Day #36 - No Turning Back

I realized today there may be no turning back.  I'm committed to this change and even if I wanted to give up I don't think I could do it easily.  Over the last couple weeks I've been a on and off here and there.  I've mentioned a couple times that I've been surprised how easily I was able to get right back at it after having a failure; something I've always struggled with.  I've reached the realization that these momentary lapses in judgment recently are really more about fearing change and trying to hang on to my old habits.    

Have you ever gone back to something only to find that you really can't go back to it?  For me I think of it like my old college days.  After about 5 years of being out of college I got together with a bunch of old college buddies.  I remember how some of us were married, some had kids, some were still living at home, and some had actually gone back to school.  Like most college buddies we tried to re-live some of those glory days, but we couldn't go back.  No matter how hard I tried, it just wasn't the same anymore. I had responsibilities and a little more common sense as well.

I also remember that in addition to not being able to go back I also realized I didn't WANT to go back.  I liked my life the way it evolved, the things I did in college were fun but they weren't appropriate for my adult life.  I actually felt bad for one of my friends who was still living life like he was in college; refusing to change.

As I have become more aware of how I'm feeling lately it has become clear that the last few weeks really feel a lot like trying to re-live my unhealthy days.  When I was younger, I sacrificed healthy living in favor of focusing more on my career and starting a family.  It's not that I couldn't have been healthy while doing those things, it just wasn't a focus for me.  Now that I'm in my 40's my career doesn't seem as important.  My kids are still important, but they are quickly approaching those teen years and I want to be a good role model for them.

These last few failures have not been satisfying in any way.  The junk food just didn't taste right; the alcohol didn't really help me relax, the lazy afternoon nap on the weekend left me unfulfilled.  The change has happened to me and to be honest it probably happened some time ago and I just didn't realize it (or refused to accept it like my old college buddy).  I'm a different person with different priorities and healthy living has become priority #1.

Day #36 was great day, but it's over.  Time to look toward Day #37!

Stay Strong!

Day #26 - Fearing the Void

My daughter sucks on her fingers when she sleeps.  We tried several things over the years to get her to stop but with no luck.  We already know she will need braces, but the dentists said we have to first break her of the finger sucking habit.  Yesterday they installed a device in her mouth that keeps her from being able to suck her fingers.  Honestly I didn’t realize such things exist.  It was exciting to her to get the device and she couldn’t wait to show it to me or to demonstrate how she talks a little funny now (kids get excited about the strangest things).  However, last night was a different story when she was trying to go to sleep and she realized she couldn’t do something that she had done every night for the last 6 or so years.  She was incredibly upset and it was very difficult to get her to calm down and go to sleep. 

I’m sharing this story because it is a great example of what I call “fearing the void”.  There’s no physical addiction here, it’s all mental.  My daughter’s struggle last night was all about trying to figure out how to fall asleep without the thing that comforts her the most.  Once we took that away from her there was a terrible void that she did not know how to fill. 

As I thought about my daughter, I began to draw similarities in my life: 

• I used to smoke as a way to get away from a stressful situation.  Without cigarettes how would I deal with those situations?  How would I socialize with my smoker friends if I didn’t have that thing in common anymore?
• I drink on weekends under the rationale that it’s my “grown-up” time with the Mrs.  The truth is that it’s more likely that we drink on the weekends because we don’t have anything better to do and it gives us an excuse to eat junk food and be lazy the following day.  We’ve been doing this for so long, If we don’t drink in the evening then what else are we going to do? 
• We go out to eat out of shear boredom than anything else.  These days nothing even appeals to me, but we still do it.  What would we do with our time (and extra money) if we didn’t go out to eat all the time?
• Quite often I eat junk food as a coping mechanism for being depressed even if the act actually causes me to become more depressed afterward.  We all feel down at times, how will I deal with those situations if I don’t have junk food?

It’s interesting; we do a lot bad things to ourselves to fill voids in our lives.  We know they are bad for us yet we still do them because we fear those voids.  Yesterday I mentioned that I didn’t realize how many demons I had to face on this journey.  This is exactly what I was talking about, when you force yourself to look into those voids you start to surprise yourself with what stares back you.  For example, I’ve now come to realize that I don’t deal with stress as well as I thought.  Once I took away some of those unhealthy things I would do to relax, I started to see that I wasn’t so good at dealing with stressful situations in a constructive way.  This is causing a lot of my ups and downs right now as I find ways to deal.

I’m beginning to understand why this type of journey is so hard for people.  It forces you look in places you don’t want to look and see things about yourself that you don’t want to see.  It’s like you spent your whole life looking through a mirror only to discover that it was one of those distorted mirrors you look at yourself through at the carnival.  This is the part of the journey that is the most essential and has to come first if you want to succeed.

-Stay Strong!

 

Day #16 - What Am I REALLY Afraid Of?

The facility I work at is on the end of a dead end road.  It's part of an industrial complex so there's a half mile stretch of road that essentially goes nowhere.  This is good because you can walk the road to the end and then back to my facility and it's about 1 mile.  Since it's right at the plant you don't lose anytime traveling, you simply just go outside and start walking.  Many folks at the facility do this quite regularly.

I never walk the road near work.  Instead I get in my car and drive 10 minutes to the mall and walk there and then drive 10 minutes back to work.  I do this because I don't want people at work to see me exercising.  Why not?

Today I faced my fears and decided to walk near work.  I went out and did 3 loops; almost 3 miles.  As I was walking I felt nervous.  I wondered , "why am I so afraid to exercise around people that know me?".  It's not that I worry about what they think about me, I tend to not worry about what others are thinking as you have no control over that.  Then what?  Embarrassed?  No, I don't embarrass that easily.  Then it hit me, I'm afraid of being seen as a failure... in the future.

You see, if people I know see me working out then they know I'm trying to lose weight.  It becomes instant accountability; If I don't lose weight then down the road those people will see me as a failure.  As time goes by people will notice that I'm walking less and less and that means I must be giving up.  I'm not afraid of what people think right now, I'm afraid of what they will think when I fail.

Ludicrous isn't it?  This falls into that same category with me always trying to predict the future and plan for it.  People will see me as a failure (when I fail in the future) so better not start now or at least keep it a secret so I can fail without anyone ever knowing.

I know this is crazy, but it sure was real today when I had to force myself to walk.  I had to tell myself that no one I work with really cares whether I succeed or fail in my journey.  They're just co-workers with their own things on their minds.  I'm not the center of everyone's universe.  Today was a good day in terms of facing my fears.

------------------------

Pretty good day sticking to my eating plan... and then I had ice cream in the evening (oh well, I'm not perfect).  I did get my gallon of water in and I didn't smoke.  I got almost 3 miles of exercise and I'm feeling pretty good despite being a little sore from all the work over the weekend.  Day #16 is in the books; bring on Day #17... One day at a time!

Stay Strong!

Weight Loss, Go-Karts, and One Big Promise

When I was a kid, my family’s go-to vacation was to Hampton Beach in NH. Some years we would go for a week, other years just for a weekend or two, but you could always count on at least one trip there during the summer. Not far from the beach was the coolest go-Kart park ever (probably not nearly as cool now that I’m an adult, but it was pretty freakin’ awesome as a kid). All I ever wanted to do was ride those go-Karts and I begged and pleaded with my parents every single time we went. However, my parents thought they were way too expensive and so I never did get to ride them. By the time I was a teenager, my parents divorced and so we stopped going to Hampton Beach, but I still always wanted to ride those go-Karts.

Flash forward to 2014, and to this day I have still never driven a go-Kart! To be honest, it’s not like I’ve been aching for years and years about this. It’s not some lifelong dream or bucket list item, it’s just something that I’ve always wanted to but never had the opportunity because of my size.

I’m sharing this with you because of something that happened to me recently. Earlier this month we went on a family vacation. The resort we stayed at had a go-Kart track and the moment I saw it my heart sank. My oldest (11 years old) of three daughters asked “Can we do that Daddy”? Without hesitation I said “Sorry sweetie, but I’m too big to fit. You don’t want to ride these anyway, the track is small and they don’t go very fast. It’s not nearly as fun as it looks.”

NOT AS FUN AS IT LOOKS??? People were going around grinning ear-to-ear. I’m surprised my daughter didn’t call bullshit on me right then and there, but she just nodded her head and we moved on. I was instantly depressed! Not only could I not fulfill a childhood dream, but I also did my best to convince my daughter not to do it as well. My other two kids weren’t quite tall enough yet, and I’m convinced this is the only reason why my oldest gave up so easily.

Oh did I mention they also had zip lines? Now, my daughter is smart enough to realize I’m too big to ride a zip line so she didn’t ask me, but she still wanted to do it. Again, I did my best to convince her that these were somehow “inferior” zip lines that wouldn’t be fun at all while deep down wishing I could ride those lines (hanging upside down and splashing into a pool if they would let me). Again, she gave me that fake smile that kids give you when they are trying to hide their disappointment and we moved on.

Now at this point you might be wondering why I wouldn’t want my daughter to do those fun things and why I would do my best to convince her that they weren’t any fun. That’s simple… because it would have been too painful for me to watch her do it without me. I’m the dad! I’m the one that lives for this stuff! Not only should I be riding go-Karts and hanging from zip lines with my kids, but I should be the one convincing my wife we need to go “one more time”! When we go mountain biking (when I was thinner), my kids know that I will be disappointed if they miss a single mud puddle!

Some of you will relate and some will just not get it. I know just how selfish it sounds, and that just makes me feel worse. Heading into 2010 my kids were 4,5 and 7 years old. I started my blog and my transformation back then knowing that in just a few short years they would be big enough for Water Parks, go-Karts, Zip Lines, Rollercoasters, Mountain Biking, Kayaking and all the other cool and awesome things that dads are supposed to do. My family didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up so I didn’t get to do a lot of things I would have liked. As an adult I’ve done well for myself and all I’ve ever wanted to do was give my kids some of those experiences, but together, as a family.

I wanted to be ready for them… and I failed… and I had to face up to that fact not more than a month ago. To date it has been my most painful realization about my health.

Since we’ve gotten back from vacation I’ve started making some small promises. My first was to stop eating off my kid’s plates. My second promise was to avoid alcohol for the next month.

I’m going to end this post with my third promise… to my kids… by the time you are all tall enough, I’m going to find the coolest, most pimped out go-Kart facilities I can and when we get there, WE WILL RIDE!

Thanks for reading.


Acknowledgement - I’ve been following Sean Anderson’s Blog since I started blogging in 2010. The other day I made a comment on his blog and he encouraged me to go back to the beginning of postings because he felt there was a lot there that I would be able to relate to as I restart my transformation. I went through a lot of his old posts, but one in particular struck a chord with me because of a recent experience, and it inspired me to share this story with you. You can read the post that inspired me here HERE. Thanks Sean for the post. It might have been painful to write this, but now that it’s done, it’s clear to me why I need to get this stuff out.

Weight Loss Fear - Success??

I’m preparing myself for a huge transformation that will begin when I return from vacation on September 1. Unlike past experiences, I’m not just starting right out with the goal to lose as much weight as fast as possible. This time it’s different. This time I want to prepare myself. When you move to a new city, you don’t just show up one day, you prepare. You get your things in order, you make lists of things you need to do, you tell your friends, you get yourself mentally ready. That’s why I wrote myself a letter when I restarted my blog, I needed to acknowledge to myself that although I have failed, I have, indeed changed, and I needed to give myself permission to try again. It was my first signal to begin getting myself mentally ready for what will be an incredibly tough challenge.

Today is another step in my preparation; admitting to one of my biggest (and probably seen as craziest) fears.

Another well-known blogger asked me recently if I was excited to get started. I told him that it wasn’t excitement, but rather fear I’m feeling right now. To be honest I’m scared as hell about this. I stared into a mirror the other morning, and I couldn’t recognize the person I was seeing. I’ve been going through the motions for so long now that I don’t really feel anything anymore. I just get up, do the same thing everyday, and then go to bed. No excitement, no enthusiasm, nothing. While this might seems sad, keep in mind that it can also be quite comfortable; nothing really changes.

My fear isn’t about failing… that just means more of the same, familiar life. Besides, I’ve failed millions of times; it’s not like I don’t know how to handle it. No, my fear is around succeeding. It’s amazing when you spend a little time just thinking about “stuff”. Since high school I’ve been overweight. Throughout my entire life my “vision” of myself as a thin person was simply… me, but thinner. At the age of 42 I find myself astounded that I’ve never seriously considered that fact that I would also change as a person! Seriously, I’ve never even had a mental picture myself as happier person, or a more confident person, it was always just a one dimensional image, same person, just with less body. Laugh if you want, but it just never really dawned on me. Now don’t get me wrong I pictured myself mountain biking and going kayaking with friends. I had all those visions of doing things that fat people can’t really do, but I never really thought about who I would be as a person.

It’s this realization that really has hit me hard. Most people assume that losing weight will only change them in positive way. While it is true there are positive aspects of losing weight. What’s not a given is how you will change as a person. How will my relationships with my family change? My friends? What personality traits will disappear? What new personality traits will show up? What new habits will I pick up? What will I think about my career? There’s a lot that can change when you go through these transformations, and there’s no guarantee that they will all be positive.

Don’t get me wrong, when I say I’m scared it’s not a “run for the hills – I can’t do this” type of scared, it’s that fear of the unknown. It’s like walking into a pitch dark cave with your hands out in front of you. You don’t necessarily stop, but you are scared as hell about what your about to run into!

This is just something that I’ve never really thought about before; it’s not just your appearance that will change, it’s everything about you! I don’t know how I will change, I don’t know the answers to all those questions I listed above, I don’t even know if I will like the new me or not. However, I do know this: The one thing that would be worse would be to never find out! Wish me luck, I’m going into the cave.

Hospitals Are No Fun

It's been almost a week since my last post.  Sorry for the long blackout, but believe me when I say I had more important things on my mind:

This has been one of the most emotionally draining weeks I've had in a very long time.  On Sunday my 3 year old daughter was hospitalized because her knees and hips had become so swollen that she could not walk and even picking her up was enough to cause her to shriek in pain.  For those of you who do not have kids, let me tell you that nothing is more heartbreaking than having to watch one of your children suffer in pain while you know there isn't a thing you can do about it.  To make matters worse, I had to hold my daughter still multiple times for various blood draws and IV insertions.  Every visit from the lab was meant with instant terror and the screams and pleads to let her go home will probably remain with me forever.

Fortunately, this story does have a happy ending.  After several days of testing, the doctors were able to confirm that she had Lyme disease and they got her started on antibiotics.  My wife and I were absolutely thrilled at this diagnosis; the alternatives that were being explored were all much worse!  What had everyone baffled was just how fast the symptoms came on.  On Friday she had 1 slightly swollen knee and by Sunday morning she couldn't move!

Anyway, I got to bring her home on Wednesday and as of today you almost couldn't tell that she had been sick.  The swelling is almost completely gone and this morning she wanted to show me how fast she could run (even if she was still a little wobbly).  The treatment is no picnic; a month of antibiotics, but at least she's home and getting better every day.

So that brings me to the here and now.  As those of you who have been following me for a while know, I have this tendency to look for ways to learn from everything that happens to me whether it's good or bad.  As painful and emotionally draining as this process was, it did help me to see a few things about myself.

This week I essentially lived in a hospital for the better part of 3 days.  I was in 2 different emergency rooms (my daughter had to be transferred to a second hospital in the middle of this process), the OR prep area, and then in a pediatric ward.  During all that time I saw a lot of people and spent a lot of time just sitting and thinking.  There was a TV in my daughter's room, but I could only watch so many episodes of SpongeBob Squarepants before my mind started to wander.

Lyme Disease Awareness Charm

During my time at the hospital I came to realize 2 very important things:

The first thing I noticed was that hospitals are filled with unhealthy people - I know, shocking isn't it?  What I mean by this is that during my time at the hospital, I couldn't help but notice just how many of the people there were either overweight or diehard smokers.  During my stay at the 2 different emergency rooms, I watched as one overweight person after another passed by my daughter's room.  My guess is that of all the sick people I saw in the emergency departments, easily more than half were overweight. 

By the time we got to the pediatric department, I was ready for a smoke.  I've been on and off again with the smoking for a little while now and stressful situations always cause me to go "on" again.  For those of you who haven't been to a hospital in a while, the rules around smoking at hospitals have changed.  Most hospitals now are completely smoke free.  This means you are not allowed to smoke anywhere on hospital grounds.  This particular hospital we were at had setup a designated smoking area across the street underneath an overpass.  If I wanted a cigarette, that's where I had to go.  While in that area, I was absolutely shocked at the people I saw.  It was bad enough to see doctors and nurses who get to see the result of what smoking can do to you, but what was really shocking was to see actual patients!  Yes, I saw patients in their gowns and slippers... dragging IV machines behind them... in the 35 degree cold... walking across the street to go have a smoke!  In fact one older woman came out of the building with one of those little pull behind oxygen tanks, but they wouldn't let her bring it across the street (gee I wonder why).  She came over without it, had 2 cigarettes, and then went back inside.  To be honest, I am amazed that the hospital even allows it, but I guess patients have rights even if it is the right to make things worse.

My takeaway from these observations was not that hospitals are filled with unhealthy people, but rather hospitals are filled with unhealthy people that don't take care of themselves.  Being an overweight smoker is only going to increase my chances of ending up in a hospital sometime in my future.  I've started to make improvements and I have made progress, but I've got a long way to go.

The second realization that I came across while hanging out at the hospital was that my unhealthy behaviors could cause others to suffer.  I guess I've always had the belief that my bad habits would only hurt me in the long run, but now I've realized that isn't true.  Watching my daughter in pain was one of the hardest things I've had to endure.  Obviously it wasn't her fault that she was there, but it suddenly hit me that someday I could be laying there suffering from something that I could have prevented by living a healthier lifestyle.  All I could think of was my loved ones being in pain as they sat around me and watched me suffer.  It's one thing to be in the hospital for something out of your control, but it's another thing to be there for something that you could have prevented.  I do not want to have to put my family through that so I need to do whatever I can to reduce my chances of needing a hospital.

Without a doubt it's been a rough week.  During all this I did not exercise and my diet has been less than stellar.  No doubt I probably added a couple of pounds, but my desire to be healthy has also been renewed.  I threw my cigarettes out and haven't smoked all day.  It will be tough but I am committed to seeing it through.  I also started a 30 day weight challenge with my friend, but that's a whole other story.  I'll tell you all about it in my next post this weekend.  Stay strong people!

My Motivation to Lose Weight

Last week I wrote an article called Finding Motivation to Lose Weight, so I though this week I might share some of my motivations. For me, the motivational force that drives me the most is probably “Challenge/Competition”. I love to be challenged; something about it just gets me going. I hate to lose in anything I do. I would be dominating on The Biggest Loser.  It probably comes from my childhood since I played a lot of sports. After that, I would say that 2 other smaller motivational forces for me are “Greed” and “Fear”.

So how do I leverage those motivational forces? Below is a list of some of the things I do to stay motivated:

The Bet - The first and biggest motivation for me is the bet I have with a very good friend. It started last year at the start of the year. At the time I weighed 314 pounds and he weighed 300 so we were pretty close in weight. The bet is very simple; the first person to 250 pounds wins! The prize is $2 for every pound difference in weight at the end of the competition. So if I win (and I will) and my friend weighs in at 280 when I reach the goal, then he pays me (280 – 250) x $2 = $60. He offered to give me a handicap because I weighed more, but I refused as it only made the challenge even greater! The money adds a little “greed” motivation, but I really don't care about the money.  The need to win the bet is what really keeps me going. By the way, for the record, I am currently winning the bet handily (If you are reading this DJ you better get your ass moving).

The Blog – I started writing this blog because 1) I wanted to add accountability, 2) I wanted to share what I know with others who want to lose weight, and 3) Because I’ve never done it before.  As I said I enjoy a good challenge. A few years ago, I started to consider writing about losing weight and being healthy. I kept telling myself that I would do after I lost the weight. Then at the end of last year I started to realize that the process of writing about it would actually help me to complete it and what better way to prove it can be done than by doing it yourself. What adds to the challenge is the fact that I know this doesn’t work if I don’t produce results. Who is going to follow a blog about losing weight written by someone who hasn’t lost any weight? I hate to fail at anything I do so I am motivated to keep at it and make this endeavor a success.

The Trip – This summer I am traveling to the northeast for vacation with family and friends. This one has a lot of “Vanity” but there is also a bit of a competition here. Most of my family members are also overweight to some degree or other. In my mind there is some satisfaction in being able to say to myself “I lost it all first” and since I can’t really say that directly to my family I need to show it in person. I know it seems silly to some people out there, but those people obviously aren’t highly motivated by competition.

The Summer Tradition – Last year we started a tradition that I hope to continue on this year. At the very end of the summer, I take a day off from work and we drive to King’s Dominion (an amusement park here in Virginia). Last year I was extremely nervous that I would not fit on the rides. Luckily, my oldest daughter (the daredevil) did not quite make the height requirements to go on most of the roller coasters and other big rides that usually have tight seats in order to keep you strapped in. However, she did qualify for a couple smaller roller coasters and of course needed to try them out. My wife hates roller coasters, so I am the default parent for thrill rides like that (she’s the default parent for spinning rides). Anyway, the lines were long as they always are at amusement parks, and I was forced to stand there for 20 minutes and wonder if I would be able to fit in the seat. When we finally got close my fear grew immensely. I was so worried about how disappointed my daughter would be if we couldn’t go on because of my weight. Then I saw an overweight person that could not fit on the ride. I felt horrible for her as she walked away with her child towing behind her. I spent the next 5 minutes trying to decide if I was bigger than her or smaller than her; it was really close. Luckily I fit (barely) and I didn’t have to take that long walk with my kid towing behind. I said before, fear is one of the strongest motivators out there. This year my daughter will be tall enough for the big thrill rides and some of them even have posted weight limits. Occasionally I remind myself of how I felt waiting in that line and I know that I never want to have to worry like that again.

So these are some of the things I do to try to stay motivated. Some change from time to time and others take their place, but I do try to keep a list of motivators because sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated and you need to look for something different once in a while. Finding the right motivation is key to success and is unique for everyone who takes the journey. What motivates you to lose weight?

Finding Motivation to Lose Weight

You can try to lose all the weight you want, but you won’t get anywhere if you are not properly motivated. Motivation is one of those concepts that are unique for every individual. What motivates me might not motivate you at all. The key then, is to find things that will motivate you specifically to lose the weight. Below are some motivational forces that you might want to consider:

• Health – You would think this would be everyone’s motivational force for losing weight, but even some people that have underlying health issues still are not motivated to lose weight (even if it meant getting rid of those issues)! The problem with health as a motivator is that it is not guaranteed (people that are not overweight have health issues too). Also, it’s not a quantifiable trait either. You can’t lose 50 pounds and then say those 50 pounds have caused you to have 2 less health issues. Health is a great reason to lose weight, but it’s not much of a motivator. At best, you can tell yourself that if you lose weight, you will have less health issues than you did if you hadn’t lost the weight. That statement is as close to a certainty as you can get here.
• Vanity – This can be a powerful motivator for some. The idea of looking attractive to others can definitely motivate us to drop the unwanted pounds. Many goals and rewards can be derived from this motivational force. Being able to fit into a certain size outfit is often a strong motivator for some.  For someone who has always been overweight, this can be a very powerful motivational force. 
• Competition/Challenge – Competition or simply the challenge of accomplishing a certain task is a very strong motivator. Most people love a good challenge. Find some way to compete in something that requires you to be more active and you will have a good chance at staying motivated to drop the pounds. The big watch-out here is to look for competitions or challenges that are not just in your head. If you challenge yourself and you keep it to yourself, it becomes too easy to pretend it never happened. One suggestion would be to find someone else who needs to lose weight and challenge them to see who can lose the most weight in a certain period of time.
• Greed – What if I told you I would give you $10,000 if you could lose 50 pounds this year? Would that motivate you to do it? Greed is one of the strongest motivators out there. What’s interesting is that most people don’t even realize how much more money they would have if they weighed less. There are studies out there that show overweight people actually make less money than normal weight people. Think about the costs of weight related medical problems or simply the cost of all the extra food you consume. Over the course of your life you would save literally hundreds of thousands of dollars by losing the weight. Not enough of a motivator for you? Then look for ways to capitalize on your weight loss. Combine greed with competition and make a wager on that competition to lose weight.
• Fear – Fear is probably the strongest motivator out there. Have you ever watched “The Biggest Loser”? I’ve seen almost every season and in all that time, I’ve only seen 1 person show up at the finale without losing a ton of weight. Even those who are voted off in the first weeks manage to lose huge amounts of weight on their own at home when they could never do it before. What changed? They didn’t learn some magic spell while on the show, they just simply became motivated by both fear and greed. If you knew in 6 months you had to get on a scale on national TV, you would be motivated as well. You would be so afraid of failing in front of the world, you would do just about anything to succeed. Add to that a chance to win a bunch of money (greed) and your motivation goes through the roof! 

So what can you do about your motivation?

1. Recognize what motivates you most in life. Do you have to be the best in your job? If so, competition is probably a strong motivator for you. Want to get rid of those Type II Diabetes more than anything?  Health is probably yoour biggest motivational force.  Identify with what motivational force will move you the most so you can identify motivators for your journey.
2. Identify those key motivators. Come up with some motivators that are in line with your biggest motivational forces. Want some fear? Make a doctor’s appointment 6 months from now and see if that doesn’t motivate you to do a little more. Greed? Make a bet with someone on how much weight you can lose. Competition? Sign up for a 5K run.
3. Use your motivators often by thinking about them all the time. When you are thinking about eating that dessert, remind yourself that the buddy you’re competing against is behaving himself. When you don’t want to work out, ask yourself how your kids will feel when their father or mother dies of heart disease. The more you keep your motivators in your mind, the more you will be able to resist temptations.

Here are a few ideas on motivators that might help get you started:

1. Got an underlying health problem? Think about what you life would be like without it (Health). Figure out how much money you would save if you didn’t need the extra medications and doctor visits (Greed). Think about what your life will be like if your condition gets worse (Fear)
2. Find a picture of someone who you want to look like and post it where you can see it every day (Vanity)
3. Buy yourself an outfit you really want in a size that you want to get to (Vanity)
4. Challenge a friend or family member to a weight loss competition (Competition)
5. Add a wager to the competition (Greed)
6. Sign up for an event that requires physical activity (Competition, Fear)
7. If you haven’t been to a doctor in a while, make an appointment 6 months from now (Fear)
8. Offer yourself a huge goal for meeting a huge target (Competition, Greed)

Be creative when coming up with motivators and as I said before, think of them often. Motivation is a big key to success in losing weight. With proper motivation you can accomplish anything you set out to do. Without it, you will surely have a tough time.

What’s your motivation?