How do you stay motivated?

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lovebug1982
lovebug1982 Posts: 23
in Health and Weight Loss
I do really good for a week or two and then I tend to fall off the wagon. What are some tricks to stay on track?

Replies

  • nycnettie
    nycnettie Posts: 44 Member
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    I'm with you, but I'm going to try and get support when I fall :o)
  • brittg7
    brittg7 Posts: 146 Member
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    make a 3 week goal...have a routine that goes for more than a few weeks...mini goals will help
  • MelissaJ6807
    MelissaJ6807 Posts: 64
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    I did that for (no joke) a year...I am the LAST person I thought would say this, but start slow. Alter your food for a week or so. Then, try to get active for 10 min a day to create a pattern...walk, bike ride, whatever. I did this...I am in my second week and am eager to get out every day.

    I hope you can stick with it!! :flowerforyou:
  • kouzzzz
    kouzzzz Posts: 540 Member
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    It depends how you feel. Lazy? Tired? Maybe it's what you're eating. When I get results, I stay motivated.
  • ejohndrow
    ejohndrow Posts: 1,399 Member
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    Proving all the doubters around me wrong is pretty good motivation.
  • Apazman
    Apazman Posts: 494 Member
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    exercise your buns off .. two 2 hour gym sessions 1 in the am and 1 in the pm! you can gain on calories for the week by burning more!
  • queenpushycat
    queenpushycat Posts: 761 Member
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    The hip hop dance classes I've been attending are so enjoyable, and that keeps me going. And of course, MFP friends have been really supportive, encouraging and helpful too! :)
  • TamLind83
    TamLind83 Posts: 66 Member
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    I stay motivated by joining the challenges on MFP. They really help to keep me accountable and I always have a second thought about the things that I am going to put in my mouth knowing that any of my fellow challenge participants can look at my food diary and see exactly what I ate. If I weigh in at the end of the week and haven't lost any weight, they can look at my diary and see that I ate junk all week and that usually keeps me on the straight and narrow.

    Also, results really help to keep me motivated. When I make a bad choice or see the scale rise a bit because I wasn't honest in my food log I remind myself that gaining a pound isn't must in the scheme of things when I've lost nearly 15 pounds.
  • zighappy
    zighappy Posts: 1
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    Find friends!! I have found that it really helps to have people that are in the same boat. I have 3 girls at work that are on the same regiment, and it's really beneficial.
  • Mrrwmoo
    Mrrwmoo Posts: 44
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    Today, I wrote on sticky notes with my goal weight, and placed them on places where I'd see them as a constant reminder: computer monitor, bathroom mirror, snack cupboard, fridge, etc ;D.
  • kendf60
    kendf60 Posts: 234 Member
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    C25K is a 9 week program that kept me on track earlier this year.
  • leelafit_mtl
    leelafit_mtl Posts: 132 Member
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    To stay motivated, I give myself mini-challenges. Everyday, in my food or exercise diary, I write a mini-goal that I want to achieve by the end of the day. It can be anything, the goal is just to stay focused!

    When I feel depressed when I don't get results fast, I go on the Forum/Success Stories. To read and see how many people succeeded is a real motivator, trust me!
  • Davorla
    Davorla Posts: 26
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    I did this this weekend and it really helped - I went to the supermarket and lifted bags of sugar to the weight I've lost already and it has spurred me on this week now!
  • KayteeBear
    KayteeBear Posts: 1,040 Member
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    start small and don't get discouraged if you have one bad day. I have the bad habit of slowly losing motivation when I have a bad day...which turns into two...or three...

    Make a goal to workout so many days a week...or only 10/15 minutes a day...

    And make food goals small as well...like 8 glasses a day, a few pieces of fruit or vegetables a day, etc.

    And also find friends who can support you and hold you up when you lose the motivation.

    I can stay motivated for working out for a couple months before I lose motivation...I lose motivation to eat healthy a lot quicker though.
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
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    I did this this weekend and it really helped - I went to the supermarket and lifted bags of sugar to the weight I've lost already and it has spurred me on this week now!
    I haven't actually done that yet... but that's how I imagine my weight loss... in terms of bags of sugar.

    I couldn't imagine trying to carry 12 bags of sugar home from the supermarket... yet I used to carry that round all day long around my belly!!

    To the OP...
    I do really good for a week or two and then I tend to fall off the wagon. What are some tricks to stay on track?
    ...what motivates me... well I stand naked in front of the full-length mirror and it reminds me why I'm doing this. I have achieved a lot in the past 10 weeks but I've still so much weight still to lose. Nevertheless, I'm getting there and that's the main thing. It's a long-term project... a life-long, long-term project... it's not a sprint or a quick fix... I don't want to be fat at 50... I want to be fit and trim and able to buy nice clothes from shops I'd not ever dare go into because I know they don't carry XXL sizes!

    You can succeed and you will... if you really want to! You are allowed to have rest-days or cheat days (which is a term I don't like, because you're not cheating, you're just going with the flow) Even making little changes can all add up and you can still cut down without cutting everything that you love out.

    Find a photo of yourself that you like when you were in the shape you want to be (or maybe a photo of a dress you'd love to be able to wear) and put it on the fridge, or on the inside of the cupboards or by your PC or make it your desktop. That will hopefully spur you on to do your best and make the changes you want to make to get yourself to where you want to be.

    YOU CAN DO IT! :flowerforyou:
  • marzahl68
    marzahl68 Posts: 201
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    Every day I get dressed and don't fit into my goal clothes yet, I get motivated. For the time inbetween I look at my goal clothes and imagine how great I'm going to look - motivates the heck out of me!

    I realize though that everyone is different.
  • lovebug1982
    lovebug1982 Posts: 23
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    Thank you everyone you are such great people and you yourselves have motivated me.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    When I get results, I stay motivated.

    ^ This is key, and you should set up methods to monitor results aside from scale weight. Photographs, body measurements/etc.

    I look at my before picture and it motivates me. I look at my training log and it motivates me when I see that I'm lifting more weight than last week. Etc.
  • ahavoc
    ahavoc Posts: 464 Member
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    I look in the friggin' mirror and say, still got a ways to go!

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