(NEW VERSION) staying motivated on a weight loss/fitness journey

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I re-wrote this blog post as I felt the previous post on this topic did not reflect my full thoughts and was rather rushed. Here are my thoughts (in-depth) on my list:

1. Remember why you started 
1. In an ideal world, you would start a fitness journey because you love yourself enough to commit to changing your life. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. I know people that start off for all the "wrong reasons" or reasons that don't involve themselves as the main reason aka people that start their journey because of a significant other or other people/reasons (think for an event like a wedding or birthday). Personally, I don't think it matters why you start, however, you want it to be for a reason that will carry you on until you are no longer a danger to yourself. You want this healthy lifestyle to be a long change, not a short one. Why? Wouldn't you rather live a long and healthy life as opposed to one that is shorter and full of medical complications? 
2. Follow people on social media 
1. Honestly not much to add on here. 
3. Take progress photos/measurements 
1. I will just add to make sure you measure yourself on the same day/time of the week to keep more accurate measurements. Additionally, make sure you also do that when you weight yourself. 
2. Be sure to have the same clothing every time you step on the scale. You might not think clothing makes a difference but trust me it does. Have an outfit set aside for every Monday (or whatever day of the week you weigh yourself) 
3. Make sure that when you pose for photos that YOU DON'T CHEAT YOURSELF. Have a similar pose/position you can replicate. Additionally, do not tilt your phone at an angle. It can be tempting but this change drastically changes the way your body looks. Keep it simple and replicable. 
4. Celebrate the little things in life 
1. Just don't go crazy with the cheat meals. This is what I mean: about a month or so ago, I did two maintenance weeks. One of the weeks (the last one) I indulged a bit more than normal on delicious, fatty foods. Big mistake. Getting back on the grind was so much harder.  I craved more junk food than before. 
5. Go shopping 
1. Now, I haven't bought that many clothing since I've lost weight. The reason being is that I don't need it. Thankfully all the pants (except for 2 pairs) continue to fit me because of the material. However, gym clothing was something I really did need. All of the clothing I had was from years ago (freshman year of college they were bought). As faithful to me as they have been, I needed replacements. 
2. THIS IS A BIG THING: I suggest going shopping after losing some weight. Being honest and direct here, it is better when you have lost a significant amount of weight. Why? Because the clothing might not fit you the way you would want it to or you might not see a difference in size as you think/expect it to. Unless you are someone strong and can handle it, please don't go in expecting large changes in your size. The point is to STAY MOTIVATED not to lose motivation in this. If you are someone that won't back out because the experience didn't live up to its expectation, then, by all means, go shopping.