Hi again! :)
I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to get the body I really wanted. I’d been unhappy with my weight for a while, but simply trying to stay active wasn’t helping. I had a tendency to overeat whenever I did get that bit of exercise, and it worked out poorly overall. So when I decided to start a proper fitness regime and control my diet, I needed some reasons to keep going. Getting here to DietBet will hopefully be one huge motivator, but there are a few more :) These are the things that keep me motivated even today.
My dream body
The number one thing that helps for me is getting inspiration for my dream body. I have a Tumblr account where I can browse tags like “fitspiration” to see beautiful bodies of women who keep themselves in shape. This really helps because I can save them all and look back on them later. There are some fitness personalities I love to admire, like pamelarf on Instagram, who really have the kind of body that I want. When I look at those photos it’s easy to remember what I am aiming for.
Learning more
A great way to get yourself in shape and stay interested in the process is to learn as much as you can. This is really beneficial because you learn better ways to get fit and you also manage to stay on track because you are thinking really hard about fitness. Recently I watched a real amazing fitness and dieting series on Lolo Jones on Netflix. If you haven't seen it yet, go do it (and if you can't get it on Netflix try online or use a VPN). It was so interesting and it inspired me to go out and do an extra-long workout the next day. Plus it’s really hard to eat ice cream or pizza when you are watching other people get fit!
Repeating quotes
I find it really useful to repeat key quotes to myself when I’m feeling tempted to break my pattern. It’s okay to have cheat days, but you shouldn’t go overboard. One of my favourites is the quote from Kate Moss, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”. When I look at a big dessert in a restaurant and find myself really wanting it, I repeat that in my head and I know it’s true. That helps me to put down the menu and ask for the bill instead of going ahead and ordering the dessert. I also like quotes like “if it was easy, everyone would do it” when I am struggling in the gym.
Measuring progress
I get really excited with every bit of progress that I make, and I love to measure it to look back and see how far I’ve come. When I see that, even when I’m tired, it gives me the strength to push just a little harder so that I can see even better improvements in the future. It’s not as useful to measure weight once you get past a certain point, but I like to use photographs to track my progress. I wear similar clothes, usually a gym top and shorts which show off my body, and take the photos in the same place at the same time every week. Then I can flick back through them to see the changes happening right before my eyes, as my muscles grow and my body becomes more lean and toned.
It's not easy to stay on the path to a healthy body, but I really try hard and I think that having these inspirations really makes a difference. If you struggle to keep going, make sure you have something that keeps you grounded and reminds you why you are on this fitness journey in the first place.
Alicia