People ask me how I stay so motivated, that it's so hard to find motivation. And it's very true. But once you find the proper motivation there is nothing that can stop you. For me it's these 3.
1. My husband. He's my best friend. And in the whole entire world there is no one else that gets me like he does. We have been married now for a little over 10 years. And I have cherished every day by his side. When we got married it was till death do us part. And I don't want that parting to come too soon. I want to spend as much time as I have on this earth with him. For that we both have to be healthy. I want the rest of our lives together to be as good as we can possible make them.
2. My daughters. I have 3. The two older ones are my step daughters and we only have one daughter together. I want to show them how to be as healthy as they can. I was starting to watch my baby girl, who is 10 now, make the same poor choices I was making. I was being a horrible example for her and she was learning my awful eating habits. I mean there were days where I would eat a bag of Cheetos for lunch. Sometimes with hot melty cheese. I didn't want her to one day wake up a couple years from 40 and weigh 280 pounds. Now is the time to show her how to be healthy and active. Actually it was probably many years ago, but I'm doing it now.
3. My parents. They took care of me when I was young. And they took care of my grandparents when they got older. My mom could have easily put them into the nursing home. But she felt that had she made that decision they would not have lasted very long. So she took care of them right up to the end. I want to be able to do the same for my mom and my dad. They deserve to always be surround by love and family. And when the time comes I can't take very good care of them if I don't take care of myself.I know most everyone says that we have to do it for ourselves, for me it's not true. If I was going to get my life on track for myself, I would have done it years ago. I had to find my motivation outside of myself. And every time I feel like I just don't want to. I think about them and it gets me up and dressed and to the gym.
The best thing about my motivation is that there is nothing like hearing them tell me that they are very proud of me.
My inspiration is my kids. One day my son asked me to come play with him and I got tired out very quickly. He was sad that I sat down and couldn't play with him longer. That's when I knew I needed to do something to change. I want to be active in my children's lives.
ReplyDeleteKids are such a huge motivator!
ReplyDeleteLetty, I have been following you on fatsecret and followed to here. I have been considering a blog as well - I too get lots of the "How did you do it". My answer is the same as yours - eat better, exercise, water and sleep. Like you sleep is the hardest.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have highlighted that people have different motivations. My initial was my diabetes was killing me and I wanted to be there for my twin daughters. Then once I got going, there was an almost zen like feeling associated with measuring and tracking. Now that I have lost weight (around 60lbs since mid august) and am running - the pride that my girls have in me is overwhelming. They are really proud of me. I am now proud of myself as well.
One last thing - I always tell people - you CAN do this. If you are trying and you fail, you are still doing more than most people every do. Most have resigned themselves to a life of inactivity and disease. By walking around your block at night after a good salad (which for means healthy and BIG), you are in the exceptional minority. Do it for a week and the neighbors will notice, do it for a month and they might even join you.
Keep on rocking
Ah my fellow fatsecret warrior, it's good to see ya! And I tell people the same thing. If I can do it then so can they! And when they tell me it's hard, I always say the same thing. Hard does NOT equal impossible. This journey is 100% possible. And once you find the right motivation there is no stopping you. When I found mine, I grabbed hold of it with both hands and will never let go. Congratulations on losing 60 pounds and on all your other accomplishments. Keep up the good fight. Because the most important people who are watching are your little girls!
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