How Do You Stay Motivated???

I have just promised myself that I am going to do it for me.. If I can't keep a promise to myself how can you expect other people to keep promises to me? I just know that my future goals involve physical fitness, so I use that as my personal motivation.

Hmmm... so far, I think two of the biggest things keeping me motivated are logging what I eat on here pretty religiously, and the fact that I'm doing the "be healthier" thing with a friend. It makes a Huuuuuuge difference to have a friend or family member who's doing the healthy thing with you :-) But hey, if you can't get one to jump on board the healthy thing, at least you can make friends on here who will support you :-)

I try to remind myself that nothing tastes as good as thin feels... and I have a pair of a little too tight jeans that are my current "fit into these" goal...

I struggle everyday, cause I absolutely HATE working out. I couldn't get started on my own. I had to find someone who had real results, (ie before and after pix) and knew what it was like to be in my shoes. I cant get motivated off someone who has been fit and 14% body fat their entire life. Getting the motivation to work out doesn't come easily, and I needed someone to understand that.

So when I found my coach, she had been there. She showed me her P90X before and after results, and instantly the hype of "this could be you" became a reality for me. So I commited to buying the DVDs (I think if someone gives you a ripped copy you wont do it cause you haven't lost anything if you quit), and just kept pushing play every day. I hate it still, but I push play because I hit my 30 day mark last week and took all my measurements. I've gotten awesome results in only 30 days. So now THAT is my motivator. I want my 60 and 90 day results to be even better.

So long story short, you have to just get the ball rolling, then start focusing on small goals. Tell yourself, "today i'm not gonna have a second serving of....", then tomorrow tell yourself "not only am I gonna skip the second serving, but i'm gonna take the stairs" until you can get the commitment to focus on a workout schedule that works well for you and your 5 kids.

Best of luck on your journey.

My motivation is a rotation of goals that keep me focused on my fitness, rather than my weight. At first, it was being able to run a 5k because I couldn't run one minute without getting winded, then Warrior Dash which required more upper body strength, then a 10k, then after a few months of not running a race, did another 5k and was astounded at how much faster I got, so my goal now is to be able to do a 5k in under 22 minutes. I'm currently just under 25 minutes.

Having running as my goal (and it doesn't have to be running), I have to eat properly to fuel my workouts, and workout properly to have good performances, and oh, shucks... all that exercising burns so many calories that I have to eat more! But all the while, I'm doing good things for my body, but I never felt like I was dieting.

I personally hate the phrase "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels," because I believe you should enjoy every morsel of food that goes in your mouth. Everything should be delicious! And I refuse to attach emotions like guilt to foods I love. If I want a candy bar, I'm going to eat that candy bar (or apple pie, or bottle of wine!), but I know I have to burn it off. I'd rather work harder for the foods I love than feel deprived.

i'm a really visual person, but i can't find any of my thin pics (i have always been camera shy, which is annoying when i'm on the heavier side and need some motivating)... but then i found this website. http://www.mybodygallery.com/
i find it difficult to visualise my goal on my own, so if i'm having a moment of weakness, i bring up this website and it lets me search pictures of people the same height and weight as i am now, and the same height and weight i want to be. instant comparison that shows me weight loss is so worthwhile and comfort eating just wont cut it any more! hope that helps someone