Two weeks and done
Rachel7575
Posts: 20 Member
How does everyone stay motivated and determined to lose weight? I have tried multiple times to get a routine going for more than a month but always end up giving up on week one or two max. I want to lose weight I do not like the person I see in the mirror. What do I do or better yet HOW???
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I got a full length mirror and stuck up photos of my rather large self around the house. Also, being so large I couldn't buy clothes in Next really helped.3
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I didn't last a week on the South Beach Diet. It just wasn't for me. Rather than named diets, I just eat a little less and move a little more.
Some other pitfalls people experience are trying to do too much too soon. Have you tried baby steps? Implement one small healthy new thing for six weeks (the time it takes to form a habit) then add another, etc. If you are doing well with this you can shorten the time frame.
Along these lines, another common problem is trying use the weekly weight loss goal of two pounds per week when you're not overweight enough for this to be reasonable and sustainable. If you have less than 50 pounds to lose, shoot for losing a pound per week.
Another good way to start is for a week to honestly and scrupulously log all the food you are eating now, which will give you a baseline for what you need to do in the future. Also, studies show just the act of doing this will likely cause you to eat a little less, even though the intent is to record how much you normally eat.10 -
When desired it's possible to fill in your goals, motivation on your profile page. This way able to look up anytime, staying focused on your goals.
A wish can stay a wish if not having a plan, it can become real with a plan
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Make small changes. If you make dramatic changes it will be more difficult to continue but if you make small changes it won't be as difficult. Maybe for a week you don't worry about anything but logging, log everything you eat even if it is over your goal.
I don't need motivation because when I was ready to lose the weight I made small changes, I logged everything I ate and once that felt normal and wasn't something I had to remember to do I made another small change I switched from Pepsi to Pepsi Max. I made small sustainable changes over time and that has lead to success for me.6 -
Sometimes... it just clicks. I have tried over and over again to lose weight my whole life. When I was 25, it clicked one day and I was able to stick to it for about 9 months and lost around 70 lbs. I have had a baby since then and have tried to lose some weight (not baby weight really bc the weight came before the pregnancy and after the pregnancy but not really during) but I have been unsuccessful. There is something about this go-round that I seem to be more motivated, it feels like I did when I was 25. I think there is a time and a place for it... you have to push through it mentally. And I truly feel like you have to become almost obsessed with your goal to be able to stick to it. I have to constantly think about making better choices and where I want to be in one month, two months, and ultimately where I want to end up. If I don't think about it...I stop doing what IS working. It's all mental...and, well, it's math.8
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This. Also the summer season makes it much easier to do the outdoor activities I love.kshama2001 wrote: »I just eat a little less and move a little more.2 -
No one else can give you the willpower or determination. That has to come from you. It's not easy, and if anyone says it is they are lying. The reason you are overweight is that you eat too much - that's something that all of us who have been successful, know. You will have to make a permanent change in your life. This won't be something you can do for a few weeks or even months, and then go back to what you were doing before. I'm sure there are a lot of cool little motivational gifs and sayings, but for me, it boils down to this:
1. LOG EVERY SINGLE THING I EAT. Every damn day. Every morsel. No cheat bites. Only cheating yourself if you lie about it.
2. WEIGH EVERY SINGLE MORNING, and log it. I need that accountability every day. If I don't weigh every morning, it's just too easy to become unaware of a gain. Finding yourself 5 pounds up, after a week, is very discouraging, and can thro you right off the wagon, so I don't ever let that happen.
3. EXERCISE EVERY DAY. 10,000 steps a day, gym as many nights a week as I can get there.
4. NO "CHEAT DAYS". Again, only cheating myself. I like PROGRESS, and eating more than I need is not how I get there.
If you need to put up signs on the fridge, DO IT. Put signs all over the house. On the mirror. Whatever it takes.
Good luck to you.7 -
I signed up as part of a team to run some 5k races a few months in the future and I was so afraid of letting my team down that I started doing couch to 10K 3x a week. After a few months healthy eating just came naturally as I started to feel better and have more energy. And then running wasn't a chore anymore and I started to enjoy. Then we signed up for more months down the road and I wanted to beat my record so kept training. I'm a very competitive person so that's what works for me.4
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You may be making too big a deal of things and psyching yourself out. Make smaller changes (for example, eat the same things, just less of it, or allow yourself to have dessert 2 times a week) and you'll be more likely to stick with it - not only because it's easier to adhere to the plan but also because you don't have it in your head upfront that weight loss is hard.
Figure out a plan that works for you and promise yourself to honestly commit to it for a month. If you stick with your plan long enough to actually start seeing results, the momentum will follow.
All of the above suggestions are well and good but if you don't have the internal willpower to even stick with a plan for 4 short weeks, then there's nothing that anybody else can do to help you. If self-loathing isn't enough of a motivation to do it, find one. Kids, family, health, dating, vanity...anything that gives you a reason to believe.2 -
Are you trying to change too many things at once? Change just a few things. Start off by just logging everything you eat for a week or two. Try to do it accurately. Maybe add in a little exercise - a short walk perhaps. See what you can sustain. It doesn't have to be "all or nothing."3
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rachelrodriguez7575 wrote: »How does everyone stay motivated and determined to lose weight? I have tried multiple times to get a routine going for more than a month but always end up giving up on week one or two max. I want to lose weight I do not like the person I see in the mirror. What do I do or better yet HOW???
Can you address why you have given up in the past? To fix what is broken, you have to figure out what is broken.
Common issues...
Choosing a calorie goal that is too low, so you feel very restricted and give up/go back to old habits.
----> Fix by choosing a more moderate calorie goal. Instead of 2 pounds per week, aim for 1 pound lost per week. Less restrictive.
Unrealistic expectations, such as expecting to lose 3 pounds a week, or see a scale drop each time you get on the scale
----> Try to adjust your expectations. Weight is lost over time. Do you gain your excess weight in 2-4 weeks? Probably not.
Obsessive focus on the scale
----> Set goals to improve your health & well being. Such as becoming more active. Let weight loss be a secondary focus, rather than your ONLY focus.
Trying to be perfect at everything at once (drink water, log food, exercise, cut sodium, eliminate soda, etc. etc. etc.)
----> We're humans. And by default, we are not perfect. Pick 1 thing for right now that is important to you. Maybe its logging everything you consume, regardless of what it is. Just reaching a point where you can be honest with yourself and log all you eat is a good first step. Then you can look back over your logs and look for areas you can cut calories. Maybe smaller portions of X, and larger portions of veggies.6 -
Weight loss videos on YouTube!1
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For me, I HAD to push though that first month! I committed to 30 minutes of cardio every single day for the first 30 days, no excuses, no exceptions. It took alot of discipline but if I'd sat around waiting to feel motivated I'd still be sitting around, fat and sad. Discipline was the key for me, don't over think it just get up and do it!
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rachelrodriguez7575 wrote: »How does everyone stay motivated and determined to lose weight? I have tried multiple times to get a routine going for more than a month but always end up giving up on week one or two max. I want to lose weight I do not like the person I see in the mirror. What do I do or better yet HOW???
Common issues:
- Trying to change too many things all at once...this is a process, you're not just going to flip a switch and change the way you live your life.
- Calorie deficit is too steep...you're not going to lose all of the weight overnight...the more aggressive the approach, the more likely you are to just burn out. A reasonable deficit is pretty easy to maintain.
- Being overly restrictive on certain foods and having a myopic view on nutrition...
- Trying to go from none to all of the exercise...
- Unrealistic expectations...in the real world, the Biggest Loser isn't reality.
- Scale obsession and putting all of your eggs into that basket...there's a lot more to health and fitness than the number on the scale.
- Thinking you're always going to be "on" and if you aren't, it's reason to give up...this is another completely unrealistic expectation...you're never, ever, ever going to be perfect all of the time...nobody is. In fact, sometimes I'm not perfect on purpose...'cuz life is fun.
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I do my best to remember that a) it's as much or more about how much you eat as what you eat...so if you want to have one slice of pizza for lunch and then fill up on salad go for it. And b) that one mistake doesn't mean everything is ruined...so you ate more than you planned one day? So what? Keep going. In fact, build in a day like that every other week or so in order to break the tension and keep from going crazy. There's nothing wrong with small indulgences along the way, they make life worth living.
Eta: exercise doesn't have to be an hour of gut churning cardio. You CAN go for a walk every night and enjoy it.1 -
Start small and work on one thing at a time. I did all the crash diets and even had a lapband. None of that worked. There is no magic. I didn't lose weight until I just started changing things slowly and found what I could live with. I walk every day; I don't do the gym. I'm sure the gym would be good but I wouldn't stick with it. Maybe down the road that will happen. Baby steps my friend. Make sure you can live with the plan you use. It may take a while and you can never go back to what you were doing before if you want to maintain so it needs to be something you can live with. I've lost over 100 pounds and I'm 60 years old. You can do it.4
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rachelrodriguez7575 wrote: »How does everyone stay motivated and determined to lose weight? I have tried multiple times to get a routine going for more than a month but always end up giving up on week one or two max. I want to lose weight I do not like the person I see in the mirror. What do I do or better yet HOW???
It's actually easy. The only thing you have to learn to do is "Log Your Food". All the other stuff that makes you lose weight is just magic that happens in your head after you patiently persistently, accurately, and honestly log your food.2 -
I decided to do it. I got on a plan. I committed myself to it and after a while it became a way of life for me. People ask me why I decided to do it. I was plain tired of the way I was and I knew it was time to make a change. When I look at pictures of how I used to look and think about the way I used to feel I know that I have to keep going.0
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Don't force yourself too much. If you go from eating lots of fast food and sedentary to suddenly deciding you need to eat 100% "healthy" foods only and exercise 5 times a week, it is easy to fail. To start with, just do 1 thing. You can eat the same exact foods you used to eat, just choose smaller portion sizes. You can still have dessert and pizza every day if you want, just have less of it.
And then once you feel ready, you can start including exercise and healthier food choices.2 -
I had the same issue trying to get started and just could not get going consistently until about 2weeks ago. I set reminder messeges on my phone to motivate me throughout the day, specifically when I typically want to eat out. Just simple sayings that remind me why I want to lose weight. It really helped kicked me into gear and so far so good. Hope you find your groove!0
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You just have to find something that works for you. Every single person on this site could probably give you different advise on how to lose weight. It took a lot of experimentation, trying foods I didn't think I'd like, weighing in, and time to find a weight loss plan that I can actually stick to and lose weight.
For me, what worked, (which I already know is going to contradict what some people have already said), was to make small changes starting with what I ate for lunch at work. I switched from TV dinners to salads, and lost five pounds. Then I started weighing myself everyday (good for me, bad for others) Next was being more mindful of what I have for dinner, or breakfast. Right now I'm working on improving my diet over the weekends, bringing it down to one cheat meal instead of a two day long extravaganza. I'm just slowly improving my personal diet and exercise habits.
The other thing that I had to understand when I started was that it's not going to happen in 2 weeks. I've got about 45 lbs to go. So far I've lost 22 and its taken me 8 months to do it. Sometimes it's a slow process, but I'd prefer it be slow rather than looking back and thinking, "Wow, if I would have kept going when I said I would, I'd be done by now."0 -
You are not alone my friend! I also put photos up, and now that I know Fitbit syncs with MyFitnessPal....let's just say -
Oh yeah! This has helped me workout more and track what I've eaten all day and throughout the day. I even got other people involved at work to motivate me. So now I leave my desk on purpose to track more steps. I hope this helps, and always log your food diary. Hope to befriend you on here for more motivation! - Nicole 0
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