Exercise/motivational Questions

If you've ever seen the movie Facing The Giants there's a scene where one of the leaders on the football team kept giving up, saying things were impossible, and the rest of the team followed suit. The coach blindfolded him and had him do a 30 yard dead mans crawl (hands and feet on the ground) with a 130 lb player on his back. Kid kept wanting to quit, coach kept telling him - 5 more yards, 5 more yards, don't you quit on me! When he finally told the kid he had made it ... the kid took off the blindfold and had gone the whole football field. I replay that scene in my head when I hit a wall.

Also - "just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming" :)

I think it may be a WW quote but "nothing taste as good as thin feels"

I also think to myself it will take approx. 60 seconds to eat that XXX junk food, is it really worth it?

Congratulations and keep up the good work!!!

Motivational thought:

Sweat... is fat. Crying.

;)

T.

Motivational - Sex. 'nough said.
lol
I saw a quote the other day "drop it like a squat" and that made me laugh.

My kids have always gone to bed around 9-9:30 so I personally think you are doing ok there.
L.

Motivational Thoughts-
1. I will be able to open that jar of olives without resorting to using a spoon.
2. I will need some new clothes to flatter my more slender physique.
3. With all the extra energy and stamina, I can face black friday.
4. I feel listless when I don't exercise.
5. Getting my body moving improves my sleep.
6. Exercise allows me to focus better.
7. My skin looks rosier because my circulation is improved.
8. My hair and nails look better as my nutrition and health improve.
9. I am charged with being a good steward of my body.
10. I am setting a good example for my child.

Exercise Life Balance-
I wouldn't upset the works right now. As you are still getting habituated to having exercise as part of your routine. If you are finding that the later bedtime is putting a toll on your child, see if you can change up your schedule/ routine. I used to do lunch time workouts at the gym near my office. I would schedule a later lunch (1:30) So I would miss the lunch crush, and get in 35-40 minutes of exercise in the hour. You can do early mornings too as others have suggested, or maybe, get an earlier start at the gym, at the after school or after work block instead of at 7.

Best,
F. B.

To be honest, if I put my kids down at 9/9:30, they would be a mess the next day - especially if they have school (is your son in Kindergarten?). BUT, you have to do what works for your family. If your son is handling it well and it works for you both, then do what you need to. If you feel like he is tired when you get him up the next day etc. then you might need to scale back.
I don't know all of your situation, so I can't give you too many ideas on how to scale back, except to offer some ideas from other people I know. I went to the gym Mon, Weds, and Fri when I was first getting back into shape. Once I hit a plateau, I started doing my "tough" workouts at the gym and forcing myself (because I HATE working out at home) to get on the treadmill for AT LEAST 20 mins at home. Often I would end up doing more, but if not, I didn't worry about it. I still lost weight and toned up. My sister has three small kids and somehow manages to find time to get in her basement and do a video workout at least four times a week, then she goes to the gym once a week and treats herself to a personal trainer to helps keep her on track - at night she leaves the kids home with her husband (although he is cranky about it!). I have other friends to get up EARLY EARLY EARLY to go for a run/walk outside or workout at home before the kids get up. Maybe you could do that twice a week?
Like you, the thing that really keeps me motivated and going to the gym is the friends I make there. Not only does it keep me wanting to go back, but they help keep me motivated when I am at home and tempted to eat something awful etc. I started hanging out with them outside of the gym, which helped keep me on track when we went to dinner etc. because they were working on slimming down too. In fact, now a group of us get together once a month or so to try out a new class outside the gym (i.e. Flirty Girl Fitness, Zumba, hot yoga, etc) and then get nails done :) I know it is important to hang on to that, but as we moms all know, doing what is right by our kids is the most important thing. SO - if you feel like your son is suffering from a lack of sleep, you might need to scale back and just be sure to stay in touch with your gym friends on the days that you are there or on the weekends for coffee and a jog elsewhere.
For motivation I READ. I am a part of a fitness group on Facebook where everyone shares their struggles, I read any and all fitness magazines I can get my hands on (they have great info in there!), and I troll Pinterest. I have recently started watching any health related documentary I can find on my Amazon Prime. Gathering info on nutrition, exercise, and other health related topics is very empowering! I love the "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" from below as well :)
Tell your friends, family and all of Facebook or whatever online medium you have that you are doing this. Tell others when you have successes. When you have a great workout, shout it from the rooftops. You will feel SO GOOD you won't want to stop! You lost 7 pounds - doesn't it feel good just to write that!?!? Telling people will keep you proud of your accomplishments and eager for more.
Also, go easy on yourself - if you flip your life upside down for this, it isn't likely to last. You are already talking about guilt - that will continue to eat at you if you feel like you are not being fair to your son. My suggestion would be to work on a lasting weight loss - look at this as a lifestyle change. It is LONG TERM - so losing 7 pounds could take you 4 months, but since you are going to keep it off, it doesn't matter how long it takes. If you have to reduce the number of trips to the gym, make sure you are getting all you can out of your workouts - maybe personal training or having a friend do a semi-private session with you.
I am rambling a bit because I'm tired, but I wish you luck and congrats on your successes so far!!

You hate to give up something so fun and so good for you mentally and physically but, 9-9:30 is kind of late if your 5 yr old is getting up early for school in the mornings. How about scaling back a little or snack in the car and skip bath on the nights you go, so he gets a little extra sleep?

I'm looking forward to reading the inspirational ideas!!

It is interesting, I used to think that motivation was important. Now I understand that MY WHY is the only thing that is important. Think about it...if I am not feeling "motivated" one day, I may not exercise. I can always say "I'll do it tomorrow, maybe then I will be motivated". But when I focus on my why, it makes me do what I don't want to do each time I don't want to do it...even if I don't feel motivated. John C Maxwell quotes an article in his book the 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, it says: "Motivation is not going to strike you like lighting. And motivation is not something that someone else can give you. The whole idea of motivation is a TRAP! Forget motivation, Just Do It!...Motivation is like love and happiness. It is a by-product. When you are actively engaged in doing something, it sneaks up on you and zaps you when you least expect it." (page 7-8)

I know I can come up with 1000 reasons why I "shouldn't" do something (and you are already finding ways of using your kids as your out) but the one main reason WHY is the only reason I do it.

Does that make sense?

B.

For me to stay motivated, I remind myself that I love what I look like.
Once I started to see physical changes as a result of working out...that was all I needed. Now I can look back at old pictures and thank god I no longer look like that anymore. The next level was when my clothes no longer fit. That keeps me going. I went shopping this morning, and now am in a size 0. I never, ever, ever, thought I would be a 0. I was an 8 my whole life.
So...look at yourself and what makes you feel good for that motivation!

2. Just get over this. Myt DS is almost 6 and goes to bed around 9 every night. It's fine and he's fine. I'd say you are well balanced as you are. No mommy guild necessary.

And finally GREAT JOB!!!!! Keep up the good work!

I can't help you with your schedule, though I'm sure others will give you suggestions. But congratulations on losing seven pounds! That's great!

As far as your motivation is concerned, here are a few suggestions, for what they're worth: Don't think about weight loss; think about your life as a whole. Think about your eating - what, when, why, how. Think about your priorities. Think about your non-exercise movement - the more you move your body, even at home doing housework, the better off you are. Think about your relationships with the rest of your family. Think about your brain. Think about your attitudes.

Think about your goals. Sit down and write out what your own personal goals are - physical, emotional, social, financial, spiritual, and all the rest. You want to write down *all* of them because they are interrelated, since they all belong to you. It may take you some time. But if you can get a clearer direction of where you want to head, it will help strengthen your wonderful decision to get healthier.

For what it's worth, I have a long-standing challenge with self-discipline. My usual tendency is to be lazy - sitting around dreaming of a quick fix and thinking life is much too hard, like a spoiled kid! I already like to exercise but, unhappily, I made excuses about my eating until I was diagnosed last year with high blood pressure (and heart disease runs in my family). So my immediate goal was to improve my health! I chose to go off my comfort-food addictions - I call them that because I eat like some people drink - cold turkey, set myself time schedules for every day so I wouldn't sit around, said goodbye to those fast food places I *had* to patronize because I was sure I was so busy, planned every mouthful of my good eating in advance and started to track it, continued my exercising, cut back on television and computer use, helped my resolve with motivational CDs (which have always helped me a lot), and lost about 17 pounds in several months, as well as helping the blood pressure readings. I'm still on medication, but I'm not off the charts!

Then Thanksgiving and Christmas came, and I let up on my discipline. It's tough getting back to it, but I'm getting there. After the past half-year I know I'd rather discipline myself than float around. When I start whining to myself that it's too hard, I remember something that I have read: "Life is tough for *everybody* - but, generally speaking, the tougher you are on yourself, the easier life will be on you."

Figure out what you need to do to keep your life going in the good direction you've set, and go for your goals. We'll be cheering you on.

P.S. Hang on to those exercise DVDs. When you can't make it to the rec center because your son is sick or the weather is awful (even in Dallas), they will be your substitute friends!

A quote that always inspires me is this idea: "Don't trade what you want most, for what you want right now."

For instance, "right now- I want to spend my night watching tv and eating cookies, but what I really want most is to look great in my bathing suit this summer and decrease my risk for heart disease and diabetes." This quote helps me because it can be hard to always think about the long-term goal that may not be achieved for another few months or even longer. I hope it can help you too! Good luck!