AHH!!!!
My brother said it best when we were chatting yesterday. He commented how when we were in our teens and twenties, if we gained 10 pounds, we could lose it in a month or two but as we've hit 30s and closer to (and in 40s), it takes 4-6 months to lose it and how we always start out with great intentions and motivations but somewhere in the 3rd month, we say, "screw it, I don't care anymore."
I couldn't have agreed more. That's the wheel I've been on the last two years. Truly.
Great intentions, crappy long term follow through.
I've broken a few spokes off the wheel these last 6 months, though. I've really changed how I eat although I do need to stay diligent regarding that. To that end, I caved and spent a lot more money than I needed to and bought a Vitamix. I have been eyeing it for over a year and I have been trying very hard to get teens and myself on the path of natural vs processed choices. I learned that for us, a big part of hte problem was convenience and speed. We want to do something quick and easy when we are hungry. Soups and smoothies, dips, sorbets, ice cream and even some doughs can be made in a snap in this machine. Especially useful b/c it came with a recipe book. PLUS, it can be cleaned in 1 minute. Super great.
See? Homemade Caprese Soup on Day 1.
Today I started the day with a Green Smoothie. Awesome!
As for exercise, I've started swimming laps. My goal by the end of July is to have 3 days in the pool for an hour and 3 days on the elliptical for 30 min. On the elliptical days, I also want to have finished a series of reps for sit ups and push ups and tricep work. To help me along with this, I have a waterproof case and earphones so I can listent to music and keep myself going. It rocks. (Sorry, but the photo is from H2OAudio.com.)
I've decided to break my workout goals up into weeks and months. I am hoping that by removing the vagueness of saying "I want to exercise 3x per week," I can find more motivation to be committed to it. I'm also trying to really focus on how much energy I tend to have and how good my mood is after exercising regularly.
How do you get yourself motivated to move and how do you keep your motivation?
Have a good week!
2 comments:
Just today I resched my goal of losing 10 lbs. It took about 3 months and I am OK with that. I used myfitnesspal.com to track my calories an exercise and I cannot recommend it higly enough. It not only tracks calories but almost everything else as well. I learned that I was getting only 30% of the protein I needed. So even without the weight loss I am so much better off for having a generally better diet. Good luck! You didn't get where you are in a month so it will take longer to get out. Be patient and don't lose sight of you goal during the inevitable plateaus!
It's super hard being on that wheel of motivation! While it's great to hear that you're picking up steam again, you may want to address why those burnouts happen. What we know we need to do and what we wind up doing are hardly the same sometimes. Take a look at the video in my link; it goes over how we get caught in bad habits that distract us from our weight loss goals, and how you can break through those patterns. It does wonders for keeping your motivation up.
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