YOU make you lose weight! What you eat, how you move, what YOU DO makes you lose weight! Now before you get all crazy on me, I love these gadgets and motivational tools. I think they can be very inspirational and help to motivate you to make smarter choices, but that alone does not make us lose weight.

I am so tired of seeing people say "Well I really need to make a new motivational poster, and THEN I will start seeing the scale go down again..." Are you ridiculous?! While a new motivational poster might help ignite your Spark, the only thing that is going to get the scale going down again is what you do AFTER. It might motivate you to get back on track or get you out exercising, but it is what you DO that creates the results.

Another example, months ago I told my friend I was getting a heart rate monitor so I could see how many calories I ACTUALLY burn while exercising, her immediate response was "I want one", and her very next question was "what is it?" She has a case of the "I want to have everything you have, because you have lost 60 pounds and I lost 20 only to regain it and then 5 additional pounds". The difference is NOT the gadgets I have, it is how hard I work at tracking my calories and making an effort to exercise that has done it. Getting a heart rate monitor and not using it, or using it to track your calorie burn while you sit on the couch isn't going to do you (or in this case her), any favors.

With that said, I think these gadgets and motivational tools are GREAT and I these are the ones I have, but I did not lose any more weight after getting these things.

Fitbit : I love it, I love that it tracks my steps, sometimes it gets me out walking more but not usually... I still have cases of the "I don't wannas" and it doesn't make my walks any easier.


Heart Rate Monitor: I loved this at first, I still do, but I really wanted to see how many calories I am burning while exercising. I burn a lot less than the online calculators claim. I admit I haven't been using it at much, partially because I have a decent understanding after using it about how many calories I burn doing various activities.


Motivational Marbles: I love these things, they are pretty to look at, but I hardly remember to move the marbles at this point. I do it every other month when I've lost a good amount of weight to keep it current.


Motivational Quotes: Love these, they are around my house, they are inspiring and great to look at, but sometimes I go into my fridge and over eat even when some of these are plastered ON my fridge.


Woohoo Jar: I love the jar, I love to put stuff in it, but I have to do the work to have the woohoo moments to put in the jar.


Sparky : I have an amazing dog that loves to walk, but if I don't get off my butt to do it, then it doesn't really help lol.

Planner: I put heart stickers on the day I exercise and cupcake stickers on the days I severely overeat. It is neat to see my progress and track it, but I very rarely pass up a high calorie day in fear of getting a dreaded cupcake sticker.

Sparkpeople: This is the biggest tool of all for me, and it is one that I use each and everyday. I have the most amazing Spark Friends and I am thankful for each and every one, but as much as they would love to reach through the computer and smack the cookie out of my hand, it still comes down to me. But I will say that the amount of love and support I have gotten from this site has allowed me to keep going when I might have otherwise given up.

My point is, it's all you baby! Your time might be better spent exercising or making a meal plan than pasting your head on Jennifer Anistons body for a motivational poster. However, everyone is different, and if you need that poster/quote/tool to get out and get the job done by all means go for it.

And on the flip side of that if you are losing weight and getting the job done, pat yourself on the back! You are doing this because you are awesome, not because of anything you have or any tools you have found it is because you do hard work day in and day out and you are amazing!