Archive for January, 2012
Everyone who is trying to lose weight or be healthy is motivated by something. Each person has a personal motivation; might be children, looking good in a swimsuit, health issues, setting a personal best…etc. The list is endless. I use all sorts of things as my motivation to get up and workout and to stay on track to hit my goal weight. One thing that I have never used (never really thought about) for motivation is fear.
Losing weight is hard, especially since I had so many bad habits that I needed to break and so many new habits I needed to form. Over the course of time, losing weight becomes easier as habits are broken and formed, but fundamentally, losing weight is not easy. To me, maintaining is even more difficult than losing. While I have formed great habits in regards to eating healthy and working out, its just too easy to fall back into the old habits that got me overweight in the first place…and this leads me to being motivated by fear.
I am afraid that I can fall back into overeating, binge eating, emotional eating, skipping workouts and so on. I fear that I can become what I once was. This fear has been the greatest motivating force in my life for the last 3 months. I love the fact that I have something fueling my fire, buts its a terrible way to live. Living in fear of anything adds a tremendous amount of unnecessary stress, which we all know is bad for your health. Its a vicious cycle.
Having this fear makes me believe that, while I have transformed my outward appearance, I still have some work to do to my mentally. It makes me believe that sub-consciously, my brain still acts as if I’m overweight. If I really want to transform my life, I need to work on my brain and form new thinking habits, habits that make me believe that I am healthy and not overweight. I will know that I have accomplished this when I no longer feel the fear looking over my shoulder.
For now, I will harness the motivation that fear gives me and continue on my path to a healthy life, which includes working on my state of mind and having belief in myself that I’m not that same person I once was.
Do you have a sense of fear? Does it motivate you?
Woke up this morning with a pretty painful, yet unknown and unspecified, foot/heel injury. I can’t put any pressure on my right foot without severe pain. But I’ve come to understand injuries and know that, unfortunately, its part of the process. If you’re working out in the gym or running, injuries are going to happen. Its part of the game. I hope I don’t get injured, not because of the pain, but because its a setback. It throws a wrench in my workout plans/schedule. This isn’t my first injury due to working out, nor do I expect it to be my last. After my first few minor injuries, I came up with a game plan for dealing with injuries:
Acceptance
The first time I got injured working out, I tried to ignore it. I could deal with it and continued to workout. This turned out to be an awful idea as it made it worse. Since then, when I get injured, I accept that I am injured and give the pain the respect it deserves.
Rest
As mentioned above, taking time off and resting is the best way to handle an injury. Pushing myself and working out with an injury just exacerbates the problem and setting me back even more.
Understanding
Taking time to understand my injury, what my injury is and why I got injured helps to prevent that injury in the future. Did I have bad form performing a particular lift? Did I push myself too hard during a run? Was I using the wrong equipment/gear? Understanding the injury has helped me figure out how to make my workouts better and prevent future injury.
Learn
Going hand-in-hand with understanding, learning from the injury is important. If doing something injuries me, I should take a lesson and not do that again. Learning why I got injured has also helped me push myself and try different things that I probably wouldn’t have.
I love working out and have come to love running. While I hope I never get injured, I know that injuries happen. Its part of the process. I hope that I can learn from my injuries, take necessary steps to prevent it in the future and keep forging on.
*Disclaimer* – I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. If you have a serious injury, please seek medical attention.
As I embark on a new year, with a new set of goals and renewed motivation, I take a look back at the past year to see what I can learn from as well as what I can appreciate and be grateful for. 2011 was a great year in many aspects but I also know that I could have pushed myself harder.
Some Amazing things happened to me in 2011:
- The birth of my first child. This changed my life in more ways than I ever expected. I am grateful to have such a wonderful addition to my life.
- Lost about 30 pounds in 2011
- Ran in my first real fitness events
- Took up running and now I’m addicted
2011 was also the year of learning for me:
- Learned that I can push myself to wake up early and get a great workout in
- Learned that I
likelove running (even in the cold) - Learned that being a father is really something special
- Learned that I can’t take any breaks if I really want to be healthy…gotta work at it every day
What I need to work on in 2012:
- I need to be more diligent in my eating. In 2011 I would get on a real nice eating streak and then cave for a week or so. I need to limit the amount of times I fall off the wagon
- I need to mix up my workout routine. Early 2011 I was all about lifting and didn’t do much else. Late 2011 I was all about running and didn’t do much else. I would like to mix it up and incorporate both
- I need to push myself harder and further than ever before. I want and need to be the best me
2011 was a great year but I know that 2012 will be even better. I am dedicated, motivated and willing to make it possible.
