motivation

latoyar2000 · March 17

Hello everyone... Any tips on staying motivated?

Aetherwyrm · March 17

I have a few I try:
- Keeping a picture of myself at a previous lighter weight when I had more confidence and agility on my fridge
- Keeping an outfit I love but can’t fit into yet hanging in plain site by my closet to remind myself every morning what sticking to my goals will lead to.
- Only weigh in once a week, at the same time. Daily fluctuations can be demotivating but seeing progress in bigger weekly increments is more satisfying
- Set a goal reward periodically, like a new game/outfit/activity/treat. I’m setting one for every 10 pounds.

Good luck!

kshama2001 · March 17

As motivation is fleeting and cannot be relied upon, I find it far more useful to create healthy habits and stick to them: https://www.wisdomination.com/screw-motivation-what-you-need-is-discipline/

AnnPT77 · March 17

I'd go even further. As pretty much a hedonistic aging-hippie flake, I don't do well with either motivation or discipline. If something requires constant, long-term motivation or discipline, I'm not going to succeed at it. Yet I lost 50-ish pounds and have stayed at a healthy weight for nearly 8 years since.

I'm a huge believer in the easiest possible plan, so the minimum of motivation, discipline, or willpower are needed. Yeah, probably need some, sometimes. But not lots, all the time.

A lot of people seem to arrive here with a "lost weight fast" mentality. That's a trap. Sometimes they treat weight loss as a quick project with an end date, after which things go back to normal. That's the recipe for yo-yo regain. Their project plan is extreme eating restrictions, giving up food they enjoy, eating only "diet foods", probably doing some extreme, exhausting exercise routine alongside.

Losing a meaningful total amount of weight is going to take weeks, months, maybe even a small number of years if someone is severely obese. That puts a premium on finding an approach that a person can stick with relatively happily for that amount of time. Sometimes a slow loss rate gets a person to goal weight faster than an extreme plan that causes deprivation-triggered bouts of over-eating, breaks in the action, or giving up altogether. Also, taking it more gradually can help a person experiment, find new, reasonably happy (at least tolerable and practical) ways to eat and exercise forever to stay at a healthy weight.

My advice: Figure out how to eat foods you like in reasonable portions, including calorie-dense things at reasonable frequencies (just less often than now). Figure out ways to move more - exercise and daily life stuff both - that are fun and practical. Learn pleasant-enough new habits that you can keep them up forever.

So, long explanation, but . . .

TL;DR: Don't try to lose weight fast. Chose a plan that makes weight loss as easy as it can possibly be.

Best wishes!

tomcustombuilder · March 17

Make the screensaver on your phone\computer a pic of you when you were thinner.

mlgdsantos · March 18

Keep going and remember the weight did not pilled up overnight, so be consistent in what you are doing. No need to look at the weight scale every day, and see yourself where you want to be once you achieve your desired weight... like minded people is a plus, I know you have the group here, but what about in person? Anyone that can keep you motivated? Remember to move and drink lots of water. All the best :-)

AmberSims3884 · March 21

This might sound silly but lately I've been watching videos of people working out and it motivated me to get up and start exercising, same with cooking I watch videos for ideas on what to cook then I feel excited to try a recipe lol. Just a couple small things that have been making me want to "act". 😁.

mlgdsantos · March 21

@AmberSims3884 I believe that's a great idea actually. I have created a booklet with yummy healthy recipes if you ever want that DM me privately and I'll send it over.... oh by the way... I got a stepper from amazon, waiting for it to arrive. I got the idea from a "shorts" on youTube. Good luck to you.

age_is_just_a_number · March 21

Motivation …. Is unique for everyone. For me, I’m a data junkie and believe what gets tracked gets done.
What is your why? — right it down
What are your goals? — right it down
What is your plan? — right it down
Keep track of your progress as you go.

Like Anne I also believe in small simple sustainable changes applied consistently over a period of time will result in progress.

dejonny · March 21

former obese guy here being lean is amazing especially being in my 30s

springlering62 · March 22

While “only” down to a size 18, I found a pencil dress I loved at TJ Maxx, in a size 8.

I hung that dress sideways in my closet. To get dressed, I had to push it aside to reach my clothes every time I went in my closet. I would talk to that dress every day. The day I finally got the nerve to try it on and it FIT was a red letter day for me.

It’s too big now, but it still lives in my closet.

The other thing I did was read the Success Stiries threads. Every single one of them, starting at the first entry, especially the NSV (non scale victories) thread. I could relate so much to all the posts. I would even “bank” posts while I was having a good run of steady losses to read and motivate me when I’d hit plateaus. That way I could see, even though the scale wasn’t budging for a few weeks, I could still see those changes happe I g that others discussed.

I also simply found stuff I enjoyed doing to get my *kitten* off the sofa.

motivation

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