How do you stay motivated?

[CrazyKate]

I really wanna get into action and lose weight. But i find that ill try so hard to eat healthy but then by the night time i get so hungry ill start eating stupid stuff.. Or ill do good with eating for a day or 2 but fall off track. How do you stay motivated? As for excersize that isnt that bad i have more motivation to do that.


Kate

 

[maleficent]

there are a ton of threads on this topic -you m ight try searching and reading...

The question you really want to ask yourself - is why do you get so hungry that you eat "bad stuff" is the plan you're putting yourself on so restrictive that it's impossible to stick with?

For maintaining your motivation.. Having clearly defined goals - again there are threads on this - check out the On Topic - Words of Wisdom thread for a start... having reasonable expectations and knowing why you want to lose weight ( ya know the real reasons why you want to lose weight) front and center in your mind.

But if you dont have a realisitic plan in place - and your plan is too restrictive - it' s not going to work

 

[angel98]

This is a tough one for me to answer from your perspective as I've never been to feel hungry unless I've actually missed a meal or two. I would think the answer though would be to satiate that hunger with foods that are good for you and won't compound weight problems and keep those foods going in small meals so that you don't get that hunger pain which will be more likely to make you binge on something high calorie or not stop when you are full.

Staying active, I have found, also keeps hunger and boredom eating at bay. I used to grab food to fill time and emotional sadness. I fight that to some extent now, but usually catch myself before I eat terrible for the whole day. That's another thing, if you do make one mistake, it's not license to throw the towel in for the whole day. Eat better then next meal.

As for motivation, I try to concentrate more on fitness goals and when I reach those, I find that I'm also meeting weight goals and measurement goals. Find something fun to do activity wise. ONce I joined my latest gym and rediscovered group fitness, I was in heaven. I love going. Just the feeling I get doing those classes and being motivated by everyone else working hard too and having fun is enough to motivate me to keep going. As far as that goes, I want to make healthier choices. I work too hard to have all my activity sabotaged by a big piece of cheesecake or a Big Mac or something.

 

[Dr_Mary]

Motivation is key to weight control, so thanks for your post! Make one small, manageable goal for yourself. When you reach that goal, make another one. And so on. If you are unable to reach your goal, the goal may be too challenging. Don’t give up; just make your goal more manageable. For example, your first goal may be to work out for 30 minutes. If you reach that, you can keep the same goal for tomorrow or up the exercise to 35 minutes. If you were unable to work out for 30 minutes, try a goal of 20 minutes. Please don’t beat yourself up for not reaching a goal. Goal adjustment is just that – readjustment, not failure. After all, the idea is to maintain a healthy lifestyle for long-term weight control. If you’d like, you can give yourself non-food rewards when you reach a goal (like self-praise, using your favorite body wash when showering, listening to your favorite song). Just make sure that you do these rewards only when reaching a goal.

Night hunger is common. First of all, decide if the hunger is physical or emotional. If it’s physical, please make sure you’re getting enough calories, protein, fiber, and water during the day. Sometimes we think we’re hungry when we’re actually tired, bored, angry or lonely. If you notice that you’re hungry when feeling these emotions, please deal with your feelings instead of turning to food (like talk to a friend or go on this forum if lonely or bored).

Overall, think of weight loss as riding a bike. When you swerve, straighten out. When you fall off, get back on. Continue to peddle.

Best wishes on your continued weight control efforts.

 

[LaurenS11]

I just look into the mirror without a shirt on...thats my motivation, but it works! I also look at older pictures of me and how I used to look.