Sharing My Simple Tactics to Stay Motivated

Hi everybody,

It almost goes without saying that many of us know what a struggle it can be to maintain a steady, healthy, weight loss that includes regular exercise and more healthy, portioned food choices. Well, this time around, something really changed in me. I think it's because my motivation is no longer *vanity* but just plain wanting to feel great again and, despite the pretty nurses, hanging out in hospitals is not my idea of fun.

So, here are some really simple tactics I use to keep myself motivated. In some instances, I might seem hard on myself but I look at this as REdisciplining myself.... and self-discipline can be the most difficult disciplining of all. It's a bit lengthy but it covers a lot of ground. Here goes:

1. NO MORE NEGATIVITY: Easier said than done? I just refuse to feel bad about anything that doesn't go as expected any more. It's inevitable that my hand is going to reach for an unplanned cookie every now and then. If it succeeds, I just log it and it goes towards my calories -- no drama, no guilt, no fanfare. I'm an adult. I know what happened. I know it's a sign I must be more vigilant, but there's absolutely no practical purpose to making it an emotional issue. Could there be a bit of an emotional twinge accompanying the deviation? Sure. But, am I going to dwell on it? No. I'm not going to let my head invent a huge story around it. I just move on. Next time I'm at that "meeting hall", or wherever the snacks are, I'll have an apple with me, or eat one wit a glass of water, in advance. I can use the experience to adapt. Nuff said...

2. HOME EXERCISE: I have an elliptical in front of a TV. I connect my computer to the TV and play a movie, or TV series, that I absolutely love to pieces (no pun intended, but my favorite series is Dexter, and I love Poker After Dark). Before I know it, 30-45 minutes is gone and I can either continue another 15 min if I want, or watch the rest of the show while drinking water. I've read plenty of times that 30-45 min, 4x week has significant benefits, and anything beyond that is not necessarly better. Besides, if you burn cals that bring you under 1000ca/day, you're inviting a "famine response" with an ensuing weight gain. A 30-60 min aerobic/elastic bands./etc routing in front of your absolute favorite shows will keep you going almost effortlessly. If that doesn't do it for you, find your thing whatever it is.

3. OUTDOOR EXERCISE: I know many people are perfectly fine listening to music. I'm not one of them so I don't kid myself and force it on me. I love talk radio because it draws me in and makes me think. I like listening to the varying perspectives of the callers and the hosts' way of integrating them into the show. Audio stimulates me; video calms me... physicality is in the middle. Those occupy "front, middle, and back" channels. Find out your layout... what stimulates you... what puts you into trance... and what is the bridge?

If I am not mentally stimulated, OR visually calmed, on a walk, I will feel tedium and begin noticing aches and pains. I will hear an argument begin in my head as to whether, or not, I really need to do that extra loop, or go that extra mile. So, what I do to keep things interesting are as follows:

a. I get in my car and measure .5, .75, 1, and 1.5 miles from my residence. I originally started at 1 mi (22 min)/day. But, however far I want to walk, I have already marked the halfway points. If I was going to do a mile, I'd walk to the .5 mile point and then, the rest is easy because in my mind, it is simply a walk home. The sense of choice is removed. It's not a matter of "Do I keep going, or not?", it's just a matter of turning around and going home which actually makes me feel a little better because my subconscious knows my bed, fridge and bathroom (all the comfort zones) await me.

b. I have a smartphone so I use an app called IMapMyRun. Not only does it literally trace my route on a map, but it keeps track of time and speed. I love having these measurements available. It then saves it in an online acct and each walk gets its own link so I can post it to my Facebook. It's also a social media setup (non competiton to this site, its not about food and exercise, just route tracing), so you, and others, can view each other's walks, and find other really cool routes to walk in your area. I found such a great walk last week, that I was easily motivated to walk 5.8 miles when my usual had been 2-3. It also has a 3D flyover function which is really cool.

4. WALK WHENEVER POSSIBLE. If I am not pressed for time, I will walk anywhere in town that is 2 miles away. I don't mean for heavy duty shopping but rather for a trip to the convenience store 1 mile away, or to do some online work at the Starbucks 1.5 miles away. The challenge here (which you just have to plow through) is the part of the mind that says, "But what if I get an emergency call and have to get somewhere immediately but don't have my car?!" Well, if you're that in demand, that's one thing, find a way to adapt, like for as few times as that might happen, you can call for an emergency cab ride back to your car.

a. If I'm going to a place more than a few miles away, I will sometimes park .5 mile away and walk the rest of the way. Then I walk back and I've done my 20-30 min for the day. Combining exercise with required activities in this way is hugely uplifting. Just last week, I had to make a quick visit to a hospital about 5 mi away. When I got there, I made plans to meet a friend for lunch 1 mi from the hospital. So when I was done there, I walked to meet my friend at the restaurant, then walked back. Total added time 40 min (big whoop, huh?), exercise for the day... DONE!

5. WHAT DOESN'T KILL ME MAKES ME STRONGER. Perhaps this is a bit macho, but I believe there is a grain of truth to it. One study, for instance, showed that cold water swimmers had stronger than avg immune systems. So, as I live in a 4-season region, I will not let ANY weather conditions defeat me. I have walked in blizzards, rain storms, and heat. Of course I do this intelligently. When conditions are more challenging, I plan with intelligence. I either bring adequate water, or make sure I am passing water sources where I can replenish. In extreme conditions, I do not trek to remote regions. In blizzards, or nor'easters, I'll stick to routes through thickly settled neighborhoods and plan to pass convenience stores. I also make sure I know of at least ONE available public bathroom. All it takes is one really bad experience to provide the excuse for falling off the exercise wagon so I plan for contingencies. If I walk on a hot day, I drink as much water as I can possibly stomach BEFORE I even start. If it's cold out, I might go light on the hoodie but I focus heavily on keepint the extremeties warm -- gloves, hat, face mask.

My experience is that the elements make me stronger, as in "Use it, or lose it." Just like weight lifting makes the body strengthen and grow the muscles, so does walking in the elements help make a person more hardy. NOTE: Each person's health situation is different, so they should always check with a doctor before taking on a new way of exercise.

6. SELF-DISCIPLINE: Last night, I went for a 1.2mi walk at 12:30 am in 16F degrees temp. Was it cold? Heck yes! Did I have a head cold? YES. Was I tired? YES. Did I hear excuses in my head? YES, "You have a cold, you're tired, you're gonna get even more sick." But I heard another voice say, "By the time it takes you to come up with the next 10 excuses, we could be halfway done." So, out I went. I even wondered about coyotes that late at night. Big deal. S*** happens. What should, and does, concern me more, is what will happen if I fall into the trap of allowing myself to continually put off missed exercise until tomorrow. I showed myself that I wasn't willing to put up with that stuff. Now, if I have the flu... that's another story. If my doctor gave me special instructions, that's another story... you have to work with those things in mind... but all things being normal, it's important to discipline yourself and that means making good on your exercise even when it's supremely inconvenient. We're talking 30 min here, folks... 30 minutes.

7. FOOD 'TUDE. I only speak for me when I say that I'm not going to be able to stick to an unnatural regimen of forcing myself to eat the same stuff every day, or from a list that looks like a hospital menu. I have a friend who tells all her friends every morning, "Yep, I just finished my egg and my toast" as if she's proud that she's locked into a life sentence with that egg and toast. I've watched over the years, and people who do that tend to fail miserably. Last night she told me she broke out and had a hot fudge sundae. She called it a cheat. I told her she would continue this path unless she accepted that sundae as a choice, logged it and then disciplined herself to stay on the wagon and walk a But, to get locked into a bland food plan, or to start chopping thousands of vegetables and fruits each week if you've never done it before, is a recipe for madness. I just make healthIER choices and if I log to MyFitnessPal honestly, I'll become more educated/aware of where I need to go. I'm down 23lbs so something must be working and I am not grinding away with a mind-numbingly bland egg, toast and oj type plan.

8. ESTABLISH BARE MINIMUMS. Some days, no matter how hard we try, the planets are gonna just line up in a way that makes you wanna drag your *** and not do anything. If your plan allows for a day of rest, or an orgiastic RELOAD type meal, great. If not, or that's not the day, then you should at least have BARE MINUMUMS ready and waiting. Bare minimums mean that even if your kids have tired you out, or even if your work was extra hard, or whatever, you'll still do, for example, a bare minimum of exercise that day... could be TEN mimutes, but its important to establish consistency. So rather than do nothing on days that seem to just s*ck, do your bare minimu.

If you're exhausted at the end of the day and don't want to make something nutritious to eat, don't lapse into junk. Have a bare minimum ready like a Healthy Choice frozen dinner. I would even rather eat DOUBLE the bare minimum (2 health choice dinners for 420 cals total) then break out and eat a big mac or a roast beef with cheese and sauce. I'll even pre-grill and freeze a half dozen chicken breasts and healthy chili, etc for just such occasions. I would also rather eat a large protein bar, or a large scoop of protein in 2 cups of water than to break out just because I was too tired to prepare a healthy meal. Determine bare minimums that you can easily do/make in a pinch when your energy, or time, is in short supply.

9. FIND OUR YOUR RMR (RESTING METABOLIC RATE). Mine is a blazing 3300... yes, I burn 1lb every day doing absolutely nothing. If yours is higher than usual, you could be eating too little which will leave you irritable, slow your metabolism down and cause your weight loss to plateau and even reverse. This can be discouraging. Sometimes your challenge is that you have to eat MORE. Despite a love for food, its not as easy or fun as it sounds, but if you're to lose weight, you have to get adequate calories.

10. KNOW YOUR ADL BURN. ADL = Activities of Daily Living. If you work at a desk all day and just go home and chill, etc. your ADLs are going to be much lower than someone who is a landscaper, or an auto mechanic. Many people do not even know to account for ADLs but not accounting for them can slow your weight loss if your cal burn causes your daily net cals to go too low. Just imagine, if your RMR is higher than average, and you dont factor ADLs, and you exercise 30-60 min each day. Combined, this can bring your cals too low and you'll never know other than feeling tired, ravenous and hitting a plateau and breaking out into a carb binge. Know your ADL's.

And that's about it for now.... i know this was long but, in reality, it takes only about 5-6 min to read. I know some people know these things already but I'm sure more don't.... in either case, I hope some of you find this helpful. We need all the help we can get.

Best wishes,
Eric