Staying encouraged
Starting something is alw2ays easy. Starting a new habit, exercise, losing weight or just dating. When that newbie high has you in it’s grips and you can move mountains and leap buildings with a single bound. But day after day, life intrudes. Things are never perfect and imperfectiosn show up. Little by little, your motivation gets worn at and no matter how hard it is, the water will always wear down the stone. So, how to keep the encouragement? First, don’t let little things get you down. Someone is always worse off then you. Ok, you have to lose 100 pounds, well, look at the lady next to you, she has to lose more then that. Some women from another forum was complainiung about that they had lost 6 to 9 avis (each avi is 5 pounds each) I just laughed and told them not to let it get them down because what you lose, you can find. I had lost 53 avis! I did not let it get me down, ok, at first I did. When you had a 108 pounds and then you have to reset it back to 0, well, it did depress me because taht was a lot. But I did not let that be my guide. My guide was I had to take it step by step. Ok, o now but 5 next time and just keep going and it will get going. Now, I have my 85 avi today but will I stop to take a breather, oh now, my eye is always on the next one. I stay encouraged by always setting a goal just slightly out of reach but one I can reach. This way, each time I hit that goal, man, it is success! With each success, I feel more confident, more aware and more encouraged.
Another way I keep encouraged is to never look at the whole number of what I have to lose. Hmm, how to put it, I take out the logic process and put in a more material way of looking at it. For example. today I was wondering how much more weight I have to lose (I know, silly isn’t uit taht I really don’t know) and when I looked at the number, a feeling of “still that much!” c ame over me for a second and then I shoved that sticking thinking out of my head and thought material instead. Hmm, I can now fit into most of my old nightgowns that were bought when I first married (lost till 150) Today I put on my size 7 underwear that was running small a month ago and it fits great now! I have only 14 more pounds to go till I weigh less then I did before I got pregnant. Nobody has talked about how fat I am and how huge my butt is. I can cross my legs! I have to beat my husband off with a stick, he is always complimenting me and wanting to touch me. My children can wrap their arms around me now. I will be able to fit into all my winter clothes by winter (made before I got married) My top is getting smaller and smaller and now my bottom half is finally going now!
So, when I look at my loss in these material aspects, well, I have already achieved so much! Yes, I still have over 60 pounds to lose but what I have already done has been monumental to me and my self confidence, I actually like myself again althought I don’t love myself yet. When I get below 150, that will be a first for me and the rest will be exciting to watch how I change. MOre and more people are asking about weight loss and that makes me feel good to help others.
Another thing I do to encourage myself is to keep an eye out for the clothes that I will be buying and wearing. Notice, I use the word “will” not might, could or maybe but I tell myself in positive terms that I will and can get into clothes. I already found a dress that fits and that is just the start.
I try not to let food bother me. I am changing my thinking to wehre it isn’t live to eat but eat to live. There is no law saying I have to eat ice cream, chocolate or any other kinds of fattening food. I should and need to eat healthy food. It is my choice. Yes, I can continue eating them if I want to but I know what the results will be so I choose not too. There are some things I will choose not to add back even when at goal. I do not look at it with dispair but with quiet determination because if I am to keep the shape I want, I will have to work at it and always watch it. The benefits far out weight the pleasures for the season.
So, these are some things I use to encourage myself. I think it is good to think about that so, what are your ways?
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I used to use my sport as a motivating factor to lose weight. Like boxing, we fight in weight categories. The heavier the category, the taller the opponent. I’m only 5 ft 4 and I used to have to fight people over 6 ft. So I used this as a motivating factor to lose the majority of the weight that I’ve lost.
I’ve started back in pre-season training, so this is once again motivating me to not only lose more weight, but to start strength training to build up my muscles that have taken a major break for the past few months!
Nice job on keeping motivated all this time. Truely a life make-over, not the quick fix!! You’re graph is an inspiration!
I love that phrase, ‘the newbie high’. I see so many on it, and I want to warn them, it won’t always be this easy. The high wears off and then the work begins. That’s when the losers become winners. You are such a winner!
Well, I’m competative and if you look at my graph, you can see I started out on the newbie high, then started yo-yo-ing back up…Then the new Longest Loser challenge…I try to lose 1lb. every week, .5 is fine, 2 is great. I think we are on week 10 now, and when this one ends, LL3 will start… but idk what I’m going to do when I plateau… that scares me, but for now, just concentrating on 1lb. a week has gotten me into a bunch of my old clothes and I look and feel better than I have in a long time, so maybe I can ride that high… idk
