The Wake Up Call Came Today

[MildBill]

I have put off going out to buy new clothes for a long time and decided to get out and do some shopping today. I quickly became discouraged when I began looking for things in my size and couldn't find a single thing. Several things came to mind as I browsed the shelves; 1. There are too many people my size in this world. 2. Under-Armour is not a good fashion trend for guys with big bellies. 3. Trying to fit into the next smaller size is not a good weight loss plan. and finally, what the heck am I doing this for?!?! That's when I decided it's time to quit playing around make the change. At that point I left the store and determined not to return until I can fit into those smaller clothes. I've been procrastinating for years and there is no way to get all that time back, but I can do something about it now. I bought my fitbit at Christmas last year and haven't used it once, but it will be part of my life from henceforth. So I now have a written plan of attack and am putting people on notice to keep me accountable. I am hoping to gain some daily motivation from this group through the success stories and lessons learned from other people. If you have any suggesstions or ideas that could help me along the way (especially in the nutrition arena), I'm open to your inputs. I look forward to meeting new people and sharing my story along the way. God Bless you all!

[EdgarFitbit]

Inspiration is in the air @MildBill 

I found myself reading your post. It motivates a lot. I hope you can reach your goals soon.

You now have the "why", you'll probably have the "how to" when you don't expect it. A Food plan may help you achieve your goals soon, that's for sure!

Keep it up!

[lyro]

You are on your way!!!  One thing that I have found helpful is to set small goals that I know I can achieve and will keep me motivated.  For example, even though I have much more than 5 lbs. to lose, I set my weight goal as 5 lbs. because I feel that I can stay motivated long enough to meet it. I know that I will be very excited when I meet it, and then I will set another 5 lb. weight loss goal and keep building upon it that way.  Good luck to you!

[CHill]

Wild Bill,

You are right you have to have internal motivational factor to change your health. You can start just by walking with you fitbit every day and eat fruits and vegetables. 

Moderator Edit: spam

[Julievs05]

Hi! I have to agree with everyone here on this post that making SMALL changes make a HUGE difference. Make one small change every week or every two weeks. Get that change down and made into a habit before adding another. Before you know it within months you will have more good habits than bad. The thought that always popped in my head was "the time is going to pass away anyways, you might as well make that time matter and become monumental." Baby steps really is the best path to health. Big leaps nd bounds can work, but only do so temporarily for most which then results in discouragement, decreased self-esteem, and constant self doubt. If you are not able to keep one small change (its not biggie), just choose a different one the next week and start again. I first dropped soda. (REALLY HARD FOR ME) - but I cannot tell you enough what that did for me. I also started being more active in small ways (parking further away, taking stairs, PURPOSEFULLY cleaning my house as in doing it to burn calories, not to clean necessarily, but knocking two birds with one stone was very rewarding). Wearing the Fitbit, it tracked it all and it made me more excited to see the larger numbers add up (weekly totals, monthly totals, etc) and seeing those numbers increase with each week and month and then being able to look back in the records and seeing my numbers go up and up really was astounding to me. To think one little gadget can do that for someone's motivation is pretty amazing. 🙂 Keep it up, it will only get easier with each day that you are faithful to yourself. YOU ARE WORTH IT! GO FOR YOUR DREAMS. Good luck, my friend.

[ABanana]

Great post, Julie 🙂

[EdgarFitbit]

@Julievs05 Awesome! Thanks for your kind words, they motivate a lot. The best wishes for you 

Also, thanks to everyone for sharing good tips. Take care and keep it up!