New here. How do you stay motivated?

I walk 5-8 miles a day. Never realized that by keeping a food journal it would prevent me from snacking and make me think twice about what I eat. Sure I heard of it, but this app really motivates me to keep with it. Been on here ten days and lost 4 pounds! Looking to lose about thirty more. If anyone would like to add me, I'd love to go on the journey with you!!

Motivation for me...I was finally at that point where it felt like, 'Okay, I am either going to accept where I am at now (slightly overweight) - something that causes me upset and frustration or I can really do something about this.' I am turning 30 this year and wanted to be 130 lbs by my 30th. I have set very reasonable calorie goals. I eat 1800 a day (on average). I set small goals, e.g. thinking of it as losing a pound at a time. If I had started out thinking, "I need to lose 30 pounds!", that would have felt like a huge challenge. A pound at a time...that felt do-able. I weigh every single day - I find that very motivating. I didn't rush. I took week long vacations and did not log but got right back on track when I was home. I started to feel good as I started to lose and that was motivation in and of itself. It has taken me 8 months to lose 30 pounds. I now find it is self-perpetuating. I am so pleased with how I look and I feel. I don't want to go back. In the past, I never had thoughts on maintenance either. Knowing about maintenance makes it feel like it's going to be ongoing, not something I can just 'do' and then stop doing, if that makes sense. Also, the forums are huge motivation for me, especially at night when I'd tend to want to be snacking...I instead peruse the forums. Overall, you have to really want it and be in the head space where you are willing to commit. You have to be willing to continue to experiment and try different things until you find what will work for you. Good luck! x

I think what motivates me is 1) enjoying the workout that I have chosen for myself and 2) my reflection in the mirror - the hard work paying off. It helps to take progress photos. Also, I am not really in a hurry. Sure, I want to lose the weight but I still enjoy the things I like in moderation (probably too much moderation). So, for me, it's not torture. It's just my life. Also, I did some math and I realized that if I gain only 1lb a month - by the end of the year, I would have gained 12lbs! that's a lot - especially for a shortie like me at 5'0. That can quickly add up to 24lbs in 2 years. I just cant allow that to happen. So, some of my motivation is staving off the weight to be healthy and it gives me confidence to feel good about myself. My self-esteem is in the dumps when I am not striving to live healthy and that effects me and everyone around me. Anyway...(that was therapeutic)....that's my motivation.

I'm looking forward to having a support group. I just turned 58 and I'm tired of feeling out of shape. Hoping this helps keep me on track.

Looking at "before" pictures. I was losing a little bit of faith and motivation today until I put these two photos side-by-side. One is from Christmas and when I took today will trying on some new clothes. I didn't know that 20 pounds had made such a difference.

Hey there! What keeps me motivated is being able to be healthy & feeling comfortable with myself. I have 2 nephews & 2 nieces & 1 on the way. I want to be able to be active with them outside without being out of breath.
Feel free to add me! We can motivate each other along the way!

The thought of not losing or succeeding hurt me more than staying fat.

Then during my weight loss I found fitness goals. There is no end in sight:)