No Cheating No Hiding Challenge III

Sometimes I have a really stressful day at work. Or I hit a plateau where it seems like it doesn’t matter how well I eat or how hard I workout, nothing I do changes my weight. And when I have one of those days it’s hard to stay motivated and eat right. (I totally pigged out on leftover peeps yesterday. Shh!)

So I was wondering, what is your motivation for losing weight/eating right/staying healthy?

I mean of course I want to look good, who doesn’t? But, one of my huge motivators is my fiancé. I want to live a long healthy life with him... as cheesy as that sounds!

Funny you should mention your fiance (not cheesy at all). I started losing weight for my wedding back in October and than it was for the honeymoon in the Bahamas in December. Now it's for the arrival of my husband in June (we have been living apart for quiet a while).

Since I started my weight loss jounrey, I have lost 28 lbs and am just 7 lbs from my goal. I am by no means an expert, but I think the key for me has been finding small motivations to keep me going. Whatever those are for you, you need to identify them.

Of course there is the looking good, feeling healthy, living longer reasons but those are so esoteric. I find I need tanigble goals to keep me going. It might be training for half marathon or getting ready for a high school reunion. But for me, it helps if there is a goal set out in the near future that keeps me focused and on track. (but reminder not to beat yourself up for falling off, just get right back on).

It also helps that I have a brother in the city that is very active. Since he knos my goals, he keeps me in check.

I suppose for me it depends on the moment. I will be 45 this year and I am entering premenepause, so I know that time is not my friend when it comes to losing weight. I want to look good and feel good. I get a great sense of satisfaction when I see progress. My husband passed away in 2005 and I don't want my kids to lose both parents before they have kids of their own. I want to be there for the grandkids and even great grandkids if I can. There are still a lot of things I would like to do with this life and I don't want to be held back by my weight. I guess if all those things aren't enough, I feel good when I set out to do something and I do it.

One of my motivations is my children. I grew up...well simply put...FAT! From 5th grade on. My Mom did not know all the things we know now and we certainly did not have the internet at our finger tips back then. I mean the Dr. told her to put a 8 year old child on a "DIET"! But I do have all the information at my finger tips and I know what is right and wrong! And my job with my children is to teach it to them, but first I need to model it to them as well! There is no reason for my kids to ever go through what I went through or for them to ever eat unhealthy. So my goal is to teach them the correct way to eat, show them through my actions and to have them be as healthy as a 10 and 6 year old can be! Well, that is just one of my motivators!

Wow, all your stories were truly inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing them!

sanarado, I think tangible mini-motivators are an excellent idea. I'll have to start thinking about some.

I started because I became scared that I won't be able to move soon. Being handicapped, my movement is already restricted. But when I began to become winded even walking for 5 minutes I got scared. How in the world would I be able to continue living independently if I didn't improve my mobility!

So, I decided that I would at least maintain a food diary. Then, because this site has a good community support, I got talking to people. The success stories here inspired me and I decided to exercise too. Hopefully, I will regain my health. *fingers crossed*

I love reading your motivations--very inspiring. Thank you for sharing.