Things have been a little quiet on the blog front in the last few days, and I apologize to those who actually read this. Having all this bronchitis-near-pneumonia mess has made it difficult to do anything (even pick up toys in the living room gets me winded) so I haven't had anything that I felt was really blog worthy.
I belong to an awesome group on Facebook called "The Downsizers". It is a group of women (about 15 of us) that all have similar weight loss/fitness goals. Most of us are police wives and know one another through Wives Behind The Badge. Anyway, I have been faithfully participating as best as I can over the last few days even though I don't really have any progress to report of my own.
Last night (either to their happiness or dismay, haha) I posted a few motivational quotes and photos I found on pinterest. I figured if I couldn't go and do it myself, then maybe I can help them out. It made me really start thinking of what I find motivational (other than those pictures I posted of my goal body parts).
The first quote that really stands out to me is this one, by a guy named Jerry Gillies (no clue who he is, by the way):
"Make sure you visualize what you really want, not what someone else wants for you."
I can't even begin to explain how important this one is to me, and probably to a lot of people (more women than men, I'd dare say, too). I spent so much time trying to be what everyone else wants of me that I lost sight of what I wanted for me. Does JP want me to be in shape? Absolutely! Do I want me to be in shape? Absolutely! Do I have a preconceived notion of what he considers in shape, and is it something unrealistic for me? Not anymore. I have said this before and I'll say it again: JP has never pressured me to lose weight or been mean about my weight gain. He has been nothing but supportive. It was me that placed unreasonable expectations on myself, thinking he wanted me to look like Jessica Biel or Olivia Munn, and wouldn't be happy with anything less. It took me a while to finally realize that I am not either of those women. I'll never look like Olivia Munn. I might be thin and in shape like her, but I will never resemble her (I'm not half Asian, for one). It wasn't until I realized that I may be able to obtain the body type like those ladies, but he doesn't love them- he loves ME (and he'll continually love me no matter what) that I was able to visualize what I really wanted from my body.
"No matter how slow you are, you're still lapping everyone on the couch."
This one is going to be my go-to motivator for the days that I feel like I have 1092305840 things better to do than go to the gym. I used to rationalize skipping a day or two (or twenty in a row) by saying "Well, I'd only be able to stay 20 minutes, and that's only going to be like 300 calories...why even bother?" When you start changing your perspective, it's easy to see that 300 calories here and another 400 there will add up if you're consistent. And pretty soon, 20 minutes will become more and more productive, and the calories burned will go up. Even a short workout is a workout if I bust my butt while I'm there and make it count.
This brings me to the next quote:
"Somewhere, someone busier than you, is working out."
Why is this important? Because it's TRUE! Someone with a newborn is working out harder than me. Someone with three kids under the age of 6 runs 30 miles a week, works 50 hours a week, and travels for her job all over the country (She really exists, folks, I know her). Someone who spends all day on their feet still makes it to the gym to run 3 miles and do some weight training. Why are they taking precious time to do this? Because they are about their health. They want to stay around, as healthy as possible, for their families and friends, and enjoy their life. When I really sit down and think about it, what would I really do that was as productive as getting healthy, in 45 minutes or an hour a day? The dishes can wait an extra hour in the sink. JP doesn't mind waiting a little longer for dinner to be served. I still get lots of quality time with my baby love L. I'm skipping out on an hour of time wasted on my butt on the couch, on facebook or watching tv. We have DVR. I can catch up on the tv. It'll still be there. If I don't get off my butt and do something about my health, weight, and fitness, one day, they won't be there.
"Stop rewarding yourself with food. You are NOT a dog."
This one just speaks volumes, especially in our society. It's your birthday. What do you do? Go out to dinner. You got a promotion at work. What do you do? Go out to dinner and have drinks. For me, if there was a dinner that was already planned (someone else's birthday dinner at Outback, for example), I'd eat super well all throughout the day. As soon as I'd sit at the table, I'd say "I did so well today that I am going to have some Bloomin' Onion. And a coke. And instead of getting the grilled chicken, I'm going to get that cheeseburger. And a dessert. Because I did SO good today." I'm not saying that a cheeseburger, piece of cake, drinks with your girlfriends, or a few pieces of Bloomin' Onion is bad and should be off limits forever. I'm all for indulging every once in a while. But not under the guise of "rewarding" yourself. If you got a promotion at work and want to go out for dinner and drinks- do it, but make healthier choices. Then you can reward yourself with something longer lasting than fattening, empty calories- like a new pair of heels or better yet, adding to a vacation savings to take your dream vacation (after all, you're making more money with your promotion now, too).
Once you are able to break the do good, reward yourself with food idea, the rest of the chains of emotional eating are easier to break, too.
"The only person standing between the body you have and the body you want is YOU."
As I've said before, no one made me make bad food choices, and no one hog tied me to keep me out of the gym. I am the only one responsible for these actions. As a result, I'm the one who stood in my own way of succeeding for all these years.
"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."
This is especially important for me right now, since I can't make the gym a habit at this point because of being sick. What I can do is make sure I have enough motivation to keep me going until I can make it a habit. At this point, it would be really easy for me to scrap this whole thing all together, and give up because of this small setback. If I keep my motivation momentum going, I will be more likely to get well faster and get back in the gym harder and stronger than before.
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