What was your bottom and ah ha moment?

I've found 4 things that help me more than anything:

1. Find a great and upbeat fitness music playlist. I start playing this music when I’m feeding my kids lunch right before their naptime. (I run around my neighborhood keeping my house in sight during naptime. I think the neighbors probably think I’m crazy but at least I’ll be skinny and crazy, right?!) Anyhow, I find that listening to the upbeat music for even 15 minutes before exercising greatly increases both my motivation and energy level.

2. Find a great system for during the exercise. Some people love their trainers and I haven’t had a personal one so I suppose this will have to be taken with a grain on salt. I find that if I’m focusing on how tired I am (i.e. the stitch in my side) makes me even more tired. This “motivational” self-talk does not seem to work for me and actually seems to backfire. I find that if I turn up my fitness playlist on my Ipod loudly enough that I can’t hear my breathing I do much better. It’s amazing how much more stamina I have when I can focus on music and other things instead of how I feel like I’m going to die in the next 10 feet.

3. Be willing to get on the scale before and after exercising. For me, this is two-fold. First, before I put on my work-out clothing I always jump on the scale. It’s always depressing and reminds me WHY I am doing this to myself. And secondly but every importantly, weigh afterward as well. After I finish I immediately weigh myself again before even having any water. I find it very motivating to see the number having gone down. I somehow doubt it’s all fat loss considering how I think I could double the size of the ocean with all the sweat that pours off me during exercise, but I find it encouraging never the less.

4. Find another blog that is motivating. I absolutely love Summer Skinny (http://summerskinny25.tumblr.com/). Seeing her compare/contrast picture is so motivating to me. This process is long and painful. I want immediate results but that’s the not the way this works. Seeing a picture proof of someone who has put in the exercise and diet effort for a year and seeing the results helps me realize I’m not alone in this and that it is do-able.

5. Another one that's really big is making myself exercise 6 days a week. I've tried and failed so many times when I try for the old 3 or 4 days a week routine. I keep putting it off and putting it off until I give up completely. When I KNOW that I have to exercise 6 days a week there is no room for excuses like 'I'll just do it tomorrow and the next day too to make up". Maybe increase the days you exercise a week? After a month I'm finding that I actually enjoy exercise and I miss it when I don't do it! I don't feel like I'm going to die in the next 30 seconds anymore and I am so proud of myself when I see progress and just how far I can push myself.

I hope at least some of those are helpful! Good luck and keep going! In the "modified" words of Nike: Just do it! Every darn day-just do it! :flowerforyou: