Can’t get motivated? Have some FUN!

Ever find it excruciatingly difficult to get motivated to workout? Yeah, I’ve been there, too. Even after being really good for a long time and getting great results sometimes I just don’t want to do it and I’m finally figuring out why. I’m the type of person who always wants something new and different. Even though I LOVE TurboFire and P90X and both have tons of variety, sometimes I just want to do something either completely new or that I haven’t done in a long time.

I love going outside, but where I live the winter is very predictable…rain, rain, and more rain…or cold and overcast. Having the best fitness programs available in my living room is fantastic, but being a stay-at-home mom I start to feel claustrophic at times and just need to get out in the fresh air. So I’ve learned to mix it up. On the days when the weather is cooperating I head out for a walk/jog. Sometimes I feel so good after being outside I want to do more and pop in a DVD like P90X Shoulders & Arms or TurboFire CORE20.

The key to staying on track, even when you struggle to get motivated, is doing something FUN. Yes, exercise can be fun. For some people it may be taking a bike ride or hiking. For others it may be turning the music up and dancing. Some of us are old enough to remember when having fun as a kid meant some kind of physical activity instead of sitting in front of a TV or computer screen. So think like a kid from a generation or two ago. Maybe we can even teach our own kids a thing or two about having fun. So please share…what activities do you enjoy that get your heart pumping and those feel-good endorphines flowing?

Try it (again)! You’ll like it!

Have you ever tried something you thought would be fun or good for you, found it to be difficult, and decided you’re just not good at it? At some point, not being good at that thing becomes so much a part of who you think you are that it never occurs to you to try again. I’ve done that with many things over the years…running, golf, high impact workouts, talking to strangers…to name a few.

When I was placed at the front desk at the dental office where I was working I was so nervous, but it didn’t take long to figure out how to talk to strangers. Most people just want to be treated with respect and to have someone smile and take an interest in them. Easy enough. Not sure why I had such a hard time with that before. Building that confidence made me start to realize I could all kinds of things I never thought possible.

Most of my life I’ve considered myself to not be athletic. That lead to a life long habit of sitting around which meant a lifetime of struggling with my weight. On November 1, 2009 I started Turbo Jam because I had topped out at 323.6 lbs and knew I HAD to do something. It was so hard at first, but my body began to adapt and change. I lost 40 lbs in the first few months. Then I got sick and got off track. All those years of sitting around made it hard to get my momentum back. I needed a challenge so I started TurboFire which is basically Turbo Jam on crack. I assumed that I needed to modify all the moves because I couldn’t do the high impact stuff. The trainer, Chalene Johnson, is a fantastic motivator and is always saying that our own negative thoughts hold us back so one day I decided to jump just to see if I could. Yep, I could. So no more low impact modifications for me. I choose to do more because I can.

Yesterday, I was walking around the school parking lot to pass the time while my son was at basketball practice. My goal was to do 20 laps before the hour was up. As I came around the last corner of lap 14 it occurred to me that perhaps I could jog a lap, so I did. As I came around the last corner of lap 15 it occurred to me that I felt great and perhaps I could jog another lap, so I did. And another. By the end of lap 17 it occurred to me that I could keep going, but I wasn’t wearing the right shoes and my jeans were falling down. Jogging with one hand keeping your pants up is not ideal, though probably hilarious to watch. I went back to walking and ended up completing 25 laps in all. Now I’ve caught the running bug and need to do some shoe shopping.

The point of all this is that we should all take a few moments to think about what we would like to do, but assume that we can’t. Make a list even. Then, try it. Sure it might be difficult and it may require some learning, but what’s wrong with that? We can turn our weaknesses into strengths and inspire others as we do. Doesn’t that sound better than living a life of “I can’t”? Next on my list…golf. What about you?

Back on Track

Ever had one of those days where you just totally blow it? That was yesterday for me. It started off ok. Well, I didn’t get my Shakeology made until after 10. Got distracted and finally realized I was getting a headache from low blood sugar. Once I had my shake I immediately started feeling better, but then my whole eating schedule was off. Made rice cake soup (it’s a Korean thing) for my family and was going to eat something different, but there ended up being a lot of soup (there’s no recipe, just dump in ingredients) so I decided to just have that. That was the beginning of the end. I find that when I eat processed foods, like the rice cakes in the soup, I don’t feel satisfied and end up wanting to eat more and more. I also didn’t drink enough water and thirst can be mistken for hunger.

So, I ate way too many calories, felt sluggish all day (except for the few hours between my Shakeoloy and the soup) and skipped my workout. Not good. At least now I can look back and see where the train started to derail so I can avoid another day like that. It’s all about learning from our mistakes and moving on. There’s no point in beating ourselves up and wasting time feeling sorry for ourselves. We all slip. The ones who are successful in the end are the ones who get back on track and don’t give up. We don’t fail unless we quit trying

Who’s In Charge Here?

Anyone who has tried to lose weight has probably encountered at least one person who has made them feel humiliated and discouraged. Sometimes that person doesn’t even realize they’re doing it. They may even think they’re helping. For example, my father-in-law came to visit and the first thing he did when he saw me was ask if I had been walking. There is a bit of a language barrier so I said I had since I just came from parking the car. What he meant was walking for exercise…to lose weight. He responded that maybe walking isn’t enough. He then showed me a product that would help me…some miracle cure for being fat.

What he failed to realize is that I do very challenging workouts, TurboFire and P90X, and eat a healthy diet including Shakeology. He didn’t know that I’ve lost over 60 lbs since I starting taking my health seriously last October. He simply assumed that because I’m not thin I’m not taking care of myself. Even though I’m not yet at my goal weight, I have the confidence and self-respect of a person who’s making positive changes and making progress. And yet, after that encounter I felt like all I amounted to in his eyes was a person who needs to lose weight and nothing else. All the pride I had for what I’ve accomplished and the person I’ve become went out the window.

It occurred to me that this has happened many times before with him and others –  friends, family and complete strangers – and every time I let it defeat me. I would simply give up because in my mind, no matter how hard I tried, I would never measure up. Not this time! It finally sunk in that it doesn’t matter what other people think. I know what I’ve accomplished and how determined I am to follow through, day after day, until I reach my goals. I will no longer let other people’s negativity bring me down. So who’s in charge here? I am. We all are. We have the power to choose how to react to those around us. We can allow them to take away what means so much in just an instant or we can choose to become more determined to succeed…not just to prove them wrong (although that seems pretty appealling at times), but for ourselves because we were created to be amazing, incredible people both inside and out. Then, once we begin to reach our potential we will have a positive influence on everyone around us…and that is what’s truly incredible!

So who’s in charge of you? ; )