staying motivated

[lurkersincejan]

I have been having trouble staying motivated enough to stick to a routine and excercise. I am about a size 14 and want to be between and 8 and 10. I would like to lose about 35-40 pounds. I have a treadmill in my home and I also have various exercise programs on my cable program. I was doing the treadmill for 30 mins a day for about 2 weeks straight and then started falling off.

I definitely am going to join the challenge in August but I need to get in gear now, Im so unhappy when it comes to putting clothes on because I dont like the way it fits. Im just sick of that and need to really stick to it. Can anyone recommend a good routine and also eating habits are horrible. I need to stay away from the starch but its sooo hard with my son and SO. They dont like to eat the things that I need to eat!!!
SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!

[maleucia]

Like you, I am unable to stick to anything going at it alone. The treadmill/running/eliptical gets boring real fast and the junkfood is easily available in my house with my kids and hubby.

You may need to have be accountable to someone/something each week to help you stay on course. Maybe a workout/diet partner or an objective friend will help you? I joined Weightwatchers because I knew getting on that scale every week (in front of as stranger) would be all the motivation I need to keep the junk food out of my mouth and get my butt moving. It may help too if you get a workout video you think is fun. I just discovered Turbo Jam. I see it as more of a challenge to get the "dance steps" just right rather than a doing a "workout." It's the first time I've really looked foward to doing one.

Don't give up!

[shortdub78]

yeah you should try turbo jam. i like it so far. i know how you feel. what motivates me is how i'm going to look when i get this body back in order. i'm just tired of looking this way and looking like i'm still pregnant. i want to be my sexy self again.

[PatTodd]

I know it's hard to stay motivated. I go to the gym 5 mornings a week and I have to try any and everything to keep myself in that routine, especially in the winter. I get bored, and I like my sleep. So I play a lot of mind games with myself.

Sometimes after the alarm goes off I'll think, maybe I'll blow it off today...then I think, no, you ate a lot of crap yesterday, or but you were going to wear that cute new workout top today, or you were going to listen to that new CD you just put on your Ipod today, or you were going to read your new magazine today...and the list goes on. Sometimes I will say, I will go and do 15 minutes and if I want to stop then I will (but I never do).

I will remind myself that I have never regretted going to the gym, only not going.

I will even say to myself that if I don't go, one of my friends will miss me and wonder where I am.

Next thing I know I am walking into the gym.

Other ways to motivate yourself are to measure and/or weigh yourself weekly (only weekly!), at the same time and place, you can see the progress you're making. Or how about taking periodic progress pictures, like we do with our hair? Hopefully some of this will help.

[ChocolateSoda]

Every time I get a home exercise machine it turns into a glorified clothes hanger. It really helps me to work out away from home. And knowing I'm paying the bill every months keeps me from wasting my gym membership.

The only thing that keeps me motivated is to choose healthy foods & exercises that I LIKE. I can't stay on a strict diet or exercise routine so I don't even try. I pick & choose then go from there. It might sound odd but it has been the only thing that has ever worked for me.

[tocktick]

- join a forum dedicated to exercise/weight loss and become a regular. i don't low-carb exclusively (i carb cycle) but i'm on the lowcarber.org

- take pictures of your self in a bikini or in an outfit you love but cannot fit into. each time you feel like slipping, take a look at them. disgust is a great motivator for me! :look:

- i have a folder of women who are active and whose bodies i find inspirational. some are a similar shape to me and there are some that are not but they have great abs, arms etc...something that inspires me to want to be where they are.

- remind yourself daily of why you are doing this

- exercise first thing in the morning. personally, when i do this i feel as if exercising is a routine as taking a shower. it's just something that must be done.

- when you want to give up, visualise yourself 30lbs thinner. this has saved me so many times when i'm out running and want to give up.

i can somewhat understand how hard it is to eat a certain way when there are people in your household who do not. my mother constantly buys cookies and it seems not a day goes by that someone isn't making a peanut butter and jam sandwich. sometimes it's difficult but i think of how i'm going to look come september and it usually stops me from eating such foods. after a while of eating well, you don't really have cravings anyway. if i do have a persistent craving, i have it but only a small amount and make sure to eat less calories the next day.

also, i think of alternatives to favourite "bad" foods. my mum ordered pizza last week but i looked online for the least calorie option, picked a thin base and then choose the less cheese option. when it arrived, i had the smallest slices. no-one noticed the difference in taste and my cravings were satisfied but i didn't pig out.

[starfish]

Great thread!

I had to start using different methods to get my workout mojo when I switched to 5 am workouts.. I am NOT a morning person.

Here's what I do:

1. I focus on what I'm going to feel like when I'm done, not what I feel like when that alarm goes off.

2. This seems silly but when I download the latest "what did they say?" rap song I can't wait to get up and listen to songs really loud on my iPod at the gym.

3. When I want my cupcake with mile-high frosting or some other food I shouldn't eat, I think about how the yummy taste only lasts a couple of seconds before I swallow it, but the payment from eating that food lasts much much longer.

4. Keep short-term, attainable goals. A size 14 to 8 is going to take time, and it's easy to become frustrated when you are working so hard and the weight isn't off yesterday. Focus on what you can do today, or this week. I'm VERY impatient and have to remind myself it took more than a week to gain weight, and it'll take more than a week to come off. Dammit.
(and don't talk to men who are exercising. They make me sick with their "I lost 50-11 pounds this week" selves. the men I know lose weight extremely fast.)

5. Reward yourself! When you've lost an inch in your waist go get a new outfit and celebrate!

Don't beat yourself up if you fall off, just get back on! Slow and steady wins the race!

[lurkersincejan]

Thank you so much, these are all great suggestions! I will start incorporating some of these in to my days

[SoSweet08]

excellent advice ladies

[Country gal]

I want to go from a 14 - 8/6 my old size in my early twenties. I just have faith and keep at it.