How to Stay Motivated

Those of you that know me know that exercising ranks about as high on my enjoy-ability list as going to the dentist (for those of you that like both...how did those genes skip me??). So, let me tell it like it is, the bare naked truth. I hate exercising. I hate feeling out of breath, I hate when all the heat rushes to my face, and I really, really, really despise sweating. I feel SO gross when I am exercising, and I am only comfortable doing this around my kids and my husband, and maybe my mom and dad. Who else in the world do I want to see me huffing, puffing, and dripping? I mean...really. That being said, you have read about my chagrin at gaining weight after my divorce and then marriage to my sweet husband. I can't even blame my sons, because I was back to pre-baby weight after each of them within a year (and my youngest is 5).

I jogged/speed walked my amazing (don't laugh!) two miles today. It sucked. I was in my PJs (t-shirt and panties) with tennis shoes to begin, and then partway through decided that yes, indeed-I do need pants, otherwise it is just not comfortable. Note to self-I also need a bra and hair-tie that doesn't fall out next time too. But hey, no judging. I sweated my way through 36 minutes (again, NO laughing) to my awesome workout mix (thanks to my hubby for helping with that). Good music helps. I have everything from angry rock ("Broken"-Seether featuring Amy Lee), upbeat dance/pop (Taio Cruz, Brittney Spears, LMFAO) and 80's (Billy Idol) on there. Halfway through I texted Barrett: "Need Motivation. I HATE this." He replied, "You are sexy, I love you. You can do this." That helped a bit-my husband is the best. When I reached my goal, I hit the STOP button on the treadmill, dripping sweat and plopped down into my son's beanbag chair in front of a box fan I had turned on. Yep. Sexy in the making.

Right???

I am about 15 pounds heavier than a top "ideal" weight for my frame calculated from BMI, and really could lose 30 pounds and still be healthy...but let's be realistic. I am not 18 anymore, when I weighed like 98 pounds (yeah), and I am not even 28 anymore (after I had Isaiah). I would be VERY pleased with 10-15 pounds. This takes time, and dedication, and motivation...which up until about 2 weeks ago had been sorely lacking. It's not like I was steadily gaining weight, it was just hovering. Until I realized that's what I thought two years and 20 pounds (or more) ago, and that I am not okay with gaining 10 pounds each year. At all. It's not like I am getting any taller. For those of you that have told me I look fine, or look great, I do thank you, but this is not me. The kicker for me was going shopping for an interview and having to buy a size larger than I normally (the past few years) wear for nicer clothes. I bought it, though I vowed that I would not be resigned to being that size. What is it with us women anyhow? The number on a piece of clothing or on a scale can send us spiraling into self-worth issues, and a tub of ice cream.

Haha! This is So me!!! :) 

I don't like talking about diets or exercise, or what people do or don't deprive themselves of, so though I know I have blogged about this a handful of times, it is not a favorite topic of mine. I've never been in good shape, not even when I was skinny. I had no endurance, strength or fitness. I don't necessarily desire things like being a marathon runner, having great arms, or even being able to walk miles upon miles. I just want to be healthier, and with that to hopefully lose some weight. Over time. As I make this a routine. I cannot completely cut things out or count points or calories-it literally makes me an angry, angry person.

I found something that is working for me now. So far, I have not lost any weight, but I feel healthier and better, so I know it is something. I had to find a way to motivate myself, so I printed a blank calendar template (one for me and one for B too), and for each day we meet our exercise goal we get a bingo dot on it. We set goals, a minimum amount and a reward. Might sound silly, but we HAD to do something. Here are  our tools. Feel free to copy. We will make ours tougher as we go, but right now we recognize that building the habit is the MOST important thing to us, and so we had to make things not too hard so that we would give up right away. Sadly, this IS a great workout for us both right now, though it may not seem like much to some.

• Goal: The goal is met with 35 minutes or 2 miles of walking/jogging intervals, whichever comes first. We have to get 20 days of exercise a month (which is 5 a week) to "cash in" on rewards.
• Workouts are $2 per day. I can earn a minimum of $40 a month by working out, or a maximum of $62 (for a month with 31 days). 
• We are paying ourselves to get healthy. 
• We use runkeeper (http://runkeeper.com/home) to track activity, and we report it to one another for accountability.
• We may weigh in once weekly, but are looking for NSV (non-scale victories), and though I haven't lost yet, I can jog longer and feel better, so that's a plus!

It's only just been 2 weeks. What do you do? What changes have you made? I am consulting with a friend who is a trainer of sorts for additional tips that can be realistically applied to my lifestyle.