Accepting facts & making realistic progress....

[getnfit@38]

I've really come to realize with the help of many of you here that there comes a time when we need to take a realistic look at the facts and accept that "Rome wasn't built in a day!" and neither is the body we want!

I get so much more "motivation" from seeing realistic pictures of fit and strong bodies like Connie and Francine just to name the 2 that stick right out in my mind at the moment. They are "real" to me, no air brushed photo in a magazine, but honest real photos of a body that has taken time and effort to achieve.
This does more for me than any photo in a magazine!

I use to want to have the body of a dancer, long and lean (no full length mirrors in my home folks! It's easy to fool yourself that way!)
But seriously, now I look at my frame, and I see what I'm working with, and I can see where as I nip and tuck and hammer and chisel, where I'll probably fall, and I won't be long (I'm 5'4" for craps sake!), and I'm not going to be but so lean, but I can be leaner, and I can get fitter, and it's not going to happen overnight!
It may take me another 3-5 years of consistently working myself to achieve the results I want, and now I really understand the term, "there's no quick fix!"

So for me, and for many of my "check-in" buddies, we just have to be patient with ourselves and our bodies, and keep reminding ourselves that "nothing worthwhile comes easy!" and that everyone here we admire so much for what they've achieved, they worked at it hard before we got here! And they continue to work hard on themselves.
We just have to give ourselves time to mature in our individual programs. And I think that's the hard part, allowing ourselves the time our body needs to develop like we want it to.
But one day we'll be posting our pics and some "newbie" will be saying, "WOW! How can I look like you!?" And we'll be telling them the same thing the "educated crowd" tells us, "it takes time and consistent effort, but you can do it!"
(I REALLY wish I could click my heels 3x and be there right now though!)

Donna

Fitness~ it's a journey, not a race!

 

[starbuck]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Dec-12-02 AT 02:18PM (Est)[/font][p]Thanks for this Donna, I bought Zest magazine I used to read it when I first started back on the road to fitness and it really motivated me to start with.

I bought it today and found it to be well full of unrealistic imagery of healthy women. Don't get me wrong I just found it to be very negative when I know the models featured often don't have healthy relationships to food and exercise.

I am very or more motivated by the posters here you, Aquajock, Anna, Yen, and Sherry to name a few. As you say its a journey not a race and its what you learn about yourself and your relationships on this journey that really helps.

I am going to be 36 next year and looking forward to enjoying a healthier year having my butt kicked by Cathe and the new dvd's. No matter what my scales say.

As for heel clicking I just want to fit into my green size 12 jeans again.

Babs

 

[KayM]

It is true, Donna, you are right. I mean, I want to be strong and have nice muscles, but I'm not gonna get 'em after 1 month of strength training.

I think it is true how fitness is cumulative too - I'm much healthier now than I was six months ago, but just think how healthy I'll be when I've been exercising 5-6 days a week for 5 years!! or 10 years!

The thing has helped me stay motivated to work out is this - at first I don't like anything because I'm not good at it. I wasn't good at aerobics in the beginning either, I was so sedentary and FAT. But once you do something for a while, you get good at it - and it's human nature to love doing things you're good at! So every time I don't feel like doing a strength-training day, I just think about how soon I will start getting good at at it and how great that will feel!!

From a weight standpoint though, it is a totally different story for me. When I was 267, my only thought was that I was so overweight, no matter what else I did I really needed to lose some weight because it would make such a huge difference in my health. I still feel that way at 215 - I will be so much healthier when I get below 200, that I need to keep going and not stall for weeks at a time like I'm doing now! With my diet, I feel like if I don't stick with it and lose steadily, I won't be able to keep it off reliably.

Ok, I've rambled on for a while here. The short and long of it is that I agree with you, Donna, but I also think that when you're seriously overweight, you shouldn't have too much patience with yourself! You've gotta get that weight off and it will make such a huge difference! You've been there so maybe you know what I mean.

 

[getnfit@38]

KayM...........

Been there? I'm still there!

For the life of me I can't figure out why I struggle so badly with some of the poor food choices I make? You do realize I am MILES away from my healthy weight goal don't you?
But yes, I remember vividly how important it was to me to get to 199lbs! At the time, it was my top priority, so I do know what you mean about not wanting to be too patient!
But you're making realistic progress, and that's what's important! The changes you are making now, and taking slowly, may keep you from stalling like me when you get with in 30lbs of your goal! Losing weight is such a "mind thing" that figuring out the "why" of it is as important as actually losing.
I JUST realized why I lost weight to begin with. It really wasn't for me, it was partly for my dad (who rode me like a new bike at Christmas time for the last 30 years about my weight!) and for my daughters and husband (health reasons), but at no time did I say, "this is for me!"
Now, it's for me, but how do you "unthink" over 30 years of programming? Having lived my life and done everything I've EVER done for someone else, how do I finish this for "me?" This is why I think my eating has been so haywire! I can't figure out why I'm worth more than what I've got and where I am! (I pray this makes sense and someone is not about to cyber-commit me!)
I just realized I went through this whole last 6 weeks of heavy training to build glute muscles for my hubby basically, cause I really didn't give a hoot about my a** as long as it wasn't spread all over the place! I like my current results, actually, I love them! But it wasn't for me, I did that for him! So again, still not doing this for "me!"
But it's a slow progress, and I think for it to be lasting and permanent, we just have to be patient with ourselves, make our changes, and accept sometimes that there will be periods of less progress and periods of great progress, and love ourselves regardless! And when we can't find the love with in ourselves, come here and be reminded by those who care about us and know us!

Kay, I KNOW you're going to reach your goal, and one of the happiest days for me will be the day you post, "I'm under 200lbs!" I may have a scoop of ice cream to celebrate for you!

Donna

Fitness~ it's a journey, not a race!

 

[getnfit@38]

Babs.........................

You crack me up!

But I really just get so much more from seeing the pics of those right here who are making changes doing "real" do-able for us all things to achieve their results!

I'm hoping that others like Aquajock, Deb H., HoneyBunch, Marlene (Ms. tank top arms rotation herself!), Haslina (I finally spelled it right!), Bobbi, and so many others who've been doing Cathe for several years, and working on their bodies for years will post pics to show us, "it can be done!"
I'm pushing 40 with momentum here,and having role models that are 40+ are a motivation for me. Non-airbrushed, real life women who sweat to the same videos I do, that can show me, "I can do it, just keep working at it!"

*Please take this as a hint all of you above!

Donna

Fitness~ it's a journey, not a race!

 

[Aquajock]

RE: Donna and Babs . . .

You flatter me with the jonesing for pictures, but I am here to tell you I photograph terribly! Someone took a photo of me a couple of weeks after 9/11, when I was doing a little personal fundraiser I called "Push-Ups For America", and the look on my face as the photo was being taken (during the push-up phase of the last killer) would stop time.

I like what KayM said about the benefits of fitness being cumulative. One of the never-ending challenges of a fitness program, I've noted several times, is maintaining hard-won cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and body composition gains over the long term. Even if one keeps refining her goals after achieving an initial goal (say a certain dress size, scale weight {and you know my thoughts on scale weight} or strength capacity), the discernible dramatic changes just don't happen as readily; instead there's a slow burn, a slow and almost indiscernible progress over time, that's better marked by annual reviews rather than weekly ones.

It's very easy to get addicted to the phenomenon of "shrinkage": continual scale-weight losses or body-part size decreases. That can lead to some pretty unhealthy mindsets and behavior patterns. What's important, I think, is to plan for the day when "loss" isn't part of the landscape but performance is the entire landscape. And to plan for the day when each and every mouthful and rep doesn't have to be rigidly listed, but instead the focus can exclusively be on what you want to DO physically.

My point, and I do have one (I think), is that it's fine to have aesthetic goals, but they should never drive or supercede athletic goals. That's why I seldom cite any personal size or weight information about me. What's important is simply to continue to drive ever higher in terms of physical performance, and the aesthetic benefits will follow.

Annette Q. Aquajock

 

[willowe]

RE: KayM...........

Hi Donna,

I know where you're coming from with wanting to "do it" for yourself - however, I don't think there is any shame in being motivated to do things for or by other people either. We are all led to believe that it is ONLY right and proper to lose weight for our own benefit, which is true in part, however losing weight and wanting to improve yourself has many motivating factors. As you have said yourself, when you were initially losing weight, your sole motivation was in seeing the scale coming down, but now your outlook is a little more rounded - better quality of life, feeling stonger, healthier and fitter, looking and feeling more attractive for yourself AND your husband/increased confidence, to name but a few. There's no shame is being motivated to do things by people who genuinely care about you and how you look/feel, as long as the decision was yours to make and the journey to whatever goal you wanted to achieve was enjoyable and rewarding for YOU. Not only is your husband reaping the benefits of your "newly rounded & luscious butt", but so are you! They key factor here is that your husband loved you just the same before you lost the weight as he does now.
Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is that YOU are the one who has achieved what you have achieved, with the support of (what sounds like) a loving family. Had YOU not really had the personal desire and motivation to lose weight/improve your fitness, etc, it just wouldn't have happened.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings! Hope this makes sense and comes across in the positive way it is meant to! As you know, we all here think you are wonderful and that you have achieved amazing things!

Kaz X

Today Is The Tomorrow We Worried About Yesterday And All Is Well.

 

[getnfit@38]

Hi Kaz................

Thanks for your "words of wisdom!"

I was just thinking that your time is really coming quickly! You should be delivering your little bundle in about a month?

Hope all is going well with your pregnancy, and I'll be looking for the, "He's/She's Here" post sometime next month!

Maybe AFTER you deliver we can have a "let me tell you about MY labor" post!

Donna


Fitness~ it's a journey, not a race!

 

[AndreaL]

Yep

I agree with everything posted here. But you also have to realize that just because you want to be X number of pounds, you may not. Or you may not look like any of the people here either. It IS hard to realize how different we all are. There are very fit plus size people all over the place.

I've been working out for 3 or 4 years consistently, and I can't lift the amount of weight you can, Donna. And I think, "How did she do that in such a short amount of time?" We REALLY ARE all different.

Andrea

 

[starbuck]

RE: Yep

Can I add I hate the one size fits all mentality.

I know some people not here I am thinking of many so called "fitness gurus" etc who plug their books and eating plans with this sort of attitude.

Both my parents are diabetic both from similar backgrounds, eating habits lifestyles (different sexes of course)but both have required different treatments for the same problem.

If we have a specific goal in mind you need to get good ideas, advice and then go for it tweaking it to suit you and your lifestyle tweaking all the way.

Again my love of the forum here is that this is what you get both from you guys and Cathe allowing for the one size does not fit all rather use the basic principles and go from there.

Any just my little vent.

Babs