would be motivating, but my go-to porn star gets my workout engine going better, haha. ;)


      Care to share who?
    • Posts: 1,014 Member
      yopeeps025 wrote: »
      show previous quotes


      Care to share who?

      Eh, why not, Sophie Dee. Though she's shorter than me, we have a similar build. I admire her because she used to be a much bigger girl, but slimmed down like crazy the past couple of years (while still looking curvy and healthy). I know she does CrossFit and eats super clean, but I'm not sure what else she did to get where she is now.
    • Posts: 8,680 Member
      mackenzies_frenzies wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Eh, why not, Sophie Dee. Though she's shorter than me, we have a similar build. I admire her because she used to be a much bigger girl, but slimmed down like crazy the past couple of years (while still looking curvy and healthy). I know she does CrossFit and eats super clean, but I'm not sure what else she did to get where she is now.

      Sophie Dee has slimmed down? Yeah she always been curvy.

    This discussion has been closed.

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Quick Links

    Categories