Motivation: You've gotta fake it 'til you make it!

I had a really interesting conversation with a dear friend last night about motivation.  We are both bigger girls and deal with the constant struggle to find pants that fit, bras in our size sold in stores (rather than just online), and an exercise schedule that works for us and makes us feel comfortable instead of ousted.

She told me that she was jealous of my motivation and my eagerness to stay healthy and lose weight.  I just had to smile and shake my head.  It's impossible to be totally motivated all of the time.  If you try to stay 100% motivated 100% of the time you simply turn to yo-yo dieting where people drop 50lbs in 2 months and then gain it all back (plus more) when their motivation finally empties out.  Instead of wasting all of my motivation right at the beginning, I have learned to ration it out when I really need it and then mix it with some bribery/corrosion (Just do it Brittany and then you can come home and take a nap; just do it Brittany and then you can come home and play some a game on the computer for a few minutes.) and I find that I can maintain my current lifestyle and fitness trend a lot longer than I ever had before.  Being healthy is not about eating nothing but celery for 4 months and working out like an olympic athlete. Being healthy is about finding the balance in what you eat and how to stay active.

If I have learned anything in these past 4 months, its that when it comes to motivation, you've got to fake it until you make it.  In the past 116 days, I have lost a grand total of 25 lbs (an average of only .25lbs a day)  which is not spectacular, especially when you compare it to the 101 lbs in 17 weeks that Irene recently lost on Biggest Loser.  It has been a slow and sometimes painful process in which I am forced to look at my eating choices, my exercise habits, and what is emotionally and mentally going on with me.  There have been days where I definitely wanted to give up but I just keep faking motivation until I'm hit with another wave. 

Becoming a Zumba instructor has also been a big factor in this life change.  I don't have the option of not working out 4 days a week. On top of not being able to skip classes, I've really had to change my eating.  I learned pretty quickly that if I ate fries and a coke before I taught class, it ended up being a very uncomfortable and BLOATED class, but if I ate some fruit leather and a hand full of almonds, I was smiling and sweating and having a good time.  Now, I've been trying (and succeeding most days) to give myself healthier eating options and believe it or not, my body has started craving healthy options!  And every time I have eaten fast food since January, my body has made me regret it. We're not meant to eat that stuff (except for Coke.  I still can't give up Coke!) and your body with thank you many times over for not subjecting it to it.

Here is a list of some of the major lessons that I have learned and have really helped (and continue to help) me:

Easy things you can change to make healthy choices:
1.  Quit making excuses about working out.  Get off your butt and go for a walk.   Take a class.  I have found that classes work a lot better for me because it takes the questioning out of my workout.  I show up, do the class, and then go home.   I don't have to walk into some big huge gym and just stare at the equipment while feeling intimidated about it all.  Zumba is the only workout that I have ever found that leaves me with a smile on my face when I'm done.  Find what you love and do it.  (P.S. Did you know that walking laps in a pool burns almost twice the calories of walking on land?!)

2.  Find an accountability partner.  Its a lot easier to struggle when you have the tough (but gentle) love of a friend who is walking the same road with you.  Set a goal, a time line, and a reward for yourself (and don't use food for a reward.  It never works out!) for reaching that goal.  Celebrate the good things together and discuss what needs to be changed or where you messed up if you have an off week.  Whether it's just you and a friend, or a group of friends, support is good.  I do find that's its best for everyone to have the same general fitness goals, though.  (Meaning if you are looking to lose some weight don't pair up with someone who is looking to run a marathon or vice versa.  It makes it really difficult to challenge and support each other if you are on such different levels.)

3.  Healthy eating sometimes takes awhile.  Find some simple recipes and try to make some easier things if cooking isn't your thing.  I am not a big fan of some of the "diet" cookbooks out there because they have an ingredient list two pages long and and filled with lots of items that you can't get here in the armpit of Nebraska.  You have to force your mind to make better choices for awhile before your body starts to do it for you.  Stick it out.  I promise it will get better. 

4.  Little changes are way more important than big ones.  How many of us have started that carb-free or fat-free or calorie-free diet that limits us to 17 calories a day and only chicken or intense exercise for 15 days straight and then 4 days where you are supposed to load up on carbs only to make it for a week before getting so frustrated that we give up?  Don't try to change all the big problems at once.  Start out by cutting your soda intake.  Take a 15 minute walk.  Substitute apple sauce for oil when baking and use fat free sour cream on your taco.  Buy a pair of ankle weights and wear them under your work pants (maybe don't do this if you wear heels to work, trust me...) While watching TV simply stretch or get up and walk in place during the commercials.  Little things make a much bigger impact because you are able to sustain them over a long period of time instead of crashing into huge changes and then giving up after a week.

5.  Have a pair of goal pants as well as a goal weight.  I have no qualms telling people that I currently weigh 189 lbs because I don't feel like I look like it.  I have solid legs and as the old saying goes "muscle weighs more than fat."  I have a goal weight, but I also have a pair of pants that I bought a few years ago hoping that I would be able to fit into them someday (obviously that someday has not arrived yet!).  I'm pretty close to being able to button them, but I still have a decent amount to go until I reach my ideal weight.  Having two different goals (one weight related and one size related) has provided me with some perspective in regard to my body.  Would I prefer to be smaller and a bit on the softer side or would I prefer to be a bit heavier and feel toned and strong?  How much does the number on the scale or on the tag of my pants mean to me vs. how I feel about myself?  Also, there are some weeks where you feel like the scale is stuck.  During those times,  try on the said goal pants to see if your body measurements are just playing catch up to your weight loss, or if you have truly hit a plateau.

What I have to say about my fitness and health journey is nothing new.  This same stuff has been said to me time and time again, it just took a few times for it to click with me.  I'm not a health nut or a certified personal trainer or even anyone of any importance.  I'm just trying to be me, and for once in my life, I feel like I'm getting close.  :)