Motivation vs Determination

How many of us have either heard or said, "I'm just not very motivated to do _________(fill in the blank)?

The dictionary defines motivation as:

motivation- n
1. the act or an instance of motivating
2. desire to do; interest or drive
3. incentive or inducement

So you're motivation to lose weight or become healthy could be almost anything. For me, it was my health. My blood pressure was high, I felt pretty much like crap all the time and I was ready for a change. And from there, I would set little goals and rewards for attaining those goals. For others, sometimes, it could be to be able to get in a new bathing suit, an upcoming wedding, to be able to fit into that ___size jeans, a trip....etc.

Sometimes, you have to create your own motivation....but what happens when you have started on your journey and that motivation is just not there any longer. A lot of people just give up...they become discouraged. Maybe they have slipped and they now believe that the goal that they have set is unattainable. They lose their motivation.

Motivation can come and go and sometimes you don't have control over "motivation".....it's what you do that counts. That's where Determination comes in. You control determination. It is something that comes from within you....not some outward thing that you strive for.

Determination is what causes us to keep going no matter what.
Some of the definitions from the dictionary for determination are:

determination — n
1. the act or an instance of making a decision
2. the condition of being determined; resoluteness
3. a resolute movement towards some object or end

So....no matter what your motivation is to reach your goals....it's your determination that will get you there.

So, set your goals, be motivated, but above all, be determined and resolute in your purpose of getting there.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink....

Huh? What's that got to do with anything?

Yesterday at work, we had a company rep stop by. I haven't seen her in a few months. She's a little younger than me...single and looking for Mr. Right. Last time she came by, she took myself and a couple of co-workers out to lunch. I stuck to ordering something off the menu that did not contain lots of calories, fat etc. The others ordered cheeseburgers and fries with cheese....yeah.

So yesterday when she stopped by, she said, "Wow...you have really lost a lot of weight!"

I smiled and accepted the compliment by simply saying, yes and thank you. I didn't jump up and down and say...Can you believe I've lost 54 pounds!. (On the inside I wanted to, but I didn't)

Her next words are the words I hear from everyone who has commented on my weight loss: "How did you do it?"

I don't know what they expect to fall from my mouth..maybe some new type of miracle cure...or a potion that you take at night and the next morning you wake up and the fat is just gone..POOF!

I can tell you what they don't want to hear - which is the truth. My answer is and will always be: I have changed my eating habits and the way I look at food. I am very conscious of what I am putting in my body. I exercise in some form everyday.

You can almost see the let down in their face as my words roll out of my mouth.
Nope..no miracle. It takes determination, dedication, and hard work.

The next thing I hear will vary, but it is usually in some form of an excuse. This time it was , "Oh, I hate to exercise."

And yes, I have heard before, "I could never do that" ; "I just don't have willpower to stick with it"; "Maybe someday I'll give it a try".

There are times I wish I could put my hands on their shoulders and just SHAKE them!

So, my conversation yesterday ended with "Find something you like to do and then do it". I would like to believe that would happen, but I know it won't.

Just like anything else in life, if it something you REALLY want, you will find a way..you will make the time..you will work at making it happen.

I'm not superwoman, a person with miraculous abilities to just make the weight disappear. I'm just like everyone else, but maybe I just want it more than others.
I work hard everyday, I struggle with food issues, and yes there are days when even I don't want to exercise. I had the courage to face myself, accept that a change HAD to take place, and a willingness to overcome my fears and thoughts of failure.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox for the day. Meeting my personal trainer at lunch today - first day after two weeks. He had a death in the family and was out of town. I'm really looking forward to hitting it hard today!

I Want to Be in the Parade.....

It happens the same time every night, or should I say morning. Would you consider 3AM in the middle of the night, or early early morning? It doesn't matter..night, morning...I should be asleep at 3AM.

But I wake up with all these thoughts bombarding my mind. Things I have been feeling, things I want to say....they are all there trying to compete with each other to win a spot on the next blogging post.

It seems to take me forever to clear my head and tell myself that it can wait and that I really need the sleep. After about an hour I will drift back into la la land, if only for an hour or so.

Just giving you a little background on where my blog title above and post came from. So, if it seems incoherent or just words rambling on, remember...it WAS 3:00 this morning.



I started thinking about life and how you can compare it to a parade. I want to be in the parade, not on the sidelines waving and watching it pass by.

I have been on the sidelines for far too long....43 years to be exact. Sitting, watching, and waiving and sometimes smiling...but most of the time envious of the people passing by me.

I don't want to sit on the side lines any longer. You remain in one spot and nothing ever changes except the parade.

I want to be in the parade. I want to have fun, wear bright colorful clothes, dance, sing, make people smile and laugh. The parade moves, it goes places, it sees new things, it enjoys new scenery.

When you are in the parade, you make yourself available to other people...you put yourself out there for everyone to see....

You cannot hide like you can when you are on the sidelines just trying to blend in with the crowd.

I don't want to watch life passing me by anymore....I want to LIVE my life. I want to ENJOY my life....I WANT TO BE IN THE PARADE!

You have a choice....you can sit on the curb and waive as the parade passes you by...or you can join in dancing and singing down the street.

What are YOU going to choose?

Food - Friend or Foe

Our body needs it to survive, but too much of a good thing is well..... disastrous.

Our cars need gas to go, but what happens if you try to fill it up too much? It just overflows...gets everywhere...and it stinks! All the extra gas you tried to put it doesn't do your car any good because it doesn't need it! Or what happens if you put diesel fuel in a car that only takes unleaded? Ummm...problems are definitely ahead!

The same goes with food and our bodies. Food is not the enemy, we need it to survive..simple as that. We are our own enemies, because we do not know when to stop. We keep shoveling it in even when we are not hungry...even when we do not need it to "fuel" our bodies. Not only that, but when we are hungry, we tend to fuel our bodies with the wrong kinds of foods. Foods that may satisfy us at the moment, but down the road...we conk out.

Our bodies can do amazing things when we feed it properly. Food is not the enemy and we need to condition our mind into thinking that way.

So, now I am climbing off my soapbox, going to the mirror and reading aloud to myself what I just wrote. Why? Because, it's easy to write what you know to be true. But it's another to make sure that you really hear it and take it in and make it part of your daily life. I don't want to just talk the talk. I want to walk the walk.

It's a battle I deal with daily. And if someone tells you that they never struggle with food issues...they are lying. It's a learning process....all part of the journey.

I hope everyone has a wonderful "hump" day. I'm off to meet with my personal trainer at lunch to see what new torture he has devised for me. Just kidding...I really look forward to the new challenges.

Some Questions that I Get Asked......

1. Question: How much weight have you lost?

Answer: I have lost a total of 49 lbs. Just 1 pound shy of 50.

2. Question: What diet plan are you following?

Answer: I do not follow any "diet" plan. I have changed my eating habits by eating healthier foods, more veggies and fruits, less sugars, sodium, and high calorie junk. Sodas have been cut out and have been replaced with 8 glasses of water a day. I am much more conscious of the foods that I am putting in my body.

3. Question: What made you decide to take on this new lifestyle?

Answer: The Ah-Ha moment was at the doctor's office Feb. 2010 when weighing in, I didn't even want to look at the number on the scale. I was thinking, "I hope the nurse doesn't say what my weight it. But no....You're weight is 205. Ugghh! That plus the fact that my blood pressure had to be taken twice...the first time it registered 200 / 148. Next time it was 185/148. That was life threatening! I decided that I didn't want to die and needed to make some serious changes in my life.

4. Question: How did you get started?

Answer: I read everything I could get my hands on about nutrition and healthy living. I didn't want to "diet", but really make a lifestyle change. I quit cold turkey and changed what I was eating. I started exercising by just walking around my house, walking in place, marching in place,
really putting more effort into my housework. I let people know at work what I was doing. I joined the gym, at my husband's insistance. I started watching "Biggest Loser" and was inspired by their courage and determination. I have read cover to cover several times "Biggest Loser, Six Weeks to a Healthier You". And Basically, I became my biggest fan.


5. Question: How much more weight do you want to lose and what keeps you motivated?

Answer: I want to lose 31 more pounds for a total of 80 pounds which would put me at 125. My doctor would be happy for me to reach 145. I know staying motivated is hard for some people. I like to hear/read stories of other people who have been where I am and have succeeded. I like the way I feel when I put on clothes that were once too small to fit into. I like it when my husband tells me I look sexy.

But more than that, I like the person that I have become - strong (physically and mentally), confident, and ready to tackle the world. I don't want to go back to the person I was before. The person who was just existing in life instead of living it.


Side Note: More questions and answers to come another day. Still need to get my Monday morning workout in before getting ready for work :)

Guilty as charged....

Like so many other posts I have written, this is NOT what I had intended or plan to write today. But since it is on my mind now, the best thing for me is to just write it down and get it out of the way.

I looked up the word guilt in the dictionary:

guilt (glt)
n.
1.
a. The fact of being responsible for the commission of an offense.
b. Law The fact of having been found to have violated a criminal law; legal
culpability.
c. Responsibility for a mistake or error.

2.
a. Remorseful awareness of having done something wrong.
b. Self-reproach for supposed inadequacy or wrongdoing.

You may be asking yourself where I am going with this.

I was reading another blog the other day and the question was posed: "Do you feel guilty if you do not work out everyday?"

I didn't think much of it at the time, that is until last night.

I was sore yesterday from the previous day's workout, so I blew off my morning exercise with the promise that I would get some in at the gym at lunch. That didn't go as planned because I left my gym clothes and shoes at the house. "No prob", I thought to myself - I would get in a workout when I got home that night.

Once I got home, I took off my shoes, and my feet were horribly swollen, tight and painful yet once again. So I had resigned myself to staying off of them, trying to prop them up and get them iced down.

But, the guilt from not working out all day started to set in. I felt that I couldn't just sit there and NOT do anything. So, I did some floor exercises that did not require me to stand on my feet. I did modified pushups, crunches, leg lifts, hip abduction, etc (you get the picture). For some reason, I just couldn't let it go - I mean the guilt. Why would it be too hard for me just to say -"Today, I need to rest - tomorrow I'll get back to it". Guilt, guilt, guilt. In my head, I felt that I really had no excuse for not getting in some type of exercise. And if I didn't, I would be lazy. I know I'm not lazy, but that's how I felt. The truth is, I don't want to feel guilty for missing a day of exercise, or eating something that is considered unhealthy (once in a while). It's just another one of those hurdles that I will work on getting over - you know, learning that world is not going to end over this one hiccup - learning that I won't get "fat" just because of one setback.

Guilt - it can be a powerful motivator....or it can keep you from doing what needs to be done.

Anyways...thanks for listening. Feeling better just getting off my chest...now I can move on!

Obstacles are Made to be Overcome....

The video below is about a truly inspirational woman who decided that she wasn't going to let any obstacle get in her way of leading a more healthy lifestyle.

When I first read this woman's story, all I could hear was the many times I have whined about why I couldn't do this, couldn't do that...whine, whine, whine. Don't get me wrong, it's okay to whine sometimes. This woman is determined to not let ANYTHING stop her. She works around the obstacles, she jumps over the obstacles, she knocks the obstacles on their butts!

Are you letting someone or something tell you that you CAN'T do it? Why?
What's in your way today?

Celebrating the Little Things

Hope everyone had a great and safe holiday! I am really looking forward to getting back into my normal routine. After being on vacation, having the step-kids here for a couple of weeks and then the holiday weekend, I am soooo ready to get back to "normal" again.

I know I'm late getting this post in today, but I'm off work today and slept in a bit and then have spent the morning on Sparkpeople.com. If I'm not careful, I could be on there for hours! If you haven't checked it out or joined..(it's free), I encourage you to do so. There are a lot of great people there and the site is loaded with info, tools and motivation for any stage of your journey you might be in.

As you can see from the sidebar, I didn't lose any weight last week...but I didn't gain any either. I was on vacation and I gave myself permission to cut myself some slack. So I was thrilled to know that I was able to maintain my weight at the same time.

It got me thinking as I stood in front of my mirror the other day...what are some of the other things that I can "celebrate" about where I am on this journey. You know, you have to look at other things besides the number on the scale. That number does NOT tell the whole story. It is just a number...a guide, if you will.

So, here's my list ...silly as some things may be...

1. My thighs no longer rub/touch each other when I walk!
2. I can actually wrap a towel all the way around myself when I get out of the
shower.
3. I can bend over and tie my shoes without my face getting red and feeling like I
can't breathe.
4. I can stay up past 9:00 pm without being exhausted.
5. Stressfull things/situations do not bother me as much as they would have in the
past.
6. I now like wearing sleeveless shirts(my arms have a little more definition and
less flab)
7. No more granny panties! (next comment is a little personal...skip over if you
do not want to know) Discovered that I LOVE thongs! - who would have ever guessed
that I would even consider purchasing one...much less actually wear it!
8. I am able to love my husband even more because I have learned to love myself.
9. I have noticed I watch less T.V.
10. I look forward to waking up each day and knowing that I am LIVING my life and
not just watching it pass by.

What are you going to celebrate today?

Tossing the Magic Wand

Instant Gratification

We, as a people, have been conditioned for that. Just look around you. Whatever we want, we feel that we need and deserve it "NOW". The TV commercials tell you this, and maybe you even have the "keeping up with the Jones'" syndrome. Some of even eat to feel this instant gratification that food can bring...that feeling of satisfaction (until later when the guilt sets in).

What I'm trying to say is that there isn't a magic wand, a magic cure, or an overnight miracle that will instantly take the pounds off, change your life, or your attitude. If you are looking for a quick fix, sure, you might find one...but it will not last.

So many people get discouraged or even give up during their first week or even month because they do not see the big changes that they had hoped or expected. They are wanting a magic wand to fulfil their wish. But that's just not how it works.

You HAVE to have the commitment and determination that you are not in it just to see a number on a scale. This is not just about losing weight, but trying to figure out patterns in your life that brought you to this point and what is keeping you here, and how to make that change that you need. It's about learning about you.

One thing I have learned is gaining weight is usually the result of something else in your life, not the cause of it. This is a key element in obtaining the results you seek. For instance, people usually think they are unhappy because they are "fat"...but what if you looked at it as "I have been eating and gaining weight (fat) because I am unhappy." You then take the focus off of the weight loss and put the focus on the cause of your unhappiness. When you figure that out, you will find that you will can be more in control of yourself, what you eat, why you eat, and your outlook on everything around you.

Let's face it....this process is up to YOU! YOU make the difference. YOU have the power to change within yourself. If you are waiting for a fairy godmother, a handful of magic beans, or a magic potion to change your life....you might as well get used to disappointment.

WHAT IS HOLDING YOU BACK?