What Keeps You Motivated

[Zero]

Ditto! The mirror usually doesn't lie (much)!

 

[gt2003]

Well, I'm glad I'm not alone. I was in incredible shape in college and early in my working career. Marriage killed me. Not that my wife cares too much if I work out or not. But, I feel far too responsible for things getting done around the house. I don't want to dump on her and in return end up dumping on myself. I also don't have near the motivation I once had. Could it be that I know my "sexual desire" will be taken care of eventually by my wife or what? Seriously, my motivation is pretty much gone. It really irritates me but I don't know what to do to cure it. Before I was married all I had to do was break up with my girlfriend and then, BAM, 2 hours a day at they gym and no bad food in the house. Great shape in a matter of weeks. Now its more difficult. I did rejoin the gym I used to use. A lot of the same people are still there. I'm gaining strength pretty quickly and feel great that I'm back. I still don't have much desire to eat well. We're going to Coz in the last part of July. I know my motivation will kick in around June but I don't know what to do to try and get in shape before then. Any ideas? My 8 yr. old is taking Karate right now. That might be an excuse for 1 more day in the gym a week. Any ideas are appreciated. Unfortunately my wife is naturally thin and is not a gym person. I MIGHT, repeat MIGHT be able to talk her into walking a couple of days a week but thats probably the extent of it. One more thing. I swear I've got ADD. I get into bad habits real easy. If my time is not used to capacity, I find myself playing internet golf or something similar and drinking 4-6 beers probably 2-3 nights per week. When I drink, I eat so thats probably a lot of it. We live 30 miles from my gym so I can't just load up every night and go to the gym. Please give me some good ideas. I feel it should be easy because it used to be. But, its not. Thanks in advance for the input. Greg

 

[Zero]

Yet another reason to excellence into the realm of better fitness - our second child expected in March! I did some quick math, being 43, I thought it would be better to push my kids then have then push me around.

The hardest thing for me is co-ordinating fitness activities (sports, workouts, etc.) within the disappearing "free time" I seem to have. If my routines don't become a daily habit like riding my bike to work in the summer (33 km one way), playing in team sports for motiviation, scheduling workouts with regular buddies.

If anyone else has any other suggestions, I'm all ears!

 

[quesara]

I was fortunate enough to have a couple of people insult me. It wasn't intentional on their part, I just took it that way. The first was a lady in a bridesmaid dress shop who wanted to put me in a size 20 (when I was a 14-16 in every other store in the land), and when I talked her into a 18, she said very condescendingly "Well, you'll have to lose 2 inches, *dear*". She is, thanks to a lot of self-control, still alive. The other was the well-meaning parent of a friend who said "Oh, you'll never be a size six, *dear*".

Now, I happen to be an externally-motivated type, and I *hate* being told what I am and am not capable of. I also hated getting winded easily, and wanted to be able to do a lot more cardio activity, for obvious reasons.

50+lbs, 10 inches, and a size 6 later, the next pictures of me on a dive should be a little different.

Of course, I am an exception, and y'all couldnt possibly do what I did.

I also found a couple of quotes which helped me out:
- "If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging." (Warren Buffett)
- "Anyone can do this, its just that most people quit." (Tanya Streeter)
- "Quod audet vincit." (Who dares, wins.)

I've also re-discovered fruit. Sheesh, but that stuff is good. Why did I bother with the sugar coated versions?

(Hope I got this posted at the right level. FP, and all that..)

 

[CameronMartz]

Quesara,

What a great story!

Cameron

 

[divad]

The hardest thing for me is co-ordinating fitness activities (sports, workouts, etc.) within the disappearing "free time" I seem to have. If anyone else has any other suggestions, I'm all ears!

Ok. Get a Total Gym 1500. No one believes this is all I do and I get asked this a lot. Don't get the one on T.V., get the slightly lighter one at a fraction of the cost that actually is easy to fold up. They sell 'em in sports stores like The Sports Authority so you can go try one out before you buy it. Put it an the highest setting and try some butterflys. You can add weight if you want. Anyway, you can watch dive videos while you work out in the same amount of time it takes to go to the gym and you're more likley to do it. I bought mine nine years ago for 200 bucks so I've saved $6000.00 minimum and I didn't have to go to the damn gym which I always hated. I got one for my parents who are in their seventies....anyway, that's my story. The other cheap and simple thing is to stop eating wheat. And, oh yeah, drink vodka or water or "gasp" wine, instead of beer.

 

[j_c_a]

I've got mixed feeling about the home gym. I'm a bit of an introvert so the idea is appealing, but I find that going to a gym keeps me more motivated. I think everyone is probably a little different in this respect to do what works for you.

Regarding the wheat and beer, evad is 100% correct. Those 2 beers after work every day make a huge difference. I really like beer, but now I consider it a treat. I can't metabolise it like I could when I was younger. Try some Perrier instead. I find it makes a decent substitute. Basically you want to avoid the "white" foods, white bread, pasta, rice, etc. If you're a marathon runner these are great, but the rest of us simply can't absorb that amount of carbs w/o gaining weight. If you are going to eat bread or pasta, eat a whole grain variety so that it takes your body longer to digest it (ie fiber). The longer you take to digest it, the better chance you can actually use some of those carbs before they turn to fat.

 

[Zero]

Greetings,

Does anyone have a decent, I hate to use the word "diet", for a rather active middle age individual who could lose 10-15 lbs? I would perfer something that has been tested over a year or two period instead of a quick, "water drop" short term weight loss diet.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[j_c_a]

Hey Zero, whenever I've put on a few extra pounds, I've had good luck w/ the South Beach diet. The thing I really like is that it's got several different phases: 2-week hardcore slimdown, standard weight loss phase, maintenance. You can move from phase to phase as appropriate. The other thing I REALLY like about it is that, at least for me, it wasn't that restrictive. The hardest part is giving up those 2 beers after work everyday. After that the rest is easy.

 

[gt2003]

2 beers? I'm supposed to stop at 2? Thats my problem. LOL, seriously if I drink 2 I'll drink 6 so I've got to cut it out pretty much all together. Maybe 1 day per week at the very most. I did have an excellent workout yesterday. It had been 2 weeks so I didn't push too much weight. About 5-6 sets of bench press followed by 5-6 sets of tricep extensions (seated, holding barbell above my head, letting it down slowly towards my back then extending back up) followed by 12 minutes stairmaster, 15 minutes treadmill then another 5 of high intensity stairmaster. I ate well yesterday, fair today and haven't had any beer. I've resorted to "Tiger Woods 2005" on the Xbox on the evenings I don't workout. If I don't stay busy I'll eat so thats actually a positive thing at this point. Once I work my way up a little on the treadmill I might jog on the days off from the gym. I'm still kind of limited. My wife had hand surgery last week so I'm trying to keep stuff up around the house, cook, clean, laundry etc. so my workouts are limited but I'm doing what I can. Now is a great time to focus on eating well. Talk to y'all soon, Greg