Having Problems with Staying Motivated?

I don't know how many of you surf to different regions of this board but I wanted to share a response I got to my question on staying motivated. I was very impressed with this and thought I should post Mama Bears reply here as well. RE: How are you staying motivated? Response from Mama Bear at 8:14 AM PST on 10/30/2005 Dallas Area, TX - RNY (06/16/2004) It's pretty simple but getting past the urge for immediate gratification is the first step to keeping me on track. The first thing that helps me "stay on track" is NOT to automatically give in when I would usually do so. Yesterday I baked my husband and daughter a pull apart bread with cinnamon and sugar butter between the layers. I fixed myself a Egg and BLT and was OK with that. Last night however, I was hungry and the leftover bread was still there, so I took a bite. MAN was it good! And I wanted more. A bite of something fat and rich and gooey is just an automatic switch to my carb craving center and I WANTED MORE, NOW. In my previous life I would have swallowed ALL of that leftover bread in 3 or 4 mouthfuls. But instead, I shook off that impulse, put the pull apart bread out of my sight and put on an egg to boil. I ate 1/2 of a tuna/egg sandwich instead. And I felt a victory for not giving in to eating that sweet rich fat buttery gooey good bread! I avoid most carbs, (unless they are in fruits/vegetables) because eating them is like flipping a switch in my brain and makes me crave more once I've eaten them. PROTEIN is my solution to craving carbs. It really helps turn off that craving center in my brain. I keep a bag of jerky in my desk so when I feel the need for "chocolate" or other snack. I get a piece of jerky and it really staves the craving. Secondly I strive to maintain portion control. I CAN eat more now than I could when I first had surgery a year and a half ago. BUT I CHOOSE NOT TO. It could eat a whole sandwich most days but I choose to just eat 1/2 and most times I have the fixin's without bread. Third: don't give yourself the option of grazing. If you are full, take your plate and dump it or store it in the fridge if there is enough to save for leftovers. Don't leave it around where you can pick at it and eat more. Same goes for snacks. Get a portion and take it with you AWAY from the rest of the bag or box. I like to keep nuts in the refridgerator. So when I'm hungry I can get a handful, LEAVE the bag in the fridge and go have a snack. GOING back to the kitchen to get more becomes a conscious decsion. If I took the bag with me I would most likely nibble on them till they were gone, without even thinking about it. Fourth: Don't think you have to "give up" everything. I do eat "bad" stuff like a piece of candy or a bite or two of cake. But the same goes with rule 3 from above. Take a little and leave the rest. Don't give yourself the option of eating more than you should by taking a larger portion. A few bites really are enough to satisfy a sweet tooth. Just eat them slowly and savor! That's one thing WE DON'T do enough of is SAVOR. We gulp and swallow and miss the pleasure we really can associate with eating good food! Another motivator for me: I've been buying size 10s but noticed they are are starting to get a little loose feeling. I went shopping yesterday and tried on size 8's and they FIT and they were comfortable and didn't look like I was squeezed into them! That's a huge motivation for me to say no to bad carbs and over eating again! Being able to buy off the rack, wearing current styles and not looking like abdul the tentmaker is my tailor is a huge motivator! I still don't have a clear conception of what I really look like vs what I "feel" like I look like. In my head I'm still feel like I'm in the 14-16-18s size range. Even looking at the clothes I'm wearing and how small they look, I can't match that concept up with my body is that small too. Normally (while I'm awake) I can pass a mirror or see my reflection in a window and think "I don't really look like that" - the glass must be distorting my image because I just can't phathom that I "look" that good. I had a dream the other night. In the dream, I passed by a mirror and I was fat again. It was horrible. That time in my dream I was thinking "I can't look that fat! - HOW did that happen!". That was a motivator too, because I DON'T want that to happen! I hope it helps! It helped me to write it down!

Debbie, I know Momma Bear from Spohtlight I think. If she's who I'm thinking of she is a wonderful advice giver in very inspirational. These are the rules I live by too and I'm only 1 pound away from my -60 goal for christmas. I still am having trouble with slowing down and eating too fast but I'm sure I'll be there before you know it. This is really great advice and really does work.