What Motivates Me?

I found my motivation again at the conference I attended in Chicago. The following week, I did incredibly well with my eating and I worked out every day. I felt so good and I was so inspired to keep going.

By the end of the following week, I was starting to let my good habits slip. I continued to work out, but my eating was not on point and I have been struggling to get back to where I was a little over a week ago.

There are never days where every single choice is the wrong one, but there are days where I make more bad choices than good ones and vice versa. However, the bad choices (no matter how few) always seem to overshadow any of the good choices that I've made throughout the day. 

This negative thinking spirals out of control and instead of focusing on who I want to become I begin to focus on who I don't want to be. 

What we focus on, we become. It's all about our thoughts and mindset.

I asked my therapist how I can break the cycle of doing well for a little while and then going off track again. This has obviously eluded me for a very long time. I truly did not know how to break the cycle or I would have a long time ago.

What she told me made perfect sense.

Think about what motivated you in the first place. Where were you? What were you doing? How did you become inspired and optimistic again?

So that's what I'm going to do today--list out what motivated and inspired me this last time I got back on track.

Inspirational Speakers

I've talked a little bit about listening to Susan Sly and how her words inspired me and gave me hope about my weight loss journey. If something like this motivated me to get back on track, then I should continue listening to inspirational speakers. There are plenty on YouTube and there are also a lot of great Podcasts out there.

Share your favorite inspirational speakers and/or podcasts in the comments.

Like-Minded People

I really enjoyed being around other people with the same interests that I have. I would love to connect with others in the same boat that I am and be able to inspire each other on. The people I was around believe in living life to the fullest with gratitude and positivity. That's inspiring to be around!

Self-Reflection

I did a lot of reflecting on myself and my habits. I tried to figure out "why" I made choices that I did. When I do this, I begin to identify my patterns and can come up with solutions.

Focus on the Goal

I also thought a lot about the possibilities of who I could become. As I mentioned before, this focus made me think more positively. To imagine the life that I want and being the woman that I know I can be is inspiring. It's depressing to think about where I am right now and where I've always been. I definitely need to focus on the more positive side of things.

Choice Focused rather than Scale Focused

I felt really good during that first week after the conference. I didn't have my scale, but my positive actions made me feel good about myself. My clothes started to fit looser. I could feel my sore muscles from working out and that gave me a sense of accomplishment. And then I got home and stepped on the scale...instantly feeling discouraged and depressed. Sometimes the scale needs to be set aside.

What are you doing when you feel the most motivated? What motivates you?

Conference in Chicago {Pictures}

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a conference in the Chicago area. Hubby and the little one came along and had some time together while I was busy with the conference. We really enjoyed it. 

I think hubby would make a better SAHM than I am!! He did mention that it is hard to take her places by yourself. But he had her taking a nap in the back seat of the car (when they had to check out of the hotel), and she was just well behaved overall! I think it was good for both of them.

The hotel was incredible and one of the fanciest I've ever stayed at. The bathroom mirror had a TV built into it. I requested a suite, if they had one available, because the little one sleeps so much better when she's in another room--and so do we! I didn't think we'd actually get one, but it never hurts to try. Well, we did! It was a huge room. The bathroom was actually a walk through, so you could access it from both the bedroom part and the living room part. We almost lost our incidental deposit immediately when we walked into the room-- Little Miss Sunshine went right for that blue vase!

I was able to meet some of the women I've been working with and developed some friendships. Overall, it was just a great experience for me!

Here I am all ready for the event!

Here is my team:

These women have helped inspire me and motivate me. I'm so grateful for meeting each and every one!

I loved being around a group of people with the same interests and positivity as me. In many ways, I felt like the "real me" belonged there and the "body that I'm stuck in" didn't. It gave me motivation to become that person on the outside and to not be afraid to be me.

I took this picture while at the event, and while I'm embarrassed to show my body and all of my imperfections, I took a minute to just be me and try not to worry about what anyone else would think, how fat I look, how flabby my arms were, etc. etc. etc.

 

It's not about waiting until I'm a certain size or weight to truly be me-- I am free to be me RIGHT NOW. It takes courage, but I'm working on it. 

I've entered another challenge to inspire me to transform myself. And so did the rest of my team!

I have so much more to talk about in regard to my journey. I feel like I'm making progress mentally and my therapy has really helped with that. I don't see the changes immediately, but then a while later I think back and realize that I've started to implement some of the recommendations. 

Now to just get this body in shape! I want to change over night but I know that won't happen. I get so discouraged when I step on the scale and nothing has changed. I did so well last week while I stayed with my parents and then the holiday weekend kind of threw me off track. The good news is that I have been getting in activity almost every single day.

I will have another post soon with what's been happening lately!