Hey!
I'm Dellen, I'm new to the forum. I have a few motivation tips and an idea, but I need your help!

Many people claim that they're not motivated enough to start or stick with a healthy lifestyle. They're just not "motivated people". See, the thing is, I don't believe that at all! If they won the lottery, I have a feeling they would be incredibly motivated to go pick up their winnings. No "I don't feel like it", no "I'll do it tomorrow", no nothing! They would run to the car and drive like crazy to get their check. Wouldn't you agree?

But why is it so difficult to motivate ourselves to diet? Well, perhaps it's all the negative associations we have to dieting. "It's hard... it's no fun... I feel deprived... I can't do what I want...." and so many others. It's really no wonder we can't stick to it, much less make it a lifestyle!

So, what do we do? We make dieting great fun! We associate tons and tons of pleasure to doing it and sticking with it, and lots of pain to not doing it.

A great place to start is to think of your Why's. Why do I want to diet? Why do I want to be thin? Go wild. Write down everything you can think of, the small things and the huge ones. What will you be able to do that you've never done before? How will you feel? What possibilities will open up to you? What clothes will you wear? How will your loved ones feel about you?

Okay, here's my idea... I think it would be great if everyone would write down their list of why's - or even just contribute what they feel comfortable with! If we get the ball rolling, soon we'll have a HUGE list of reasons and powerful emotions we're going to associate to dieting and being healthy.

Then, whenever we get discouraged, tired, sad, cranky, feel like you've failed or just need encouragement, we can go back to our list and see all the wonderful reasons we're doing this. Suddenly, we feel passionate about dieting! It even seem FUN!

I really hope this works and that we can create something that will help everyone.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Dellen

Oh, and here are a few "Why's" of my own:
1) I'll be able walk around in a bikini at the beach!
2) My friends will be so jealous (A bit childish, I know, but who cares?)
3) I'll have energy and feel great all day. No more noon naps!

I found that when you take the time and really push yourself, you get the best ones. So I'm going to sit on it tomorrow and bring you my full list. Hope it helps!