Monday, December 6, 2010

Topic: MOTIVATION...and WHAT I ATE TODAY...

ok... today I wanted to discuss MOTIVATION.

Motivation...it's an elusive little bugger, isn't it?
One day I am literally the most motivated person in the world- NOTHING can stop me...and then, with little or no warning...I am motivated only to do things that require NO motivation.

I think that is why I decided to take the challenge to maintain an all time low weight for a year.
Which would require long term motivation...or dedication, if you will...and whether I have motivation or not - I will have to rise to the occasion and kill my inner fat girl- again and again and again.
The bitch is a cat...she clearly has nine lives.

I don't know about you all...but I am VERY motivated when it is convenient.
When all the elements are in place. I'm rested, not hormonal, things are going well, when my schedule allows..basically when I'm whistling zippity do da and things are rosy- well, then - I'm motivated. Who wouldn't be???

When I'm doing my own metaphorical impersonation of Leo at the bow of the Titanic...
"I'M KING OF THE WORLD"!!!!...well, it easy to rock it out and be firing on all pistons.

Its an entirely other matter  when the ship is going down, you realize you aren't in first class... and your ass is about to go swimming!!!

You'll go from Leo's "KING OF THE WORLD" to Seinfeld's George claiming "SHRINKAGE" ...pretty darn quick.
Or at least I do.... (not claim shrinkage, because I am a girl and therefore do not have a penis - but I do go from feeling bullet proof, to wanting to curl up in fetal position)

Sooooooo, I thought I would address the matter of staying motivated - even when the ship is sinking...or you just want to jump ship.

I hear more questions and comments from all of you on how to stay motivated than on any other topic- so let's talk about it , shall we????

Now, for those of you who don't know me...you may not know this, but...I'm a quote junky.

As much as I talk - I feel there is really no reason to try and say something original when someone else has said it better..so I pulled some of my favorite quotes on the matter.

I agree with Tracy that "Sweat is the only fairy dust"... so let's start with that one...
and here are a few more to chew on... especially when you want to chew on something like a corn dog.

1.When you're wondering how you will maintain your results after boot camp or after reaching any goal you've worked hard to achieve - as well as, getting to your goal in the first place... I think the key is perseverance.


"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did." - Newt Gingrich
There is no pill.
There is no short cut.
But...There is no better feeling than rising to the occasion -again and again- kicking your own ass, and then looking over your shoulder and liking the way the ass you just kicked looks. Persevere that, Thass!

2. When we fail to persevere from time to time....we fall off the wagon, skip a workout, snack WAY too much, or generally misstep on our plan...all is not lost. Allow yourself to make a mistake- but never allow your self to quit... I think that mistakes are temporary, but quitting is permanent.
  "Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit." (Conrad Hilton)
 
"Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries." (John Albert Michener)




Don't you just love that one??? "...the third and fourth tries" - hell ya! 
It's never too late to try again but it's always to early to give up. That's what I say!!!

3. Next time you give it a go focus on what it will take to get to your goal.
You are the boss of you. Now- show yourself WHO'S BOSS... every time I wanted to quit during my thirty days of torture - I focused on my promise to myself and I put my head down and bitched, and cried and pushed my way through it...and EVERYTIME it was the next day I saw results...the changes come after you kick down a wall. 
If it were easy - everyone would do it. 
It isn't easy - it's hard. It's as hard as your abs and buttocks will be when you push through!!!
"When I thought I couldn't go on, I forced myself to keep going. My success is based on persistence, not luck." (Norman Lear)
(sidenote: James and I are fortunate enough to call Norman Lear a friend - what an amazing man. inspiring on so many levels.)
"Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity. "
~ Louis Pasteur 


Now- When Norman Lear (creator of such legendary TV shows as "All In The Family" and "The Jefferson's") and Louis Pasteur (creator of pasteurization and the theory on germs) agree on the same secret to success - well, there just has to be something to that, don't you think????




4. and lastly... this one is my favorite... if you want to do something, accomplish something, achieve something special, something not everyone else can do... to me, it is the secret to success.


"Success seems to be largely a matter of  hanging on after others have let go. "
~ William Feather 
Well said, William. Well said.
I hope you will think of one of these quotes next time you want to give in or give up!!!!!!!!!

I have fought my weight my entire life- seriously...I think I was on slim fast instead of formula as a baby... and now I am maintaining results I never thought possible - but only because I hung on when I wanted to let go. I forced myself to keep going and I didn't quit.

and now I'm doing more hard work after I'm tired of doing hard work!!! But it's all worth it...and quite frankly- it's not that hard anymore!!!!
I'm a long way from ANYTHING that would called a prefect bod...but I am proud of my results and am proud of the changes I've made - that's what matters. Not perfect...just better!!!

I'm wishing you all AMAZING resolve, even when your ship feels like it's sinking!!!

xoxoxLa
 
WEIGHT, WORKOUT and FOOD SUMMARY for TODAY...
Well, all my talk about (please insert annoying mocking voice here) "I guess I'll have to eat more" 
...I ate more...and more... and guess who felt like a bloated mess this morning....ME!!!!

Nothing too horrible, not too horrible at all - BUT - I felt it on my body. I could see it in the mirror. I saw it on the scale. I did not like it one little bit. 

I did a considerable amount of cleaning it up today in an effort to feel more lean and put an end to the EXCESSIVE snacking (although a few infractions still found their way into my plan today...oopsie) and I'm already feeling better. I will be interested in tomorrow and the day after that to see what my "recovery" time is for the weekend and week long infractions. I'll keep you posted!

Today's weight...128. 

It was 127 yesterday (and earlier last week it was at all time low of 125) which is lower than boot camp final. 

Again - although I was not happy about feeling it and seeing it on my body - I am still thrilled that so much extra snacking only did minimal damage - I will interested in seeing how much effort has to go in to recover....hmmmmmm....

Workout: PDS 2 and TAM new rebounder workout (on line) for 45 minutes. I attempted to do 15 more minutes of dance cardio after wards...take a tip -if planning on mixing the dance cardio and rebounder workout (mini tramp) then -by all means- do the cardio dance FIRST!!!!!!! 
To try and do it after wards...it's like trying to dance with concrete boots on - so I didn't do an extra 15 minutes!!! hahaha! Wait- wasn't I just waxing on and on about pushing through, blah, blah ,blah...tomorrow I will do 60 mins of cardio!!!

Calories burned: 600 

Hey! look- I can raise my eyebrows...must be time for more Botox!!!!
Here's what the U.S.S Thass ate today...

BREAKFAST:
4 oz flavored Kefir  
about 10 blueberries, about 10 almonds - organic, unsalted.

LUNCH:
3 turkey avacado wraps
there's a shocker...Stevie is begging!!!
 
SNACK:
veggies...oh, I'm sorry did I say veggies? I meant sugar cookie shaped like star with icing, shitballs.
and...about 5 cashews. I guess I was afraid the cookie didn't have enough salt -so I grabbed a few cashews.

We were in the studio all day and I guess I decided that I needed a snack...I didn't need a snack. I just love cookies. Let's be real about it, ok? I wonder if that icing will look equally lumpy on the back of my Thass...? 
Yikes.













DINNER:
chicken with broccoli and peppers (a considerable improvement to having a bowl of chili with cheese)
one bite of buffalo mozzarella- which is what that weird looking blob of something white is on the left side of the photo. I added that to my meal for no other reason than it sounded tasty.

ONE GLASS RED WINE - a lovely glass from Arrington Vineyards actually - if you are in Tenneessee - check it out - AMAZING place , AMAZING wine and owned by my dear friends Barbara and Kix Brooks and Carol and John Russell...they (and their wine maker Kip, of course) have done a wonderful job of making wine to be proud of...from TN!!!



DESSERT: 
                                  one spoonful of almond butter


yes, I know that I had dessert when I had the fat ass cookie earlier...which would be no big deal, except I was really "planning" on not eating any junk...oh well - I'll try harder tomorrow!

All in all - I would give today a solid 6 or 7 out of a possible 10.
I am subtracting 1 for cookie, 1 for wine and 1 for shorter cardio workout. Maybe another 1 for a few extra snacks on a "clean up" day. More tomorrow...I hope this is what you all wanted to know, and I hope it helps you!!!! If not - then feel free to laugh at the dork eating cookies!!!!!!!

xoxoLa
I'll post my weight in the morning!!!! 
and, no - I have NO idea why the font size also changed mid post...argh, sorry!
:)








9 comments:

  1. Thanks for the post Laura. I had trouble with motivation yesterday. For the first time in months I got ready for my workout, got 10 minutes in and... I just couldn't do it. Usually, once I get dressed in my workout gear I'm ready to go! Later in the day I went for a nice walk in the sunshine and felt better but it sure didn't burn as many calories. :)

    Today was a good day though, 3 1/2 hours of snow shoeing. Not part of the TAM program but tomorrow it will be raining (as it will be for most of the winter) and I'll be back to doing my cardio and mat work in the basement. :)

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  2. You are incredible with these posts! They are always so motivating. Keep posting what your eating everyday, its great to see how your keeping up! You look fabulous in your picture and as always this post was hilarious!!

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  3. Go girl! Like the box of wine! hmmm what happened to that box?

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  4. You continue to crack me up! Thank you! :)

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  5. This is my first time reading your blog, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, you are hilarious! I wanted to share the NEW (brand new, literally) website I launched because of my own pathetic desire to find motivation (I think some ate just born with it, while most of us struggle). Anyway, it's called MotivateorHumiliate.com, and it is the "Big Brother" I need to keep me on track everyday (until I meet my current goal). I'm love, love, loving the TAM, but I know I would made a few allowances if I didn't have this damn picture hanging over my head! Please check it out - you'll see my "blurred out photo" on the front page! Good luck - I will definitely be following you!

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  6. To add to your list of quotes - I try to remember this one when I need motivation to continue TAM...

    "If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down."
    — Mary Pickford

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  7. GREAT ONE LESLEY!!!
    thanks!
    and Ashley - I will definitely check out your site!Thanks for following!
    Lisa, Erica and Shay - thanks for hanging in with me and posting a comment to let me know you're there! Means so much...!!
    and John- did you like your AV shout out?? the box!!! xoxoLa

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  8. OMG - you know Kix Brooks from Brooks & Dunn?? :-O (Yes I'm a little countryloving girl from south of Sweden hehe) It is THE Kix right?? (Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think so :)

    It's funny - I saw the movie "The Town" today and in that movie there was a the same quote you posted: "If it were easy - everyone would do it." said bye Jeremy Jenner's charachter :) And that is actually true! i also liked Lesley's quote! God there are so many out there :)

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  9. I forgot - your dog is SO cute!! :)

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