How to stay motivated?

[renupai]

Hi Cathe,
Using a 'low fat, only small quantities of non- refined carbs' diet and excercise dvds, mostly cathe's, I lost 20kg.(about 45 lbs ) I am now no longer actively losing weight but would like to maintain my current state. But of late, I find myself slipping--- especially on the diet and occasionally on my workouts.
I am petrified of going back to my old fat self. So far I have put on about 1 kg ( about 2 1/2 lb ). I have nagging pains in my knee and foot that keep me from enjoying the high impact workouts like the Imax dvds. I have to modify.
Cathe,do you ever slip on your diet or workout routine? You are about a year younger than me. Aren't you bothered by injuries? How do you stay motivated? For you it must be so important to stay in shape as your profession depends on it. But do you have weak moments? How do you overcome them?
I would also love to hear from people who have lost weight and managed to keep it off for a length of time.

 

[Carol_is_fit]

Hi Renu Pai, I lost about 60 pounds over the course of a year and a half using Weight Watchers, the Firm, then Cathe. I made my WW goal about 8 months ago, and have managed to stay within 5 pounds of it. I can TOTALLY relate about being afraid to slip back. Plus, I gave away all my clothes in larger sizes, so if I slip back, I have nothing to wear - LOL!! But seriously, I don't ever want to go back again, so keeping pictures around helps. Also, I think about how good I feel now, and how I'm really in the best shape of my life at nearly 47 years old. I think about how healthy I am, and how working out will help me maintain that health. I'm sorry you're having pains. Is there perhaps a reason to see your doctor, or do you know what the injuries are and they're just something that will necessitate your modifying workouts? I can't do a lot of step because of arthritic changes in both knees (hereditary, and I've known about it for years now), so I lower my step height or find new ways of doing cardio. Workouts like Boot Camp don't bother them, and the interval work gets my heart rate up nicely. One of the things I'm really looking forward to is Cathe's LowMax workout in the Hardcore series!! No high impact sounds good to me on some mornings!! LOL!!

Also, mixing things up in terms of workouts helps me stay motivated. With the three new high step workouts and the Hardcore series coming out, there are plenty of new things to keep my interest up. I get bored SO easily, so I have to switch things up a lot. I use my old favorite Firms still as well. Also, I did buy Tracie Long's first three workouts, and while they're not anywhere near as intense as Cathe's work, they still offer me some variety when it's needed. Plus, none of them bother my knees. Until she resolves the recent issues with her new club opening and the shipping issues she's experiencing, I won't be buying the new Yorktown DVD's, but eventually I'm sure I will. Also, since I now have a DVD player, I've also ordered Cathe's Timesaver and Terminator DVD's. That will give me 8 new workouts. I don't do rotations. I can't stick with something that long. I make up my own, and change them about every two weeks or so.

I guess the point of all this is that I use variety to keep me motivated to workout, and I use the picture of my health now and in the future to keep me from slipping back into bad eating habits. I'm a chocolate lover, so I do understand how very easy it is to slip back into old habits. Hang in there!! Find your motivation - and I do believe it's an individual thing - and keep it in your mind. Use it to help you stay on track, and don't beat yourself up if you slip a little one day. Just drink some extra water (to flush out the "bad" stuff you ate), add on an extra interval or something to your workout that day, and start fresh again in the morning. One day won't hurt anything. It's when those days turn into weeks ... and then into months, that you find yourself back in the old habits again. Best of luck to you, and I hope this long post helps!!

Carol

 

[renupai]

Hi, Carol,
Thanks a lot for your reply. I do already follow a lot of your suggestions. I have given away all my old clothes and now fit into nice size 12 clothes. I do drink a lot of water.
And you are right, there are days when I know I am overdoing the jumping during aerobics and I know my knee and foot is going to protest. But I get so carried away that I do not listen to that little warning voice.
If I see a doc, he is going to tell me to rest for a few days and I do not know if I am ready to follow his advice.
I have decided to take a day off every other weekend as a rest day.
What is difficult is keeping off the bad quality food. But like you say, I keep one of my fat pictures on my refrigerator door. I also keep thinking of how good I now look and feel. Like you say, maybe I am being too hard on myself and worrying too much about small slip-ups.
Thanks a lot again for your lively reply!

 

[Carol_is_fit]

You are so welcome! I know what you mean about not "listening" when your body protests. I'll be doing squats and my left knee (the one I injured five years ago, tearing two ligaments in the process!) will start to hurt, and do I stop or lessen the weight I'm holding? NO. I just keep squating. And I'm an RN and should be one of the people who really do know better!! There are times we all do things like this. Hey, we're human, right? I think not beating yourself up is a good thing. You sound like you're doing GREAT!! Hang in there!!

Carol