6.) I keep myself motivated.
Ok people, honestly, this is the hardest one.
Every person is different in what motivates them and the key is to find what works for yourself.
Some people count calories, some people write down everything they eat in a day, some people like someone else to keep them accountable... everyone is unique in what is helpful to them.
I've never been a super skinny kinda gal, so I feel like I've tried a million different ways over the years to lose weight/motivate myself, some which worked and more that didn't.
The biggest thing that I've found about myself, personally, is that I'm driven by POSITIVITY.
That sounds a little cheeseball-motivational-speaker-ish, but let me elaborate:
1.) Encouragement keeps me going.
This might be a 'Duh' kind of point.
But when my husband or close friends ever say even little things like 'You're lookin' good!' or they drop the magic 'skinny' word, not only do I tearfully confess my undying love and devotion to them on the spot, but I feel proud that my work is paying off and I'm inspired to
keep going.
So at the beginning of all this, I asked Luke to tell me when he notices changes, even little ones, to help me stick to it. And it's been a great support system.
2.) I don't own a scale.
Numbers are just numbers, and not only can they be deceiving, but they can become really unhealthy to focus on.
I maybe weight myself once every few months, and I usually do it randomly when I go into a bathroom at a friend's house and use theirs or something. That way, I have an idea of where I'm at but I don't keep up with every pound that I lose or gain on a daily/weekly basis, which I find to be more discouraging than not.
I can tell a difference in myself in how I look and fit into my clothes, which is more important anyway.
3.) I splurge. And I don't hate myself for it.
Here's the thing...I love food. I really, truly do.
And I really don't ever want to live in a world that doesn't allow me to enjoy chocolate cake.
In the past, when I would go on health/weight loss "kicks", so to speak, and at some point I gave into temptation and had chocolate, or say half of a pizza (totally hypothetical), I would feel like I had just thrown away all of my hard work and just give up.
So I make sure to not let myself think that crap anymore.
I eat cake and pancakes and pizza (sometimes all in one day!), and I TOTALLY enjoy it.
But then the next day or week.. I get up and keep going.
I work out. I drink my smoothies. I have a kick-butt salad for dinner.
And then I do it all over again.
I make sure to fight discouragement from myself by not making this some 2-week "kick" that I cannot break under any circumstance or everything will fall apart.
So instead of being unhealthy most of the time with occasions of being healthy, it's the opposite.
I live a pretty healthy life now, and occasionally splurging is part of it.
In Addition:
-I have found that Pinterest can be an awesome motivational tool!
Some days when my little munchkins are FINALLY napping (and at the same time!) after a whole morning of whining and pooping and them giving each other high-fives in the face, all I want to do is lay on the couch and watch the latest episodes of
Nashville and not think about anything.
And heck, half the time-I DO do that!
But on the days when I know I need to push through and work out, sometimes perusing through the Health and Fitness section on Pinterest for a couple minutes gives me a jump start I need to get my butt off the the flippin' couch.
-I also follow some Weight Loss/Health Nut Bloggers!
One of the biggest inspirations through this whole process of mine has been a blogger named
Mama Laughlin. She has such a fun and down-to-earth blog about her postpartum weight loss (losing like 60 pounds!), and reading her posts and following her on Instagram always gives me such incentive and drive to keep going.
SO positive. And SO encouraging.
~~~
Well people, like I said, not very groundbreaking stuff.
But being diligent with these few things have really payed off for me.
So far I'm 25 pounds lighter than I was this last October, and so thankful to be feeling comfortable in my clothes and my own skin again.
Well ok, right now my clothes and skin both have spit-up, urine, and applesauce on them... but other than that, I'm pretty comfortable.
One step at a time, right?