Weightloss motivation

I've lost a little over 5 lbs this week just by intermittent fasting, cutting the calories by not indulging in sweets and soda, and cardio for at least 30 mins 5x a week. I've been taking photos and hoping on the scale ALMOST everyday. That may seem a little too much, but I can see that I'm not as bloated in my photos. I don't really count calories because I've done that before and essentially entered into an eating disorder. I know what I should I eat, and I generally keep a tab of the calories- but not every bite. Does that make sense? The photos help me because even though it's been a short period of time, I can see myself getting smaller. I feel stronger too. I look at my body naked every time I'm in the mirror as well. I don't obsess, but I keep an eye on my body every. single. day.

I see the doctor who is supervising my weight loss program, which is expected to take approximately 18 months, every four weeks. We set a goal of how many pounds we think I can reasonably lose during that period, and every day, I think about that goal and make sure my actions support it as much as possible - "Do I order the grilled chicken sandwich or the fried? Do I keep watching this Portlandia episode for the hundredth time or do I go for a walk?"

It's a matter of taking the long-term goal and breaking it into short term goals (like my monthly goals), then applying the specific actions that will lead to their accomplishment. Sounds simple enough.

However, there is a virtual ocean of conscious and subconscious forces brought to bear upon the minds of us who propose to lose excess pounds; so many and varied are they that there's no way to even begin to cover them all here.

But I think probably one of the strongest factors is simply this: we must have faith that we will succeed. Depression, previous defeats, and a lack of self-confidence can interfere with our ability to believe that we will, in fact, lose the extra pounds. This can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, causing us to give up yet again. So we have to nurture our feelings of self-confidence and do whatever we can to encourage ourselves to keep believing in the process and continue pressing forward.

Something I do in this regard - I put little notes to myself around the house, like "Hey, Annie - guess what? We are doing it this time. It's happening. Thank you for working hard. I love you. I believe in you. Me."

May sound cheesy at the very least and looney at worst, but it helps, along with a number of other psychological strategies I employ to keep the train on track and rolling.

Part of mine is this dress sitting in my cupboard: jerryskate.com/Products/Women-Girl/ProductFocus/251-dress.html

It is in my size, and this year I will compete the program I intend it for, but I would love to look better in it.

misskarne wrote: »

Part of mine is this dress sitting in my cupboard: jerryskate.com/Products/Women-Girl/ProductFocus/251-dress.html

It is in my size, and this year I will compete the program I intend it for, but I would love to look better in it.

I've got a killer black leather jacket waiting for me in my closet. I need to lose another 5kg to rock it... I'm guessing I'll be good to go in Autumn

ladyreva78 wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

Habit.

This.

I made it a habit to log my food and hit my calorie goal. Once I had that down, I made it a habit to work out at least once a week. Then I made it a habit to eat more protein, and so on and so forth.

Every time I have one more habit down pat, I pick another one. I always make sure they are concrete with measurable goals.

I agree with both. What keeps me motivated is knowing how good I feel and how bad I used to feel. I never went into this as going on a diet, but more as changing my life, which is exactly what i have done. I still eat mostly what I want, but I also make sure I really want something before I eat it. I don't really worry about binge eating because I know that I will be able to eat a piece of cake or a piece of candy if I want it and still lose weight.
If I do use a holiday as an excuse to over indulge I know that I will go right back to eating the way I want to eat in order to keep losing weight and stay healthy.