I have found a lot of really motivating things on Pinterest lately, so I started a couple of boards to keep you motivated and fed.
Whenever I’m feeling like there is nothing I can eat, I look at my low carb board and get some good ideas. Whenever I’m feeling like giving up or skipping my workout, I look at the motivation board and get inspired. They have been very helpful to me.
Please follow me on those boards and enjoy the daily motivation.
I absolutely adore this motivational poster from Healthy is Classy.
It reads,
Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in, day out.
It’s true. It doesn’t take much to be fit and thin. It just takes doing it EVERY day instead of one or two days a week.
The next time you’re thinking of skipping out on your workout, remember that it’s not enough to follow your regime some of the time. You must do it EVERY day to see results.
I love this photo from Melissa’s Running Inspiration Pinterest Page.
It reads:
Yesterday, you said tomorrow.
It’s an advertisement for a hated brand of shoes and clothing, so I won’t mention it here, but the sentiment is so motivating that I just HAD to post it here.
The next time you think, “I’ll start my diet and exercise tomorrow,” STOP yourself! Stop right there and start NOW. Do a quick twenty-minute workout. Plan your meals for the next day and even prepare your lunch so you won’t have an excuse later. You can always do something NOW, so quit putting your life on hold until tomorrow.
I found this video on YouTube and I was strangely inspired by it. It shows images of starkly thin girls and peppers in a few quotes and advice.
The advice and quotes were both helpful and disturbing to me.
More importantly, the girls in that video are SUPER thin, which isn’t my goal. I’d love some HEALTHY thinspiration, but whenever I look for some, all I find are these kind of videos. At least I got a couple of quotes from the video that helped me and I’ll leave the rest of it to the borderline anorexia pile.
I found this story of a disabled veteran of the Gulf War, Arthur Boorman, who transformed himself using yoga to be very inspiring.
After watching the video, I found myself wondering what DDP Yoga was. Apparently, it’s a DVD yoga program offered by Diamond Dallas Page, a former professional wrestler. The program seemed really expensive at $105 for the complete set. At my Five Buck Workout calculation, you would have to workout with those DVDs three times a week for almost seven weeks to make it worthwhile. It’s hard to justify spending that much on yoga DVDs when you can buy so many different boxed set of yoga videos from Amazon for under $40.
Heck, you can even find full-length yoga workouts for FREE on YouTube. Here are a couple that might be good if you are just getting started out:
It’s possible to transform your life, just as Arthur did, but you don’t need to shell out over a hundred bucks to do it. Borrow yoga videos from the library, buy cheap yoga videos from Amazon, or even find free yoga videos on the Internet. Just like Arthur says, “Do not waste any time thinking you are stuck – you can take control over your life, and change it faster than you might think.”
Via: Boing Boing: Disabled vet transforms himself though yoga
I absolutely love this video:
I love it at the 0:27 mark when he claps his hands and the birds go flying! Just seeing him walking through all of those exciting places makes me want to get out and take a walk of my own.
It looks like he also did a video called Eat:
It may not feature the healthiest of food, but it showcases the variety of food available. Next time you’re feeling sick of what you’re eating, watch this video to get ideas for something new that you can fit into your diet routine.
Every time I see a magazine or blog recommend to people to “get a dog” for motivation to exercise, I cringe. I did just that in 2001 when we adopted Sid. Now, Sid was a saint of a dog for many reasons, but he was NOT a good dog to keep me motivated to exercise. He was a high energy dog and needed a lot of exercise, but he was completely unleashable. Despite all the training Mike and I gave him, he never in his life learned how to take a walk with us. Every time I walked him, it was only an exercise in frustration, fear and embarrassment.
If you need motivation to exercise, adopting a dog is NOT the way to go. Dogs are each unique and every time you adopt one, it’s a crap shoot. I adopted Sid so I could have a walking and running partner. He was a good friend and I still miss him, but he was NEVER a motivator to exercise for me.
That being said, I find myself in a strange situation. Sid died six months ago, so Mike and I adopted a new dog about three weeks ago. Her name is Nina and everything I wanted from Sid, Nina has given me. I finally have my walking partner.
Nina has her own problems completely different from Sid. The REASON I’ve been walking her two miles a day is because she refuses to go potty in our backyard. We take her out there and she will NOT do it, even if she is bursting with pee and we offer her a treat to do it. She literally needs to walk about a half mile from the house before she will release.
Just like I said, every time you adopt a dog, it’s a crap shoot.
These last three weeks have been bliss for me. Every morning, I wake up and immediately put on my gym clothes to take the dog on a walk. I don’t ever think that it’s not an option. The poor puppy needs to go potty and she won’t be able to go unless I walk her. Exercising has never been so automatic and easy for me, and the backyard has never been so clean and fresh smelling.
So, after these three weeks of happy exercise, would I recommend to people to get a dog for motivation? No. Having a dog is a big responsibility and if the only reason you want one is for company on your daily walks or runs, then do not adopt. You might luck out and get a dog like Nina, but then again, you might end up with a dog like Sid, who you love, but will never be a motivation to exercise. Adopt a dog for the company and joy they bring to your life. If they happen to be a good workout buddy as well, then consider yourself lucky.
I love this ad for a bicycle trainer.
It tells me to train myself every day. Since the weather in Salt Lake has turned frigid and foggy, I brought my bike inside on the trainer, but it just doesn’t feel as good to ride indoors as it does when I’m out on the trails. I’ve had a hard time getting myself to get my butt on the bike.
I guess I need to imagine an entire team cheering me on.
If you are looking for inspiration this month, pick up People Magazine. I found it very motivational.
I love this motivational poster from Shape magazine. It reads:
“When your mind starts to wander, take three deep breaths to bring your focus back to your goal.”
It has been hard for me to stay focused on my goal. Since I have so much to lose, it’s hard for me to think about being at goal. I find it a lot more inspiring to think about my short term goals like staying food sober, attending my Weight Watchers meetings and exercising at least three times a week. Those are things that are COMPLETELY under my control, as opposed to my weight loss, which feels completely OUT of my control.
Ironically, if I stay focused on those small goals that are in my control, I ALWAYS lose weight at the end of the week. Weight loss has been such a struggle to me that it feels like it is not something that I have any power over, yet paradoxically, I DO have control over it if I just follow my small goals.
I wish there was a way to make this all easier for me, but I know that if it was easy, EVERYONE would be thin and perfect. All I can do is take three deep breaths and focus on my small goals every day.
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