It's our last week in this challenge! I am so excited for all of you having seen progress, having gained confidence, and having re-ignited that burning drive to succeed inside of you!
For some, have your results slowed and that discourages you? Has life been crazy to the point of pulling out your hair and finding motivation difficult? Are you battling the winter blues? Have you fallen off the wagon? Let's all help bandage you up and get you on your way again!
(this picture cracked me up :) )
Check out these fun motiviational articles. Even if you're rocking this and you're not just on the wagon but you're driving the sexiest and fasted dang wagon in the world, these are still some good tips to keep motivation up:
Fallen off the Wagon? 4 Ways to Get Back on Track
- Great! "Gaining weight is a “problem” that can be fixed. So, I thought back to how I felt when I first began losing weight, and remembered the excitement and the high expectations of weight loss. Rekindling these feelings instantly motivated me to work hard toward my goal once again."
- And as you all know from my little materialistic pick-me-ups: "One of the best ways to motivate myself is bribery. I buy a cute workout top or download a few songs onto my iPod, and suddenly my DVR seems a little less enticing. And if that’s what it takes to get back to the gym, I consider it a small splurge well spent!"
- I LOVE this suggestion: "When you have the time, take a moment to list all of the reasons *why* you are committed to a healthy lifestyle. Why do it at all? Unless you know the *why*, you won't know the *how*. Any small difficulty will throw you off balance. So your homework assignment is to list at least 25 benefits or reasons for eating well (however you define it at this point) and exercising. Then put this list in a place where you can see it!"
- Of course we know gaining a pound or staying the same is not the end of the world. Pay attention to those clothes and measurements- that's what really matters! "Noticing weight gain on the scale, however, can mean a number of things and may not be due to overeating or falling off the band wagon. Regaining weight can be due to water retentions, muscle growth or your body adjusting to the diet and lifestyle change. Taking your body measurements and noticing how your clothes fit are often better indicators of progress than relying solely on the scale for verification of weight loss."
What are your thoughts? How do you guys re-motivate yourselves?
I'm going to list my 25 reasons for maintaining this healthy lifestyle thru eating right and exercising right here for you all to help me be accountable (as one of the above tips for staying with it states):
ReplyDelete1. gaining precious self esteem
2. having more energy
3. getting sick less often
4. looking HOT!!
5. sleeping more sound
6. feeling strong
7. giving my body what it needs to keep me away from diseases that can be caused by lack of care
8. living a long long life
9. setting the example for my children and husband
10. showing my family that we can acheive anything if we work hard and stay with it
11. keep my dog in shape!
12. be able to enter races and finish strong
13. gain confidence
14. feel sexy!
15. battle hereditary high blood pressure and high cholesterol
16. be my best Meghan
17. know what it feels like to be a healthy size
18. reap the mental and emotional benefits of being a size SMALL!
19. alleviate stress in my life
20. make more friends - running buddies!
21. being able to pick up new exciting sports I've never been able to try before, ie. rock climbing
22. feeling the incomparable joy of accomplishing my greatest most challenging goal
23. knowing I can do anything I set my mind to
24. helping other people like me reach thier healthy goals too!
25. making myself a source of motivation for someone else as others have been motivation for me
Thanks all for making this blog such a huge part of my success so far.
By the way, Sarah, those pounds you put on are so sad b/c they're not going to have the chance to hang out with you for very long!
Thanks, Meghan! Your last line made me laugh. Ok, so here are my 25 reasons WHY I WILL maintain a healthy lifestle & I'd love to hear all the rest of yours! (it's way harder than you think to come up w/ 25!):
ReplyDelete1. I am so proud of having lost 42 lbs in 12 months. I can do anything I set my mind to.
2. To live a long healthy life
3. To keep my husband on track & motivated to keep on his journey
4. To feel sexy naked (just being honest)
5. To feel clean & attractive at work & in anything else I do
6. To have first-hand knowledge and experience in what it takes to lose the weight so I can share that with others
7. To be firm & muscular
8. To develop a great collection of healthy family recipes so that when I have kids, I am able to live, teach, & serve them healthy meals
9. To have a marketable bod for being a personal trainer
10. To maintain the excitement over "the next big race" that's always around the corner
11. To feel comfortable in a swimsuit (or with anything form-fitting around my middle for that matter)
12. To like photos of myself again(just bought new camera that gets delivered this week- watch out FB- you're going to be inundated in 2010!) Along w/ that, to actually be pictured IN my scrapbook this year.
13. To learn every triumph and failure possible in the weight loss journey so I can help others on their journeys
14. To not become obese as it's in my genes to be
15. To be a mom my future kids think is beautiful and are proud to have seen around their friends & classmates, helping out in the classroom, etc., for them to not be embarassed by how I look.
16. To keep my hormones at manageable levels, mood normalized, take out the peaks and troughs
17. To smile when I slip on a pair of J Crew pants
18. To be able to shop those size small clearance racks at stores, since all the mediums and larges are always gone first
19. To have more energy every day
20. To have the strength to be a supermom doing a million things at once
21. To not get out of breath on stairs or moving things around
22. To be happy & confident
23. To develop a tastebud that enjoys eating veggies & more raw foods
24. To hit my race goals ahead of me in my lifetime
25. To keep this EAR TO EAR grin on my face b/c I am so proud of what I've accomplished :)
I like the list idea; one thing I would add to my list would be feeling sexy no matter what I'm wearing. I say this because today I did not feel sexy in my clothes, but it was a good thing. The pants that I wore to work today made me look like I had a saggy butt because they are TOO BIG! I love it. This is my motivation right now; noticing my clothes, that fit just right only weeks ago, are now too big for me wear. By the time I’m done losing weight I might not have any clothes to wear, but at least I’ll look good naked :)
ReplyDeleteLeah, you made me laugh so hard on your last line!
ReplyDelete