How can I go from being incredibly motivated to losing that motivation completely & gaining nearly 10 lbs in 2 months? In the big scheme of things, those 10 lbs are NOTHING. So you lost your motivation for a couple months? So what! You've lost 10 lbs. before (for some of us, even more!), & you know for a fact that you could do it again. Don't mope. Don't throw a pity party (you better believe I did when I got on that scale & saw 231. I was furious with myself). Just make the change & do it. Whenever I lose track of what I want most, which is to be fit, feel good & love myself, I ask myself these three questions.
1] Are you surrounding yourself with positive influences?
2] Are you lacking support?
3] Are you lacking confidence & how can you make it better?
By putting yourself into a situation where you're surrounded by Oreos & ice cream, you're kind of asking for it. Unless you have amazing self control, like my darn husband who could be placed in a room flooded by donuts & Mountain Dew, but still be thinking of broccoli & water.. Seriously?! I will NEVER be that person. Self control is one of my most difficult challenges. I never portioned any of my meals, I just ate. Portion control was completely out of the question 3 years ago.. Man, I wish I could slap my past self right in the face!
A few months ago, I bought a kitchen scale & it is now my best friend. You could probably say that I am slightly obsessed with measuring portion sizes. A full shelf of my pantry is dedicated to baggied, portioned snacks. I just love it!
Whenever I find that my house is slowly filling up with tasty, sugary goodies, that's when I notice that I'm gaining weight. & fast! I also find that I'm getting more restless & going to the gym less. It's no surprise that when you're eating like crap, you're less motivated to work out. It's also not surprising that when you're working out more often, you're more motivated to eat better. {So, get your butt to the gym, fool!} But seriously! When I have healthy food & snacks, I'm so much more motivated to log my food into my trusty calorie counting app MyFitnessPal & I'm way more motivated to earn more calories by going to the gym. Let's face it, that baggie of carrots didn't hit the spot...at all! Go to the gym & earn some calories so you can eat something delicious or so you can go out on the town that night.
Here are some of my favorite go-to snacks when I just need a little bit of a boost!
- 2 T Sabra Hummus & Stacy's Pita Chips (200 cals)
- Ritz Toasted Garden Veggie Chips & Low-fat cottage cheese (230 cals)
- 1 cup of red grapes & a Laughing Cow mini light babybel cheese (150 cals)
& we ALWAYS have cuties, bananas, apples, & strawberries laying around!
Losing weight is not easy...ever! Especially when you don't have a support system. I am EXTREMELY grateful for my husband who has been an amazing supporter & pusher! The only issue is that I'm that person for him as well. So when he's struggling with motivation, I also struggle.
There are studies that show that you lose 3 times as much weight when you are logging your food & when you have a weightloss buddy. So, the easiest way to overcome the lack of support is by finding a gym buddy or even just someone to talk to about weightloss. I have girlfriends that are also trying to lose weight & I have found so many friends on MyFitnessPal who are an incredible source of motivation. I am part of a group of girls in their 20's who are in the 200 lb range. It is awesome to have cyber friends who are in the same boat as you who can you can exchange recipes with, concerns with, & successes with.
& then I find fabulous stuff like this!
& this!
& last, but certainly not least is this!
I once read a quote that said,
"When you look in the mirror & see no change, & still keep faith, knowing that in time you will get there if you stay focused & on track, that's the difference between those who succeed & those who fail."
I LOVE that quote. When it comes to self confidence, the only enemy is yourself. I have definitely struggled with this & I still struggle with this. When I'm feeling down about myself, I stop myself (with a little bit of my husbands help) & think of how far I've come & all of the wonderful qualities that I have. Then I think about why I want to lose weight.
BECAUSE I DESERVE IT
& I WANT TO PROVE TO MYSELF THAT I CAN DO IT!
I know this post was a little wordy, but I hope that it can touch someone out there who is struggling with motivation like I am.
Feel free to message me on Facebook or contact me if you have any questions or would like any recipes or tips! I would LOVE to help you in any way that I can!
