Help! In need of inspiration!!!!!

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daniran
daniran Posts: 233 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi there! If you are reading this, I hope you are having an amazing day! I have a question for you.... what were the first steps you took to start your weightloss journey? (i.e., did you lay out a diet plan? Did you get a personal trainer? Did you talk to yourself?, etc.). Do you continue to watch what you are eating? I really need help.

I'm sort of at wits end but, I've decided to try it again. I just seem to get through the "thinking about it" part - it's the putting it in action that boggs me down (mainly the exercise part). I try different diets and when I don't see any or very little progress, I give up and try something else. I don't think I'm really giving anything much time to work. But, I get frustrated when there is no progress. I'm getting older and my metabolism doesn't seem to cooperate with me as well. And, I'm sure I need to kick up the pace on exercise too.

But, if you could just answer my question, I may be able to get some inspiration from it. And, if it worked for you, it maybe will work for me as well.

Thanks! I'm sure it would be a big help. :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • riyahroyce
    riyahroyce Posts: 21
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    just start with one hour a day of good, honest exercise. it could be as little as walking for an hour, or as intense as doing the elliptical at the gym. find a starting pace thats good for you, and increase it every week to a workout thats a bit more demanding. combine that with watching what you eat, and you will do fine!
  • fatboypup
    fatboypup Posts: 1,873 Member
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    If you find it send it my way I'm in a rut
  • crazybigchick
    crazybigchick Posts: 245
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    Before I could get myself into exercising alone, I would sign up for group classes. I found I was much more likely to attend if it was at a set time and not something I could just push off till that later that just never comes. Also, group classes helped me work harder and way longer than I would have on my own. The music and having other people doing the same routine really helped keep me going and made the time fly by. I would never do a step routine on my own for an hour but with a class it really doesnt feel like that long!

    Hope that helps!
  • daniran
    daniran Posts: 233 Member
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    Before I could get myself into exercising alone, I would sign up for group classes. I found I was much more likely to attend if it was at a set time and not something I could just push off till that later that just never comes. Also, group classes helped me work harder and way longer than I would have on my own. The music and having other people doing the same routine really helped keep me going and made the time fly by. I would never do a step routine on my own for an hour but with a class it really doesnt feel like that long!

    Hope that helps!

    Thanks! I like this idea! Bless you!
  • fionat29
    fionat29 Posts: 717 Member
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    My first step was to realise that MFP had an I-phone app!! I have never persevered for so long on a diet, any diet, this app is the only thing that has kept me going. Even my husband is amazed at how I've kept going. It also helped that there a gazillion apps for exercising and these have also helped to get me going on my weight loss journey.The friends on this site and MiniMins which is another weight loss forum have been so encouraging and inspirational, I couldn't have done this without them too.
  • mirandahimmelspeck
    mirandahimmelspeck Posts: 12
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    For me I need to make a commitment to the exercise. If I am spending all the effort at the gym it really makes me think twice about picking up that chocolate bar because it is really no longer worth it because I would have to do so much more to work it off again.

    You should be changing things up every 6 weeks or so because your body gets used to the changes that you have made and then gets lazy again and you hit a plateau. If you are continually changing the exercises that you do and the amount of calories that you consume in a day it helps to avoid this and you see better results.

    Weight loss is 80% what you eat and 20% exercise but inches lost has more to do with the excersize because 1 pound of muscle takes up way less space than 1 pound of fat so the scale may not change much, but if you are building muscle your clothes will fit differently and more importantly you will feel better. It is always so hard to start to get going, especially when the under used muscles start to complain two days later, but once you get moving it feels so good and it is so easy to monitor your progress just by how much easier it is to breath and when you can start to see a little more definition in your arms and legs.
  • 1smemae94
    1smemae94 Posts: 365 Member
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    Hey! Start doing a little exercise at a time. Do ten minutes in the morning, 10 in the afternoon, and 10 at night. Do something that you enjoy. Take a walk, jump rope, swim at a gym, anything. I started to just log what i ate and then started to make little adjustments. More veggies, less junk. I'm still adjusting my eating. I try to do 5 days a week of exercise. Best of luck!
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
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    I lost my job and I was at home with nothing to do but eat and lie on the couch. I was already big and unfit so I decided first I would give up smoking and I know from the past that giving up smoking would mean I ate more. But I was determined to prove that you can give up smoking AND lose weight.

    So I started cutting my portions and then OH JOY I found MFP and I am adddicted to it. I am sure it keeps me on the straight and narrow and although the weightloss isn't quick it is coming off and that is a miracle to me after giving up smoking.
  • mdebbie1026
    mdebbie1026 Posts: 164 Member
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    Exercise is what does it for me. I have serious time constraints so with my flex time at work I started punching in at 04:15 (A.M.) ugh! Getting off at 12:45 to go straight to the Y to get approximately 7-10 minutes on the recumbent bike and 33-35 on the eliptical before I have to be at my grandson's preschool to pick him up by 2 P.M. For me it seems to be very slow coming off but it is working. It will work for you too. You have already done a great job taking off some pounds, adding exercise will only help speed your wt. loss to your goals. Keep up the great work! :happy:
  • GouchisGirl
    GouchisGirl Posts: 321 Member
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    I don't like to work out in front of anyone, so I do it at home by myself, but some people need others to keep them going. :) Maybe you need a friend to go on walks with you or go to the gym. Sometimes having a friendly challenge between friends can also help to motivate. See who can lose a certain amount of weight first and remain accountable to eachother for what you eat and when you exercise. :)
  • Awake_Alive
    Awake_Alive Posts: 261 Member
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    I remember it well...my starting point. I had just watched The Biggest Loser, and Hannah was at the finale, looking amazing, and she said something that stuck with me. She said she had lost weight before in a thousand different ways, but there was one thing she hadn't done, and that was to ask for help.

    I went and looked at the Biggest Loser resort, but it was too much money. I then went to Craigslist to look for a trainer, and I found one who's tagline was "make today the day you transform yourself!" I was so scared, but I contacted him. I paid him each time I went in at first, giving up lattes and fast food so I could afford it, then God and my recently departed Momma dropped enough money in my lap to pay for his services for a year.

    It started with my trainer, but now I am working out in the gym myself, sometimes up to three hours a day (and I really don't enjoy exercise...but I love what it does for me!). I also have the opportunity to help other people I know and love to get started toward transforming themselves, and that is a gift to me way more than them.

    You don't have to have a trainer, but find someone and humble yourself enough to ask for help. The rewards you will reap will be so beneficial to you, you won't believe it!

    Good luck honey, I know you can do this! Feel free to add me for support!
  • daniran
    daniran Posts: 233 Member
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    :heart: I want to thank all of you who gave me suggestions and tips to do better. There's some really great info in all of your messages. Thank you so much for taking the time to write them for me. :flowerforyou: You're all so sweet!
  • PositivePower
    PositivePower Posts: 976 Member
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    We need to be friends :flowerforyou: I started the end of July...at my age I don't even want to say it since I feel 30 but turned 50 in June. I knew it would be harder at "my age" I started going to classes at the gym. I looked like it as an appt I had to keep. I then started to push myself out of my confort zone and with the help of some people on MFP I went to my first spin class!!! I then had a friend talk me into signing up for a 1/2 marathon...not till Feb 2012. So again out of my CZ I joined a running class to we started running 1 min walking 1 min....now I am up to 12 mins running!!!!!!!!!!! I am doing it all on my own since I am the boss of me!!!! If someone else joins me it's a bonus.

    I started out losing only 4 pounds in 7 weeks......but hung in there making good choices and now I am close to 15# down!!!!!!

    You can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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