How do you motivate yourself to log on to my fitness pal

I think you have to REALLY want to change yourself. I you want that, I think it'll be easier to track your food. We set ourselves goals and really want to lose weight and this diary is only helping us with this. For me it's not hard at all to track my food, it's more like a habit

It works for me to come here. Keeps me focused.

Hello just read your post.....it can be difficult.....I joined awhile ago and then stopped eating healthy and logging on......of course I gained weight.......got back on track in February and just decided to start logging on to my fitness again......I have one friend on here that always encouraged me even when I wasn't logging on for quite a months....that helped me get back on.......I joined Gold's Gym and have been eating healthy and watching my portions....just started all this so no results as of yet but I am feeling better. It's easy to just put things off I know I do it also.....but if you really want this you can do it......hook up with some people to keep you motivated....you can add me as a friend if you'd like....without a job it may be hard not to eat out of boredom so I would think of activities you could do to keep yourself busy......you can do it.......good luck...and we are here to help you....:bigsmile:

I joined almost 50 days ago and the excitement and newness is still here. I look forward to the accountability and the different challenges each new day brings. I hope to continue logging daily.

I'm obsessed with numbers and charts so this site is perfect for me.

Seeing how much you're eating seems like motivation enough to me. Logging will help you stay on track and within your caloric goals. If just breakfast and a snack surprised you then imagine what the rest of the day would hold if you don't change your habits...Good luck to you!! :happy:

I read somewhere that it takes 6 weeks for form a new habit. Try planning what you are going to eat each day in the morning and log it all in advance, then it's done. Also having friends on here that will give you encouragement is really important. It will get easier, you just need to stick with it each day.

I have the mfp app on my phone and I log it everytime I eat. It's actually helped me change my eating habits a lot and the encouragement I get from the friends I have on here is overwhelming.
Also the fact that my diary is public and anyone can actually see what I'm eating makes me think about something before I do actually eat it. Although I have days where I go over, I know that everyone is the same so the friends I have here are all very understanding about that.

I think you have to REALLY want to change yourself. I you want that, I think it'll be easier to track your food. We set ourselves goals and really want to lose weight and this diary is only helping us with this. For me it's not hard at all to track my food, it's more like a habit

I completely agree with this post. I firmly believe that if you want something bad enough you will do whatever you need to do in order to reach your goal and means weighing and measuring your food and logging into the website. I used to track my food on paper but doing it via the website makes it so much easier for me because I can visbily see how many grams of fat, carbs, protein and sodium I am eating. I can play around with my food options that way Im not going over on my sodium or calories for the day. Looking at my journal and knowing that I am doing what I need to do to stay healthy is all the motivation that I need. Yes if you are home all day it might be a little tougher but that is why you have to keep yourself occupied. Go for a walk, go to the gym, read the forum posts...do what you need to do to keep your mind busy and your hands occupied. Maybe even volunteer somewhere for a few hours a day that way you arent home ALL day!

Maybe try joining some kind of activities club or something. www.meetup.com is a great source if you are looking for some kind of group to join. You can do this!

Good luck!

For me, it's all about planning and accountability. Here I can plug in the meals as I plan them, knowing what I'm going to do helps me stay on track. As my daily log-in count grows, I feel responsible for keeping that number up, so that helps, too. My friends log in almost daily as well, and usually work out as often as I do, so there's a little bit of competition there. A couple of days I didn't feel like working out, but then I noticed that someone logged a 600cal burn on her page, so I got it done, too. I don't want to be left behind!

I just logged my breakfast and snack for today and it's a whopping 900 calories. I had no idea I was eating this much.

THIS

I was tracking during the week, but I don't get online on the weekends if I can help it, so I was basically only tracking 5 days. I finally broke down and got a smart phone so I could get the app, then I wouldn't have any excuses because it's right on my phone. I've logged in over 130 consecutive days since I got the app.

At home, I set MFP as my homepage on both computers. I also have the app on my phone and keep it on my phone's home screen so it's right there every time I turn my phone on. I do a combination of logging in the morning after I've packed lunch/eaten breakfast, logging throughout the day if I change plans (such as today, when I deviated from the soup I packed to grab a slice of pizza from the grocery store in a hurry) and logging at night before I brush my teeth (my "signal" to myself that it's time to stop eating).

It's hard at first, but you just have to get into a routine and at least make a point to log every night before bed (or right in the morning). Especially since you don't know how much you're eating, it's crucial right now to track every. single. bite. to get a picture of how much you're overeating so you can begin to target problem areas and set goals to change them..

Also -- I know how it is being unemployed and falling into that trap of sitting around and eating. My fiance did that last summer after he graduated. But then he discovered a park near our apartment and began spending a few hours a day there playing basketball when he wasn't doing stuff around the house/job hunting. He began to eat better, was burning calories and inevitably lost weight. So I suggest trying to find some activities to do during the day that'll both burn calories *and* keep you busy and away from the fridge/pantry. You may also try starting resolution not to eat while in front of the TV or computer to help stave off mindless snacking.

Keep reminding yourself of why you signed up in the first place - keep your personal goals in mind (having kids, looking good, being healthy etc). Make logging on and recoding it all a habit, and make the most of the time you've got now. I'm unemployed too, and I'm making the most of having this extra time to change my habits. I read posts on these boards, I read and educate myself about nutrition and fitness, I plan my meals, look for new recipes and take the time to workout. To be honest, I spend too much time on here, but I know I'm getting into good habits now so that when I am working again, it'll be much easier.

I know it's not easy when overeating is a long-term issue, but you can do it! Bear in mind that if you only have 10 lbs to lose, it's not going to go overnight, or even in a couple of weeks. Don't be disheartened if you lose slowly. It needs to be a long-term lifestyle change, but you can stop overeating, and you can get healthy for your future children.

Skinny100- The motivation for me was that I reached a point in my life where something had to change. I reached rock bottom(or top) of my weight and I said to myself "THAT's IT, I'm going to do something about the way I look and feel. So, someone recommended this website and that's how it all started. Once I could see what I was doing to myself it was easy to log on everyday, hold myself accountable, and make changes to my diet. I joined a gym and started keeping track of my exercise. I've made a lifestyle change and MFP is part of it. Everyone has posted some good tips, however, the motivation has to come from you. Good luck!

just do it! the only thing keeping you from doing this is yourself log on every day and start really considering what you are putting in your mouth! good luck!