I'll start out with my thought processes. So much of the battle towards improving ANYTHING is purely mental and I'll be the first to admit that I don't always win. For me, it's a new lifestyle and not a crash course diet so I don't let the days when I lose get me down. "Oops. I skipped the gym." Oh well, what's done is done and it's time to move on. I'll make up for it. "Oops. I ate a bunch of cookies or ate more than I intended to." Better not make that a habit and get over it.
When I work out and start to lag, I remind myself over and over why I'm doing this. I tell myself that I am not the kind of person to give up and that I fight on. I ask myself if I NEED something before I buy it or eat it (in the case of junk food).
You have to accept who you are and what you've done every single day. You are the only you out there and it's a waste of time to hate yourself or bring yourself down if you mess up. I've been in a state of self-loathing most of my life and I know firsthand how hard it is to change that mindset. But if you want to change anything, you first have to change how you think. The minute you hear that bastard voice in your head telling you that you're not good enough or you're too fat or ANYTHING negative, stop it. Just don't listen to it. Start telling yourself all the reasons why you're amazing. Look in the mirror every day and tell yourself: "I accept myself right now, unconditionally" (I got that from the "Hungry for Change" documentary I watched). Why would you want to improve anything in your life if you hate yourself? No one ever wants to work for someone they hate. The first step is to learn to love yourself and to love the life you've been given.
Another thing that I like to do is to surround myself with positive things. I like to remind myself to love myself and I like to remind myself what I'm working towards. Part of that is setting goals and part of that is positive reinforcement. I've posted some pictures of the things that I have around my apartment that encourage me.
Yes, that's another pony.
Yes, MORE PONIES. Deal with it.
<3 - CFC