Motivation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I ate too much tonight. I really hate that feeling. I'm too full, uncomfortably so. On top of that, I'm frustrated because I worked out hard this afternoon and feel like I wiped that out. All that hard work gone.
Ever feel that way? You work and work at this, are getting in better shape, getting stronger. But the weight doesn't really change. What's going on here? For me, it comes down to being honest with myself. There are some things I am not willing to give up.
I believe this is common. A lot of us are doing a great job of getting our workouts in. We're in the right heart rate zone. We're sweating, lifting weights, doing cardio. But we want our glass of wine, our bread with dinner, our something sweet.
When we're maintaining our weight, there is usually room for those things in moderation. But to lose weight, we are looking for a consistent calorie deficit every day for an extended period of time. That's not easy to do. To lose ten pounds, you have to create a 500 calorie deficit every day for the next 70 days!
How you do this is up to you. I believe that we each have to create our own personal strategy based on our lifestyle and resources. It just doesn't work for someone to hand you a plan that you are supposed to follow. If that worked, we would all be following one.
We need to take the time and effort to create our own personal strategy. How will you stay within your caloric needs for the day? How will you know you are 500 calories below that? How many of those calories will come from exercise? How many will be eliminated from your diet? How will you approach vacation, dining out, parties, and holidays?
It's almost August. Hard to believe. Seventy days from now will be the end of September. If you are not headed in the right direction, you will need to do something different to change that. Let's commit to getting organized, making this a priority, and refocusing on our health and happiness.
Now get moving!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
