In dire need of friends/buddies

This is my first visit to the forums and I would really like to make some friends. My motivation needs to be motivated...lol

It's tough when you don't have support from the people around you.  I mean sure, if you really really want it, you can do it, but it sure helps when your family and friends are supportive.

Do you have friends/coworkers who might be interested?  I and four other people from work just decided on a Biggest Loser challenge for the next 12 weeks, we had our initial weigh-in today.  And we have rules set up -- no starvation diets, no taking any supplements/meds for weightloss.  Just healthy eating and exercise.  I'm hopeful this will help. :)

This site is a huge help, but you have to be committed to a lifestyle change, not just going on a diet. I have lost 30 pounds since March 2011 (gall bladder removal was the catalyst), want to lose 20 more. Buy a kitchen scale and look at portions-oh boy, 3 oz is SMALL!!! Throw out all the fat snacks, lay in the fruit and veggies and celebrate each victory- I only lose a pound a week, but I have been doing it consistently.  You can do it, but weight loss is only a part of overall fitness and how you feel about your body and yourself.  Stick with it, we are all with you in the fight.

I decided in January that I needed a change. I was at my heavist at 268 and I'm only 5'2". I made a deal with my doctor to at the least try to lose weight. He gave me encouragement instead of lectures. He told me he would be proud of me if I lost just 20 lbs.

It made me feel better about myself, because I have always been heavier than my friends growing up. My past doctors always gave me the standard weight lectures. Frankly, it made me detrmined NOT to listen to them. I'm very stubborn.

I enlisted my sister and together we decided we needed to be healthier for ourselves and not anyone else. I don't know if you have a WII game system, but ours helped a lot. I had the fit board which not only exercises you, but it can keep track of your daily activity and tell you your calorie burn. It also helps you keep track of your BMI and weight.  In addition to the WII fit, we bought just dance 2. It gets you moving and is fun.

My competitive side came out playing against the kids or my sister. I also managed to talk my stepdad to walk with me 3 miles a day. When I don't want to do it, he makes me come and vice versa.  I refuse to pay money for a gym when I have a natural exercise arsenal at my disposal.  I also walk at the park about a mile away. I schedule my workouts into my day like a doctor's appointment.

For food, I bought the best cookbook in the world. Taste of living's comfort food cookbook. The recipes are basic dishes and include nutritional value breakdowns. But, it is food my family enjoys also. I cook the "diet" food for the family but only portion control myself. I made it a rule at dinnertime that there be no less than 2 vegetables on the table.

Keep a food journal to help. Since Valentine's Day when I started I have lost 58 pounds. The dancing has made me limber and the walking has helped my endurance. I am feeling bones I haven't felt in years.  I still allow myself to eat out 1 time a week, but I decide what I'll eat before I get there. I have a weakness for french fries with Ranch dressing. So I get a small natural burger wrapped in lettuce with pickle and a dallop of ketchuo so I can savor my fries.

Don't give up if you mess up a day or two. just tell yourself I can do this because I am worth it. If you need an online buddy, I can help keep you on track. I need to lose another 60 lbs. to be in the range I felt the best.

You too can do it, just do it one day at a time.

I joined a couple years ago, tried it for a couple months then gave up, but now I'm back at it & this time I really want it. I've been overweight my whole life but it never really bothered me because I could always do what I wanted. The last 2 years I've changed jobs & started back to school. My new job isn't very active & I've been not only gaining a little weight but getting slower & moving less. What really got me is my oldest son who is 9 just hit 120 pounds & now he isn't going to get to play his first year of tackle football because they have a weight limit. My whole family is large, so my son looks at us & thinks it is okay. I don't want that for him, so I decided for him to get fit I was going to work it with him. So not only do I go to the gym 5 days a week, but I also swim, walk & ride bikes with my son. He is a kid, & to help keep us both from burning out, we have a 1 day break rule. That day we can eat a little more normal & we have 200 extra calories. My sons doctor is the one that recommeeded the 1 day break, & so far it's worked. This is our 3rd week & I'm not bored yet.

Original Post by romancoat:

Hi, and welcome!  I'm a fairly regular forum-goer in the cats.about.com forum, but new to CC -- joined June 1 and have been mostly lurking. 

Someone in the cats forum lost about 60lbs and when I asked about staying motivated, she said motivation is overrated because really, there will be days when you just won't feel like going to the gym or sticking to your diet, but the important thing is to still go ahead and do it. 

Me, I'm here because I've just started trying to lose weight and get healthier and I need a place I can talk about the whole thing. It's on my mind practically everyday, and I think I'll drive my friends (who either don't need or aren't interested in losing weight) insane if I keep talking about this! :)

 I feel ya! I have been mostly lurking on CC, but I've decided that it's about time that I started to actually talk to people here so I don't drive my friends and family insane! :)

I like that perspective on motivation, too. We really tend to beat ourselves up far too much. It makes sense; we put a lot of hard work into losing weight, and any possible setback can feel scary, but the reality is that there will just be some days when we don't care. We just have to work to make them as infrequent as we can!

Heya Imat091448216! I have been useing CC for over a year I think lol been awhile now, I dont log my food or activity on the website I write it all down but I use the forum A LOT :D and I read a lot more then I post but with CC I have lost 87 lbs as of this week, reaching 198 :) I was 285, a big girl :) lol its been a year and a half now and here I am :) I didnt want another bday of 200 + lbs i refused! also I have lost 10 inches off my waist alone so it is possible! its just a marathon not a sprint.

Make slow changes, let your body adjust every week to 1 or two changes. Let your taste buds change to the new foods youll be eating slowly, dont rush it or youll have bad cravings. I went from cake and pies and candy all the time, to haven a few cookies monthly and I dont crave or miss them really lol

And you will have great, good, ok, bad, and terrible days! but you have to learn from each experience and see everyday as a success, because even if you eat too many calories atleast you realise it and will do better tomorrow instead of staying in an over eating pattern. Eventually you will reach a point where fast food (or fast food and restaurant food in my case) make you ill when you eat them. I ate half a piece of pizza a week ago and my tummy turned for the worst lol

But there are lots of great people here young and old :) (im 21) going through it and its never easy, it gets "easier" but its never easy, but my health and my life are worth the challenge, and yours are too! GOOD LUCK :D and cheers!

Hi there Imat091448216

I am so glad you stumbled across this site :-)  If its motivation that goes awry then you have come to the right place! I personally find the wonderful comments posted here so helpful and encouraging as I too sometimes lose motivation.

Sometimes friends and family can have an undo effect but here you can chat with other folks with the same struggles and heal yourself emotionally.

A wise man once said "never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Sufficient for each day is its own badness" ... so just take it one day at a time, with small term goals and you will get there :-)

You say your motivation needs to be motivated, my advice? start slow, don't overwhelm yourself with information, start making small changes each day.Inch by inch life's a cinch, yard by yard life is hard. remember, getting healthy is a marathon, not a spring, its a life long journey and commitment. 

So start with small things, like setting the goal to be a bit more active everyday, making smarter food choices like replacing that can of pop/soda with a glass of water, or french fries with a baked potato, etc... eating more fruits and vegetables as opposed to candy/chocolate bars.

Set personal mini goals, it all adds up, and the more this small changes become habits the easier it becomes with sticking with an overall healthier lifestyle, to the point it will become natural.

Hi, everyone here has lots of great advice. I read these posts daily for a little  surge of inspiration. Hope it motivates your motivation!

Tomorrow is my 1-year anniversary on CC and I've lost 96 pounds. It would have been poetically wonderful to say 100. But hey, I know if I keep going I'll get there and in the grand scheme of things those 4 pounds will come off together with the 30 others I still want to lose in order to reach my ultimate goal. I don't care too much when that happens as long as I know I'm sticking to my plan because I know I'm doing the healthy things and learning the right things for me to be successful. That's a great feeling of confidence.

One of my BIG motivation 'aha moments' was early on when I realized that nothing I put in my mouth was going to change how irritating my husband had been that morning or how frustrated I was with a child who didn't do her homework or how devastated I was to learn that my father was ill or how unsupportive my best friend was being, etc. etc. etc. Sounds obvious, right? Not for an eater who turned to food with every emotion, be it compensation for negative things or rewards and celebrations for life's achievements. The realization that nothing I put into my mouth changes anything except my health/weight has improved both of those together with my state of mind and allowed me to get on with doing what I need to do for me.

The added benefit is that now that I no longer use food as emotional 'get out' clause, I can much more clearly see and deal with the other issues that would have ended in me feeding my face with food. In other words I'm engaging more in life and healthy communications/negotiations with those around me. Over the course of the last year, life has become altogether more enjoyable. And that motivates me to keep on keepin' on!

I hope you find your 'aha moments' and motivations! Good luck!

Hey there, thought I'd jump on in and put my 10c worth in....there are three things that I always fall back on, basically because somewhere deep inside I know that they're true.... 1) NEVER, EVER give up.... 2) while you're debating with yourself whether to do something or not, do it...sounds weird but works every time for me..whether it's thinking about doing the vacuuming and getting on with it while I have a debate about it in my head or going for a walk...same thing..just do it  :o) .... 3) no matter how bad a situation or period of time seems, it too will pass.... I think we all have to be gutsy and stand up for ourselves...stuff anyone else (including that annoying voice in our heads) who says we can't do it....of course we can do it!! 

I've been doing my workouts right after I get up (before going to work, rather than after) and one thing I've noticed so far is that, esp. if I was really tired the previous day, I REALLY don't feel like getting up early and working out.  And I have to force myself to just go and do it. Halfway through and after the workout, I feel energized and GLAD that I went ahead and did it!  So I just have to ignore those old habits of waking up, hitting the snooze button, and going back to sleep.

Hello!! nice to meet you!

hello gud to meet you im new too.i want to lose about  six stone,so ive joined for inspiration and to try an motivate my self through others .iff you or any one out there can help me i will sure welcome anygood ideas they have to shed this weight,thanks all andi hope we can all have new friends to meet up with an added bonus .maybe we shouold even meet up once every month or so and go out for a night or day to celebrate our loss.weight loss lol.what do any of you think.