A Motivational Story...kinda

operator

I have been reading a lot of the posts today, one in particular caught my eye: "Can we last to the Battle". I will not go into her story, you can read her post, but I wante dto share a little bit about self motivation. It is long, and it took me a lot of th eday to write it..but the point is pretty good I htink. ANyways, here we go:

In 2006 I moved to Omaha NE. I was to be laid off from my job or keep my job and move to Omaha, My fiancé and I had broken up, I had zero money, I was overweight (not crazy overweight), and I had nothing else to lose. My friends all told me that I would be back and I would never make it. YadaYadaYada. My parents and brothers were all for it, they thought it would be good for me. So I moved. I moved away from a home town that I had been in for 28 years. I have a big family, and even a bigger group of friends (at the time)...but I moved.

When I moved, I was alone out there for about 6 weeks. I had never been away from my home town for longer than 4-5 months, and now I was deep in the heartland. Kinda freeeky.

Anyways, in 6 weeks I had some other co-workers move out there with me too...but they were not friends, just co-workers. So one day, I thought hey…I am going to lose some weight. I decided to cut out all my carbs, run every day, and workout at the gym at my apt complex everyday at lunch (which was a stone’s throw from my work). I stopped buying white bread, potatoes, potato chips, pasta, soda, and beer. No exceptions...I just forced myself not to buy that stuff. I ate chicken, steak, pork, and shrimp, with veggies sautéed in butter..(shut up)..every night. I would have a shot or two of Jagermeister in place of the 2-3 beers. I would have basically zero carb days. Sure I would go out on occasion with co-workers, but I would order a couple of beers, and dinner was the same thing I had at home....no carbs. I also ran every day after work and lifted weights every day at my apartment complex gym at lunch. Every day, no exceptions. I had no one really to talk to, nowhere to really to go, no plans with anyone…..I had nothing else to do…..Sometimes I would go to Chili’s and get a margarita (no beer), and dinner with no carbs. All alone. On most nights, I would go to bed thinking that I was hungry. I was, and it probably not a very healthy choice, but I have a point, trust me.

Needless to say, in 8 months time I lost 30 pounds and I was shredded!

When I look back on my weight loss, it is painfully obvious to me that without anyone to hinder me, and without anyone to motivate me.....I could only hinder or motivate myself. I will tell you it was the toughest thing some days to get on my running gear after work and go running. Some days instead of working out for 35 minutes at lunch time and then skipping home for a quick salad....I just wanted to go to Taco Bell and order a chicken supreme gordita meal with a hard taco and a mountain dew. Seriously......every day I struggled with it...but every day I pushed myself to do what I thought was right and what I thought I really wanted. I did not have ANY motivation to sway me either way. I did not have any friends saying "Hey screw that, let's go to a sports bar and get a beer and some greasy food". On the flip side I did not have anyone saying "Hey let me get my shoes on and go running with you". I had to make myself do it. Even in the blistering Nebraska sun, I ran. I hated it...but I ran....and there was no one to push me up that hill…..no one to say good job…..and no-one saying “Ah forget that..we like you the way you are”. It was all up to me and I did it for 9 months.

If I was not out in Nebraska all alone, I would not have motivated myself and worse off, my friends would not have motivated me. Hell my friends would have been like "C'mon, dude...drink this beer...and this one...and this one...and let's get some chili-cheese fries". Seriously. I mean, that little social time wouldn’t even register to me as a "Bad Time"...even though the next day I would look at myself in the mirror and say "Damn I look like crap".


In January of 2007, I moved back home. I married that girl in 2008, I bought a house, I got a great job, and I think I am living the good life. We got a puppy and in our first year of marriage we would go out to eat, do crazy things and not really focus on our eating habits. Needless to say, I now am back to 206. Although I am happy with my life, I am not happy with my weight once again. I have found that it is VERY difficult for me on the weekends to maintain my discipline, and it is almost impossible for me to go back to my carb free lifestyle with so many variables surrounding me every day. This year I have started to make time for myself. I am eating right, trying to log my calories, and I am saying no to friends who want to go get a couple of beers at lunch. I have made my turn and am working at it day by day.


So you can kind of see that with a good life, sometimes the friends social time can really hinder you in my humble opinion. I have gained that weight back, yes, but I will be DAMNED if I blame anyone but myself for the lack of self discipline...because it is all up to me. Take today for example. I could have gone with my co-workers and got 2 dollar pints and a French dip... I had my colleagues saying “Ah man…c’mon TWO DOLLARS for a PINT! You can’t beat that!!!”

You know something, they’re right..you can’t. What will beat me up though is myself….tonight….when I look in the mirror. So I said no. It was freaking tough..but I said no. And you wanna know something…they are still my colleagues. They are still cool with me. I just did something for me and it felt good. I went in the back and had a great Jiu-Jitsu session and burned a lot of calories.

So all your friends and family and your social life need to take a back seat if you feel they hinder you. In the post I was talking about, the original poster said “why can’t I change” and her friends said “We don’t want to lose you”. Well, you need to motivate yourself to do the things YOU want to do, and not care what he or she or your mom or your dad or your sister is doing.

If no-one is hindering you…..you still need to help yourself. If no one is helping you, you need to help yourself. Only you can hinder yourself if you really think about it. All the excuses are just excuses. Cut the "fat" out of your life and take a stand against not only yourself, but your environment that may hinder you in your progress to be happy.


...just my two cents. I know it is long.

weaklink109

Excellent tale of self- awareness and growth. I am sorry you didn't figure all this out until the weight came back, but I am glad for your sake that you have a handle on what to do next.

Good luck!!!

EDIT: BTW, if you are looking for the post referred to by the person who started this thread, the actual title is " Are We Gonna Last to This Battle? " You won't find it via search if you use the title given in the orginal post. It is under motivation.and support.