Look, regardless of whether or not any of us are observing a holiday, the foods are out there and on the table. Pie Hole Control will be challenged daily, if not hourly or by the minute. At work, at home. Even in your own head as we think "What about just one cookie? I can get on the treadmill tonight and do extra minutes."
Only those extra minutes become added to the 24 hours that are already spoken for by other things we're doing. And since no one has figured out how to create a 25th hour, those extra minutes for exercise? Non existent. Total fantasy.
So, we want to know how you get inspired to work out. How do you keep the love alive for exercise and not get bored out of your freakin' mind? Is it music? A special routine? A mantra? Something you read? Heard? Saw that scared the ever-livin' crap out of you? What?? We want to know! (And we bet others will benefit too!)
This is a contest, the Grand Prize is a brand new in the box Wii Fit.
Please make sure to leave us your email address in addition to your inspirational comment. All entries will be put into a Giant Plastic Measuring cup my son used to wear on his head as a hat and we will draw a winner at random. Contest ends December 22nd at 6PM EST.
Inspire us! NOW!
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53 comments:
I could say something about wanting to fit into jeans or looking great in a bathing suit or the one I usually mention, wanting to get stronger and fitter for ice hockey (so I can deke and score, yo). But the real reason I drag myself out of bed and exercise is that it improves my mental health. There's nothing more motivating to me than knowing that 20 or 30 minutes of sweat will get me through the next 12 hours.
Great beat driven music really helps me to exercise. Like the song "Let Go" by Frou Frou. Also, I find a mirror very inspiring or too tight clothes! The Wii Fit would be a great and fun way to lose the extra milkshakes and donuts pounds I gained while pregnant with my daughter!!
What inspires me to work out? Honestly its a combination of things.
One, Looking at myself in the mirror.
Two,realizing that all those cute clothes on the rack would look better on a smaller size than what I am at currently.(Yes its an ego thing!)I also know its important for my children to see that I actively try to take care of myself. I want to be as healthy as possible for myself. I take the stairs at work (15 floors), and I try to do Yoga regularly. I don't want to be one of those moms that doesn't have a shape. I have a Mantra: I am blessed with a tone, fit, and trim body. (I want my body to believe that, at least, even though it isn't true.. yet!)
I have been asking Santa for the Wii fit for months! I have been really really good! Well... For the most part! ;)
That would be seeing my current triglycerides/lipids.
Scarrrrry times..
Nothing is working but here's what I try. I put pictures of me thin on the refrigerator. I also hang pictures of outfits from magazines I would like to wear. I should hang pictures of me fat but that would leave me crying in a lump on the floor and depression isn't really going to help. LOL.
My son is having his bar mitzvah in Illinois next November, so here is my mantra: "The skinny NY relatives are coming, the skinny NY relatives are coming. I will not be fat for the bar mitzvah. I will not be fat for the bar mitzvah."
I would love to say that I exercise for health, energy, and shapely thighs (although those were my reasons in the past), but my new motivation is entirely selfish. I am new to the SAHM thing, and the gym is the ONLY break I get from the baby. One hour of free daycare? That's worth a few miles on the elliptical trainer for me.
I've been slowly losing for a year now. I like the quiet time during my swims. I get angry, I get sad, I get happy and I work through it all in a mile and half.
loonstruck at gmail
I can see I've gotten fatter since December started - the tiny shreds of cheekbones that use to try to break through the fact have all but disappeared. Trouble is, getting up at 5:30 on these cold dark mornings is just too much like impossible.
At least if I had a wiiFit the boys could laugh at my pittiful attempts to shift the flab!
victoria dot pires at gmail dot com
I work from home, which means I'm never more than about ten steps away from the kitchen. Baaad, especially now when said kitchen contains a seemingly endless supply of X-Mas cookies. After gaining weight after I was able to quit my "real job," I made myself follow guidelines: If I want a treat at any time of the day, that treat has to be counteracted by 20 minutes of exercise. (Which of course only burns off about a sixteenth of a cookie, but at least it gets me active, when my normal tendency would be to just work on deepening the butt-print on my couch.)
i try to sign up for a race and that keeps me motivated. i just did my first half marathon and it was great. however, once i have no goal i get lazy. when i run on the treadmill i have an ipod with running songs....the music REALLY helps. this may be corny but while running and i feel like stopping i think about the people i know who are sick with cancer and how they have to push through the pain, chemo etc.
I think the Wii would be my perfect inspiration! We had 8 inches of snow last night, and are in a blizzard warning for the weekend, so outdoor exercise is definitely out. I am looking for some of that improved mental health.
I'm inspired by all of the great clothes I have in smaller sizes than I am now. For every ten pounds I lose it's like I have a brand new wardrobe!
owner@selfishmom.com
I have a gym membership but haven't darkened the place's door since before I was pregnant. The first time. That means I haven't worked out since September 2004. I can't say I was ever "insprired" to work out, but I actually went when it was part of my routine. Unless I made a place for it in my schedule, it didn't happen. So, my inspiration? Force of habit. How dull.
Two weddings next year in which I will be the matron of honor. 'Nuff said.
sleepynewmommyblog[at]yahoo[dot]com
Oh, man. I don't exercise. I don't! I simply, um, don't. But I really wish I did, because Renewed Energy! Longer Life Expectancy! Friendlier Muscles! Etcetera! I DO like to think that I would exercise if I had a Wii Fit. And if I win it, I will tell it to call me Sexy. As in, "Hey! Thanks for working out again today, Sexy!" Inflated Ego! Healthier Bones and Teeth!
s is going to sound cheesy and untrue but I just feel so blah when I don;t exercise. It's the whole mind body connection thing for me. I don;t have to do alot, but I have to do something. Otherwise I get grumpy and bitchy.
Know why I exercise? So I can eat. Without counting calories. Also because the gym has free babysitting so I can catch a break in my day.
I've started moving more and trying harder to work exercise into my daily life because I have seen how my parent's life has been affected by their weight. I have four children and i want to be the best mom i can be for them...when they want to run i want to be able to run with them, and right now i can't. Seeing my hubby run with them while i walk behind...makes me sad. I want to be up there running, sharing their giggles with them.
I could lie and tell you I am working on it every day, but alas, I am not at the moment.
The Wii Fit would get me back in the swing of things though (ease me back into a regular routine)!!
bagmomma at gmail dot com
Um, my stomach. What keeps me exercising is my ipod! I'd love to win this.
A year ago, I took my son to a carnival and he was afraid to ride the carousel. Naturally, I had to go on with him while my husband stood nearby taking pictures.
When I uploaded those photos to the computer later, I saw one with a very heavy woman and I said, "Who the heck is that?" It was me. I hadn't realized how much weight I really gained until that day. I was so upset, but so determined to shed that weight.
I printed two 5x7's of that photo and I keep one in my gym bag and one on my desk. That's my motivation. I look at the picture every day and that's what pushes me to work hard. I'm down 21 pounds so far...
I'm also now I'm addicted to feeling good about myself, so that is the other motivational thing that drives me!
I desperately need inspiration. I used to be motivated because I wanted to get pregnant. Then I had a kid (he's five!) and lost my will to exercise. Now I need to to keep up with him, I just can't find the time.
I really lack motivation but I'm really enjoying reading everyone else's ideas - and thinking maybe I should steal some of them ;)
Also, I like the phrase Pie Hole Control. It is definitely entering my holiday vocabulary.
Ack... very little inspires me to exercise... The only thing that makes it bearable is trying to make it fun... usually singing corny 80's songs while on the treadmill helps... Wouldn't this inspire you? (Don't worry I do this in the privacy of my home)
Livin' in New York looks like an apple core... Asphalt Jungle got to be a man of war... California dreamers sleeping in the sand... The Hollywood Squares are living in Disney Land
Lets go all the way
Lets go all the way
Lets go all the way
Lets go all the way
Lets go all the way
Lets go all the way
Lets go all the way
I don't exercise, but I need to. Maybe a Wii fit will inspire me.
I keep out my next pair of "dream jeans". Not the long term super skinny all my dreams have come true awesome jeans, just the ones I really can't believe I don't fit in anymore! I keep them where I can see them regularly, and occasionally try them on. Sometimes it works, sometimes it just pisses me off. I guess thats motivation:)
tamichelle (at) hotmail(dot) com
I'm not exercising -- yet. I've been gaining lbs slowly over the last few months and am not fitting into my clothes very comfortably. The economy may drive me to start exercising since I can't afford to buy a whole new wardrobe!
Nothing has inspired me so far. Looking for inspiration in the form of a Wii Fit!
I exercise so I can be there for my daughters for a LOOOOONG time and see what kind of adults they grow up to be.
I started running this year. Something I hadn't done since high school. It's awesome, but I'm still fat. Maybe if I was playing with a Wii Fit instead of sitting on mah butt, it would be more exercise. Plus, I kind of enjoy how the Wii mocks me when I suck at sports. I can only imagine how much more you get with the Fit!
I'd just like to be able to climb a flight of stairs without stopping after each step to catch my breath. Oh, and I'd like to be able to fit my ass in a slide with my son.
Honestly... it's the only time I'm alone. No one from work is bugging me. No one from home is bugging me. Just me and my thoughts. Decompression! It's the only thing that keeps me craving some exercise!
Other things that have worked for me... going with girlfriends. Venting is also cathartic and inspirational.
I hope I win! ashley _ broom @ hotmail .com
My brother in law has been living on my couch for three months. He will be here for at least three more. I have never been fitter than I am right now, because it is the only time I get totally to myself. PLUS, I do DVDs at home and there's only one tv, and so doing a dvd is a legit way for me to kick him off the couch, where he's been watching movies pretty much nonstop for the past three months, for a minute.
Also, beach wedding, bridesmaid, june. Strapless dress. I WILL have good-looking shoulders.
For me, success begets inspiration. If I've been doing well and feeling good, then I want to exercise more.
Another way I am inspired is to pay for the privilege to work out. If I pay for an exercise class, you better believe I'm going to it.
If I'm running, it helps to be with another person who will push me. If I'm alone, I like to run one way. As in, drop me off five miles from home so I have no option but to go the whole distance.
How's that for inspiration? Clearly it's not working too well for me. :)
I used to exercise for very vain and selfish reasons....I wanted to look good. That was my first and foremost reasons for working out when I was a teenager and even into my twenties. And then I went to nursing school and I was motivated by fear of developing heart disease or diabetes. I had a baby 18 months ago and I still don't fit into some of my clothes. That is part of what inspires me now to work out although it's more of a challenge that I plan to overcome! Most importantly, I look at my son and know that his mommy is her best, her healthiest both physically and emotionally when she is taking care of herself. And that most definitely involves working out.
jasonncaryn at yahoo dot com
It helps me get inspired to exercise (and to exercise harder) if I'm watching something active - a basketball game or a show where the women are strong (like Charlie's Angels). I want to emulate them and it makes me get up and move!
I'd have to say being able to wear skinny jeans without having to suck my gut in would be my motivation :)
My son's wanted one of these since they were released but I think I want one more than him now.
I can't say that I've been motivated until recently.
In the past couple of weeks I've taken a long hard look at myself and have decided I'm ready for change. I want to be healthy and in better shape once again, for my own health as well as for my children. Plus it's be a blast for us to spend quality fun time together at home playing with it.
Thanks for the giveaway.
valmg2 AT gmail DOT com
As someone pregnant with twins, my motivation to exercise is to avoid looking like that etch-a-sketch drawing of Sarah on her web site.
Ok, that and knowing that I tend to feel better when I have exercised. When I feel really lumpy and tired, it is time to get off my butt. It may be painful in the moment, but I feel much better the next day.
I currently don't exercise, but this would be something fun to do with my kids!
OK, I left my comment in the wrong place. Duh. Here it is again. I was inspired to work out when I thought I was going to run a half-marathon. That was it. I had a big "once in a lifetime" goal and i was working at it. But after I did the 10K as an interim goal, I lost my oomph. So now I need to pick another race, set the date and meet the goal.
There are two things that inspire me: 1. If I shower at the gymette, no one ever busts in on me. and 2. If my dad is going to work out 3 days a week for the first three months of 2009, I can too.
Exercise...
The amount of cookies I've scarfed down alone is motivation to get me moving! And the realization that as I get older, I have to work harder to stay healthy... and to keep up with my boys!
The best thing that keeps me going to the gym is kind of stupid. I get books on tape from audible.com or check them out from the library. I pick thrillers of suspense novels and only allow myself to listen while I work out. If I don't go to the gym, I don't find out what happens. It works for me most of the time.
Usually looking in my closet at all the clothes that don't fit is pretty inspirational, but now I have another motivation. Last week my 38 year old brother had a mild heart attack. Thankfully, he's going to be ok, but it's been a huge wake up call to me that I need to take better care of myself, not just to look better but to live.
Great giveaway! Thanks.
unexpectedblissblog(at)gmail(dot)com
I was looking through photos of a recent family trip and I didn't even recognize myself. There is no denying I've gained weight this year. And there is no denying that I haven't done a thing about it. My new motivation the "fat girl" in the photo anymore... I don't want that to be me anymore. Turning over a new leaf this year and making my health a priority - something I haven't done since I became a mom.
Robyn
www.whosthebossblog.com
whosthebossblog AT gmail DOT com
I can't believe I was wiping peppermint brownie crumbs off my face and fat pregnant belly as I was reading this post. What are the odds? Um, actually dead even. Whatever. Pick me. I want to be able to do one-handed push ups while eating my brownies.
I'm a buddy-motivated person, and I am most likely to follow through on exercising when I know that I will have fun with a friend, whether through walking, running, hiking with the dog, biking, playing frisbee, or lifting. And that we will undoubtedly feel better afterwards. Right now my goal is to be healthy for a trip in April to Italy. I know we will be doing a LOT of walking, and I want to be ready. Plus, we will surely indulge in eating good food and I want to have good habits established before then!
Ok, don't laugh.
Or maybe DO laugh, if it gets me closer to a Wii fit.
I recently took up the exercising challenge again and what keeps me moving at the gym is....are you ready for this? I finally figured out how to put movies on my IPod which allowed me to put a couple of inspiration flicks on mine to watch and listen during the workout.
Nothing inspires quite like watching 300 Spartans come rolling down the hill with those glorious abs and to die for chests and if you convince yourself that you could HAVE one of those guys if you just do 10 more, 10 more, 10 more, you'll be surprised how many reps you can accomplish.
I was inspired to write a whole blog post as my entry.
http://deepmuckbigrake.com/2008/12/22/breakfast-of-champions/
Oh, and if you hear a rumor that I ate a bowl of caramel corn while reading your post? I'll deny it.
[shakes empty carton]
See? No caramel corn.
When my work clothes don't fit anymore, or are uncomfortably tight, then I will begin exercising. Cause I don't want to buy a whole new wardrobe.
What inspires me to exercise? Because it feels so good when I'm done!
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