watchin' my weight Wednesday

Motivation

This is probably the single most important thing that keeps me working out and eating right. It is also the biggest thing that can grow and diminish from day to day, no, make that minute to minute. I mean, really, I need lots of motivation to keep myself on the healthy track. I find motivation in so many areas. I talk about it here a lot by sharing my I-pod choices, my workout ideas, healthy recipes, where to find cute cheap workout gear, etc.

But, am I motivated to eat right every day? Um, nope. (I just finished a couple tacos from Taco Bell because we spent three hours at the doctor and Walgreens and by the time we were done I was going to eat one of my kids!) But, am I motivated to exercise every day. Heck no! I haven't exercised since Sunday this week. (Been up all night with sick baby and sick preschooler... that kind of wrecks havoc on my workout schedule.) So, what to do?

Start over, right now. This minute. OK, so I ate kind of crummy food for lunch. Well it wasn't crummy, it was yummy, but was it healthy, not so much. I ate a healthy breakfast (yay me) and I am making a really good potato frittata with roasted broccoli for dinner (yay me again). I am also going to attempt to take a walk outside with the boys and the dog (if the weather permits) because we have done this every day this week and they are enjoying and I am getting some sort of physical activity in my sleep-deprivation mode. So I feel pretty good about the whole healthy living thing, despite my "oopses" this week.

With all my true confessions today (who knew that's how this would turn out!) I thought I'd share some things that keep me motivated. Once I started thinking about it, I was surprised at how many things I rely on and look forward to that help me on this healthy living path.

Things that motivate me:

• being a Weight Watcher member (currently on hiatus until bambino is born)
• reading fitness magazines and blogs
• reading success stories of people who have lost weight or concered a fitness goal (usually in magazines but I do have a great WW book with success stories)
• tracking (writing down) what I eat and how much I exercise
• new workout clothes, that fit correctly (kind of a problem now but I know it is temporary)
• taking fitness classes (spinning and bootcamp are my favorites- still doing them, it is not pretty but I go and do it big belly and all, and will continue until it becomes uncomfortable)
• running 5K races (someday that marathon!)
• finding new recipes to try and actually trying them
• music, I am still working on filling up that new Ipod I got for Christmas
• tv shows that highlight healthy living (Biggest Loser, Ruby* see below*, Thintervention, Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution)
• writing these Wednesday posts :)
• new clothes that fit correctly (again, not so much in my current state)
• pictures of me that show me in good shape, how I want to look (some people like the ones that show them heavy or out of shape but those just make me so sad)
• working for Weight Watchers as a receptionist (again, temporarily on hold until #4 is born and I reach goal weight)
• having energy to play with my kids
• trying to find fun activities to do with my kids that encourage them to be active
• having the will power to avoid those dang peanut M&Ms at the checkout (that is a victory every time I go shopping!)
• lifting weights, sometimes I am the only female in the weight room and I do not get the least bit intimidated by all those men
• getting rid of clothes that don't fit (either too big or too small)
• just knowing that the choices I make are enabling me to have a healthy, hopefully long life is a pretty big motivator!

So as my motivation waxes and wanes, I know eating healthy, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight will be a struggle for the rest of my life. Darn, why couldn't I be one of those gals who could just eat anything and not worry about it? Or be like my mom, the kind of gal who "forgets" to eat, um, yeah, whatever. Or why couldn't I be a professional athlete, then I'd have to be in shape for my job? All right, that is getting far fetched!

Anyway, so on to Ruby. Do you watch her show? She is on the Bravo channel on Sunday nights. I don't know how I found her but I think she is amazing. At one time in her life she weighed over 700 pounds! Through changing her diet, exercising, counseling and sheer will and hard work, she has lost half of that weight. She has not had any surgery or anything to help her out. Her show documents her struggles. Just because she wants to lose 200 more pounds doesn't mean her struggles don't mirror my own. She lacks motivations sometimes (she has two sweet trainers to help her, wish I did too!), she emotionally eats (um, me too), she has things in her life that made her the way she is (yep, understand that too). So you can see how she is just like every one of us who strives to be healthy. This clip is kind of a preview for this season. She is having a lot of emotional stuff going on this season so it is kind of melodrama but I really think it is worth a looksee.

So what motivates you all? I would love any tried and true remedies from my bloggy momma friends.

Also, my recommended song to download this week is: "Born this Way" by Lady Gaga. I wanted to include a link to the video, but I watched it and honestly it is frightening and really gross. I love Gaga but this one is too icky. Trust me. The song is great but the video, not so much. I think it would be great for hill running and/or intervals. Right now, I am not running but it is a nice addition to my treadmill songs nonetheless. Anything that makes me want to dance is a keeper! Some of you might be saying, "duh, isn't this song like #1 on the charts" but if you haven't exercised to it, you are missing out.

Happy Wednesday!