What Motivates Me?

I was recently asked by Bryan at Modivated to write about what kinds of things motivate me.  I have to say that it took me a bit to think about.  Not because I couldn’t think of anything, but because I couldn’t really narrow it down!  I’m motivated by so many different things:  people, food, quotes, stories…

So here goes and I’m hoping in some way this motivates others, too!

When I first began my journey it was out of desperation; I had tried everything to get healthy and spent many years just flailing about and failing over and over again.  This time, however, there was a little bit of excitement built into my plan.  I decided that I was going to start cooking in a healthier manner – this was exciting for me because I just knew there had to be a way for me to get healthy AND lose weight by actually eating food that was good for me.  I love cooking and just being in the kitchen is my happy place, so I picked a few recipes and I jumped in, and guess what?  They were good!  So I told a few friends and they told a few friends and people started asking me for the recipes.  I decided that the easiest way would be to create a blog of the healthy recipes I was trying.  Then I got to thinking…would other people want to read about my own healthy makeover if this whole experiment actually worked?  What if the end result of making these recipes into healthier versions ALSO created a new, healthier Jenn??  Could I share my story with others?  Would anyone want to hear about it?  So back to my best buds I went…and every single one of them told me to do it.  I think they may have been humoring me…after all, they are my biggest cheerleaders…but I know in their hearts they truly wanted me to succeed.  That’s how A Healthy Makeover began.

Since that time, every time I post a recipe or share a little bit more of my story, I get the most positive feedback from people.  At first, it was my close pals, but now I get messages from strangers all of the time.  I love meeting people who don’t even know me say that they have been following my journey; and that is a huge motivator for me to keep going.  Motivating others motivates me!

Hearing and reading about other’s stories also motivates me.  I have found a huge support system in healthy groups in Blogland and on Instagram – seeing others on their own journey makes me feel like I’m a part of this wonderful community of people with similar goals.

Another avenue for my own motivation is fitness.  I like to challenge myself and when I conquer something I’ve never done before, it feels great!  Recently, I joined Crossfit and that is a whole new level of fitness for me.  The atmosphere of my particular “box” is really supportive and encouraging – I love cheering others on and it feels pretty great to have that kind of support in return.  Again, surrounding yourself with like-minded people with similar goals is very inspirational.

While it took me a little searching to figure this whole healthy life thing out, I truly feel that where I am today is where I am supposed to be.  I hope that I get to continue to motivate others and I am blessed that I have the same great support in return.

Find your own healthy motivation, and start today.  If you’ve already started, GREAT JOB!  You’ve got this - keep going – it’s a lifelong commitment!  And PLEASE, feel free to send me a note to tell me about it; we’re in this together!

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Questions, Part II

Hello there!

It's time to answer more of your questions.  One I often receive is how to stay motivated and that's what I'm going to tackle in today's post.

As I mentioned in my last post, I really thought I'd be at my goal weight by now...I knew it would take me a while but at the time I didn't realize how long it would actually take.  In truth, it's been 33 months.  That's 2 1/2 years...yah, it's not fast people.  And I'm only 2/3 of the way to my goal.  But lately I've realized that it's sort of becoming less of a worry to GET to that goal weight I set out for and more about LIVING a healthy life.  That's what I have gained  in this process...I didn't even know that was a goal, but I stumbled upon it and it was honestly, the best surprise of this whole journey.  What if I hadn't started?  It would still be 2 1/2 years later, and I'd still be unhealthy...or worse :(

Because here's the thing:  that number is really sort of unrealistic...for all of us.  Now, don't go getting all up in a bunch.  Yes, you need to set a goal.  Is that always a "number"?  No, for some people it's a range, or for others it's to eat better, still others just strive to drink more water, and others more veggies, etc.  However, we are taught by society to have a number in mind.  So, you try to get there, and then perhaps you actually do get there.  Then what?  Your healthy journey doesn't just suddenly end when you get there.  You still will want to maintain it, right?  Some days you're going to go up and some days you are going to go down.  Sometimes life might get in the way and you have a big gain.  It's called LIFE and it will get to you.

I don't even know what it feels like to get there and maintain, but I'm a planner so I know when I get there I will have some work to do.  But I'm ready for it, because I've worked so hard and there's no way I'll ever go back to 283lb Jenn again.  Ever.

And that's part of my answer to the question of how I stay motivated:  I want it badly enough.  And by "IT" I mean, my healthy life, not the random number I picked to strive for.  Oh, I'll get there; I can't stay here, I'm still not at a healthy weight for my body...so I'll continue to make adjustments and do what I have to do...but in the end, for me, it will always come back to putting the right kinds of food into my body and working my body with fitness because I love it so much...the weight will take care of itself.  I cannot consume myself with a number.

I remember hearing the advice that losing weight was about changing your lifestyle - that's all you have to do!  Just change your life!  Well CRAP, who the heck has time for that???  That's a lot of work!!??  It IS!  But small changes make big results and I talked about that here.

I've been stalled at the same weight for 9 months.  How frustrating is that, right?  Every day I try and some days I am successful and some days I'm not...and stalling for 9 months can do some crazy things to your brain.  In that time, it wasn't that I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do.  On the contrary, all I do is try.  But it's about finding what works for you.  And sometimes what worked last week, doesn't work this week and you go back to what you did the week before and it just doesn't work anymore and you're back to square one.  But square one shouldn't be that number, it has to be your healthy living.  In that time I've tried eating more, eating less, different workouts, cutting some workouts out, working out more.  And it can be is exhausting...then I went on vacation, gained 3lbs, came home and got right back into my "normal" life and boom, the 3 vacation pounds came right off without trying anything fancy, no big changes, just getting back into my life.  That's when I realized that I was less stressed about this whole process than I used to be and it felt GREAT.  It wasn't something I decided to do; I am just living my life.  I will need to continue to make adjustments to be in a deficit to lose, but I will do it as a secondary goal.   I came to the realization that eating healthy and exercising has become my main goal.  I know that doing that IS GOOD for me.  So, I will continue to just keep going.

Here's a picture of my before (283lbs) and during (195lbs).  I'm healthier now then I was then...bottom line.

You want to stay motivated?  Stop thinking of it as a temporary thing and just make the change in your mind that it's about how to live healthy.

Also, a motivation for me is that so many of my friends and family are getting healthier, too.  When I am feeling blah or need some inspiration, I read my healthy blogging friends' posts, or see their posts on Facebook and Instagram (look me up @jenns_healthymakeover) and that motivates me to keep going.  So, if you are the same way and that sort of thing helps you, just think of me, you are NOT alone - I am here, every single day, doing my thing and we are in this together.

I do have to share this beautiful message from my 12-year old nephew.  Could there be any better advice for any of us????