Something to think about...

[Billie]

"There are no miracles for those that have no faith in them."
--French proverb

What keeps us going? What makes us continue fighting the "fat" or the habits we have either achieved or trying to eliminate? What is that secret power that people have, somedays better than others?;)

I don't know the answer but I think that if you believe you can do something you can you have alot better chance of doing it than going through the efforts without the belief in ourselves.

What do you do to believe in yourself--how do you foster that? Maybe there is a secret you could share that will help others, learn to believe in what they can accomplish.

[hawk]

I call it the abyss. It is not my own idea though. Some people sit on one side and wish and yearn but never cross the abyss into doing something about it. MAybe they don't believe in themselves. 25 years ago I quit smoking. I tried a few times but did not last. One day I got angry and said ..THat's it! I'm done. And I was . I crossed the abyss.
I decided to do PP and I did. but I fiddled around with it and was not strickt about it.
My blood pressure continued to fluctuate and I did not see great results. My doctor said." You are not doing well on this or I would see the results in your tests. If you want to lose weight and lower your blood pressure you have to pay attention to it.
So don't tell me you are when you are not". Wake up call... Once again I crossed the abyss. I set up a program, began to make my food ahead. write things down. Changed my mind set and really began serious exersize. In one month I dropped 20 points on my blood pressure and 9 pounds and lost 3 inches in my waist. I proved I could do it. Will I keep doing it? Only if I stay on this side of the abyss. The side that says, I am doing it.NOW. Not the side that says I wish ... I wish...
My husband starts my car every day at 6 am. I have trouble getting myself out and that helps me to get out and get going first thing. If I don't exersize first thing, other things get in the way. I have asked him for that support and he gives it happily.
You have to want it bad and you have to step across. The abyss is not as far to step across as you think. Take my hand . I'll help you across.

[Shadow]

Morning, Billie! I think the answer varies for all of us.

For me, there are several factors that have caused me to stick with the program:
- I had a major wake-up call with my mother's death and fear of walking the same road she did keeps my nose to the grindstone. I'm not into pain and suffering or amputated body parts, etc.
- Having this wonderful WOE and WOL. I was never able to stick to the food pyramid because of all the ills it caused me like hypoglycemic symptoms, reflux, and etc. Now that I've found a way to eat that works, I'm not even tempted to go back to the carbage.
- I'm downright stubborn :D . I have failed so many times in the past when it came to exercise and eating, that I'm sick of that road. So sheer tenacity keeps me plugging right along. I had to get to the point where I was totally disgusted with myself and where I was. Only then did I find the strength to fight back.
- After all the benefits I've gotten from this WOE, I don't know why I would ever do anything different.

How do I foster the belief in myself? I look to the past - where I came from and where I'm at now. You can't argue with success. And if nothing else, I know that I'm doing my best and what I can. Doing anything different would be self-defeating and start a vicious cycle I don't want to repeat. Sure, I get disgruntled from time to time, but then Janet gives me a wake-up call and I get my thoughts back in order :p!

How's that for a start ;)?

[backpacker]

I'm not sure what really keeps me going, other than the fear of becoming a large man with health problems. Two of my brothers are obesce, and my father is pretty close - he has battled his whole life to maintain a size he is happy with. In 2002 I was on my way up to join the 3 of them as I hit 230 pounds on the scale. At 6' tall I was not too happy with how I looked, or felt for that matter. :mad:

One of my brothers had been dropping a lot of weight on PP (which he has since gained most back after abandoning the plan completely). I ran out and got the original PP book and dug in. About a year later I was down to 185, and I felt great! I was only 10 pounds from my goal. :)

...and then I lost sight of it. I went through an intensely stressful part of my life that lasted about 2 years. On the other side I found myself at 195 and creeping up. :(

I figured I'd just exercise more and I'd be fine. Well that didn't really work because I didn't really exercise. I finally hit 212 pounds last October and realized what was really happening. I was making terrible food choices and not even considering what I was doing to myself.

I went out and got the Protein Power Life Plan book and plowed through it, soaking up all the new info and remembering all that I had forgot.

5 months later I'm at 188 pounds and I feel great (average loss of about 5 pounds per month). My goal is still 175, so I'm only 13 pounds away. If I'm at 175 for my 30th birthday in December - I will be one seriously happy camper! :D

So, I've lost weight once, gained over half back, and realized that diet for me needs to be a WOL, and not just a *diet*.

[Billie]

Backpacker welcome first of all! And I do think fear is a great motivator. But it still takes something special to get to where you were to where you are. That is the success and the stuff I am talking about. Way to go!

[Shadow]

Backpacker - Welcome :) . What a great story! Some people have to make a couple of attempts before finally getting this WOE to become a lifestyle. It sounds like you're firmly on the right road now - congratulations!

[Always]

Hello all...

What keeps me going is watching other people which may sound a little weird, but when I'm walking on the street or in a store or in the mall or in the airport I look around me at all of the overweight or obese women huffing and puffing or walking with a cane because their knees can't support them and I tell myself that I won't let that happen to me...no way...no how.

I watch people go for the vending machine or the box of candy someone's selling for their kids and I cringe at all that sugar. In my mind I think of sugar as poison, plain and simple.

Another motivator for me is that all of our customers know that I low carb and if I were to stop, it may cause them to stop and I don't want to let them down. I try to help them by leading by example and for me, this is a strong motivator.

See ya!

[Billie]

Nice Mary those intrinsic values is somewhere I really want to get in all things in my life. Really feeling the need like you do with your customers to do things right.

Whatever feeds us or motivates us, is really important. I think we have to know that motivation or what it is to continually feed ourselves and to continually grow.

[realruth]

What keeps me going..?

I feel great...my health has improved out of sight...the weight loss was a bonus.

No matter what, I will never go back to eating a high carb diet as my body doesn't like carbs.
Even now I'm maintaining I've found that I cannot go over 30ecc (for now) without regaining some of the weight...but after sorting out my hormones I may be able to increase that slightly with good carbs ,as in fruit, veges

I've been totallyh on plan for 2.5 yrs now and am so thankful for finding PP and the various support boards that have helped me along the way.

Ruth