Day 289: Motivation

"The biggest source of motivation is your own thoughts, so think big and motivate yourself to win."

Motivation is a huge part of any success. Until I decided to give Nutrisystem a try I really didn't have any true goals in life and therefore wasn't motivated to achieve anything. Without motivation I was just going through the motions, not really "living". I've found that being motivated is NOT easy. It's something I have to work at every single day. I've also found it's fairly easy to lose your motivation if you're not having the success you want. For me, it's meant dialing back my goals from lofty to realistic at times. If I lost 3 pounds one week and only 1 the next I'd wonder what I was doing wrong, instead of being happy with that 1 pound. So although I agree with "think big", it's important to not think too big and end up having it negatively impact your motivation. I've had plenty of disappointments over the past 289 days but I've kept working at it, tweaking things as I go along. At one point I reduced the calories I was taking in, trying to stay at 1100 instead of the recommended 1200. I finally realized that wasn't really helping so I went back to 1200. I've continued to lose something every week so that was a little boost to my motivation. Exercise has been the biggest challenge. I've always known how good you feel after a workout, but that didn't really motivate me to get off the couch. Something has changed recently, because it's gotten easier to get on that treadmill. I think letting go of the workouts I know I absolutely can't do has really helped. Giving the shorter workouts a try has likely also helped. Some days I am tired so 20 minutes on the treadmill doesn't seem overwhelming. I'm also having less back pain and I don't get quite so out of breath. I believe my level of physical fitness is improving !

Breakfast was a 2.5 ounce 160 calorie package of buttermilk waffles that I spread with peanut butter, which adds about 95 calories. I had cinnamon roll coffee with it but never got around to a second cup. Morning snack was a 155 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. After that I was out for the day so I don't really have any calorie stats. A combination lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and evening snack were consumed at the Turning Stone casino buffet with my mom. I had green beans, brussel sprouts, a hot dog with no bun, some Utica Greens, a scoop of sweet & sour chicken (no rice), 2 wedges of roast potato, a slice of pepperoni pizza and a slice with bacon, black olives and onions. They were small slices and I didn't eat the outside crust. They also had my favorite cherry pie so I had about 1/2 of a slice. I left the wide part of it that has all that yummy crust ! I also had a little cup of creme brulee. There was probably 3 tablespoons of it. I might have gone over 1200 calories today but I'm more worried about the sodium, because I could taste it. So I plan to consume a LOT of water tomorrow to help flush that away !

***** Today's weigh in indicates I lost 2 pounds this week, for a total loss of 103.4 pounds ! *****

It was so nice to open the curtains in my bedroom this morning and see blue skies and sunshine ! The fact that it was such a nice day made it easier to push myself off the couch and out the door. I got my hair cut and that felt so good ! My hair was really getting long and I was nearly out of my favorite styling product. I picked up mom after that and we headed to the casino. I had NO luck but mom won a small jackpot, so she was a happy camper ! We had dinner at the buffet, as I mentioned above, and it was just a wonderful day. I got home about 9:30 and changed right into my exercise gear. The trade off for indulging myself a bit was a jaunt on the treadmill. I did workout #9 from the Grand Canyon series. It was only 20 minutes but this one had some significant inclines and 1 minute intervals at 3 mph. So I burned off about 175 calories. I almost didn't do it, thinking it would be "too hard" but like the other night, I told myself it is only 20 minutes and I CAN do it. And I did !

After my workout I parked here on the couch to watch Dr Oakley, Yukon Vet on National Geographic channel. I also watch Dr K's Exotic Animal ER; Dr T, Lone Star Vet and Secrets of the Zoo on this channel. Another favorite show is The Zoo: San Diego on Animal Planet. I also watch Amanda to the Rescue, The Secret Life of the Zoo and The Vet Life on Animal Planet. At some point I'll be heading upstairs for a shower and bed. I'm planning on a relatively lazy Sunday at home. It's supposed to be nice so I may motivate myself out onto the front porch to put up the Christmas lights !