Reclaiming Motivation
Posted: April 29, 2011 at 7:55 amIt’s finally Friday! I hate wishing the week away like that, but I can’t help looking forward to the weekend when my week has felt fairly busy and hectic. I love the chance to have a bit more down time, which I certainly plan to enjoy this weekend.
As hectic as things have been, I still make time for those things I value most.
Nothing says fun like the imagination of a two year old. Or the laughter of a 3 month old over the word “polka dot”. Weird kid, but I love him.
I have also kept up consistency with my workouts. This week rocked! I don’t know what it was but every one of my workouts this past week had me feeling on fire. I had two great weights workouts (which I plan to share in the FFF Features), a challenging speed work run, and a strong 5 mile run last night. I also will kick off today with my favorite of a circuit workout plus a spinning class.
| Pull-Ups | 10 reps |
| Pop Lunges | 10 reps per leg |
| High Row Back Machine | 10 reps |
| High Knees | 15 reps per leg |
| Dumbbell Bicep Curl | 15 reps |
Then, I have a feeling I will come home and have a repeat of this breakfast from yesterday.
A scrambled egg with goat cheese, a Mango Coconut muffin, and a sliced apple. Simple, yet satisfying….my favorite type of meal. Although this week my body wants to tell me otherwise.
This week I have faced some serious cravings! They have almost been too much to bear. I must admit that I have felt my motivation in the “Body After Baby” progress waning a bit in the last couple of weeks. I have reached the stage where I have been working hard for a few months, yet still have some solid months of work ahead of me to achieve my goals. I am already over halfway to my goal, but I know the last bit will prove the toughest to lose and tighten up. That knowledge can make things difficult because I have to prepare myself for progress to come less readily than before, which can be tough on motivation.
I must prepare myself for the likely upcoming challenges at continuing onward towards my goals. I must remember that at times I will face intense cravings that I will have to fight. And sometimes I will give in and indulge a bit more than I should, but that’s okay too. I know that will happen and I must prepare myself for it so I can get back on track right away. I must prepare myself that the changes will start slowing down, but always remember that changes happening at all is what matters most. It could still take me awhile to achieve my final body after baby goal, but I can thrive on what I have achieved so far and my other fitness accomplishments.
Let me clarify that I don’t lessen my achievements so far. I relish them! My body never ceases to amaze me with its abilities so soon after giving birth. Nevertheless, I want to recognize that I still have a goal I am working towards and that the path could get a bit rockier as I move forward. I need to stay focused and part of that is openly sharing my thoughts here with all of you. I am committed. I am determined. It will certainly take work, but I need to remember what I’m after. Feeling like my best self. I already feel wonderful, but that doesn’t mean I should stop reaching for what I know I can achieve either…even if it takes reaffirming my determination to get there.
- What is a current goal of yours? How do you keep motivation up?
- What did you eat for breakfast today?
PS – Check out : $9.99 for a month unlimited of their yoga classes to stream online. I plan on starting this afternoon. Yay for yoga!
Tags: body after baby
girl you’ve done a fantastic job so far! i think you’re doing everything right to reach your goals…just keep having fun with it, give in to cravings every now and then, and enjoy the ride 🙂
The cravings seem to get worse for me if I don’t indulge a bit. I love my treats. Last night I had a piece of cake. It was amazing. And it will motivate me to exercise harder today!
I certainly indulge some regularly….but this week has been CRAZY! The cravings have been way intense and one little bit doesn’t satisfy. I have no problem having something pretty much every day though in a proper portion. 🙂
Aw, I miss the days of playing with dollhouses like your daughter is in the first picture. It’s so much fun to play house when you’re younger and it’s funny because when you are an adult, you often wish you could go back to those innocent years. 😀
Current goal…gain some muscle in my arms! I’m trying to incorporate more protein in my diet to achieve this goal. 😀
For breakfast I enjoyed an iced coffee alongside 2 organic flax waffles with bananas and maple syrup! 😀
Really glad you found streaming yoga… $9.99 per month is definitely MUCH better than studio prices… eek!
I like your body after baby posts, and I think you’re doing *great*. You’re definitely trying really hard and that’s important- it’s obviously something you value, and you’re living a really healthy lifestyle by taking up running. Still, I know it’s hard when you have the toughest parts of your goals ahead of you, so good luck with the rest of the weight loss.
I haven’t eaten breakfast yet today, but I’m having coffee right now and I’ll probably have an apple in a few minutes.
A.L.
Brekkie for me today was a green monster, some watermelon, and cereal. Hits the spot every time! Current goals for me are to continue increasing my muscle mass, mainly in my arms and shoulders. Progress is slow, but it’s still progress!
I have no doubts that you will reach your goal! And breakfast today was Chocolate Covered Katie’s Cookie Dough Boatmeal. SOOOO GOOD!!!
I meant to comment yesterday, but I didn’t get around to it. I wanted to let you know that I’m feeling the same renewed passion for yoga. I went to a class on Wednesday night. Eric came home early from work in order to watch the kids so that I could center myself with some much-needed yoga practice. I hadn’t done it since I was 7 months pregnant. It was AMAZING. I felt renewed and limber, and craving more.
I used to do yogadownload.com during Addie’s naps. Now, though, I need my naptime. I wish my boy were sleeping through the night like yours!
I’ve made a simple goal of fitting in 30 minutes of activity a day. Even something simple like a pup walk will do. I just know a bit of movement after sitting at a desk all day always makes me feel better. Once I get past this upcoming, very busy month. I’m planning to retackle C25K – you’ve inspired me to get back to it!
Yay for C25K! It really is such a great program. I loved it. 🙂
I had 2 fried eggs on an English muffin — that was in honor of the Royal Wedding 🙂
My breakfast this morning was a 1/2 cup of old-fashioned oats with cinnamon and a little peanut butter
My current fitness goal (one of them anyway) is to be prepared to run my first race, a 5K in June!
Good luck! You’ll reach your goals, just one day at a time! I love the quote too! 🙂
For breakfast I had scrambled egg whites with 1 regular egg and spinach, with 2 slices turkey bacon, and 1 slice of Ezekiel toast! So good! 🙂
My current goal is to just lean out more! So i’ve increased my reps with weights, and included more cardio. Hopefully it works!
I’m having my oats with almond milk and fresh strawberries on top right now! Perfect breakfast to start the weekend! I’m with you, I hate wishing time away, but I’m ready for the weekend!
Tina, you are doing amazing and you have such a great attitude as you get closer and closer to your goals! This morning I had a strawberry greek yogourt. It was so creamy and delish!
My current fitness goal is to reclaim my running mojo. Similarly, it’ll be a rocky path here and there but I’m committed to getting back to it and loving it again vs. dreading whether or not my next run will be a “good” one or not. Wish me luck on that tomorrow AM! 😉
on pullups are you able to complete one without a spotter helping you? if so how did you get to that point?
Oops! I meant to say Assisted Pull-Ups. I’m still using the machine. Eventually I do negatives to build up more strength and then when I get to doing one, I keep trying to build up to more reps. That’s how I got up to sets of 10 in the past. Hope it works again this year!
My son laughs when I ask him if he pooped. Go figure! I had oatmeal today…it was yummy!
I had a yogurt bowl for breakfast: Fage, raw oatmeal, chia seeds, blueberries and cinnamon. It was great!!
I had a HUGE bowl of pumpkin oatmeal this morning topped with trail mix and peanut butter. I had a late night last night and missed one of my mini meals, so when I woke up, I was STARVING!
This came at the perfect time! I have the motivation to run my half marathon in 2 weeks, but I lacked running motivation this week. I’ve been so busy with finals and lack of sleep, but I’m heading out for a run right now. Thanks for the motivation!
I had oatmeal from starbucks and a banana for breakfast today. I had a physical appt and had to wait until 11am to eat because I got bloodwork done and it was torture!
Right now I’m working on trying to be a little more balanced in all aspects of my life. Much easier said than done!
I hate doctor visits you have to fast for. So hard!!! I would be starving too by 11 am. I bet that food tasted so good.
Cravings are a crazy thing! Sometimes I operate entierly off of them (and its never a good thing!) and other times i’m completely indifferent to what to eat. Its so odd!
Congrats on what you’ve accomplished so far girl! you can do anything =)
mind sending me a plate of scrambed eggs? haha i’m out! 😉 looks yummmy!
xoXOxo
Jenn @ Peas & Crayons
Good luck on reaching your goals!! I had some overnight oats today with peanuts, kashi, and a slab of cinnamon raisin pb 😉
Your little baby laughs at the word “polka dot!” Aw, that just touches my heart. 🙂
I know exactly what you mean Tina! The weight comes off much faster right after you have your baby and then the weight loss slows down. It took me 13 months to lose 56 pounds! I had a 5 month plateau in there which was rough. Keep up the good work – you look SO good!
I meant to comment on this the other day…the intense cravings you are experiencing are exactly what I get when I run a lot. They are so frustrating and you almost feel like you have no control over what you put in your mouth. Once I cool it on the running for a week or so I am back to my regular self, but running and intense cardio (like plyometrics) makes me a craving monster! 🙂