Where do you get your motivation from when you start?

My motivation is two-fold. One of my good friends is on this site and has been such an inspiration to me. She has done so well and been so committed, all while her husband is in Afghanistan and she is home with their 4 children.

Second, the day that I hopped on the scale and weighed more than I did the day I delivered my daughter. That was my wake-up call and I am finally ready to shed this weight.

I use lots of things to motivate me for exercise. I reward myself with a show I have saved on DVR, when I get home from the gym. I look at my daughter and know that I want to be able to keep up with her, so I head to the gym. I, actually, like going, now. I've been at it seriously for a little over 2 weeks and I can see how people become gym rats.

It was the small things. At first, I could only do a little...and then day by day I just increased my previous workout And I know there are not many people like me, but the soreness I would get from my workout was SUCH a motivator!! I just kept thinking that was my muscles moving and not being so dormant.

You have to find what works for you!

I've been overweight/obese most of my life. I started gaining weight at the age of 6 and was 200lbs by the time I was in 6th grade. From the age of 13 to my now 30, I've been my lowest at 175 and my highest (last year)at 270 and anywhere from a size 12-20. There are a lot of reasons I gained and I would lose and then put it back on. My finace and I got engaged a month ago and I decided that I'd like to be around 190 by the time we get married in October of 2012. I feel that's a very reasonable goal at at the rate I'm currently going, I'll DEFINITELY be able to reach it. I don't just want to look good on my wedding day, I want to be healthier. Chris and I want to start a family right after we're married and I've had 2 different doctors tell me that I shouldn't be over 200lbs at the start of my pregnancy. I'm so ready to start a family and that's my greatest motivation.

I'm currently using an old picture of myself as a bookmark. It is me at my lightest weight and I would LOVE to get back there. So every night when I go to pick up my book, if it's an exercise day and I didn't quite get to it, or do as much as I would have liked, I drop to the floor and do 100 crunches.

I'm also blessed with a very supportive fiance. He's completely on board with the healthier food choices and he's started working out at least 4 days a week at the gym at his work. I think this is really great for the two of us and we definitely help motivate the other. I'm not sure if I'd be as successful doing this alone.

Congrats to you on starting MFP again. Good luck with everything. The friends I'm making on here are great and truly supportive. You can add me as a friend and I'll help motivate you as well. Keep it positive and keep on working.....you CAN do this!!!!!

in order to be a good mom, you have to be a happy, rested (as much as you can!), balanced mom!

i found motivation from being sick of being "sick and tired" i have been pregnant or nursing, or both for 6 years and overweight all of them. i don't ever want to be 250lbs again (my highest weight 9 months pg) my oldest is now 5.5 and i want to set a good example for her, i want an active lifestyle to be the norm for all of them, i don't want them to have to overcome the food issues i am right now!

when it comes down to it, i try not to allow self talk "i need to go work out, but i don't really want to, god its early" etc etc. i just lace up. i go out for my runs around 4 usually right before we make dinner. and then i do 30 day shred after they go to bed.. and if i do struggle, i just tell myself its 20 mins out of my day..

mine was a nasty breakup that left me with more free time. Once I tried working out and eating right, it just felt good and my momentum piled up. Being in the middle of it, I wish I started sooner.

I was sick and hopeless and suffering from pain in my chest (and numbness in my left arm and shoulder) on a daily basis and figured I was going to do soon. I joined a weight loss group and was bound and determined to work the program even if only 5 lbs. came off in the year. The first week 6 lbs. came off. That leader said something that stuck with me for many more pounds...(120 of them total) and that was:

"It's not about "will-power" but about "WANT-power". If you want something bad enough...you'll do what it takes. It finally clicked for me that I wanted to lose the weight and get healthier MORE than I wanted the stupid candy bar.



Now...I stay motivated (after over 5 years at and below goal weight) by what I see in the mirror, the size of my clothes, the appreciative looks from my husband (and other men!) and how I feel.

Also...I had some motivators along the way that boosted the initial motivation...several "aha" moments have occured all along this little journey. One of the biggest ones was the doctor who examined me and said my heart was enlarged from the high blood pressure that I had for so many years and wasn't confident that I would succeed in getting the weight off. He told me that "genetically" I was dis-inclined to get it off. He said if I WAS able to get my weight down, I probably wouldn't be able to keep it off due to genetics in my family.

Them's "fightin' words" to this Texas gal...I took it for a dare!

I said..."you just watch me"! He did...in amazement and he's so stinkin' proud of me after 5 years (I beat the stinkin' statistics that says I'll gain it back)!