Motivationally Speaking

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."- Jim Rohn

This has become one of my favorite quotes because its significance throughout this whole self-improvement journey of mine speaks so loudly. It has become an increasingly common occurrence to be questioned about my journey and the biggest trend I have noticed within these inquiries is about my motivation. While I cannot fully explain to someone what goes on in my crazy mind, I will tell you that the motivation comes from that little voice in my head, SkinnyRachel's voice which is now speaking more loudly than FatRachel's voice ever could...I don't know how I could possibly explain what finally "clicked" in my mind after so many years of not listening, but I can attempt to explain how I've kept up my determination throughout this process.

I think my number one inspiration has come from looking in the mirror...While that may sound vain, it has become my main method of calculating my progress. Yes, I do weigh myself (way more often than I should, might I add..), but that's not always the best way to gauge how far I've come. In the past 2-3 months, I've only lost maybe 8-10 pounds. I've been stuck in this little rut for a while now and it is incredibly frustrating. However, the rut is only visible on the scale. I have noticed small details about myself that have improved. I looked in the mirror a few days ago and realized that my shoulders are square...Never have I had defined shoulders! They've always been rounded and flabby, just like the rest of my arm, but now I can see that my arm workouts have actually made a difference! I bought a new pair of jeans a few days ago because my one and only pair of skinny jeans had become too big. I was searching for a cheap pair as they are only transitional, and much to my surprise, the pair I found is from Rue21. I have NEVER been able to wear their jeans! Even the biggest size! And now I can wear their size 9/10, which of course in real clothing is truly about an 8...junior sizes..ugh. So, working out on top of jogging has helped to trim my body even more. I'm sure I've gained some muscle, which is great, but it is slightly discouraging when I fail to see results on that darn scale. 

Weighing yourself is a positive thing, but it is so very easy to become obsessed with it. I weigh myself more than I would like to admit...so I won't...and I know that its a bad thing, but it has become a way to really keep myself in check from day to day. I do not recommend to anyone that they weigh themselves daily....do it once a week, at most. But you should weigh yourself. Seeing a number makes the journey seem so much more legitimate when you can compare to where you started, but please don't let it become the only thing you care about! Focus on the fact that your body is getting smaller, your health is improving, and you're gaining confidence! Focus on the improvements, not what you still have to work on. Yes, you should think about what you need to keep improving, but do NOT forget about the positive changes you've already made!  Its also easy to stand in front of the mirror and nitpick every little detail about your body and to focus on the areas you hate, but while your standing there, don't overlook the fact that something else has improved. I hate that the weight is not coming off as quickly and easily now as it was in the beginning, but all I can do is keep going. All I can do is keep working my ass off (literally...I had a pretty huge butt..) and keep telling myself that this is worth it, that the improvements, however far and few between they may be, they are, in fact, improvements.

When I'm not doing so well with my eating habits, its easy for FatRachel to speak a little more loudly and try to convince me that I've ruined the day anyway so I should just keep eating badly. It is SO hard not to listen to her, but I have to. SkinnyRachel tells me get back on track at the next meal, not the next day. Just because I may have made a mistake in one meal or had a snack I shouldn't have had does not mean that my day is blown. If something like that does occur, I simply adjust the rest of my calories for the day to accommodate the change as best I can. That's all you really can do. Waiting until the next day to get back on track is not the way to go about it because it can turn into another day of "well I'll just do it tomorrow". Before you know it, a week of terrible eating days and guilt-ridden nights has passed. Fix it as soon as you possibly can! And don't kick yourself for falling off of the wagon for a minute. It happens. Its going to happen again. Just don't let it ruin your day or week or month. Stop, breathe, eat correctly. 

Eating badly also makes me physically feel terrible. My body can tell when I've had something unhealthy. I feel heavy, I feel bloated, I feel lethargic, drained...It tastes so good at the time, but it always makes me feel like I've gained 10 pounds back in 10 minutes. Not feeling like this is great motivation. Haha. Since I made the switch from crap to correct, I've felt like a completely different person. I sleep better, I have an exponentially higher amount of energy, but most importantly, my mood and attitude toward life are both so different. I've suffered from depression and social anxiety for most of my life. Since the change, depression has not been an issue at all. Social anxiety, however, will always be an issue. While it has been connected with my weight in the past, that is not the only factor in my anxiety. It has most definitely improved with my confidence on the rise, but I will always have to deal with the fact that I don't particularly like to see people very often, haha. Having higher self-esteem just makes it less of an issue and makes me want to go out more often than I used to. Becoming more emotionally stable is wonderful inspiration. Ya know, that whole actually wanting to be around people thing ;)

As you can see, the improvements play a big part in my determination and inspiration, but they weren't there in the beginning. I didn't start to truly see results until I had lost between 15-20 pounds. Once I got to that point it became so much easier to keep going. Getting to that point took a lot of focus, a lot of telling myself to just do it, get out of bed, walk, run, do something active, go burn some calories, don't eat that bowl of cereal, those strawberries are so much better for you, don't sleep so late, go to bed earlier... I truly had to force myself into jump-starting this process. Sticking with it in the beginning is one of the accomplishments in my life that I am most proud of. I'm not gonna lie and tell you it was easy because it was not. I just wanted it more than I wanted anything else, more than I wanted to continue laying on a couch. Once I got into that mindset, it was all clear.

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is was keeps you going." Really think about what he is saying here. Once you get the motivation, once you've decided that you are ready to make a change, the real work begins. Keeping it up is the real challenge. Finding ways to incorporate your new habits into your daily routine is difficult, but if you truly want to do it, you can find ways to accomplish this. I'm naturally a routine-oriented person, so creating a daily routine wasn't so difficult for me. I found by trial and error what worked for me and my life and then stuck to it. After a couple of months, I changed it up to keep my body guessing and kick-start my metabolism again, but then stuck to that new routine. So, you see that forming habits can be the real key in this process. Sure, be spontaneous, go out and have fun, but don't forget what I told you in my last post: If you're not going to have the chance to exercise like you normally would, do not consume as many calories as you usually eat. Its all about balance and focus. It is something you will have to think about all of the time. 

Don't get discouraged when you don't see immediate results. Keep counting those calories, keep exercising, keep concentrating, you will feel a difference before you see it. Once you see a difference on the scale or in how your clothes fit, don't go reward yourself with a cupcake. DON'T DO IT!!! Reward yourself with a smile and good healthy meal :) Wait until you've given your body a long enough amount of time to adjust to this weight loss routine to indulge in something not-so-healthy. I didn't treat myself with something super amazing until I had lost about 25 pounds. And even then, that little indulgence after such a long period of time without actually boosted my metabolism and helped me lose a couple of more pounds in the following days! Make sure you're spacing out these treats, doing it about every 15 pounds can keep your body guessing and shock it into losing!

So you see kids, the moral of this post is focus and form habits. It is the best advice I can give you for keeping the progress up. Make these habits feel like second nature, like you can't function without them, like they're part of living. I think I've explained the inner-workings of my focused mind as best I can, but of course, if you have anymore questions for me, I am always happy to answer! You CAN do this. Trust me, if I can do it, ANYONE can do it! Think about it, do you want to continue to be one of the people looking at my progress thinking "Wow, I wish I could do that, too" or do you want to join me and make other people say the same thing about you?