What keeps you motivated?

For me it's my beautiful, supportive, encouraging and understanding fiance. We have been on this journey together for quite some time and we just started 30 Day Shred this week. We are getting married on October 2nd and want to feel and look great for each other because well, that's what your soulmate deserves.

Also having great friends on here helps tremendously. THANKS GUYS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!!!

i have been strength training for four months and the changes that i see in my body keep me so motivated. i am 39 and i see muscles in places that i have never seen in my life.

For the diet, its eating healthy as can be to set a good example for my children and to help so that I can stay around as long as they want me.





This!

Looking and reading the success stories keeps me motivated and also my May 2013 wedding!

I've been trying to eat better and exercise for nearly four weeks now. I haven't had any bouts with lack of motivation yet. I'm not sure what I'll do if it happens. In the first couple weeks I didn't want to work out but I forced myself to. I wanted to eat a Hardee's Frisco Burger for some reason, I don't know why... but I didn't. I stopped my urges that would have beat me at the beginning. Now that I'm so far in, I wake up and I'm excited to exercise. It feels like I've turned a corner, and I'm losing weight every day.

I hope the motivation stays. Luckily I've been healthy the whole time. If I got sick or something, I could see that possibly breaking my routine... I guess I think the most important thing is to stay MENTALLY on the goal. Once one loses the desire to really get thin, then it'd be hard to stay motivated.

< -- wanting to improve this keeps me motivated!

I want to be super fit and ripped. There are certain things I need to do to get there. So I do those things.

if ive gotten into a slump i find it so hard to get motivated again but if I can suck it up and make myself exercise and/or eat healthly two days in a row im back to finding it ok again!!

also have made some really amazingly fit/gorgeous/inspirational friends on here and i feel so guilty when im being slack and i log on and they're working their butts off!! :happy:

@jrm76 - exactly! I am an older parent of a 16 year old and want to be there for all of her life's firsts - well, at least the major milestones! LOL I am new to mfp, but, aside from my daughter, I have seen my old sister's health decline due to bad habits - not drugs, alcohol, or smoking - just lifestyle choices. The future staring me right in the face!

I always remind myself why I am doing this: to achieve the body I have always wanted. I was tired of felling uncomfortable in my own skin and regretting making so many excuses as to why I could not exercise. I want to be that guy that can walk into a room and feel confident about his appearance.

I want to look good and be healthy, sure, but I have other motivations for working out. I do something I am passionate about, and I have non-weight-related goals I am trying to reach. It's those other goals that make me get up and keep going when I'm not doing so well in another area (like keeping sweets or processed stuff in check.) I may get off track for awhile, but I *have* to get back on eventually.

The MFP challenges I do. The support and encouragement of MFP. The forum's countless posts from people who have the same questions or vary similar and others who share information or actions for improvement.

I've only been successful for a month, but I'm pretty happy with my progress. I do what previous people have mentioned: wanting to be active and enjoy life more, knowing that time is precious, wanting greater intimacy, reading success stories on MFP, and creating habits.

What is really helping me is the habits! I keep a cycle of working out at least two days in a row followed by one day rest. I mark how I exercise on a calendar so I can visually see my habit forming. There were days when my knees would hurt, so I would walk instead of run. (I always think of the show Serenity:
Tracey: When you can't run anymore, you crawl... and when you can't do that --
Zoë: You find someone to carry you.)
I also ran with a friend sometimes--we definitely benefitted from encouraging each other. I had gotten the idea from a friend who had said she and her sister had used the idea of making exercising a habit. She said to exercise for at least three weeks, and use that as the spark for the end goal which is to end up making it a routine, where you crave exercising. One friend said that habits take 6 months to form. Every time you keep up with your pattern you're creating a sturdier foundation for a habit. If I missed a day(s) I just tried to do what I could the next day. I applied that technique to other things like counting calories on here. I didn't want to miss a day. And, having a bunch of days where you've kept track makes you want to continue having that progress. Eventually I saw some results, and that helped motivate me to keep this up. Also, if I felt mentally tired, I would use that to my advantage and exercise my body instead, and vice versa. I also am trying to have faith in myself.

And, I like the idea of having fitness events like marathons in the future to work hard for. Holy mama this is long--well, I hope this helps : )!

I constantly need to find new motivation.
I just saw a video of me crossing the finish line of a 10km race I did on Sunday. I look huge, so thats enough motivation to keep me going for a while.

The image in the mirror should be enough to make me do a 180 but my love of food overrules and I struggle with that every.single.day

Same, except usually I go 180 too far :P