Motivation comes after I get the ball rolling right?

Here I sit, looking at my workout and talking myself into going home and pouring a glass of Merlot.  "I'll start tomorrow, I'll get my plan together tonight (while sipping my fav beverage) and stick with it this time."  Blah blah.  What triggers some of us to stick to it and why do others keep trying with little success?  I can't count the events in my life that I was going to lose weight.  Weddings, family reunions etc.  Yet here I sit, another website, another excuse....

Life style change, most definatly.  It's changing my mind on how I think about losing weight, getting healthy and burning the calories.  Why can I not get my head around it? 

its a lifestyle change if its gonna be permanent.

so you have to make changes you can live with.

change one thing for a week. Add a veggie where you had a junk food snack... then add another change the next week. Ease your body and mind into it.

start with diet, then worry about adding in exercise.

The hardest part is putting in the effort and then HAVING TO WAIT for results. Be prepared to work for (seemingly!) nothing for a few weeks. But once you start seeing results, you'll see it was worth the persistence. Thats when the ball starts moving and you not only have the habits but the results to show for them, which motivates you to keep going.

Check out the site too - lots of ppl here know lots of stuff! Just don't overwhelm yourself - Start small! You're making permanent changes, not temporary fixes.

I think you are suffering a little analysis paralyis.  Don't go home and make a plan, go home and make a change.  Even a really small one.  Do you usually have a snack with your Merlot?  Have something healthier than usual.  Do you usually have 8 ounces of wine?  Have 5.

What works for me is make a change.  Find out it wasn't so hard.  Make it a habit.  Find the next change.  Find out it wasn't so hard. Make it a habit.  You get the picture.

If you eliminate even 100 calories a day, you will lose 10 pounds a year (or not gain them, if that was the track you were on).

ladies, you are so right.  I'm tyring to do it all and overwhelming myself!  baby steps.  i don't need to exercise every day THIS WEEK!  I will choose my top 3 bad habits and change them this week. 

Size 6...here i come.

I do exactly the same.. if only you could lose weight by making good exercise regimes or thinking about exercise. My brain yoyo's more than my diet!

Don't forget to change a habit takes at least 21 days!! SIGH

Yep.  The brain chatter gets me all the time.  Seems if I keep a schedule of activities and meals I do much better.  You?  

YES i have to have a schedule! Otherwise I'm afraid I'll forget where I'm at or what I'm doing or what to eat next....

I'm a little bit of a scatterbrain. :D

I guess I am going to use this site as my schedule. i do have one on my wall that gets ignored at 630 every morning! Sleep just seems so much more important than exercise! But hopefully I will keep at it and make writing it down a habit so I can see where I go wrong.. (or hopefully) RIGHT!!

also, give it time. big changes sometimes require a lot of thinking and many trials and errors.

This is pretty much like a post I had posted :) Everybody pretty much told me to just do it :)

Any chance you need a friend? I would love to have someone to push me....

Yes, I can always use a friend. 

let's work together!

How is everyone doing on this lovely monday?

pretty well, thanks. work was almost a breeze today, even had time to meet my mum for a chat (we went to a cafe, i had salad and green tea, feeling proud). pleasant day, and also pleasant calorie-wise (1560 cal in, 2400 cal out).

now chiling at home, just finished an avocado and carrot soup.

how was your day?

Hi ka :) I think I keep following you around on the posts :)

Avocado and carrot soup? Tell me more.....

Yes, definitely, do not try to change everything at once!  Each week, decide one change you are going to make - change your snacks to something healthier, eat more vegetables with your meals, eat smaller portions, go for a walk every night - something small and easily done.  After a month, you will have made 4 healthy changes!

I have to track everything - what I eat, what I do, what I weigh, my measurements, so that I am accountable to myself, and I can see what my next step needs to be. 

Also, make sure that you are not being too stringent on yourself.  Feeling deprived, or forcing yourself to work out, is a sure sign that you will not be able to keep this up for life.  Always make positive changes that you can keep up for the rest of your life.

You CAN  do this!

My way of staying motivated is to pay attention to the little (not weight or measurements) results of eating right and exercising.  After even a day or two of exercise, I find that climbing stairs is easier and there's a little spring in my step.  After eating good, home-made food instead of sodium-filled fast food, I'm less bloated and less tired.  The feeling I get from eating right and exercising gives me more confidence when interacting with people, and more desire to be affectionate with my significant-other. ;)  That's what keeps me going until the needle on the scale starts to budge.

wow, the support here is huge!  I'm sure motivationis different for all of us so by reading what each of you do helps me make the changes I need.  Kepping a journal is huge for me.  When I feel like crap one day I can look back and see why.  Posseof1 mentioned paying attention to how you feel each day.  I guess between a bussiness, husband and 5 year old...well I pay attention to how THEY feel each day. 

I have had a first week on Calorie Count.  I have made small changes and went on a nice long bike ride yesterday!

Avacado and carrot soup?  yum.  Please share.

I went on a bike ride!

how was the bike ride? I am hoping it will stop raining here soon so I can get my bike out...