How do YOU stay motivated?

For me, when I made my lifestyle change to live healthy- it had to be small steps. If I cut my food down to 1000cal/day and exercised twice a day it was unsustainable. If I got stressed out, or sick, or too busy with work, I would go back to my old ways.

I found that the small changes worked, because they were sustainable. When I had the small wins (drop in weight, feeling better/stronger, more confident) that gave me the motivation to push myself harder and keep shooting for my goals.

ckredizon wrote: »

There have been a few times in my life where I've been able to stick to a lifestyle change long enough to really change my body. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I find that the habits that stick are the ones you look forward to on a daily basis.

For the last couple of weeks, I've actually enjoyed and looked forward to going to the gym and cooking my own food, which is very new for me. Liking healthier foods and healthier habits has made it easier to lose my first couple pounds than before, but I'm worried I'll wake up one day and just not want to do any of it anymore.

How do you guys stay positive and motivated?

I don't. Motivation is fleeting.

I created a set of habits that I follow because I want to reach my goals. Just like brushing my teeth daily, it's something I have to do to stay healthy.

It's great that you're enjoying what you're doing but instead of being afraid of losing motivation it's best to accept that it WILL happen at some point and from time to time and have a plan. That "plan" would be as mentioned by others: relying on your habits rather than your motivation.

You workout and eat healthy because that's what you need to do just like going to work and doing household chores. Treat that part of your life the same way and don't stop and ask yourself if you "feel" like working out or if you "feel" like eating the meal you planned. Just do it knowing that you'll always feel better afterwards.

Now that I've been doing it for so long, I'm just like this is how I live, I couldn't change it if I tried! I think it helps that I'm constantly checking into MFP to make sure I'm following the eating plan I've set up for the day and/or adjusting food I've logged in.
Before that though, I STRUGGLED to eat right because I wasn't looking at the calories, being motivated to exercise wasn't really much of a problem though because I love going for walks & runs as it eases my mind. But when winter came along it limited my options and the weight started creeping back up on me.
Now that I can visually SEE what I'm eating, I can be a little bit lazy in the exercise department...and I'm still losing weight!...and that just keeps me coming back every day to log in my numbers.

My motivation is wanting to join the military but being told I didn't meet the weight requirements. So I'm going to work for it and im going to loose that weight

ckredizon wrote: »

There have been a few times in my life where I've been able to stick to a lifestyle change long enough to really change my body. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I find that the habits that stick are the ones you look forward to on a daily basis.

For the last couple of weeks, I've actually enjoyed and looked forward to going to the gym and cooking my own food, which is very new for me. Liking healthier foods and healthier habits has made it easier to lose my first couple pounds than before, but I'm worried I'll wake up one day and just not want to do any of it anymore.

How do you guys stay positive and motivated?

Motivation is an emotion that ebbs and flows...nobody is motivated all of the time. It ultimately comes down to habits and discipline and beyond that, having a dietary and exercise approach that is reasonable and flexible. You're never going to eat 100% healthy all of the time...you're never not going to miss a workout, etc.

It helps to do things you enjoy...I enjoy cycling and it is my primary form of cardiovascular fitness...for the most part, I don't really need motivation here...it's basically a hobby. In the winter I'm often relegated to putting my bike on my indoor trainer which is not particularly fun, but if I don't do it, I'll be way behind come cycling season. I also like rock climbing, hiking, and lifting weights...none of these things are particularly chores for me.

As eating goes, I eat a varied and balanced diet...I'm also a good cook and learned a long time ago that healthy and nutritious doesn't mean bland or boring or salads all of the time. I also indulge in not so nutritious options, but in the context of my diet as a whole and when looking at the big picture, these things are largely irrelevant.

Most successful people I've come across, including myself made incremental changes over time...most people can't just flip a switch and change all of their habits at once and do a 180* overnight...the process takes time and patience and being realistic that nobody is 100% perfect and "on" all of the time. Hell, even my trainer comes over for tequila shots once or twice per month...

donharkrn wrote: »

It's most certainly about forming those good habits and breaking the bad ones. Another great way is to establish a mantra. Write down the reasons why you want this and look at them often.

So true. As dorky as it may seem, mantras really do help. It is a constant reminder of your goals. This is true for many things.

I cant rely on motivation. I think what we all need is determination.

I read a book by a famous psychologist called The Beck Diet Solution that suggested one of the main ways to maintain motivation was to write down why we want to lose weight and then review those reasons on a daily basis. She actually argues that we should also keep the reasons on flashcards so we can review them when we are tempted. I've tried it and it seems to help. Good luck!