What motivates you to stay on track while losing weight?

I don't diet. I can't. I don't have the willpower. LOL! When my father was diagnosed with diabetes about 4 or 5 years ago I was determined that I would rather get it at 80 than 40. You see, he lived an excellent lifestyle but genetics were just too strong. So I decided to lose weight as I was weighing was I did just before I gave birth to my last child. The only way I can do it is by walking. I have fibromyalgia so I cannot exert myself too much but I do walk 3 miles (I built it up slowly). I was walking 3-4 days a week, then stuff in life happens and I get de-motivated (deaths in the family). Last week I walked all five week days. I was so proud of myself. Now I look at my schedule this week and I think I'll be lucky if I get 2 days in. That is frustrating. Right now I have the motivation, I just can't find the time.

This is one of my problem. I can't keep track when i try to lose wait. My sister lost more than 30lbs. And she keeps on telling me its just forming the habit. Keep on doing the things that work over and over again until you form that habit. For her its not eating rice which is a stapple food in our country. Once i tried losing weight I kept a journal about it. It helped me a lot coz i can keep track of what i do and i can focus on my goal. Maybe you can try that it might work well for you.

I lose weight just by walking. I also eat food which does not have oils and fats. that is the secret of my weight loss and control.

what motivates me to keep on track with my program is the way it makes me feel good. waking up early in the morning to go to the gym gives me that feeling that i am starting my day right. after my workout i feel great that my muscles were all flexed and you seem to feel so light as in contrast to feeling so heavy with all those extra pounds. and the real reward you get after sticking to your program religiously is when you see the results when you face the mirror and you could say, "damn i look good!"

my right way of thinking and the religion ISLAM

hi tendaheart. i can totally relate to you on this subject. i lost 4 pounds last week and weighed myself on saturday morning and thought great. but being the weekend and happy i had lost some weight decided to treat myself to a few fatty foods and have probably put most of it back on! i think the best way to stay motivated is if you work, when you come home don't sit down and start relaxing as you generally start watching tv and chill out and can't be bothered to get back up! have a drink etc.. and get straight on whatever excercise machine you use. 7lbs in your first week is brilliant and long may it continue. i did well last year on a diet of mainly mushrooms,carrots,new potatoes and baked beans (all very low in fat as you probably know) and had one day a week where i would a treat day eg.. crisps,chips . good luck for the future!

Well I try my best to keep a schedule but found that when I'd have an off day health wise I'd not workout then end up not working out for weeks on end! I've decided as of the beginning of this yr that eating healthier and cleaner is a must but I've also realized that my health ISNT the greatest so trying to commit to working out EVERY day just isnt realistic for me...so instead I'm going to workout on days when I feel good and on days that I'm not its ok....and so far so good....My other motivation this yr is the fact that come spring I plan on buying myself some new clothes AND hopefully we'll be renovating more on the house which I'll definately need to be more in shape for since its just my husband and I doing it and I go toe to toe with him when it comes to physical labour and finally..my kids...My daughter is overweight and I figure that if I workout regularly then she will with me provided I coax her (she's a stubborn child LOL) plus the kids love my mood after I've put in a good workout..... so I guess there are a lot of things actually! and I feel really good about it too....

I belong to an online support group. We share ideas, keep each other motivated and I have an online journal there. I've found that an understanding support system is the best. You can have understanding family and friends but if they if they've never been where you are they don't quite understand. I watched that Super Obese show and I was amazed at how many were 400-500 pounds and said they were staying at the weight they were because they were happy and didn't think they were overweight :( Sad! Good luck and keep going even if you lose your motivation, just keep going at it. If you stop once, it can be SO hard to jump back on!

you know what i do..i always look at my pictures months before i had these extra baggage i now have and cut some pictures of celebrities and put it on my desk to keep me reminded of my goal... :)

knowing that after i do this i will be living a healthier life and will be around longer for my kids

I watch what I eat and I workout regularly. I take aerobics classes and I enjoy it so much! I've made friends and we have a great time!

Im so glad you started this discussion. I was thinking about it but I dint get around to it. My family has a group all trying to lose weight and they all joined weight watchers. I cant afford to spend the 10$ a week to have someone tell me I need to lose weight. I realise it would be motivation, but it would cut into my already tight budget. I made a binder that organized my goals and progress. I call it my Chub Club book. I was thinking of adding a photo of me in my work out gear, but I dint really want to take a picture of me like this. I am hoping this is the diet that will actualy work! Every one cross your fingers for me.

First, congratulations on your terrific loss so far! I agree totally with your feeling that a lifestyle commitment, not a mere "diet'is the way to go. That's why I chose to develop healthy, long-term eating habits to solve my weight issues. Regarding your question about what motivates me, I belong to a web bulletin board visited by people who are on the same food program as me. I really feel like the posters there are the best support for me because they understand the overview of our mutual food plan and can offer great tips and ideas about how to keep the lifestyle fresh and appealing. Plus, they can always be counted on to kick my patooty if I get off track!

I buy a smaller size great looking dress and hang it where i can see it every morning when i wake ...boy that does keep me motivated....keep going girl....!

What motivates me to stay on track while losing weight is hearing all the health problems in the news of people that are overweight. I see talk shows all the time with overweight adults and children and hearing reports about how important it is to eat properly and exercise to maintain a healthy heart and body. When The Biggest Loser was on that helped me stay focused on losing weight as well.

I think I saw that same show tonight. My husband and I have started eating better and healther these past few weeks. We feel better. I can tell am losing weight because of the comments family members of my husband have asked me and have told me looks like I have. I didn't step on the scales just changed my eating habbits.

well i am not that much healthy beacuse some of my techniques help me out of not getting healthier..Its yoga exercises which i persue daily and sometimes i do meditation exercices which help me out of not getting much helathier..if a person takes a balanced dite and never get rid of jogging then he never get healthier..the only thing to remain fit from physical health is your patience..

I'm trying to lose weight for spring break. I'm going to be seen in my bikini, and I want to look good for a certain somne, so that's motivating me.

I always think about my ex, my first puppy love and my crushes. I want to look good so that my ex wants me back, my first love sees what he missed out on, and my crushs make the first move. Of course I know you should lose weight for your own well being but I just want to be a better me so when others see me they are like damn. If it were just about me doing it for me Id say forget it and have another Hostess cake.

I think this is a great question, we all get gung-ho to change our lives, our bodies, our relationships and then sometime after the initial excitment, lose sight of the original goal. I think a big key is keeping it fun and making the adjustment easy- trying to do too much at once is going to overwhelm you and anything that is just not enjoyable will never sustain the motivation. Find things that you enjoy, don't get stuck in a rut- if you don't feel like running one day- try yoga, or dancing while you clean the house...be creative. Also don't deny yourself things you love- if you love chocolate and put yourself on a no chocolate diet- you will give up really fast. Another idea is to put pictures up of the end goal- you want to fit into a certain pair of pants or look like a certain size- put up pictures and visualize yourself at that point. Make sure you also allow yourself to be human- we all make mistakes- if you blow your diet or exercise one day WHO CARES! Don't let that be why you quit. Like you said this is a life change, don't focus on the mistakes along the way, focus on the great things you did that day and the great things you will do tomorrow! Good luck