in need of motivation

I'm in your same position .. I'm about 70 pounds overweight and have been that way my entire teenage/adult life. It truly is a horrible feeling ... there are SO many people like you and I who feel the exact same way .... however, I have come to realize that throwing a pity party is a sure way to STAY at the party. You gotta leave that party, girl! .... Heres my recommendations:

1) Look up the book "Former Fat Girl" by Lisa Delaney (heres her website: http://www.formerfatgirl.com/) .. Basically, she was heavy when she was younger and she had to go through all the mental preparation and physical agony to get thin. It's similar to a self-help book just because she gives u tips on how to lose weight and make exercise a priority, but its actually pretty funny and shes very personable in the book; it almost feels like your having a conversation and listening to stories rather than reading ANOTHER diet book.

2) Do ANY type of exercise. Seriously. Just walk around ... pick a tree and walk to it. Go to the gym, walk around the mall, walk through a cemetery (dont laugh! its very theraputic .. plus it gets you thinking about your life when your surrounded by death ... sounds morbid, but whatever, it works!) It doesnt need to be strenuous if you cant do it ... just do something. You'll start to feel better about yourself.

3) I like to go onto Google and type in "Exercise quotes" or "motivational quotes" and then hit IMAGES ... and great pictures and quotes come up ... I love doing stuff like that because it puts it into perspective. Getting to that mental and emotional state is the first important thing .... the food and wanting to workout will come next

4) USE MFP! I was a "member" of MFP since May 2011 ..... I didnt start using MFP until October. There is a BIG difference between signing up for a service and actually USING it ... I wasnt in the right frame of mind in May .. now I am. And now I am seeing a difference in my attitude

5) Please dont give up. Beleive me, just the other day I had a breakdown. You will have more breakdowns than Mariah Carey .. but PLEASE stick with it. It will suck and it will be painful, and miserable at times ... but so isn't being fat and unhealthy. I'd rather be miserable with the slight chance that its making a difference for my body than be miserable and KNOW that I will be the same tomorrow as I am today. Look forward to the process and BE KIND TO YOURSELF. NO MORE NEGATIVE TALK! So what your heavy? Big deal! Your probably a very nice person and alot of skinny people are miserable too! ! .. You can change your body type .. most people cant change a negative attitude because they just plain suck!


This may not be the most motivational talk I've been apart ... I'm sure "they just plain suck" isnt the best message LOL .. but its the truth! and its upfront ... and thats how you gotta be on this journey ....

So stay in your pity party for another hour, and then LEAVE! LEAVE THE PITY PARTY! And never go back .!!

I understand how you feel. I have been a chronic yo-yo dieter, but one thing I learned this year is that discipline is a habit. I am going to work on practicing that habit in 2012. Its a daily choice that you have to make and its not easy and yes you will make mistakes. Just keep believing that you can do it and when you fall get back up again. If you are waiting for a feeling of motivation, it won't come. You just have to do what is right every day whether you feel like it or not. Just make sure that you do the right thing more often than not and you will see results! It will get better and you are not alone. We are all here for you!

. If you are waiting for a feeling of motivation, it won't come. You just have to do what is right every day whether you feel like it or not.

It's like your in my head! lol ... I've been heavy since I was about 12 years old .... and i've been waiting for the moment of realization ... my "aha" moment ... Never had one and probably never will. I think thats a big key too --- dont expect it to look like how you THOUGHT it was going to look like. Its true of so many things in life.... most notably, exercise and love lol

I was just going to write a post similar to this one, I CAN RELATE TO YOU!! I started MFP, exercise, and eating right LAST YEAR only to stop after 1 month because I actually started gaining weight...sucked! Over the course of 2011 I gained an additional 35 pounds on top of the 50 I was trying to loose in the first place.

Anyone have an advice as to where I should start?
- I'm a single Mom
- Work and go to school full time
- Emotional eater

I could also use friends to email for advice, vent, laugh, and offer the same in return. I know I can do this IF I stay focused, problem is I get distracted and something else in my life comes up and knocks me off track. Has anyone else been in these shoes? Are you currently?

I think the quickest way would be to get a handle on the eating first. Since your really busy, trying to fit exercise in now would make it alot more difficult. Try writing down your emotional triggers ... is there anything you can do to either avoid these situations or try to rectify them? .. If its situations or people that are making you stressed, you can either cut them out of your life or figure out how to manage them. Like I said in my other post, for me, alot of it is mental. Once you get ahold of the mental reasons WHY your eating this way, it's alot easier to see what you need to do to stop.

The other thing is, try to get back to what you were doing last year. You may have been eating alot of the "right" things, but maybe cut down the portion size instead. I know my downfall is nuts .. I eat them by the handfuls and I think "well its better for me than chips" ... but their SO high in fat, so I was gaining weight with them . So now, I'll have them sometimes, and If what I really want is chips, I'll have a little bit of chips and be good with it .. ( buy just once serving of chips ... its too easy to go back for more from the bag) .... Alot of times, it takes your body AWHILE to realize that your doing something different .. so you may not have seen the scale drop in that month, but if you stick with it, you'll see progress eventually