Question Of The Day

What keeps you motivated to lose weight? IE: Charts, Blogging, Challenges, Photos, etc.. basically what do you use to keep yourself on track and working towards weight loss? *huggles* Felicia

I like to set mini-goals for myself and working towards that keeps me motivated. Seeing people that I haven't seen in a while keeps me motivated, too. Like I saw the same people at a Superbowl party that I saw at my mom's Christmas party on Dec. 16th, so I wanted to lose enough weight between those dates that they would see a noticable difference. I am getting together with my girlfriends the second Friday in March and haven't seen them since the last Friday in December, so I want there to be a noticable difference when they see me. AND...Weighing myself EVERY DAY keeps me on track. I am just not one of those people that can only weigh once a week. Can't do it. FitDay is helping me IMMENSELY, too. Now that I spent an afternoon adding custom foods, it is easy to use. Good Question, Tabby

What keeps me motivated...that is a hard one and one to really have to think about! Boy does my brain hurt! Motivation: I would say you guys help me with my motivation along with the other support group I attend. My family motivates me to be healthier! I love photos now..couldn't stand them before. Great Question... Hugs,

I am a very visual person so I have to have things around me that remind me to keep at it. 1. I chart everything. Weight loss etc... 2. I set small goals that I can realistically reach. 3. I challenge hubby to see who can lose the most in a month. 4. I weigh bi weekly. This way I know where I am in the middle of the week and can tweak anything I need to before the week is over. 5. I track EVERY THING I eat, drink and move to lose in fitday. It is always open from the time I turn my computer on to the time I turn it off at night so that I keep on track with what I need to get in and done. 6. Photos. I take photos monthly so that even the slightest change can be used for motivation. 7. I NEVER EVER trust what I see in the mirror. It lies... In fact I have a note on the mirror that says never believe the mirror believe in only what you know cuz the mirror lies and your eye sight SUCKS lol. 8. I have notes all over the house with things I want to do when I am thin so that I cant walk into another room to get away from working out lol. 9. I keep averages. Average daily intakes, average weekly weight loss, average monthly weight loss things like that. So if I have a bad week I can look at the average over all and it usually wasn't that bad. 10. I like charts and graphs of all kinds. Count downs if you will. I have a count down to this months goal that I mark off as I lose a pound. I have a count down to what I want to weigh at my 6 month appointment and mark it off as I go along. Stuff like that. 11. I take measurements. Nothing brings a happy ending to a no pound loss week then losing inches. 12. I am always looking for that "little thing" i can change in myself to make it work just that much better and faster. I like a challenge. I like to "race" to a goal lol. I like making up reasons to do it so its "important enough". I don't like to just sit back and say "it will happen when it happens" because normally it doesn't happen that way and besides what if I could have made it happen (THAT) much faster, not to mention "letting it happen" is what got me to 427lbs in the first place lolol. To be honest the board is not totally that motivating to me for weight loss as 99% of the people here are light weights and so there is a HUGE gap in understanding and in milestones, goals etc... For the most part for me I find it pretty much lonely and depressing on this board when it comes to finding common ground on weight loss related things. Now don't get me wrong I am not speaking of the support here.. that is AWESOME!!! Its more of a lack of an "in your shoes" kind of feeling that is not found here often, at least for me. I do fine it wonderful to have a place to come and chit chat though and would be totally lost with out everyone here. *huggles* Felicia

that is true, Felicia. needing to loose 200 pounds makes the road very long and lonely. one of the atkins related websites had a special forum for people who had to loose 200 pounds but i dont see it here. i know that should i be so fortunate as to loose the weight, i will have massive plastics requirements that i will have to self-pay , no matter how much i exercise. sometimes the molehills truly look like mountains, totally insurmountable :D what keeps me motivated is reading blogs, especially those of individuals who have lost and maintained their weight. 'To be honest the board is not totally that motivating to me for weight loss as 99% of the people here are light weights and so there is a HUGE gap in understanding and in milestones, goals etc... For the most part for me I find it pretty much lonely and depressing on this board when it comes to finding common ground on weight loss related things. Now don't get me wrong I am not speaking of the support here.. that is AWESOME!!! Its more of a lack of an "in your shoes" kind of feeling that is not found here often, at least for me. I do fine it wonderful to have a place to come and chit chat though and would be totally lost with out everyone here. '

I guess they figure that they have a BMI of 50 board and that is enough but sadly that misses out on a lot of people who were way over 60 and 70 when we started. I hear ya about the mole hills lol. They tend to grow on us when we are not looking dont they lol. I so hope I dont have to have a lot of plastics when I am done. There is no $$ to do it lol so what ever I end up with unless medically necessary will be what I live with lol. *HUGS* Felicia

Hey Felicia; Sounds to me like you have the perfect recipe for success! You will be a skinny minny and you will stay that way forever! Tara

*hugs* What a super sweet thing to say. Thank you so much!!! Felicia =)

Simple for me.. hearing people tell me how great I look motivates me to lose. Also, not taking 10 meds a day. Aime

Hmm...have to give this some thought... I still have two vials of insulin in my fridge and sometimes I just look at them as a reminder of where life was going. That always gives me pause. Feeling good physically helps keep me motivated. My clothing fitting. Compliments. Flirting. People looking surprised when I tell them I just turned 46 A few weeks ago, I looked in the mirror and saw the me that I recognized for the first time in years. Great motivation. I give thought to all that I have gone through to get this far - the pain, the struggle, the worries - and there's no way in hell I am letting all that go to waste. Plus...I'm starting to feel like I'm on a mission...hard to explain...I am doing this for me, of course, but I can also serve others who are in the same situation I've been in...everything we've cried and fought our way through makes us a role model for someone...some day, someone out there is going to look to us and need what we have...pretty cool motivation.