Where Do You Get Your Willpower From??

[SunsetRunner]

Hi Guys and Gals 🙂

I have over 5 stone to lose - lost 10 pounds in a month and then put it all back on in a couple of weeks as my willpower disappeared and all I wanted to do was sit on the sofa and eat! So I did!

Sooo I need your help! Any tips on willpower and how to keep going? What do you do to continue, rather than giving up at the first hurdle? I need a kick up the bum!

Thanks 🙂

Kat x

[Cindy_Phyfer]

Great question and comments above. 😄

My "willpower" comes from several thoughts/ideas:

1) I have finally come to a point in my life where I have decided that I DESERVE to lose the weight.

2) I have realized that if I continue along the path I'm on, I will get hypertension and diabetes type 2. I weigh 410 pounds (not sure how much that is in stones, but I don't think I want to know). 😉

3) There is a good chance my Mom will outlive me (she is 70 years old and I'm 41). She already buried my brother when I was 20 years old. It's not natural for a parent to have to see their children die before them.

4) I am not a good surgical risk for a gastric bypass. Even if I was, that wouldn't be an easy & quick fix to my weight problem. Either way, I have a long road ahead of me, and I have to walk it one step at a time.

5) I just got the Fitbit Charge HR for Christmas and I promised my wonderful, loving husband that I would use it. I don't want him to outlive me either. (Do you see a trend in my line of thinking?) 🙂

Those are just a few of the things that come to mind. I've lost 5 pounds so far, so I've decided this time "I'm going to lose it".

Cheers.

[hockeyguynick]

Honestly, and not to sound vain. .. but my willpower comes from the mirror. I get out of the shower and think, well I look a lot better than I did 6 months ago, but my arms are still a little small, there's still a bit of fat around my waist, etc.... and I'm back at the gym the next day hittin it hard!

[MitziG]

I am so glad I read your reply and saw the book "Now Eat This"!  I just ordered it off Amazon and I can't wait to use it!

[ficklefit]

Over the last year I've changed my lifestyle and how I view food and health, with 7lbs more to go to reach a normal BMI (before I move to a maintenance and toning regime I have lost 65lbs in 12 months) - I'm a man in my mid-forties.

Many of the things people have already have said are important for me, included in my tips below:

• Get in the right mindset for weight loss - this took me a long time for it to hit the top of the priority list.  My motivation was gaining health, happiness, energy and fitness for my children - I wanted to see them grow up and be part of their life with a happier and healthier outlook.
• Set interim targets - a mile begins with a single step
• Reward yourself for reaching your interim targets - ideally with non-calorific rewards (e.g. new shoes, clothes, gadgets, experiences, a show, a hair "do" etc.).
• Try to identify what works and what doesn't for you - for me I ate lots of carbs, reducing bread intake in particular helped, and avoiding the boredom of the gym instead walking more and occasional jogging
• Throw away clothes that are too large for you - replace with clothes that fit your reducing figure (this gives less incentive to slip back when you feel the pinch of too tight clothing).  This can get expensive (I've now done this four times now!) but you will look good and feel good. Ebay your old clothes or give them to charity.
• Get into good habits - initially sticking to a set series of meals/foods helped me overcome the hard start to weight loss as it became habitual.  There are some really tasty low calorie meals out there and men, don't be afraid of salads!
• Socialise your efforts - feel good about compliments and receive peer pressure when people know you are dieting (try to stay strong against those negative friends tempting you with junk food)
• Treat yourself occasionally to something less healthy - you deserve a treat as long as you counter it (see below)
• Systematic weight recording/monitoring - this may go against some advice but I weigh myself and record body fat percentage daily.  Any fluctuations I can cater for on noticing the trend line going off course - just like steering a ship it's easier to make smaller adjustments as you go along rather than larger ones which take more effort. 
• Don't be a slave to having to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. I've skipped breakfast or lunch on occasion when not hungry, particularly when trying to steer back on course after a treat.  Don't overreact though (although there are many "fasting" type diets out there).
• Drink plenty of water
• Get plenty of sleep
• Use the stairs more
• Walk more
• Ex-smokers are the worst critics of smokers - as your outlook and body changes don't judge or become a hater of those who choose to eat junk food, are unfit or obese, they are on a different journey to you and have their own demons they are fighting, they don't need yours.

I hope this helps somebody!

[runforrest]

Hi Ficklefit,

Thanks for posting such a great insight, you've absolutely nailed it.

I'm on exactly the same journey as you with 30llbs to go (I'm half way through) with very similar reasons for doing so.

Your post has definitely helped - Thank You !!

[Move.It.Move.It]

What a fantastic thread. I enjoyed the read and saw myself in a few posts.

I bought my Fit Bit just before Christmas on a whim because I like gadgets and it was on sale. I had no idea it would kick start me into getting my health back. I had thought it was a glorified pedometer, how wrong was I.

I am now tracking everything and finally starting to lose weight and get active again.

My will power just came back. Not sure where it had been hiding as I have been trying to do this for a while. I think the fact that I didn't plan it was part of the reason it is working. I stopped smoking in exactly the same way a few years ago. This was also mentioned by another fitbitter a few posts back.

[Absinthe666]

Hi @SunsetRunner - last year I lost over 3 stone and went from 16.7 stone to 13.5 stone. I did this by joining the gym, becoming a vegetarian and watching what I ate. My gym work was a balanced combination of cardio and machine work. I never restricted my diet to silly levels (cutting out sweets etc) but I did stop eating for the sake of it and reduced my portion sizes. My willpower comes from being able to fit into t-shirts and actually seeing a difference in my body...I think once you see results, your willpower (and confidence) will come. Hope to improve even more this year with my new Fitbit! 🙂

[NineToTheSky]

@Absinthe666 - I have done exactly the same as you, in the same way. Congratulations! I know how rewarding it is.

[Absinthe666]

Hi @NineToTheSky it is extremely rewarding...the hard part is keeping it going which I used to really struggle with but now it is alot easier.

[NineToTheSky]

@Absinthe666 - Keeping it going is where I find Fitbit helps. Recording my calories and workouts with my Charge HR and Aria scales is very motivating. If it shows my weight going down that is fantastic, and if it stays the same or goes up, it is like a kick up the backside to try harder. That's where my willpower comes from.

[Absinthe666]

@NineToTheSky completely agree - tracking progress is great, tracking lack of progress is even greater because it then gives you that massive kick to do better.

[Nightengale]

I love what you have done. One thing at a time. Very commendable!

[TSGwendolyn]

I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I try very hard not to use this as an "excuse" but there are days that I can not get out of bed, I will be awake but do not have the energy to lift my arms even. Of course this is a wave pattern, some days/weeks are better than others. I've tried so many things...vitamins and supplements, no/low carb, no/low sugar, exercising, anything that has been suggested other than the long term pharmacutical drugs the Dr. had put me on - which I did try for 2 weeks and I felt like I was in a fog the enitre time. While the low/no sugar helped me feel like I had more energy and I had less headaches, it only lasted a short time. Excerise helps, but if I can't get out of bed to do it the point is then mute. I've tried going to the gym right after work, my kids are now in after school activities so that no longer works. I've tried going after my kids go to bed at night, that leads to me not being able to sleep at night making the mornings that much more difficult to get up - as if some days aren't bad enough. It's a struggle but I keep on fighting. Willpower takes a back burner to my CFS. Last year was a good year,  I fought really hard and was winning but when I shift my focus to anything else I start failing. As a single mom of two boys working 2 sometimes 3 jobs, it is not easy to keep working out as my top focus. Does anyone else have this problem with some better tips or suggestions because I feel like I'm at the end of my rope but I don't want to give up the fight!! I have 45 lbs I want to lose. I lost 50 lbs last year and gained back 30 due to falling back into old habits and having 2 surgeries preventing me from running. Right now when I run it kills my knees. I know that once I can return to healthier eating and drop more weigh, the running won't be so hard on my knees. 

[fatsamurai]

Kat, thirty years ago I was jogging and doing aerobics. Seems like I had more free time. Then I wake up now with more medical problems other than bp that I've always had. NOW I really do have more free time. What better way to live than to take care of yourself. I've been reading on health issues a lot. My doctor is concerned. I learned about fitbit and I have a place to walk now during the winter indoors. My spouse is concerned. What else do I need? The you that is your body is important and precious. Use it wisely my friend. Start and don't look back because it is going to get a lot better for your health.

fatsamurai

[abimcmetal]

A little saying I heard years ago but never forgotten: Nothing tastes as good as slim feels. 

[runforrest]

Hi abimcmetal,

Love that, very, very true - Thanks for sharing !

[Basilia]

@abimcmetal - I really like that saying because its short enough to remember when you are faced with a tempation. I googled it and it was Kate Moss (the model)  who said it. She got alot of slack from eating disorder support groups but I disagree. I will think of it when faced with a food challenge. THANKS!

[Move.It.Move.It]

My little saying that gets me through most things including weight loss and healthy eating is "more good than bad". I know I am not perfect and this stops me blowing things completely when I overindulge or don't do the things I should. I dust myself off and get back on track.

[Nightengale]

Everything in moderation! Along with, more good than bad.

[nuue]

I get my willpower from:

1. My stubborn ambition to accomplish something on a daily basis.

2. My best friend who has always been extremely supportive of my weight loss efforts and joins me occasionally in workout routines, no matter how crazy or how she may want to "kill me" after the workout.

3. As petty and vain as it sounds, my full length mirror that has been recently installed right at my door has been a motivator for me. I want to take monthly progress photos, and I want to see progress somewhere, no matter how small.

4. Journaling my journey, or sharing my progress on social media somewhere, no matter if people pay attention to it, find it annoying, or whatever. Surprisingly I motivate some by doing that, and that makes me a little happy to be a motivator for others.

5. Everytime I eat an unhealthy snack at work, I let the wrappers sit on my desk the entire day until I go home. Makes me think twice about snacking and WHAT I snack around my coworkers. I couldn't help but grab something from the vending machine today, so it's wrapper is sitting pretty on my desk.

6. I want to buy a size down of my professional slacks, since the ones I'm wearing now are somewhat falling off of me. But the size down is too small at the moment. So in an effort to stop pulling up my pants as I walk around and do job tasks that require a lot of movement, I have to lose a little more so I CAN fit into a size down. *grumbles about craziness of women's sizes*