Get Motivated!
 

Sandra mentioned having a thread where we could encourage each other to get back into a healthy lifestyle, so here we go :D Share frustrations or successes or whatever is on your mind!

I packed my gym bag and brought it with me today, so I'm gonna hit the gym after work for the first time in... months. Since September. I'm a little nervous at how weak I've gotten in that time but it'll feel good after :)

Yay! :D My journey back to where I was two years ago starts today. I was a gym rat for a while and saw some really good progress in muscle definition and weight loss, but after I went to Australia the first time last year I got a cold and coughed so much I ended up cracking two ribs, so yeah, that hurt. Couldn't go to the gym for a long time and after that I completely fell off the wagon. I've gained ten kgs since then and no longer fit into most of my clothes. -_- Change is definitely needed! First step is food - I need to cook good healthy meals and bring lunch boxes with me to work. So that's what I'm gonna do right now! Watch me cook up a storm. :p

Tell me a bit about your goals so I know what to cheer you guys on for! ;)

Oooh I could definitely use a place like this.

I had surgery last year in May. It wasn't serious, but there were complications so instead of being out of action for a couple of weeks, it took three or four months to get back on my feet. In that time I gained roughly 3 stone (about 18 kgs) and sadly lost a lot of core strength.

Since starting work six months ago I've lost half of that, but I am hitting a plateau now so might have to get more active/watch what I eat to shift the rest. Ideally I'd like to lose another 15 kgs and get my core strength back.

So today we went Christmas shopping and instead of parking close by, I asked hubby to park at the furthest edge of every parking lot. We also took pooch out when we came home even though it's very cold. I know I'll have to do a lot more, but I figured even the small things can help at this point.

Yeah the small things definitely help! Parking furthest away from the store sounds like a great idea. I don't have a car so I have to walk everywhere anyway. I should also take the stairs instead of the elevator at work, but I excuse not doing it by thinking "I'm wearing a thick coat, hat and scarf, if I walk up the stairs I'll get sweaty" and being sweaty when you get to work in the morning is not ideal. :p

I'm also considering switching gyms. I've been at the cheapest one in town that's close to my job, but I might invest in myself and join the bigger gym with more options. The "best" part of that is that the bigger gym is right next to my house, so there are really no excuses. I could walk to the gym in two minutes, which would open up a lot of possibilities for early morning or late night sessions.

I force myself to get up at work and walk around too. We have a fairly big campus with several buildings that I work in, so I'll tell myself to not be lazy and go next door or something :p I also get to play ping pong at work during lunch. Not that it's a TON of exercise, but that's made me feel good about being SOMEWHAT active.

I want to get back to where I was around this time last year. I hit the lowest weight that I'd ever been in my life, and I was a lot happier than I actually realized at the time. I maintained that weight for over 6mos, but then over the course of the summer I gained 10lbs due to intense stress and binge eating. It made me feel worse about myself tbh. Then I got into a car wreck in September and hadn't been back to the gym since. I strained my trapezius muscle so I was told to lay off weights, and honestly it messed with my mindset completely. I was out of the zone for going and really hard on myself.

I finally wanna make a change and get rid of those stupid 10lbs so I can be back to my ideal weight again :) I went to the gym today and lifted weights, and I felt so pumped afterwards! It's really fulfilling and I'm proud of myself whenever I finish a workout. I had to use lighter weights than I have in the past, but it's a step forward.

Sandra, I think switching gyms is def worth it. When I got my membership, I chose a gym that was a little more expensive than I was initially looking for but the perks were worth it. More equipment, quiet location, 24 hour... I'm really happy there.

For the past couple of months, I've been working very hard at losing weight without working out. I've lost 25lbs but I was at the same weight for a couple of weeks. Lately, I've gained 5lbs and it's making me more upset than I should. I was supposed to start working out tonight but since I was sick today, I'm not sure that's a good idea. I just want to be in shape, I'm sick of feeling so low about myself. I've already come a long way from what I used to weigh but it's hard.

My goal was to have lost 30lbs by my birthday and I almost did it. I was 5lbs short but that didn't happen. Hopefully, I can manage it by Christmas and then continue from that point on.

ETA: I worked out! :)

I should get on the scale so I know what my starting point is. Sadly the scale feels quite depressing at the moment. XD

Also, being at my parents' house is terrible for me because they always have candy and pastries out. How are you guys with that, if someone offers you stuff you know you shouldn't eat (at least not too much of it), can you say no or do you take some because you feel obligated to? I'm a wuss like that and can't really say no. >_<

I'm usually okay avoiding it if there's simply sweets lying around. I can say no and eat something else. But when someone offers me food directly, I almost always feel obligated to say yes. And even when I try to say no, I'll get responses of "why not? come on! just one!" and then ultimately give in. I usually settle for just taking a tiny portion so it doesn't throw me off TOO much... the self control is hard though!

Hopping into this chat because I could really get something out of the motivation with you guys as well. Apologies for the impending block of text.

Last year, I spent nine months doing a door-to-door fundraising/sales job that meant I was out walking for six hours a day, six days a week. Needless to say, I lost a good bit of fat and gained some awesome muscle tone. Considering I was also receiving almost no income, I wasn't eating much either, so maintaining good form was easy to do. I finished the job, moved back home, where I stopped walking and started eating my mother's considerably larger portion sizes. Naturally, I quickly lost the muscular definition and put a bit of weight back on.

Right now, the Australian summer is a bitch and getting out to do any kind of exercise is like death. I've tried the gym thing in the past and couldn't get into it. I played tennis for a few years, but the trick there is finding people to play with and that isn't easy to do regularly. I danced for about nine years when I was little, and while I'm not great, I love doing it. That's led me to Zumba.

Right now, I'm looking at pulling up some Zumba routines from YouTube to do a couple of times a week. Until we finish moving house, I can't find a real class to join, so this is the best alternative. It also means I can do it when it suits me. I've got my clinic at work empty on my lunch break twice a week so I don't need to psych myself up of an evening when I get home. All I need is to make sure I do it. Accountability is not one of my strong suits. Help, guys? Check on me. XD

As for the sweets question, Sandra, I'm the same as you. Parents can be an awful influence, even if my parents are supposed to be dieting. I usually take one if it's going around, but I'm also getting good at making us all feel guilty if we consider doing it too often. I'll err on the side of less if I get a choice, and serving up my own food makes a real difference.

Okay, after a couple weeks of letting go, I plan on getting back into shape. Honestly, I've been trying to eat less and by less, I mean not really in hopes of losing weight but the problem with that is that I'd binge when I was starving. Not good. And you can imagine that it wasn't healthy food either. Plus, these last few weeks, everyone has been wanting to go out, having potlucks, etc. I know Christmas is next weekend but I've started making my meal plans again. Tomorrow, I start fresh. And I need to work out. I've gained like 10lbs since since I've stopped eating correctly and it's driving me insane. Like, you can't tell I've gained any when you look at me but it shows on the scale. Lesson learned. Always eat healthy. Not eating isn't going to get you anywhere.

WE CAN DO IT, GUYS!